Life of Elijah - Elijah's Crisis of Faith 1 Kings 19:1-9 (Sermon 13)

The Apostle James tells us that: "Elijah was a man just like us"(James 5:17)

Elijah was not some kind of super saint who had a special access to God that we don't have.

• He was a man who had weaknesses - just like us.
• He was a man who became discouraged & depressed - just like us.

• Nowhere is this seen more clearly than by contrasting 1 Kings chapters 17, 18 & 19.

There was an ABRUPT & DRAMATIC CHANGE in this man of God after Carmel:

He had challenged a whole nation, saying:

• "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him;

but if Baal is God, follow him … The god who answers by fire - he is God.".

Now we read: "Elijah was afraid and ran for his life."

"He came to a broom tree, sat under it and prayed that he might die"

"He said: 'I have had enough, Lord. Take my life'" (1 K 19:3-4).

Look at the contrast between these chapters:

• The man who was 'filled with faith'; is now 'filled with fear'.
• The man who stood alone and boldly proclaimed God's Word to an apostate nation;

Now runs away from one woman - Jezebel!

• The man who possessed an absolute assurance of victory before 850 False Prophets;

Now feels an absolute failure.

• The man who prayed for the drought to end; Now prays for his own life to end.
• The man who stood boldly on the mountain top of victory;

Now wallows in the wilderness of misery & despair!

Who could have imagined such a Sequel to the Revival of Mount Carmel!

We must ask ourselves FOUR QUESTIONS about this incident in the Life of Elijah:

FIRSTLY: Why is this incident recorded in Scripture?

SECONDLY: What was the reaction of Jezebel to the events on Mount Carmel?

THIRDLY: Why did Elijah run away from the scene of victory?

FOURTHLY: What relevance has Elijah's wilderness experience for believers today?

FIRSTLY: Why is this incident recorded in Scripture?

• It is recorded to give a true & balanced record of Elijah's Life.
• It is recorded because it is part of the honest account of the Life of Elijah.

• It is recorded so that we can profit from Elijah's experience.

Elijah was a man just like us - He didn't always live on the Mountain Top of Victory.

• After the victory of Mount Carmel, came the depression of the wilderness.
• It is written for our learning - because all believers are bound to experience the

Valley of Despondency as well as the Mountain Top of Victory!

• This chapter points us to the realism & honesty of the Word of God.
• It points to the fact that all Scripture is given by divine inspiration.

When people write about their Heroes of History, they tend to paint a beautiful picture of their triumphs & strong points, whilst conveniently ignoring their failures & weaknesses.

• Remember the TV show 'This is your life' - It always paints a glowing portrait of a person's strengths & victorious experiences!
• Their weaknesses tend to be removed from the script.
• Times of difficulty are passed over so quickly, you hardly notice them!
• The picture is given that the people are heroes who have had an absolutely fabulous life!

This is how many Preachers today look at the Christian Life!

• They preach a Gospel of Deliverance & Victory.
• They tell people: "Come to Jesus and all your problems will be over!"
• They tell people that the Christian life is a life of Joy & Peace.
• They tell people, they'll never experience unhappiness!

When Christians hear this message preached they think about their own struggles and failures and wonder if there is something terribly wrong with them.

• They think they have failed, because they are not always Victorious Christians.

- They think that Victorious Christians never get down and never become depressed.

• They think that truly mature Christians ought to have learned to trust the Lord to such an extent that they can float along on cloud nine;
• They think all we need to do is to learn the secret of what is called "The Higher Life"

However, the truth is very different:

• That kind of theology does not fit with the Word of the Living God!
• That kind of theology only gives one side of the picture.
• Certainly we can experience God's victory by faith.
• We can experience the power of God working in our lives.
• But not one of us can do that perfectly!
• We can grow in Christ and we can become more experienced at dealing with the

difficulties of life, but none of us will ever do it perfectly!

Never forget the experience of Elijah:

• Elijah experienced victory over the evil prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.
• Elijah proved the providential power of God at the Brook Kerith and at Zarephath.
• Elijah proved on Mount Carmel that "the Lord he is God".

Nevertheless, we then come to ch 19, which paints a very different picture of Elijah!

• We see one of the boldest men who ever lived wallowing in misery and ready to give up.

The Scriptures tell us the blunt truth about what happened after Carmel:

"Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and

prayed that he might die. 'I have had enough, Lord,' he said. 'Take my life.'"

Someone has said, "When God gives us a portrait of a man, he paints him warts and all."

