And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.” (1 Kings 19:3-4).

Elijah was tired and afraid for his life. He tells God that he has had enough and wants to simply die. God would refresh Elijah and relieve him after one last assignment. And what a way to go, for he would be miraculously taken up to heaven. 

I am reminded of these words from Paul to the churches in Galatia:

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers (Galatians 6:9-10).

Friends, let us also not be weary in doing good. Let us begin every morning by dedicating ourselves to pursue what will most glorify the Lord. Let us daily seek to discern His will from His Word. Then let us use the wisdom and abilities that He has uniquely given to each one of us and employ them to fulfill the good work He has called us to do. Let us not be proud of our gifts or our calling, Let us not be envious of the gifts or calling given to others. Let us simply be humble and faithful to our calling until the days ordained for us are finished. For the Lord, He is our portion, our great delight! 

Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word" (1 Kings 17:1).

Through the prophet Elijah God demonstrates His power over Baal, the false fertility god of the Sidonians. Through Elijah God brought three years of drought throughout Canaan, a slap to the face of Baal, who was supposedly the god of rain. To add insult to injury, Elijah is sent to a widow in Zaarephath of Sidon, Baal's hometown. She and her son were about to eat their last portion of food and wait for death. Apparently, Baal was not able to counter the LORD's drought over his own people.

Not Baal, but God supplies the widow and her son a continual supply of food (cf. 1 Kings 17:14). This is again a slap in the face of Baal, who was the god of fertility and produce.

After this, the widow's son dies, but then is raised to life by the power of God, so that this once Baal-worshipping widow is converted to a worshipper of the LORD (cf. 1 Kings 17:24).

Now it happened after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth. So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria." (1 Kings 18:1-2).

Ahab, the King of Israel, was married to Jezebel, who was the daughter of the Sidonian king (cf. 1 Kings 16:31), whose very name, "EthBaal", revealed his devotion to Baal. Ahab avidly worshipped Baal (cf. 1 Kings 16:32-33). Thus, the drought and corrsponding famine were also felt in Israel. Elijah was sent to Ahab so that this king of Israel might understand that it was not Baal but the LORD, who controlled the rain. But Ahab was still unconvinced. Then Elijah performs two wonders to prove that the LORD alone is God.

First, Elijah sets up a contest between himself and the worshippers of Baal to reveal which was the true God. Each side would call fire down from heaven to consume their respective offering. Now, Baal was also worshipped as the god of lightning; therefore, his worshippers readily accepted the challenge. To make the contest beyond suspicion Elijah drenched his offering with many buckets of precious water (remember, they suffered a severe 3-year drought, so water was scarce), so that anything less than an all-consuming fire would not have burned up the offering.

While the all-day efforts by the worshippers of Baal understandably yielded no response, for Baal was no god, the LORD God responded immediately to Elijah's simple prayer by bringing fire from heaven, which not only consumed the offering but also licked up every drop of water that filled the trenches around the offering. The people were convinced and declared, "the LORD, He is God." Then they slaughtered the 450 prophets of Baal as well as the 400 prophets of Asherah, Baal's consort.

What is more, Elijah declared to Ahab that God would now end the drought and bring rain. And it did rain - not simply a trickle, but a torrential downpour. When God works, He works magnificently, so that there is no room for doubt. Thus, God proved again that Baal was no god. The LORD, He alone was God.

Friends, if the LORD is God, and He commands our absolute trust and obedience, why is our devotion to Him so anemic? Why do we continue to chase self-interest? Why are we so concerned with making this very temporary life work for us rather than making God our all-consuming interest and fulfilling His desire our all-consuming passion? If the LORD alone is God, then let us worship Him as God without hesitation, embarrassment, or distraction. 

1 kings 18

21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.”

How long will you go on limping between different ideas? If Jesus is your Lord follow him; if not, don't! (cf Revelation 3:16) don't be luke warm 'do or do not, there is no try.'

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1 kings 19

7 And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.”

Ravi Zacharias has a sermon that expresses both the dilemma of pain and of Pleasures. His message defined the legitimacy of pleasure. He concisely said 'What refreshes you without distracting is a legitimate pleasure.'

Carrying forward this precept to 1 Kings 19:7, twice the angel touched and refreshed him for a great journey. Rest is important, but the rest should not become the goal or a distraction - rest and take pleasures but serve the Lord.

Friends, do you, like me, find this a remarkable passage? Ahab is one of the most wicked kings of Israel, yet God twice delivers him from the hand of the Syrian king Ben Hadad. Was it because Ahab was more righteous than Ben Hadad? It is better to say that Ben Hadad was more unrighteous than Ahab. The Syrian king directly insulted the Name of God, so God would even use the unrighteous king of Israel to teach Ben Hadad a lesson. Let us understand that ultimately it is not about how good one is or how bad one is, but rather about God's Name, about His reputation, His honor and His glory. Rather than trying to elevate our own worth to God, let us always be elevating His worth.

In the incident of Elijah's flight from Jezebel, he went to Sinai, the mountain of God, where Moses had received the Ten Commandments from God, and where the people of Israel first learned to really fear the LORD their God. He witnessed God's power in the strong wind, the earthquake, and the fire. But God came to Elijah in gentleness with a "still small voice." Yet, it appears Elijah did not understand. At that point he seemed to be fearing Jezebel more than God, even though he saw that the all-powerful God was on his side. When God inquired, "Why are you here?" it was an echo of God's question to Adam in the garden, "Where are you?" Of course God knew, but the response would reveal the heart of the one questioned. Elijah's response revealed his self-righteousness and wrong perspective. After God's demonstration of power and yet gentleness toward him, Elijah still responded the same way. Therefore, Elijah was decommissioned and Elisha was appointed in his place to carry on the work of God.

Elijah allowed his present circumstances and emotions to cloud his judgment, blind his vision and cripple his faith. How many of us realize that we are children of God, co-heirs with the Lord, to whom is given the promise, "He who did not spare His own son, how will He not also give us all things with Him." We are more than conquerors in Christ.

Therefore, with this perspective, and in view of such great promises to us, how shall we view life with its uncertainties, struggles, frustrations and pains? Will we be like Paul and count all of it as nothing and unworthy compared to the glory that awaits us in heaven?

Or will we be like Elijah, and even Moses, allowing our earthly circumstances to overwhelm our faith and render our service to the Lord powerless and short-lived?

No, my friends. Let us instead "run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1-2).

1 Kings 18 has to be one of the greatest victories for the Lord in the Bible!  I would love to have been there (probably not really) to see Elijah's unwavering and doubtless faith in the Lord.  As I read it it's one of those stories that makes you want to stand up and cheer for God's victory.  My only worry is how often do I dance and wail to myself for answers and miracles.  How often am I my own Baal instead of turning to the real source of all things.  I pray we can have Elijah's clarity as to who holds the real power.