2nd of the 8th month 2020/2021
Shalom all,
As part of this week’s Torah portion readings, we will be reading from Melaḵim Aleph/1 Kings 19, which gives us the account of Ěliyahu running into the wilderness, in order to flee from the threats of Izeḇel.
As we take a closer look at these events, we are able to learn some very valuable lessons, in order to encourage us to keep fighting the good fight of the belief and not back down, or hide, from our need to be bold and stand firm, in our duty of being a trustworthy ambassador of the reign of Messiah.
In a message called, ‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?’, I would like to take a closer look at these events that we have recorded for us, here in Melaḵim Aleph/1 Kings 19, as we all can relate, I am sure, in seeing how piercing this question can be, at certain times in our lives, especially when facing some tough trials and pressures, that call for steadfast endurance and courage to hold firm to our stand and calling in our Beloved Master and Elohim!
How many of you have ever said, or thought, these, or similar, words?
“That’s it, I’ve had it, I can’t take it anymore, I have had enough יהוה, I can’t go on”
Familiar words, I am sure, that many of us have felt, or even used more than once in our lives.
As we consider the major themes of the past few weeks Torah portions that we have been going through, from Bemiḏbar/Numbers, which is that of being encouraged to not be a grumbling people, as well as to be on guard against the teachings of delusion, it can often become a very tiring walk of belief, as we find ourselves having to continually stand and fight the good fight, not only in our own lives, as individuals in dealing with many fearsome doubts and fears that come our way, but also, in our bold witnessing before others, who do not believe like we do, even close family members who continually stand against what we are persistently proclaiming.
We may all have the great zeal and desire for יהוה, yet that intense zeal can often lead us to a lonely place of feeling like we are the only ones who actually feel this passionate zeal to walk in the Truth and, as a result, at times, we may feel like we are facing a ‘burnout’, so to speak, under the seemingly real threats of the enemies consistent charges against us, for simply just standing for the truth!
Ever feel like that?
Or, you find that you are doing everything you know to be right and true, yet you somehow feel like you are getting nowhere fast!!!
As we consider the events of Melaḵim Aleph/1 Kings 19, and look at the account of a great man and prophet of Elohim, we can certainly learn from his experience of being under the fear of being alone, in his zealous obedience for Elohim.
Before proceeding further with these notes, please read Melaḵim Aleph/1 Kings 19, before we take a closer look at the details around Ěliyahu being on the run…
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 18:10 “The Name of יהוה is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe.”
This proverb is one that many may find themselves quoting, and despite this being a vital truth to hold fast to, many find themselves running in fear of the enemies threatening advances and often find it hard to feel safe and secure as they should, in the presence of our Master and Elohim, who is our refuge and strength!
In this message, I want us to look at Ěliyahu and his shattered state in wanting to give up.
This valiant prophet was gripped with fear, and at this point in his life, he is but just a shadow of the man that he had just been.
We find him coming to a “broom tree” and, in despair, he is praying that he might die!
It appears that his past miracles, that he had accomplished by the Spirit of Elohim, had somehow been erased from his short-term memory.
He was exhausted, as the burning flames of his zealous belief have somehow been extinguished by his emotional handicaps.
He had now plunged himself to the point of being pathetic; where all hope has seemingly been lost and, being broken by an intense fear, he prays to the Elohim of life… for what… his death!
His confidence had been crippled and all that was left, in his mind and the fleshly estimation of his circumstances, was emptiness, darkness and gloom.
The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘broom tree’ is רֹתֶם rothem – Strong’s H7574 which is a broom plant or shrub and is also thought to be a juniper tree. This shrubs/tree is a desert shade bush or shrub that can grow large, with a bitter, possibly toxic root.
It is the finest and most striking shrub of the Arabian desert, which grows constantly in the beds of streams and in the valleys, where weary travelers could find places of encampment and they were frequently selected because of the shelter, which they would bring by night, as a protection from the from the wind and give shade and protection from the sun by day.
What is worth taking note of, is that a word that is derived from this noun, is the name of the place that was the 14th stop/departure point in Yisra’ĕl’s Wilderness journey, which was רִתְמָה Rithmah – Strong’s H7575 which means, “heath” or ‘binding’ – in other words: a place of joining together!