The great Oliver Cromwell had his portrait painted.

• He instructed the painter, saying: "Don't leave out the warts."
• Cromwell had a huge wart on the end of his nose. So he said to the painter:

"Please don't leave this wart out of the picture. Paint me warts and all. Paint me as I am."

From the Preaching of those in the Victorious Christian Life brigade, it may seem that Heroes of Faith in the Old & New Testaments led a glamorous life.

• However, the Bible doesn't paint Heroes of Faith living in beds of roses.
• The Bible doesn't paint pictures of men who constantly float on cloud nine.
• The Bible paints them "Warts and all!"
• The Bible always paints human nature in its true colours.
• The Heroes of Faith are always painted faithfully & truthfully.
• Their Victories are recorded to the Glory of God;
• Their failures are also recorded openly & frankly. They are seen to be men of clay!

A W Pink says:

"The most experienced saint, if left to himself, is immediately seen to be as weak as

water and as timid as a mouse. 'Man at his best is altogether vanity' (Psalm 39:5).

Then why should it be thought a thing incredible when we read of the failings and

falls of the most favoured of God's saints and servants? Noah's drunkenness, Lot's

carnality, Abraham's prevarications, Moses' anger, Aaron's jealousy, Joshua's haste,

David's adultery, Jonah's disobedience, Peter's denial, Paul's contention with

Barnabas, are so many illustrations of the solemn truth that perfection is found in

heaven, but nowhere on earth except in the Perfect Man, Jesus."

We are considering FOUR QUESTIONS about this incident in the Life of Elijah:

FIRSTLY: Why is this incident recorded in Scripture?

• It is recorded to give a true & balanced record of Elijah's Life;
• It is recorded so that we can profit from Elijah's experience!

- It is there to teach us that believers face times of depression as well as times of victory.

SECONDLY: We must ask ourselves the QUESTION -

The answer to this question gives us a crucial insight into the mind of Elijah;

It was Jezebel's reaction to Mt Carmel, which triggered off Elijah's time of depression.

"Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the

prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, 'May the

gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your

life like that of one of them.' Elijah was afraid and ran for his life" (1 K 19:1-3).

When we look at the events of Carmel we marvel at the Sovereign Power of God.

• Only the Living God had the power to send down fire from heaven!
• Only Jehovah could answer Elijah's challenge - the God who answers by fire, he is God!

We marvel how God sent rain in answer to Elijah's Private Prayer on Carmel!

• It causes us to long for Showers of Blessing from Almighty God!

However, the REACTION of evil Queen Jezebel was very different.

King Ahab said to his evil wife, Jezebel (1 K 19:1):

"Let me tell you what Elijah has done and how he killed all the prophets of Baal"

Remember the REACTION of Ahab after 3 1/2 years of drought:

• Ahab asked Elijah the question: "Are you the troubler of Israel?" (18:17)
• He had no concern for his own wickedness & apostacy!

After seeing the Lord sending Fire & Rain from heaven, his is opinion hasn't changed:

"Ahab told Jezebel what Elijah had done." - It was still Elijah's fault!

In her furious rage Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah - threatening to kill him:

Jezebel's reaction contains no mention of God.

• The God who had sent Fire & Rain is left out of her thinking.
• God has no place in the thoughts of the wicked!

Instead of being amazed at God's Power, Ahab & Jezebel HARDENED their HEARTS!

• Their hearts were full of unbelief & evil thoughts against God and his servant Elijah.
• Instead of humbling themselves and bowing the knee to Jehovah,

they remained in their sin, they remained proud & arrogant.

• They continued to show contempt for the Word of the Living God.
• They hardened their hearts and refused to repent of their wickedness & apostacy.

Jezebel reacted to the events of Mount Carmel by seeking VENGEANCE on Elijah.

• She believed that Baal was the Sovereign Lord of the universe.
• Her pride was hurt when she heard how the people shouted: "The Lord, he is God."
• She was angry because Baal, the god of fire, failed to send fire to vindicate himself!
• Her anger increased when she heard how the Fire of the Lord consumed Elijah's sacrifice
• Her anger was even greater when she heard how Elijah slaughtered Baal's prophets.

For Jezebel, there was only one thing to be done - Elijah must be killed at once!

• Repentance never even entered her thinking.
• Revenge for the death of the prophets of Baal was the only thing on her mind.
• Above everything else, the name of Baal must be vindicated.
• Jezebel wanted vengeance because of the death of Baal's prophets.

