THE HELMET, SWORD&SHIELD

"He Went the Wrong Way"

“And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.”

1 Kings 19:3 (KJV)

In the Lord’s prompt, soul-stirring, deeply probing question of inquiry addressed to His despondent servant later in verse 19 , we observe that the Lord had sternly emphasized point that Elijah’s actions in this stance; however sincere, determined; and albeit miraculously sustained, were deemed by holy decree as unacceptable and unapproved.

In other words, in essence the Lord affirmed that his actions were the product of self-will and not Spirit directed. They were inspired by emotionally terrifying fear and not stabilizing and enabling faith.
No where in the details of the holy narrative do we note that he took the time to seek the will of God in this crucial crisis matter. And indeed, it was a serious situation to be confronted by a viable death threat that was issued by the wife of the highest government official in the land.

But, unlike His actions in the past, on this occasion Elijah made no attempt to wait for instructions and direction from Heaven. The holy record simply described: “And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.” (v.3)

Now clearly, he had been recently fully and intensely engaged in fierce confrontation with the rivals of righteousness at the highest levels. And too, at any level of spiritual conflict we will find ourselves completely spiritually and physically taxed by the very nature of the engulfing ordeal.

On Mt. Carmel, through the direction and power of the Spirit of God, Elijah had faced off in open public contest with the 850 prophets of Queen Jezebel.

Regarding these wicked spiritual foes, Scripture cited the nature of their close associated of the supreme power brokers in the land in 1 Kings 18:19: “Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table.”

In other words, they had strong political ties with the royal court. Hence, we can conclude that any spiritual contest with them would directly involve confrontation with those (i.e. Ahab & Jezebel) who fully supported them.

Thus, here we observe a model example of the true nature of the conflict. The true reality of the matter is distinctly profiled in Ephesians 6:12 that details for us: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

This earthly rival confrontation between the prophet Elijah and the wicked royal court of King Ahab was merely the visible representation of the background spiritual struggle between “good and evil.”
The two counter and clashing perspectives of both parties are plainly seen in the text of 1 Kings 18:17-18, where we read: “And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.”

Here we should also be reminded of the imminent threat that we will potentially face by standing faithful, and dutifully serving the Lord.

But although we typically ignore this biblical truth that pertains to every generation of “the redeemed,” the Lord Jesus fully warned and disclosed to the Disciples (and us) in Matthew 10:16-18: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.”

Hence we should understand that if we faithfully serve the Lord in the same manner of Elijah, we should fully expect at some point and some degree to experience the same type of serious, potentially life threatening encounter as well.

IN THE SHADOW OF SPIRITUAL VICTORY

Although wonderfully glorious and fully vindicating, the public defeat and subsequent execution of the 850 prophets of Jezebel through the directing actions of the Lord’s faithful servant was truly no small matter.

Unquestionably, this was significant blow and crippling setback to the national agenda of evil that had been intricately devised and subtly orchestrated by the wicked queen – the true power (i.e. wickedly persuasive and manipulatively influential) broker on the throne.

Thus, we must honestly concede that Elijah had every reason to believe that she had the power to implement the terrifying threat that had been issued by way of the royal courier. Despite suffering a great loss, she had unflinchingly, brashly and fearlessly stressed to the prophet: “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.”

Consequently, this message had unwittingly exposed the “chink” or open area in the heart-armor worn by the prophet. Apparently, Elijah was prepared to contend with the mass assault of open failing swords, spears and arrows; however, his heart was totally vulnerable to the invisible personal attack of the stabbing “dagger of words” that the Queen had unleashed against him.

When we were younger, perhaps many of us remember the false premise cited by the childhood phrase regarding the affect of words in the classic phrase regarding “sticks and stones.” In others, we were declaring that mere “words” had no power against us. However, the more mature we become, clearly recognize that statement to be completely inaccurate.

Without question, words possess immense power. They can deeply wound and even destroy us at the very core of our souls. This is a common reality that is clearly visible in level of litigation we observe in present culture that revolving around actions of public slander or character deformation by words.

In reference to this extremely important point James 3:5-6 rightly detailed: “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.”

Indeed, like Elijah, many of us are painfully aware that this is absolutely true.

THE INSTINCT OF SELF PRESERVATION

Elijah’s response to the message of Queen Jezebel was an action of self preservation. However, before we begin to level criticism at him, it behooves us to examine our own reactions of self preservation. We cannot dismiss the fact that the instinct of self preservation is a powerful force of motivation in our lives.

That is, instinctively we prone to respond in many ways in order to protect ourselves. But again, this normal tendency is the very issue being addressed at this stage of the biblical narrative.

Just as we have also done in many instances, when Elijah heard this serious threat against his life, instantly he took matters into his own hands. The keynote text plainly detailed: “And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.” (v.3)

Again, we do not anyone to interpret his actions for us because we are personally intimately familiar with them. Yet, we must firmly conclude that it was the wrong response; not because of our own opinion, but because the Lord ultimately declared it to be so.

Elijah had responded by immediately abandoning his post of duty. He promptly went in the wrong direction.

We might believe this conclusion to be an over simplification of the situation; yet the testimony of Scripture solemnly warns us that when we hastily act to preserve ourselves by our own means (i.e. contrary to Spirit-led direction); likewise, we are equally guilty of the same transgression, despite the specifics of the circumstances we may be responding to.

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“Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.” Malachi 3:16

"He Went the Wrong Way"

“And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.”

1 Kings 19:3 (KJV)

IN THE SHADOW OF SPIRITUAL VICTORY

THE INSTINCT OF SELF PRESERVATION

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