A ‘heath’ is a tract of wasteland or an extensive area of rather level open uncultivated land, usually with poor coarse soil, inferior drainage, and a surface rich in peat or peaty humus.
While we do not have much information on this place, what we can learn from the fleeing of Eliyahu, is that he was one who was extremely ardent for Elohim and fled to the place where he could be joined to Elohim, so to speak. He was fleeing from one who had already killed many prophets of Elohim and after having killed her prophets, Eliyahu ran for his life and came to a place where he could find some shelter and rest.
The question you have to ask yourself here at רִתְמָה Rithmah – Strong’s H7575 is:
“whose report will you believe and to whom will you be joined together?”
Do not be yoked with unbelievers!
We are to be built up in unity of our faith in Messiah who has gone before us, let us not unite with the false report, but be joined with the True body of Messiah!
Eph’siyim/Ephesians 2:19-22 “So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the set-apart ones and members of the household of Elohim, 20 having been built upon the foundation of the emissaries and prophets, יהושע Messiah Himself being chief corner-stone, 21 in whom all the building, being joined together, grows into a set-apart Dwelling Place in יהוה, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of Elohim in the Spirit.”
As we maintain the truth in love and grow up in all respects, into Him who is the Head, Messiah, we are joined together by what every joint supplies… we need each other, as we become one in Him and so, it is of vital importance that we make every effort to keep the fellowship of the set-apart ones, growing in intimacy in every area of our lives and not yoke ourselves to unbelievers, as this will only cause a ‘disjointing’ to occur.
It is hard to believe that this same man of Elohim, Ěliyahu the Tishbite, who had stood boldly before Aḥaḇ, the wicked sovereign of the House of Yisra’ěl, and called for a drought for 3 ½ years, was running for his life.
This was a man who had been fed by ravens and drank from the stream, when he did according to the Word of יהוה, and dwelt by the wadi Kerith. And when the stream dried up because of the drought that he had called for, he went to Tsarephath, according to the Word of יהוה and was sustained by a widow, according to יהוה’s command (Melaḵim Aleph/1Kings 17).
He was the bold and courageous man of Elohim who told the widow from Tsarephath to not be afraid and he brought her son back to life. And now, here in Chapter 19, we find him in this state of panic and fear.
This same man of Elohim had defeated and killed 450 prophets of Ba‘al.
He had called down fire from heaven, which consumed 104 men.
This same Ěliyahu is the one who had appeared, with Mosheh, to Kěpha, and Yaʽaqoḇ, and Yoḥanan, when יהושע was transformed before them on a high mountain.
The point I am trying to make, is simply this: no matter how great you are, or have been, in the Master, you will still have some bad days!
I would like to look at this account of Ěliyahu, who, having just experienced such a great victory, in destroying Ba‘al worship, is found to be running for his life, at the threat of a wicked woman!
Before we look at these events, we must understand what had led to this moment of fear, and who it was that he was running from.
Izeḇel had issued a threat upon his life, as Aḥaḇ had just come and reported to her what had taken place at the showdown on Mount Karmel, which she did not get to see first-hand.
Aḥaḇ reigned over Yisra’ěl for twenty-two years and in Melaḵim Aleph/1 Kings 16:30 we are clearly told that he, “did evil in the eyes of יהוה, more than all those before him.”
He went and married Izeḇel, daughter of Ethba‛al, sovereign of the Tsiḏonians, and he then went and served Ba’al and bowed himself to it and then raised up a slaughter-place for Ba‛al in the house of Ba‛al, which he had built in Shomeron. Izeḇel was known as an evil woman, who brought Ba‘al worship to Yisra’ĕl.
She was the real power behind the throne.
They teamed up in their wicked terror. Melaḵim Aleph/1 Kings 16:33 tells us that Aḥaḇ “did more to provoke יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl than all the sovereigns of Yisra’ĕl before him.”
The name of אִיזֶבֶל Izeḇel – Strong’s H348 means, ‘Ba‘al exalts or Ba‘al is husband’ and can also carry the meaning ‘unchaste’, which means ‘lacking in purity and integrity’.
She was a very wicked woman, and the spirit of Izeḇel (Jezebel) must not be tolerated at all by the children of Yisra’ĕl.
