Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” Then he was afraid, and he 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 broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” 1 Kings 19:1-4.

Elijah had just experienced one of the greatest victories over evil. He had conquered and destroyed the 850 prophets of Baal and the Asherah (1 Kings 18:19). He had led a great spiritual victory to deliver Israel from false religion. He experienced the power of God in a remarkable and unprecedented manner when God unleashed fire from heaven to consume a soaking wet sacrifice to prove that he alone was the true God (1 Kings 18:38-39). The result was a true picture of spiritual revival with the people of Israel.

But all it took was one bad review and Elijah was emotionally and spiritually destroyed (1 Kings 19:1-2). Elijah had outrun Ahab to Jezreel (which is just south of Nazareth – 1 Kings 18:45-46). Ahab blurted out to Jezebel of the disaster that befell their prophets. This overwhelming defeat incited a rage in Jezebel of epic proportions. She literally had a temper-tantrum and threatened to kill Elijah for his intrusive disruption of their power and control. She swears and oath to destroy him in 24 hours. The threat was ominous and dark. Elijah had lit a fireball of backlash for doing God’s work and setting Israel free from the oppressive spiritual darkness they were suffocating under.

We are told Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. He went to Beersheba, left his servant there and wanders into the wilderness by himself. He then pleads with God to take his life (1 Kings 19:4). Elijah crumbles under the weight of all that upon him. It is a puzzle to know exactly what undermines this bold, confident prophet who challenged evil and yet now desires to die. Elijah faced 850 bold-faced prophets who challenged him face-to-face and now the threat of one person, Jezebel, sends him into a spiritual tailspin. From triumph to tragedy.

Somewhere Elijah loses faith. We don’t really know what crashed inside Elijah to get him to this dark place. Maybe it was a broken self-image. Maybe it was the weight of being in harm’s way. Somewhere he loses his faith and feels very alone. He still believes in God but asks Him to take his life. We know of course that getting a good night sleep, eating food and allowing God to refocus his despair to a new focus for ministry moved him from self-pity to serving.

1. We are not invincible. We have faith but we are finite human beings with a multitude of frailties. We believe in an unchangeable God and our faith is in His unchanging promises but we are frail human beings whose faith is ever changing, hopefully for the better. That being said, our walk with God is much bigger than our small bubble and sometimes we will find ourselves “over our head” in the bigger narrative of His purpose.
2. Sometimes we face things that we cannot handle. We could easily conclude that from Elijah’s experience that the key issue was his lack of faith and certainly, in part, we would be correct. It would be easy, from a distance, to see how Elijah failed and there was no reason for him to struggle. But that is naïve and tends to view life from a myopic, utopian perspective.
3. God is very patient and merciful to us in our struggles. Elijah’s struggle was not a moral one per se. He struggled with being alone, being in harm’s way and being overwhelmed with his circumstances and it crumbled his faith. It can happen. But God nurtured him through it as long as he was still willing to listen and obey what God asked him to do.

In His grace

Brad Little