1 Kings 19:9-21

1 Kings 19:9-21

[9] And he came  thither unto a cave,  and lodged  there; and, behold, the word  of the LORD  came to him, and he said  unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?  [10] And he said,  I have been very  God  of hosts:  for the children  of Israel  have forsaken  thy covenant,  thrown down  thine altars,  and slain  thy prophets  with the sword;  and I, even I only, am left;  and they seek  my life,  to take it away.  [11] And he said,  Go forth,  and stand  upon the mount  before  the LORD.  passed by,  and a great  and strong  wind  rent  the mountains,  and brake in pieces  the rocks  before  the LORD;  was not in the wind:  and after  the wind  an earthquake;  but the LORD  was not in the earthquake:  [12] And after  the earthquake  a fire;  but the LORD  was not in the fire:  and after  the fire  a still  small  voice.  [13] And it was so, when Elijah  heard  it, that he wrapped  his face  in his mantle,  and went out,  and stood  in the entering in  of the cave.  And, behold, there came a voice  unto him, and said,  What doest thou here, Elijah?  [14] And he said,  I have been very  for the LORD  God  of hosts:  because the children  of Israel  have forsaken  thy covenant,  thrown down  thine altars,  and slain  thy prophets  with the sword;  and I, even I only, am left;  and they seek  my life,  to take it away.  [15] And the LORD  said  return  on thy way  to the wilderness  of Damascus:  and when thou comest,  anoint  Hazael  to be king  over Syria:  [16] And Jehu  the son  of Nimshi  shalt thou anoint  to be king  over Israel:  and Elisha  the son  of Shaphat  of Abelmeholah  shalt thou anoint  to be prophet  in thy room. [17] And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth  the sword  of Hazael  shall Jehu  slay:  and him that escapeth  from the sword  of Jehu  shall Elisha  slay.  [18] Yet I have left  me seven  thousand  in Israel,  all the knees  which have not bowed  unto Baal,  and every mouth  which hath not kissed  him. [19] thence, and found  Elisha  the son  of Shaphat,  who was plowing  with twelve  yoke  of oxen before  him, and he with the twelfth:  and Elijah  passed  by him, and cast  his mantle  [20] And he left  the oxen,  and ran  after  Elijah,  and said,  Let me, I pray thee, kiss  my father  and my mother,  thee. And he said  again:  for what have I done  to thee? [21] And he returned back  from him,  and took  a yoke  of oxen,  and slew  them, and boiled  their flesh  with the instruments  of the oxen,  and gave  unto the people,  and they did eat.  Then he arose,  after  Elijah,  and ministered  unto him.

What does 1 Kings 19:9-21 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Elijah"s zeal for God"s covenant, altars, and prophets was admirable, but he became too discouraged because he underestimated the extent of commitment to Yahweh that existed in Israel. [1] He was not alone in his stand for Yahweh ( 1 Kings 19:10; cf. 1 Kings 18:13). God asked him what he was doing there ( 1 Kings 19:9; 1 Kings 19:13) because He had not sent him to Horeb, as He had sent him to Cherith, Zarephath, and Samaria (cf. 1 Kings 17:3; 1 Kings 17:9; 1 Kings 18:1). Elijah had fled to Horeb out of fear. God proceeded to reproduce demonstrations of His power that He had given Israel at Mt. Sinai ( Exodus 19:16-18) and to Elijah at Mt. Carmel ( 1 Kings 18:38; 1 Kings 18:45). Nevertheless God was not in these in the sense that they were not His methods now. Rather, God was in the gentle blowing ( 1 Kings 19:12). One writer suggested that we should understand the Hebrew words translated "a gentle blowing" (NASB) or "a gentle whisper" (NIV) as "a roaring and thundrous voice." [2] This view has not found popular acceptance.
Moses had spent40 days and nights on the mountain fasting while he waited for a new phase of his ministry to begin ( Exodus 34:28). Jesus spent40 days and nights in a wilderness at the beginning of His public ministry too (cf. Matthew 4:1-2). Elijah covered his face because he realized that He could not look at God and live ( 1 Kings 19:13), as Moses also realized ( Exodus 33:20-22; cf. Genesis 32:30). Elijah was to learn that whereas God had revealed Himself in dramatic ways in the past, He would now work in quieter ways. Instead of Elijah continuing to stand alone for God, God would now put him into the background while the Lord used other people. [3] Elijah evidently got the message, but he still felt depressed ( Amos 7:14-1586). God was dealing with him gently too.
"His [4] God-given successes had fostered an inordinate pride (cf. 1 Kings 19:4; 1 Kings 19:10; 1 Kings 19:14) that had made him take his own importance too seriously. Moreover, Elijah had come to bask in the glow of the spectacular. He may have fully expected that because of what had been accomplished at Mount Carmel, Jezebel would capitulate and pagan worship would come to an end in Israel-all through his influence!" [5]
"I have never been impressed by the view that the command to anoint Hazael, Jehu and Elisha was the expression of God"s disapproval of Elijah"s flight from Jezebel, and that thereby his prophetic work was as good as terminated. He had a considerable period of activity still before him, and there is absolutely nothing in the story of his departure to justify such a conclusion. For Elijah to anoint those who were to carry on his work, whether he did it personally or by proxy, is rather to stress with what authority they would Acts , when they brought judgment and destruction on Israel." [6]
Yahweh next directed Elijah to return to Israel to do three things ( 1 Kings 19:15-16). Elijah anointed only Elisha personally ( 1 Kings 19:19-21). He anointed Hazael and Jehu indirectly through his successor, Elisha ( 2 Kings 8:7-14; 2 Kings 9:1-3). Through these three men God would complete the purge of Baal worship that Elijah had begun ( 1 Kings 19:17). God also had7 ,000 other faithful followers in Israel through whom He could work ( 1 Kings 19:18). The writer mentioned some of these loyal people in the chapters that follow. This word from the Lord marks a great crisis in Israel. God now turned from the northern tribes as a whole to deal with a faithful remnant within that nation. [7] Evidence of this is the fact that the stories of Elisha that follow deal mainly with the remnant rather than with the whole nation, in contrast to the record of Elijah"s ministry.
Elisha was a prosperous farmer who lived near Abel-meholah ( 1 Kings 19:16) in the Jordan Valley, 23miles south of the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee). Throwing a prophet"s cloak around a person symbolized the passing of the power and authority of the office to that individual. [8] "What have I done to you" ( 1 Kings 19:20) is an idiom that means, "Do as you please." Elisha terminated his former occupation and from then on served as a prophet (cf. 1713522638_7; Luke 9:62). His sacrifice of his oxen as a burnt offering to Yahweh symbolized his total personal commitment to God ( 1 Kings 19:21). Perhaps his12pairs of oxen ( 1 Kings 19:19) represented the12tribes of Israel whom Elisha would now lead spiritually.
"Elijah recruits his attendant and successor at the workplace, as Jesus was to do with many of his followers." [9]
This closes the Song of Solomon -called Elijah cycle or narrative (chs17-19), one of the richest portions of the Old Testament for preaching and teaching. In many ways Elijah, Israel"s savior, prefigured Jesus Christ and His ministry.