By Aḥaḇ marrying her, we are able to certainly see being highlighted for us, the state of the depravity of Yisra’ĕl, who had whored after Ba‘al, under the luring wicked seduction of this ‘bride of Satan’.
It was this wicked and abominable worship that Ěliyahu had confronted on Mount Karmel, where the fire of יהוה had come down and consumed the offering prepared by Ěliyahu, showing Yisra’ěl that it is יהוה that they were to be serving and not Ba’al.
Ěliyahu then killed all the prophets of Ba’al.
Now, this wicked queen’s prophets had been killed and she was angered and she issues a very big threat to Ěliyahu, the man of Elohim.
She sends a messenger to Ěliyahu and threatens him with his life, and she basically issued a death sentence, by saying, in effect, “Ěliyahu, you are a dead man!”
What we can learn from this, is that this was a threat, from a woman who seems to be afraid to touch יהוה’s anointed; otherwise she would not have simply issued a death threat and given Ěliyahu a warning, but would have instructed the messenger to kill him.
This proves how the enemies ‘bark is bigger than their bite’, so to speak.
Although, in saying that, it is certainly the ‘bark’ that often frightens us the most!
This ‘bark’, or threat for his life, came and he feared it greatly and he ran for his life.
He has just been a valuable servant, in the hands of Elohim, and had brought about a great victory to Yisra’ĕl and instead of seeing some gratitude come his way, and receiving a commendation, the wicked queen of corruption threatened him!
Ěliyahu was a man who had passions just as we do and he was just as emotional as we are, and here, in this phrase, ‘he ran for his life’, we are able to see, in the Hebrew, that it is based on two root words:
1) The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘ran’ comes from the root word יָלַךְ yalaḵ – Strong’s 3212 which means ‘walk, depart, proceed’ and is a derivative of the word הָלַךְ halaḵ – Strong’s H1980 which means, , ‘to go, walk, come, depart, proceed, move, go away’, and can also have the meaning to ‘carry (as in a burden)’, and literally speaks of how one lives, and it is used as a verb, indicating that it is an active expression of one’s life.
Our ‘walk’ matters and, how we walk before Elohim matters: and in understanding what Ěliyahu was doing, we see that the word that is used here for ‘life’ is:
2) the root word נֶפֶשׁ nephesh – Strong’s H5315 which means, ‘a soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion’.
In the expression of him ‘running for his life’, we can see that he was being directed, and led, by his emotions – he let his emotions of fear, get the better of him and he ran in fear of his life, as opposed to running into the strong Name of יהוה!
Sometimes, as יהוה’s children, we often become frustrated by our own faulty perceptions and, as a result of this, we become fearful because of danger.
Here was a man who could encourage others, yet he couldn’t seem to encourage himself, at this point in his walk.
He helped others but couldn’t help himself, in being strengthened by the Truth of what He knew, in this moment of being gripped by fear.
He had certainly experienced enough and had now reached an emotional breaking point.
Having said that, let us not be too hard on the guy, as we too, may often find that we have the following:
Problems that we can’t solve, stress that we can’t stand, hurts that we can’t heal, fears that we feel powerless to stand up and fight against, tests that we can’t seem to tolerate, burdens that we can’t bear, obstacles that we can’t overcome, gates that we can’t open and mountains that we can’t climb…. Just to name a few of the things that we might have difficulty in overcoming at times!
Sometimes, we drop our hands, so to speak, in surrender to our circumstances and say,
“יהוה I have had it; I can’t take it anymore. I’m trying to do right but I’m suffering wrong. I’m tired of running scared; going out full and coming in empty. I’m depressed יהוה and I can’t go on like this. I have lost my fight and my zeal has grown cold.”
Ěliyahu was not alone and he was not the only one to go through this kind of spiritual paralysis.
Mosheh had a similar experience in:
Bemiḏbar/Numbers 11:15 “And if You are doing this to me, please slay me altogether, if I have found favour in Your eyes, and let me not see my evil!”
Yirmeyahu complained to the יהוה in:
Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 20:7-8 “O יהוה, You enticed me, and I was enticed. You are stronger than I, and have prevailed. I have been ridiculed all day long, everyone mocks me. 8 For when I speak, I cry out, proclaiming violence and ruin. Because the word of יהוה was made to me a reproach and a derision daily.”