Jezebel was BLIND to the work of the Sovereign Lord, Jehovah:

• She failed to see that Elijah was an instrument in the hand of the Almighty God.
• She failed to see how God revealed his power through the fire & rain!
• She preferred to hear the Devil, saying: "Elijah has done everything on Carmel."
• She allowed Satan to fan the flames of anger, resentment & hatred in her heart.
• Her one thought was to seek vengeance by killing Elijah, the prophet of Jehovah.

We are considering FOUR QUESTIONS about this incident in the Life of Elijah:

FIRSTLY: Why is this incident recorded in Scripture?

• It is recorded to give a true & balanced record of Elijah's Life.

- It is there to teach us that believers face times of depression as well as times of victory.

SECONDLY: What was the reaction of Jezebel to the events on Mount Carmel?

• Her reaction was to harden her heart against the Living God and to

seek vengeance by killing Elijah, because he had slaughtered the prophets of Baal.

THIRDLY: We must ask ourselves the QUESTION

Why did Elijah run away from the scene of victory?

Elijah ran ahead of Ahab's chariot from Carmel all the way to Jezreel (18:46)

• We don't know exactly what he was thinking about as he ran to Jezreel.
• No doubt he was thinking about the glorious victory on Mount Carmel.
• It is unlikely that Elijah thought Carmel would cause Jezebel to admit Baal's failure.
• However, he may have hoped that Ahab would repent of his wickedness & apostacy.
• He may have hoped that Ahab would not allow Jezebel to impose Baal worship on Israel.

The reaction of Ahab & Jezebel soon dashed these thoughts to pieces.

• Ahab still blamed Elijah for the drought and for killing the prophets of Baal.
• Jezebel flew into a rage and threatened to kill Elijah, just as he had killed the prophets.

We could have predicted the reaction of Ahab & Jezebel:

• The wicked never want to admit their sin before the Lord,

unless the Lord first begins the work of grace in their hearts.

However, we could never have predicted the reaction of Elijah!

- Had the Lord not preserved & protected him at Kerith & Zarephath?

• Had the Lord not protected him for 3 1/2 years as Jezebel sought to find him & kill him?
• Had he not stood alone on Carmel before a whole nation, without a trace of fear?
• He knew for a certain fact that God had the power to protect him against Jezebel!

Nevertheless, we cannot get away from the facts of Scripture:

"Elijah was afraid and ran for his life … He prayed that he might die.

He said, 'I have had enough, Lord. Take my life'"(v3-4)

This fear is only a symptom of a much deeper problem:

- It is quite obvious that Elijah was tired of the struggle against wickedness & apostacy.

• This is the language of a man who was thoroughly depressed.
• After the victory of Mount Carmel, he now came to a major setback.

• Because of the reaction of Ahab & Jezebel he couldn't see any way forward.
• As far as he was concerned the struggle against wickedness and apostacy would continue.
• As a result he felt very lonely and extremely depressed.

Roger Ellsworth says:

"Elijah may well have reasoned something like this: 'If a fireball from heaven and a

heavy rain doesn't make Jezebel see the light, nothing can.' His basic problem was

that the wanted Mount Carmel to bring an end to the struggle, and it did not. Although

it was an astounding display of God's glory and power, it failed to usher in Utopia."

The problem was, Elijah looked at the sequel to Carmel through human eyes.

• He thought of God as if he were contending with the forces of evil like a human being.
• He looked at the power of Ahab & Jezebel and felt there were no prospects of victory.
• He looked at the future and saw uncertainty & a continuation of wickedness & apostacy.

Dr Lloyd-Jones, in his book Spiritual Depression, gave several reasons for Depression:

He refers to people's natural temperaments & physical conditions; He mentions the

onslaughts of the Devil & unbelief. He also said: "Another frequent cause of

spiritual depression is what we may describe as a reaction - a reaction after a great

blessing, a reaction after some unusual and exceptional experience."

This was the cause of Elijah's depression - it was a reaction after a great blessing.

• Elijah had an exceptional experience of God's power & blessing on Mount Carmel.
• But, Ahab & Jezebel hardened their hearts & refused to acknowledge God's Sovereignty.
• Elijah reacted by saying: "I have had enough, Lord. Take my life."
• After the victory of Carmel, Elijah reacted to the rejection of Ahab & Jezebel.

