§83. Elijah's Discouragement (I Kings 19:1-21)

A. THE BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT

And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to-morrow about this time."

And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth 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 away my life; for I am not better than my fathers."

And he lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and, behold, an angel touched him, and said unto him, "Arise and eat."

And he looked, and, behold, there was at his head a cake baked on the coals, and a bottle of water. And he did eat and drink, and laid himself down again.

And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, "Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee."

And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.

B. ELIJAH COMFORTED AND INSTRUCTED

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 does thou here, Elijah?"

And he said, "I have been very jealous for the Lord, the 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."

And he said, "Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord."

And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, "What doest thou here, Elijah?"

And he said, "I have been very jealous for the Lord, the 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."

And the Lord said unto him, "Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, thou shalt anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: and Jehu shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Yet will I leave me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him."

C. THE CALL OF ELISHA

So he departed 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 over unto him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, "Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee."

And he said unto him, "Go back again; for what have I done to thee?"

And he returned from following him, and took the 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, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.

§84. Elijah and the Tyrant (I Kings 21:1-24)

A. AHAB COVETS NABOTH'S VINEYARD

And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, "Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house; and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it: or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money."

And Naboth said to Ahab, "The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee."

And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, "I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers." And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.

But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, "Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?"

And he said unto her, "Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, 'Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it': and he answered, 'I will not give thee my vineyard.'"

And Jezebel his wife said unto him, "Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite."

B. JEZEBEL'S PLOT

So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in the city, and that dwelt with Naboth. And she wrote in the letters, saying, "Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: and set two wicked men before him, and let them bear witness against him, saying, 'Thou didst curse God and the king.' And then carry him out, and stone him, that he die."

And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who dwelt in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, according as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. And the two wicked men came in and sat before him: and the men bare witness against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, "Naboth did curse God and the king." Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, "Naboth is stoned, and is dead."

And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that she said to Ahab, "Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead."

And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that he rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

C. ELIJAH'S STARTLING SENTENCE

And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, "Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who dwelleth in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to take possession of it. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, 'Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession?' and thou shalt speak unto him, saying, 'Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.'"

And Ahab said to Elijah, "Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?"

And he answered, "I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will utterly sweep thee away, and will cut off from Ahab every man child, and him that is shut up and him that is left at large in Israel, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and hast made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, 'The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel.' Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat."

§85. The Old Prophet and the New Prophet (II Kings 2:1-15)

A. THE FAREWELL OF THE OLD PROPHET

And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, "Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me as far as Beth-el."

And Elisha said, "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee."

So they went down to Beth-el. And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, "Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to-day?"

And he said, "Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace."

And Elijah said unto him, "Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho."

And he said, "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee."

So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came near to Elisha, and said unto him, "Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to-day?"

And he answered, "Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace."

And Elijah said unto him, "Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan."

And he said, "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee."

And they two went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood over against them afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken from thee."

And Elisha said, "I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me."

And he said, "Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so."

And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, which parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof!"

B. THE NEW PROPHET

And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan. And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, "Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" and when he also had smitten the waters, they were divided hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

And when the sons of the prophets which were at Jericho over against him saw him, they said, "The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha." And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

THE MEANING OF THE STORY

313. How did the great day close after Elijah had defeated the prophets of Baal? How do you think Ahab felt about it? Elijah probably hoped to see a complete return of the people to the Lord and he expected the wicked queen Jezebel to be prevented from interfering with the prophets of the Lord.

314 (§83A). What did Ahab do when he returned home? What did Jezebel decide? Was she willing to give up her power? Elijah saw that nothing had been gained, for the wicked queen was still in control. Where did he go? Follow his journey on the map. Mention all the circumstances that would make Elijah tired out. His discouragement was largely due to his exhaustion from hunger and travel. What kind thing did the Lord do for the tired prophet?

315 (§83B). Where did Elijah go? Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai. Do you remember what great hero led the people to Sinai? (§40A.) Elijah wanted to go back to the mountain where his people had heard of the Lord. Tell the story of what happened at the cave. The Lord would show Elijah that the people could not be saved by great contests, but by gentle means. He also told him that it would take time to get rid of the idolatry. He told him three important persons would all have a part in the work, even after he was dead: who were these?

316 (§83B). Elijah was mistaken in thinking that he was the only faithful man left. How many were there? There are often more good people than we think.

317 (§83C). Tell the story of the call of Elisha.

318 (§84A). Locate Jezreel on the map. We found it before, near Mt. Carmel. King Ahab had a fine palace there, though his capital was in Samaria. But the king needed some more land to make a garden. How did he try to get it? Why would not the man sell it? We must remember that in those times a farm would sometimes remain in one family for centuries. How did Ahab behave? What did Jezebel say that she would do?

319 (§84B). A king of Israel could not do as he pleased. He was bound to respect the rights of his people. Jezebel therefore thought out a plan to have Naboth killed. What was the plan and how did it work?

320 (§84B). When Jezebel heard of the success of her plot she told the king. What did he do? What ought he to have done?

321 (§84C). The king and queen had forgotten all about Elijah. How did he suddenly appear? Imagine how frightened the king must have been when he saw the stern prophet coming to meet him in the garden. So conscience suddenly speaks when we have forgotten it. What did Elijah say?

322 (§84C). We have seen Elijah the champion of pure religion, now we see him the champion of justice. There was no one else who dare speak against the king's tyranny. Do you think he was brave? Why did not Ahab kill him?

323 (§85A). Tell the story of the last journey of Elijah and Elisha. Follow the journey on the map. Imagine the fearful mountain storm on the east of Jordan in the midst of which Elijah was carried away. Is it not a grand story of the end of such a stormy life?

324 (§85B). How did the new prophet begin his work?

WRITTEN REVIEW

Ahab, although in many respects an able king, showed himself in this incident a bully. A bully is one who does wrong to a person who is too weak to resist. There is generally a bully in every school. Is there also a hero? Write what you think a hero ought to do with a bully.