Yonah also experienced this kind of situation, where he told the fishermen to throw him into the sea – in other words, he basically said to them, “let me die!”
So, Ěliyahu was not the only one!
Often, when we find ourselves in a situation where we tend to think that we are the only ones to be in the dilemma that we find ourselves in, we may often find that our emotions get the better of us and we end up feeling worthless and abandoned.
Ever been there?
Ya’aqoḇ describes Ěliyahu as a righteous man, a man who prayed by belief; one who had prayed effectively and fervently.
This was a man who knew how to call on יהוה, and knew how to talk to יהוה, and boy, did his prayers avail much! He knew that יהוה answers prayer.
He prayed for the rain to stop and it did, and then prayed for it to rain and it did.
He prayed to bring back a widow’s son to life. He prayed for יהוה to respond with fire, in a showdown with the Ba‘al prophets, and יהוה answered his prayers.
Thankfully there was one prayer that יהוה did not answer, in the way that Ěliyahu wanted, and that was when he prayed for death.
It wasn’t יהוה’s will for Ěliyahu to die by Izeḇel’s sword.
In fact, as we see from Scripture, it was not in יהוה’s will for him to die at all, as he was taken up by a whirlwind into the heavens, before the eyes of Elisha.
We must never think that because the enemy has taken out others, that יהוה will allow them to defeat us, who find refuge in Him.
In his running for his life, Ěliyahu went to בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע Be’ĕrsheḇa – Strong’s H884 which means, ‘The well of the oath or the well of the seven’ and, as I mentioned a few of weeks ago, we see in Berěshith/Genesis 21: 25-31 that this is the place where Aḇraham gave 7 ewe lambs to Aḇimeleḵ, as a witness that the well was dug by Abraham, after a dispute arose when Aḇimeleḵ’s servants seized a well of water that was Aḇraham’s, and they made an oath there that day.
It is also at Be’ĕrsheḇa that:
1 – Aḇraham called upon the Name of יהוה, the Everlasting Ěl – אֵל עוֹלָם – Ěl Olam! Berěshith/Genesis 21:33
2 – Yitsḥaq built a slaughter-place and called upon the Name of יהוה, after יהוה had appeared to him – Berěshith/Genesis 26:23-25
3 – Ya’aqoḇ brought offerings to יהוה and יהוה spoke to him and confirmed the Covenant with him – Berěshith/Genesis 46:1-3
Ěliyahu was going back to where his ancestors had connected with יהוה and, in a sense, he was going back to the Covenants of Promise!
This, in itself, can be a valuable lesson for us today, as we recognise that when we find ourselves in a frightening place of fear, due to unfavourable circumstances that we are not sure how to handle, we must run to the Covenants of Promise that we have been grafted in to, in order to find strength and comfort in Our Master and His Word that never fails!
He left his servant there and went a day’s journey into the Wilderness.
The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘journey’ is דֶּרֶךְ dereḵ – Strong’s H1870 which means, ‘way, road, distance, journey’ and comes from the root word דָּרַךְ daraḵ – Strong’s H1869 which means, ‘to tread or march’ and so, speaks of our walk, our every step, that we take – and this we are to commit to יהוה.
This word is used 13 times in Tehillah/Psalm 119, which we know speaks primarily about the love for His Torah and with the number 13 being the numerical value for the Hebrew word אֶחָד eḥaḏ – Strong’s H259 which means ‘one’, we recognise that committing our every step to Him, causes us to become as one in Him!
The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘into the wilderness’ is בְּמִדְבַּר Bemiḏbar, which comes from the root word מִדְבָּר miḏbar – Strong’s H4057 which means, ‘wilderness, desert’ and can also mean ‘mouth’.
This word comes from the primitive root verb דָּבַר daḇar – Strong’s H1696 which means, ‘to speak, command, counsel, declare, proclaimed, converse, warn, threaten, promise’ and a derivative of this word is also translated as ‘speech, word, commandment/s, message’, and the literal meaning of this actually carries the concept of, ‘The place of words’ or ‘The place of speaking’, as we see that it was ‘in the wilderness’ that Yisra’ĕl learnt to hear the ‘voice’ of יהוה.
