SERIES: Rest: A Study in 1 Kings 19
TEXT: 1 Kings 19:1-8
MESSAGE: “God in the Stillness”
Q: Does the rhythm of our life match or aspire to the patterns of the world around us, or has God offered us a different way of life?
“God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” — Genesis 2:3
“Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work…” — Exodus 20:9-10a
“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.” — Hebrews 4:9-10
“…Sabbath is about more than external rest of the body; it is about inner rest of the soul. We need rest from the anxiety and strain of our overwork, which is really an attempt to justify ourselves—to gain the money or the status or the reputation we think we have to have. Avoiding overwork requires deep rest in Christ’s finished work for your salvation. Only then will you be able to “walk away” regularly from your vocational work and rest…” — Timothy Keller
“(God) says, “Be still, and know that I am God…” — Psalm 46:10
“Sabbath is that uncluttered time and space in which we can distance ourselves from our own activities enough to see what God is doing.” — Eugene Peterson
QUESTION: Have you distanced yourself long enough to see what God (has done) and is doing?
TEXT: 1 Kings 19:1-8
“The result of the Carmel victory is not what Elijah expects: Jezebel does not change but rather threatens to remove him. The Elijah who boldly gave orders to Ahab, prophets and people was afraid (v. 3). The ensuing narrative has been a biblical example in many analyses of emotional collapse and depression: Elijah runs away (v. 3), asks to die (v. 4), and twice states that everybody else has rejected Yahweh and I am the only one left (vv. 10, 14).” — John Olley
Q: What does Elijah learn from God in the stillness?
It’s that God understands: (1. The Extremes of Life 2. The Reality of Limitations 3. His Need for True Rest)
1. The Extremes of Life (v. 1-4a)
“Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, ‘May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.’ 3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness.”
“We have read of Elijah’s mountaintop experience at Mount Carmel, but now we see Elijah down in the valley under a broom tree. He previously ministered to others but now is focused on himself. Elijah confronted Ahab and the false prophets courageously, but here we find him running like a coward…Previously, Elijah moved at God’s word, but now we see him fleeing apart from God’s word. In the previous chapters we see him praying for rain and fire, but now we find him praying for God to take his life. Elijah’s faith and prayer life have challenged us, but now Elijah’s spiritual collapse serves as a warning and provides wise counsel.” — Tony Merida
“…the fact that he dismisses his servant in Beersheba…then goes a day’s journey farther may indicate he has given up his ministry altogether” — Paul R. House
“It is often suggested that Elijah was suffering from depression. Depression can have many different causes (from suppressed anger to vitamin deficiency) and we should not assume that when we are depressed our problem is the same as Elijah’s…In his case, depression and discouragement seem to have stemmed from his skewed perspective. He both underrated his own achievement and undervalued the contribution of others. The answer, in part at least, was for him to be given a glimpse of things from God’s point of view.” — John Bimson
2. The Reality of Limitations (v. 4b-5)
“He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’ 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.”
“Elijah was as human as we are…” — James 5:17
“…Is it simply an acceptance of mortality? Had he expected to bring about a national rejection of Baal worship where others had failed? Had he expected to do it alone, since that becomes a focus later? Given other links in the narrative with Moses, is there a mirror of Moses’ despair at not being able to handle the people alone in the wilderness (Num. 11:14–15)? The idea of a limit to one person’s endurance is evident in later Jewish tradition: ‘It is long enough for me. How long am I to be knocked about like this?’ Whatever the significance, his denial of being different starkly contrasts with previous self-confidence…” — John Olley
3.His Need for True Rest (v. 6-8)
“He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. 7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.”
“Good food and good sleep are wonderful cures to spiritual depression. Sleep and food, after all, are gifts of God (Ps 104:14–15; 127:2). Look at what kind of God you have. When you run away like Elijah, He says, “Have breakfast.” Remember when Peter denied Jesus, Jesus made him breakfast (John 21)! He renewed him physically and spiritually. Elijah is being renewed by the grace of God.” — Tony Merida
“Now God begins to renew his faith by miraculously feeding him. In other words, the Lord ministers to him as in the past. Twice an angel feeds him, thereby giving him strength to travel to “Horeb, the mountain of God.” Elijah knows God exists in Israel, Phoenicia, and the desert.” — Paul House
TAKEAWAYS: What can offer us hope in the stillness?
By surrendering expectations
“Lay your deadly doing down, Down at Jesus’ feet; Stand in him, in him alone, Gloriously complete.” – James Proctor (1864)
By embracing limitations
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28
By remember God’s provision
“The depressed don’t simply need to feel better. They need a Redeemer who says, “Take heart, my son, my daughter; what you really need has been supplied. Life no longer need be about your goodness, success, righteousness, or failure. I’ve given you something infinitely more valuable than good feelings: your sins are forgiven.” — Elyse M. Fitzpatrick