Elia ...

Montag, July 4, 2016. One of the great stories of the Old Testament is the story about the prophet Elia. He was a sincere believer, someone who tried to follow the Lord closely. And he had far reaching experiences with the mighty God. Yet, there was a time when Elia was quite tired and full of fear …

Elia ran away …

Elia had experienced the fantastic power of God, in very concrete ways, in his own life. Yet, there was a moment when he was tired, when fear came over him, and when he ran away. Here, he said:

3 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. 4 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.” 5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” 8 And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God. 9 There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19, 3ff)

Elia is running away. He is tired. And he wants to die. It is remarkable, that he comes to the point where he sees his own weakness, his own sin. “I am not better than my fathers”. How could he have thought it? Yet, it is just the same old story, which continues until today. But God is not at the end of his wisdom!

God's Provision …

Elia experiences God's provision. God comes and provides food and drink. Here, we hear about an angel. God is there with his powers, many and great powers. Elia will see much about it in the coming days and weeks. We hear that God supplies what is needed to strengthen his prophet and his people.

Elia gets food which makes him walk for 40 days and 40 nights. He walks to the mount of God. God could have talked to him everywhere. But he wanted him to walk these 40 days. The number is, of course, symbolic. It links this story to the 40 years in the desert. It links it to the 40 days which Jesus walked through the desert. It is the time of patience, of continuing walk, of prayer and activity, of God's provision, in the middle of a difficult environment. Elia had to go through it, before he was prepared to talk to the Lord, and to anoint the coming kings of Israel and Syria.

So often, we do not understand the deep ways of the Lord. He searches for a pure heart. He searches for justice, for truth, for understanding in our mind, our heart, our life. He searches patience and sincerity, joy and trust. And he is there to supply what we need. (Roland Potthast) ... more texts