And so too, was Ěliyahu directing his steps toward the place where he could hear the voice of יהוה.
His emotions and fears needed to be dealt with and he comes to rest under a broom tree and cries out to יהוה, saying that he has had enough and wanted to die!
What is interesting here, is that it says he came and ‘sat down’ under a broom tree – and the Hebrew root word that is used for ‘sat down’ is the word יָשַׁב yashaḇ – Strong’s H3427 which means, ‘sit, dwell, remain, abide, inhabit, sitting still’.
A modern Hebrew word that is derived from this word, which is translated as school, is ‘yeshiva’. We have come to learn and know that the concept of ‘sitting’, in the Hebraic mind-set, is an idiom for learning; and it is at the Master’s Feet that we are to come and sit and drink of His Pure and Clear Living Water and get great clarity and insight and strength to sojourn with joy!
The idea of sitting, in the Hebrew mind-set, is to learn, and not to simply sit and vegetate, but rather, sit and pay attention to the instructions of the teacher.
Ěliyahu needed to come and hear the clear instructions of יהוה, and while we may recognise a weakness in his emotions, driving him to run for his life, under the threats of the enemy, we can see a great picture of how we must run to יהוה, our Refuge and Strong Tower!
Ěliyahu, drained and exhausted, falls asleep and like so many today, who try to sleep away their troubles, wake up to find that their troubles are still there and have to be dealt with.
He was touched by a messenger and told to rise and eat, and he saw some freshly baked bread and a jug of water. He needed food and water more than sleep!
He may have been pretty dehydrated and if he had kept on sleeping, he may not have woken up.
We too need to recognise how we need The Living Bread of the Word for those deadly situations!
This bread and water, is a clear picture of the Word of Elohim that strengthens and nourishes our soul, after all his soul was all torn up emotionally and he needed the strength of Elohim and the provision of His bread and water!
Ěliyahu eats and then lays back down, and may have even considered that this was his last meal, yet the messenger came a second time and touched him again, telling him to get up and eat – praise יהוה for second times!!!
יהוה does not give up on the weak, rather, He strengthens the weak:
Yeshayahu/Isaiah 40:29 “He gives power to the faint, and to those who have no might He increases strength.”
Ěliyahu needed to eat more, as the journey would be too much for him, if he did not get enough of the right stuff!
We need to eat and drink of that spiritual food and drink!
It is not a matter of what’s around you – it is a matter of what’s in you.
If you have the right stuff in you, that is – יהוה’s supply in you and if you are nourished by יהוה, you will make it – you can take His Word for it!
Just as our forefathers ate and drank in the wilderness, so too do we – we need to be eating and drinking the right stuff:
Qorintiyim Aleph/1 Corinthians 10:3-4 “and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed, and the Rock was Messiah.”
When you suffer a spiritual setback, the only way to make a comeback is to be nourished by יהוה.
Don’t give up half way through – have that ‘second’ helping – יהוה can renew your strength, aměn.
He can revive your spirit, renew your hope and rebuild your ruins.
In order to get strong, we need adequate nutrition.
After 40 days of testing, יהושע said to Satan in:
Mattithyahu/Matthew 4:4 “But He answering, said, “It has been written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of יהוה.’”
You know, that when you feed your spirit with the Word, you are strengthened and nourished.
יהושע is the Bread of Life, and He said that if we eat this Bread we will live forever and that is exactly the picture we are able to see, from the example of the life of Ěliyahu!
He needed this food to sustain the 40 days of testing!
After being a prophet, who had faced many a victory, was now being tested and proven, in the wilderness and he came to Mount Ḥorĕḇ, where Mosheh talked with יהוה at the burning bush; the same mountain where the law was given.
Ěliyahu had certainly been running from Izeḇel, but now, he was running to יהוה!
If you are running away from something, you have to be running to something or else!
He went to the place where he knew יהוה would show up.
He got to the place where the covenant was established.
He needed to meet with יהוה, and so he traveled 40 days.
Tehillah/Psalm 42:1-2 “As a deer longs for the water streams, So my being longs for You, O Elohim. 2 My being thirsts for Elohim, for the living Ěl. When shall I enter in to appear before Elohim?”