Try and think about Elijah's state of mind at this time:

• All his conduct shows how a dark cloud of depression hung over his soul.
• The man who boldly stood before a whole nation suddenly became full of fear.
• The one who stood before a host of false prophets, ran away from one woman.
• He wanted to be alone to reflect in morbid introspection, he wanted to die in the desert.
• He felt he was useless, saying: "I am no better than my ancestors."
• I have failed to turn this King & Queen back to the Living God, Yahweh.

Everything he said & did indicates a discouraged and dejected state of mind.

• He was perplexed about his vocation - He felt his labours were fruitless.
• All his labours had come to nothing - He'd had enough and wanted to give in.

• His soul was in turmoil - he lay in the midst of a thousand doubts.
• He felt a weariness of both body & soul - he longed for rest - So he said to the Lord:

Every thought he had seemed to force him into an even deeper state of depression.

• He felt like a tiny cobble being buffeted about by a raging sea.
• He was in a bottomless pit of turmoil, with no way out.
• There seemed to be only one small step between him and absolute madness.
• He said: "I have had enough Lord. Take my life! Let me die and escape this madness."

We are considering FOUR QUESTIONS about this incident in the Life of Elijah:

FIRSTLY: Why is this incident recorded in Scripture?

• It is recorded to give a true & balanced record of Elijah's Life.
• It is there to teach us that believers face times of depression as well as times of victory.

SECONDLY: What was the reaction of Jezebel to the events on Mount Carmel?

• Her reaction was to harden her heart against the Living God and to

seek vengeance by killing Elijah, because he had slaughtered the prophets of Baal.

THIRDLY: Why did Elijah run away from the scene of victory?

• On the surface of things, he ran away because he was afraid that Jezebel would kill him
• At a deeper level, he ran away because he had had enough of the struggle against evil.
• He became depressed as a reaction after a time of great of blessing.

FOURTHLY: We must ask ourselves the QUESTION

Elijah was a mighty man of God, who did great exploits in the name of God.

But, we must never lose sight of the fact that: "Elijah was a man just like us" (James 5:17).

• From Elijah's Life it clear that all believers can expect times of Victory & Depression.

• Furthermore, Elijah was not the only man to suffer from Spiritual Depression.

• It is a common occurrence among great men of God.

Dr Lloyd-Jones said:

"It seems to be a condition which has afflicted God's people right from the beginning,

for you find it described and dealt with in the Old Testament and in the New."

Think of Abraham, who is known as an outstanding man of faith:

God said: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward …

Look at the heavens and count the stars … so shall your offspring be" (Gen 15:1-5).

Immediately afterwards, we read: "As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep

sleep, and a thick & dreadful darkness came over him" (Genesis 15:12)

Remember how the Israelites constantly brought their complaints to Moses (Num 11).

• The people said: "If only we had meat to eat …we never see anything but this manna"

Moses cried out to the Lord, saying (Numbers 11:11-15):

Job, in his deep state of depression, cried out (Job 17:7 & 19:8):

"My eyes have grown dim with grief; my whole frame is but a shadow … He has

blocked my way so I cannot pass; he has shrouded my path with darkness"

Remember the cry of anguish & depression expressed by the Psalmist, saying:

"Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in

God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour & my God. My soul is downcast within

me … Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers

have swept over me" (Psalm 42:5-7).

The Psalmist gives an account of the great agony of soul through which he was passing:

The Psalmist expresses the thirst of his soul for the Living God.

• It is the cry of a man who has been deprived of worship in God's House.
• He is deeply depressed because he has a feeling of separation from God.
• It is the cry of a man in a state of depression, longing for renewal of the Divine presence.
• His soul seemed drowned as in a universal deluge of trouble.
• He feels that, almost at any moment, he will be completely submerged.
• He thought that every trouble in the world had met in him.

The old theologians used to speak of this experience as "The God who is hidden."

John of the Cross, a Spanish mystic poet, wrote in 1542 concerning:

"The dark night of the soul."

• This tells us that saints down through the ages have trod this dark road before me and you
• They felt a sense of isolation & desolation. They felt cut off from God!
• They felt as though they were going through a dark tunnel with no light at the end.
• Their Spiritual Depression was a very real experience.

C H Spurgeon, along with many others, often experienced times of Spiritual Depression.

Dr Lloyd-Jones says:

"It is a known fact that certain physical ailments tend to promote depression. That

great man Spurgeon was subject to Spiritual Depression, and the main explanation in

his case was undoubtedly the fact that he suffered from a gouty condition which

finally killed him. A tendency to acute depression is an unfailing accompaniment of

the gout that he inherited from his forbears …There can be no doubt but that the

condition known as Spiritual Depression is a very common complaint, indeed the

more one thinks about it, the more one discovers how common it is."

