Newsletter October 2021 Part 2

Ready?

 “What are you doing here, Elijah?” God asked the prophet in a gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:13).  Elijah had just experienced his greatest triumph.  On Mount Carmel, he had challenged the forces of evil before the whole nation and had seen the fire of God come from heaven to consume the sacrifice he had prepared.  Seeing this, the people had turned back to God and had slaughtered the priests of Baal.  Immediately, God had opened the skies and had sent rain on the parched land of Israel.  However, one threat from Queen Jezebel had caused him to flee into the desert and to Mount Horeb, where he now sat, wishing to die.

     All Elijah could see at this moment in time was himself and his situation.  He told God how he alone had been zealous for Him, and how everybody else was serving Baal and was therefore out to kill him.  With his eyes on himself and his situation, he apparently forgot that God had demonstrated His sovereign power at Mount Carmel and that, as a result, thousands had turned back to Him.  It is easy for us too to lose sight of God’s purpose, to think like Elijah that we are the only ones left serving Him.  Like Elijah, we may be looking for some comforting words, a pat on the shoulder and a “well done, my good and faithful servant.” 

     After we have experienced God’s power in a special way the enemy will seek to intimidate us and to rob us of the blessings we have just received.  It is then easy to lose sight of God’s greatness and His calling for our lives, and to shift our focus onto the issues that suddenly confront us.  In these situations, we need to find a place where we can once again hear the gentle whisper of God, reminding us that He is always in control. 

     God’s reply to Elijah is not quite what the prophet would have expected: He tells Elijah that there are seven thousand others.  Those seven thousand may not have stood in the limelight of Mount Carmel (yet), but they love God and refused to bow to Baal or to be intimidated by his followers.  And one of these people is Elisha son of Shaphat. 

     So God sends this great prophet on a final mission.  He instructs him to anoint Hazael King over Aram, Jehu King over Israel, and Elisha to succeed him as prophet (vv. 15-16).  Elijah obeys God’s instructions and finds Elisha ploughing a field.  He throws his cloak, a symbol of the anointing, around Elisha and calls him to follow.  Elisha immediately leaves his oxen and plough and runs after Elijah.  Then, however, he asks the prophet for permission to kiss his family good-bye.  For a moment, Elijah must have questioned whether God had sent him to the right person, for no-one who puts his hand to [God’s] plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62).  Hence his reply, “Go back.  What have I done to you?” (v.20) 

     Little does Elijah know that Elisha’s reason for going back is to burn his bridges: he goes to kill the oxen with which he had been ploughing, and cooks them over a fire made with his ploughing equipment.  Elisha hears God’s call and is willing to leave everything in order to answer that call.  And he is willing to follow on God’s terms.  He faithfully serves Elijah until the day when his master is taken up to heaven and the cloak of God’s anointing finally passes on to him.

     God is never anxious about His purpose.  He never loses the plot.  He alone has the overall picture.  He knows what He is doing, and He will always find someone who is willing to leave what they are doing to answer His call and to be faithful to his purpose.   God is challenging every one of us to be that person.  What will our response be?                                       

Pastor Konrad