Ěliyahu had faced, what some might call, “burnout”, as he was depleted by many victories, then became disconcerted by fear, which had disabled him through isolation, where he became devastated by self-pity!
A process that many of us have faced, to some degree or another!
This is the place where you feel like throwing in the towel, so to speak!
Well, Ěliyahu knew where to run to, and we can see that, as he returned to the Truth, got nourished through the Word and came to the Mountain of Elohim, where he went into a cave.
This is where the Word of יהוה – that is, in Hebrew: דְבַר־יהוה deḇar יהוה came to him.
This, I believe, is where he met with יהושע – as it says, in reference to Messiah, in:
Ḥazon/Revelation 19:13 “and having been dressed in a robe dipped in blood – and His Name is called: The Word of יהוה.”
It is here, in the cave, that Ěliyahu is confronted and asked:
What are you doing here, Ěliyahu?
יהוה knew exactly what Ěliyahu was doing there, but He wanted Ěliyahu to answer and here we recognise that while the Word will certainly strengthen us, it will also inspect us, as יהוה, through His Word, will search us and know us, and by His Word, He will get us to search ourselves and return to Him and do what we ought to be doing:
Ěḵah/Lamentations 3:4 “Let us search and examine our ways, and turn back to יהוה.”
Ěliyahu cries out and declares his zeal – in fact he was very zealous for יהוה.
The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘jealous’ comes from the root word קָנָא qanah – Strong’s H7065 which means, ‘to be jealous or zealous, be envious, ardent’.
It is the same word that is used to describe Pineḥas, in this week’s Torah portion reading from Bemiḏbar/Numbers 25, who was ardent for יהוה and rose up and took a stand against the whoring of Yisra’ĕl!
Here, in Ěliyahu’s declaration of his zeal, this word is repeated, to emphasize just how zealous he was, which in English is rendered as ‘very jealous’.
So, he declared that he was very zealous, but was all alone!
That is how he felt, even though he knew that there were at least another 100 prophets still around, who Oḇaḏyahu had hidden in two caves. At this point though, he did not think of them, when he was hiding in the cave he had come to! You would think that being in a cave, hiding from the enemy, that he would have remembered the other prophets who Oḇaḏyahu had hidden in 2 caves. However, Ěliyahu felt extremely alone in this cave, thinking he was the only one left!
What cave have you found yourself to be hiding in at times?
A cave that causes you to not see that there are others who are just as zealous as you are?
Could it be one of the following ‘caves’:
Cave of offense – simply because you are mad at someone, or even at Elohim, and you find yourself having totally withdrawn from all fellowship, as a result!
Cave of despondency – you have been feeling numb and isolated from people and places, as you have become very negative and despondent, because things just do not seem to be going as you had planned!
Cave of comfort – where you are wrapped up in your own comfort and, as a result, you have isolated yourself from the true desires of Elohim and the needs of others around you!
Cave of self-pity – the place where you find yourself having a party of pity for one, where no one else is invited, as you wallow in your sorrows and allow the damaging effects of self-centered pride to cripple you from standing up and fighting the good fight.
If you have found yourself being in a cave of sorts, and feeling all alone, then hear The Word say to you:
“Go out and stand on the Mountain before יהוה” – in other words:
“Get out of the cave and stand on the Rock of your Salvation, and hear His voice”
יהוה does not feed on our fears – He tells us to get out from the hiding places and stand firm!
When Ěliyahu heard the voice of יהוה, he got out of the cave of self-pity!
He certainly needed to see, and learn, that יהוה was with him, in good times and in troublesome times, and that יהוה will not always appear in the supernatural and the spectacular – for His power is in His Word – yet, we have to get quiet to hear, guard and do what His Word says, for then we shall not fear!
Shabbat is a great place for us, as a family, to come together and hear His powerful voice, as we shut out the noise of the World and we come to sit at His feet and learn!
And this is of vital importance, highlighting for us that we must not neglect the gathering of the set-apart ones, as some are in the habit of doing, and in the process, find themselves isolating themselves in caves of doubt and fear!
A second time, the voice of יהוה came to Ěliyahu and said:
What are you doing here Ěliyahu?