In our own day some believers say that Spiritual Depression is not a Biblical experience;

• The Holiness Movement suggest that the 2^nd Blessing deals with depression once for all.
• Advocates of the Victorious Christian Life suggest that, even if this experience is a reality, we should never speak about it, because it discourages new Christians.

One of the problems is the pressure placed on Evangelical Christians to

claim that everything is triumphant:

• It is claimed that everything is so wonderful & glorious in the Christian Life;
• One would almost think that Christians are not allowed to have any problems.

The honest truth is that there is a down-side to the Christian Life.

• Christians are not immune from Depression.
• Indeed, the fight against sin and the Devil make us more prone to Depression!

It is inevitable that ALL BELIEVERS will face times of Spiritual Depression!

• We should never be surprised when we hear of fellow-believers being depressed!
• We all have times when the soul is like the Sahara Desert - dry & barren & lifeless.

If people are honest with themselves, all must admit to having times of depression

• Both the Scriptures & Experience tell us that Spiritual Depression is part and parcel of the Normal Christian Life.
• In fact, every Christian can surely expect to go through such times.

The Life of Elijah makes it clear that both Victory & Depression are Valid Experiences:

• On Carmel, when his servant saw a cloud the size of a man's hand,

Elijah's faith saw an abundance of rain.

• Now he sees his soul under the blackest cloud he'd ever seen.
• He couldn't see the slightest glimmer of light, not even the flicker of the smallest candle.

There is no doubt that, from time to time, we'll be compelled to say with the Psalmist:

draws near the grave. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like a

man without strength. I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave,

whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care" (Psalm 88:1-5).

• At times we'll feel that our soul is full of trouble, without any sense of joy or peace;
• We'll feel that we are in a deep pit of depression, with no way out of it;
• We'll feel cut off from the loving care of our Heavenly Father.
• We'll certainly not feel victorious at such a time as this.

I urge you NOT to take this sermon OUT of CONTEXT.

• The Christian Life isn't all doom & gloom.
• The Christian Life does not consist of one long time of depression & despondency.
• Don't forget the previous emphasis on Revival & Showers of Blessing.

The point is that we can EXPECT BOTH blessing & depression.

• Indeed, times of depression invariably take place after times of blessing.

Roger Ellsworth says:

"We mustn't fall into the trap of thinking that Revival will solve all our problems.

Evil still remains and one of the things a Revival always does is to stir up the forces

of evil so that they unleash more hostility against the Church than ever before.

Christians, like Elijah, sometimes get so tired of the struggle against evil that

we will do almost anything to see an end to it. We are told to 'stop trying and start

trusting', or to 'cross over into Canaan', or to 'seek the baptism of the Spirit' and the

struggle will be over. The harsh reality Christians must face is that we will never

get beyond struggling with the forces of Satan in this life. Even if a great Revival

breaks out, the struggle will not go away but may even be intensified."

It would be an extremely sad thing if the story of Elijah were to end in this way.

• Thank God for his grace, love & mercy!
• Thank God that his grace enabled Elijah to be victorious over depression & despair.

NEXT TIME we will look at how God ministered to the needs of Elijah at

a time of deep depression

We must ask ourselves the QUESTION

What is God's antidote to depression?

We have considered FOUR QUESTIONS about this incident in the Life of Elijah:

FIRSTLY: Why is this incident recorded in Scripture?

• It is recorded to give a true & balanced record of Elijah's Life.
• It is there to teach us that believers face times of depression as well as times of victory.

SECONDLY: What was the reaction of Jezebel to the events on Mount Carmel?

• Her reaction was to harden her heart against the Living God and to

seek vengeance by killing Elijah, because he had slaughtered the prophets of Baal.

THIRDLY: Why did Elijah run away from the scene of victory?

• On the surface of things, he ran away because he was afraid that Jezebel would kill him
• At a deeper level, he ran away because he had had enough of the struggle against evil.
• He became depressed as a reaction after a time of great of blessing.

FOURTHLY: We must ask ourselves the QUESTION

• We learn that Spiritual Depression is a Valid Christian Experience

• We learn that we cannot expect to always live a Victorious Christian Life.

• Both the Scriptures & Experience tell us that Spiritual Depression is part and parcel of the Normal Christian Life.