For 40 Days – Day 23: Man’s End: Concepts

Key Episode Scripture: 1 Kings chapters 18 and 19 and 2 Kings chapter 2

“Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” (1 Kings 19:15-18 ESVUK)

You’ve done all you can to impress upon God’s chosen people that they need to worship God alone. Your efforts are met with momentary revival and eventual apathy. Your life is then on the line when the ruling authority puts out a hit on you. Is it all worth it?

We’ve considered the context of the episode. In the previous entry, we outlined the content. Elijah’s close encounter of the divine kind that follows experiencing great heights and depths in service to God has some key concepts to help us understand.

God Knows and Cares

Whether it’s the drought or His people’s spiritual adultery, whether it’s feeding a prophet or cleaning polluted water in a village, throughout this episode, it is clear that God cares. God cares about the state of His people and provides for their needs. God gives every opportunity for people to know that the true God can be trusted to discipline the rebellious and restore the wanderers. That He does this from a position of knowing what’s going on proves to be reinvigorating and reassuring.

These aspects of His character are key concepts that underpin His relationship with His creation. He knows – He is not ignorant about injustices and iniquities. He is not overlooking the suffering of His people as though it doesn’t matter to Him. His character on display indicates that the welfare of His creation matters to Him.

Signs Matter and Don’t Matter

The thing about signs is that they are there to indicate the direction, but they don’t force observers to pay attention and obey. From the time God called Abram to leave his home to this point, there have been ample signs to indicate who God is and how He operates. Every time He showed Himself strong on their behalf, it clearly indicated these truths. The contest at Mt Carmel is another pivotal episode, especially in the bid to return the people’s hearts to Him. Those signs matter and are recorded – there can be no doubt that God did these things …

… But for all that, what did it matter if it wouldn’t take much for the people to fall back into the issues that got them into trouble in the first place? There is ample evidence throughout scripture that it is not the signs themselves that give the assurance of faith. It is a commitment to the character of God and that desire to follow Him, whether there are signs or not, that matters.

The Prophet, The Prophetic and the Sons of the Prophets

God communicates. He’s been a communicator since before creation, and the concept of communication for His creatures comes from Him. How He communicates is fascinating. The role of the prophet is to be His spokesperson. His communicators certainly operate in communicating by words but are also equipped and empowered to communicate in action. God sponsors the words and actions.

The nature of how God communicates through the prophet reveals who He is and how He operates. This was something recognised even by the rebellious northern kingdom of Israel. Despite their spiritual adultery, they had significant communication from God through the prophets in a bid to return them to God. This responsibility spawned followers keen to learn more about the prophetic from those called to this role. This was a community of followers learning from the prophets and the word of God to know Him and how His word shapes lives for His glory.

Serving to Succeed

God’s conversation with Elijah touches on a prevalent concept throughout scripture. God loves servants. He encounters Moses as he’s serving. He anoints David as king and then sends him to serve. It’s no surprise, then, that when it comes to the replacement for Elijah, that replacement has a servant mentality. Elisha shows this in what he’s doing when Elijah is doing when he meets him. He shows it when he receives the call, as seen in his interaction with his people. He then submits himself and develops a reputation for being the man who serves Elijah.

God trusts servants to serve when He calls them. The act of service and servanthood is the hallmark that distinguishes those who follow Him from other pursuits that are often set up to be the quest of selfish ambition to be top dogs and get to look down on others. Jesus, the epitome of what the Father had in mind, came to serve and not be served and obeyed instructions from God, which led to His crucifixion and resurrection. There is a responsibility to lead others, but even this leading is through the example and character of a servant.

The Mission Continues

God has a special relationship with Elijah. This is indicated in the responsibility to call for the nation’s drought’s start and end. This is indicated in the task of setting up the contest that would give the stinging defeat to the false gods of the day. This is indicated in the call to set things up to continue the blows to those who oppose God. This is especially indicated in what God does with him at the end. Special though that relationship is, God uses the sensitive occasion of a close encounter at His mountain to inform Elijah that the mission continues. Elijah is allowed to be overwhelmed with a sense that he’s the only one, and it appears like a thankless task that will end when he dies. Elijah is allowed to feel that way. God engages with that to point out the bigger picture. Namely, the mission isn’t totally dependent on man; man’s schemes do not hinder it, the machinations of man do not halt it, and it’s not stopped in its tracks even if great persecution is inflicted on his people. Not only does the mission continue, but as God instructs, the mission is renewed and regenerated with those fit for the next stage.

Next, we will reach some conclusions about what we can learn from the story of Elijah reaching his end and launching a new season of God’s mission.

For His Name’s Sake

C. L. J. Dryden

Shalom