And still, he repeats what he said at first – his perspective hadn’t changed and while he was claiming to be the only one, he was actually being shown that he was afraid of people and was told to go and return and do what he had been called to – and that is, to prepare the way!
We are told that before that before יהושע comes, that the spirit of Ěliyahu must first come!
Ěliyahu was told to go and anoint Ḥaza’ĕl as sovereign over Aram and Yĕhu as sovereign over Yisra’ĕl and also anoint Elisha as prophet in his place!
The name of Elisha means ‘Elohim saves’ and so, we see here a picture of progression – Ěliyahu must come first, to prepare the way, for salvation to come, by the hand of Elohim!
יהוה assures Ěliyahu that deliverance will be made complete and he says that he shall leave 7 000 prophets who have not bowed themselves to Ba’al.
This is a very unique number, as it speaks of fullness and also points to the Millennial reign that will be established and all Ba’al worship destroyed completely!
We see this prophecy come true, as Yĕhu certainly did kill Izeḇel!
Ěliyahu learnt a great deal, and so too can we!
While our ‘zealousness’ for Elohim might be just as zealous as Ěliyahu’s was, we must guard ourselves from thinking that we are all alone – just take a look around at the rest of our Covenant Family and see that you are not alone!
If you have allowed your emotions of fear to get the better of you and have allowed your fears to drive you into to a cave of offense, despondency, self-pity or even comfort, then open your ears to hear the Word of Elohim!
Get out of the cave and stand upon the Rock – יהושע Messiah!
Do not give up, in fear of the ‘Izeḇel’s’ of the world – for there is work to do before the great coming of our Master and it is now time to take a stand and not sit in our caves, just as we will see through the example of the zeal of Pineḥas, in our weekly Torah portion that we will be going through this coming Shabbat!
Go out and stand – you are not alone!
What are you doing here ……?
Perhaps, as you meditate on the events of this chapter, you might be able to relate to these events and even may find that your name may be at the end of this piercing question that the Word of יהוה asks…
WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE …… (your name)?
What, if anything, have you perhaps found yourself running from?
In the process of running, learn from this prophet’s journey, so that the place you ought to be running to… is to the Name of יהוה
Hear the Word of יהוה telling you today, to wake up, rise up, get out of hiding and take a stand and fight the good fight of the belief, to which you have been called and equipped to do.
Put off doubt, fear, despondency, shame, despair, self-pity and all the crippling distractions of the flesh… and put on Messiah, putting on the armour of Elohim, always being ready to give a reason for the hope you have, in the Master, in taking your firm stand in the Rock of our Deliverance, and after having done all, keep standing!
Maybe some will ask you, ‘what are you doing here?’, when asking about your belief… if that be the case, then be bold and courageous, in giving a confident answer of a lovingly-committed service unto the Master, and be strengthened in the Truth of the Word, as you meditate day and night on The Torah of Elohim, so that you guard yourself from being in a cave like situation, where the awakening words of our Master comes and asks you:
WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE….?
Perhaps this message can present a two-fold approach, when considering this question?
Are you being asked this by the Word of יהוה, which would mean that you have been running in fear and hiding through excuses, as opposed to running in the way of His commands and proclaiming His reign?
Or, are others asking this, as a result of them being able to see your light shining, seeing your good works of obedience, to which you can be equipped to give a sure answer of a good conscience and the hope that you have in our Master, as you remain steadfast in your stand of belief, in Him and His Word?
WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE …… (your name)?
What answer, or excuse, are you, or have you been, giving?
It is time to take a stand, it is time to get out of the destructive caves of selfishness and pride and get armed in the armour of light.
Yesterday’s victories will not keep you standing today, if you take off your armour and hide the light.
Do not let yesterday’s, or today’s, failures cripple you from getting the wakeup call, from the Word of יהוה, to rise up, eat and stand firm. If you have fund yourself feeling all burnt out and unable to go on, then hear the Word of יהוה asking you the awakening question:
‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?’
… and let it equip you to act in an urgent zeal of set-apartness, being ready to fight the good fight of the belief!
You are not alone!
יהוה bless you and guard you; יהוה make His face shine upon you and show favour to you; יהוה lift up His face upon you and give you shalom!