When a Good Day Turns Bad
The ministry of Elijah began with an announcement of judgment upon wayward Israel. This pronouncement is introduced with an oath formula which was appropriate for the situation: “As Yahweh God of Israel lives.” By these words Elijah was asserting that Yahweh, not Baal, was the God of Israel. Furthermore, Yahweh was a living God, not a figment of vain imagination as was Baal.
In agonizing lament he cried, “I am no better than my fathers.” He had thought himself to be a special messenger of God, raised up mightily to bring the people of God to repentance. So long as he had a ray of hope that he might influence the moral and religious life in Israel, nothing was too difficult for him. Under that juniper tree, however, Elijah came to feel that his life was fruitless, that he had failed in his mission. He had accomplished no more than those prophets who had preceded him in the task of preaching (19:4).
At every other point in the ministry of this prophet, the Lord had been sending him to his destinations; Elijah, however, had left Jezreel without such a word. He had left in fear and distrust of God. So God asked the probing question, “What are you doing here?” The implication is that he had deserted his post (19:9).
Elijah did not accept censure without some self-justification. In the face of the terrible apostasy in Israel, Elijah had been very zealous for Yahweh.
Through the Horeb signs God taught Elijah an important lesson. The spectacular and dramatic have their place in God’s order of things. Most often, however, the divine program is carried forward through the still small voice which speaks to the hearts of people. While Yahweh is a God of judgment, he is also the God of mercy and grace. Elijah needed to be reminded of that fact. He needed to see that the time of fire, sword and slaughter had passed. Now the time had come to proclaim the word of Yahweh in gentle silence. The still small voice of protest would become in the course of time a powerful force; it must not be allowed to die! A successor must be chosen to carry on the work.
Elijah thought he knew best how God’s work should be done.
The three would be God’s agents of judgment upon apostate Israel. Jehu would slay those who escaped the sword of Hazael; Elisha, by the sword of the spirit, would “slay” those who escaped the physical judgment of Jehu. The two kings would create in Israel tumultuous upheavals just like the wind, earthquake and fire did at Horeb.
In a final note, Yahweh refuted Elijah’s twice-stated allegation that he alone had remained faithful to the Lord in Israel. God revealed that seven thousand still had not bowed the knee to Baal. The figure is not only a round number, it is a symbolic one as well. The still small voice had been at work in Israel; a faithful remnant was still to be found there (cf. Rom 11:5) who had not “kissed” Baal.14