1 Kings Chapter 19
God Encourages Discouraged Elijah
A. Elijah flees to the wilderness.
1. Jezebel’s threat.
1 Kings 19:1-3 (KJV)
And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. 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.
Ahab returned to Jezebel and reported everything Elijah had done, including the execution of all the prophets of Baal at the brook Kishon. This news struck Jezebel with fury. She had dedicated herself to advancing Baal and Ashtoreth worship throughout Israel, and she financed these prophets from the royal treasury. Their complete destruction was a blow to her political power and religious agenda. Instead of repenting when she heard of Baal’s complete silence and the fire from heaven, she doubled down in defiance. Jezebel swore by her false gods that she would kill Elijah within twenty four hours. Her threat revealed a hardened heart. She ignored the overwhelming evidence of Yahweh’s superiority and refused to acknowledge the truth.
This response unsettled Elijah. After witnessing such a triumph on Mount Carmel, he may have expected repentance from Jezebel or at least hesitation from the royal court. Instead, he received a death sentence. Discouraged and afraid, Elijah fled to Beersheba in Judah, traveling about eighty miles south to escape Jezebel’s reach. It is difficult to determine whether this escape was directed by God or motivated by fear. God certainly intended to protect Elijah, yet we cannot know whether that protection was meant to occur in Jezreel or through flight into Judah. Regardless, Elijah left his servant behind at Beersheba, indicating that he desired complete solitude.
Elijah’s response also reveals a surprising weakness. Even the strongest servants of God may falter at the very point of their greatest strength. Scripture records that the wisest man acted foolishly, the meekest man lost his temper, the most patient man grew impatient, and now the boldest prophet ran from the threat of a single woman. Jezebel likely wanted Elijah to flee. Had she truly wanted him dead, she would have quietly assassinated him. Instead, she issued a public threat designed to discredit him in the eyes of the people who had just supported him. Elijah’s retreat played directly into her strategy.
2. Elijah’s depression.
1 Kings 19:4 (KJV)
But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree, and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, It is enough, now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers.
Elijah traveled alone into the wilderness for a full day beyond Beersheba. He withdrew from every human contact and placed himself in deep isolation. There, beneath a broom tree, he collapsed under the weight of despair and prayed that he might die. The same man whose prayers had shut the heavens for three and one half years, the same man whose prayers brought fire from heaven and rain to end the drought, now asked God to take his life. His exhaustion, fear, and disappointment overwhelmed him.
God did not grant this prayer. Elijah would be one of the few men in Scripture who would never taste death. When he was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, he undoubtedly remembered this moment under the broom tree and rejoiced in God’s merciful refusal. Sometimes the most loving answer God gives is no. Elijah thought his work was finished, but God had far more in store.
Elijah cried out, It is enough. He felt he could not continue. The events at Mount Carmel had not produced the national revival he expected. Ahab and Jezebel remained unchanged, and the people, though momentarily persuaded, did not turn to the Lord in lasting repentance. Elijah believed his efforts had accomplished nothing. Discouragement blinded him to the truth that people reject God not because evidence is lacking but because their hearts are hard.
Elijah assumed that the failure rested in his own unworthiness. He believed he was no better than his fathers and thought his imperfections hindered God’s work. Yet God was not finished with him. Elijah would soon experience a deeper revelation of God at Horeb, and his later ministry would be marked by steady communion with the Lord. His sun would shine brightly to the end of his earthly journey without another collapse into despair. Only God knows when His servants have done enough, and Elijah had not yet reached that point.
God Encourages Discouraged Elijah
B. God’s ministry to the despairing Elijah.
1. God ministers to the physical needs of Elijah.
1 Kings 19:5-8 (KJV)
And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
As Elijah lay exhausted beneath the broom tree, God ministered to him with remarkable tenderness. Elijah had fled in despair, but God did not respond with rebuke or correction. Instead, He sent an angel to touch Elijah and command him to arise and eat. The prophet awoke to find a cake baked on coals and a jar of water placed near his head, miraculously provided by God. Elijah ate and drank, then lay down again, showing how deeply depleted he was. One meal was not enough to restore him. God sent the angel a second time, offering more food and reminding Elijah that the journey ahead was too great for him without divine strength.
God ministered first to Elijah’s physical needs. Sometimes the most spiritual action a believer can take is to rest, eat, and recover strength. Depression, exhaustion, and spiritual discouragement often have physical components, and God cares for the whole person. Instead of scolding His servant, God gently restored him. Elijah then traveled forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God, sustained entirely by the miraculous nourishment he had received. This forty day journey echoed Israel’s forty years in the wilderness. Elijah’s discouragement was not instantly removed. God granted him time and space to recover before addressing the deeper spiritual issues in his heart.
2. God allows Elijah to vent his frustrations.
1 Kings 19:9-10 (KJV)
And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there, and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah. And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.
Elijah arrived at Horeb, the mountain associated with the most profound manifestations of God’s presence in Scripture. He entered a cave, likely the same cleft of the rock where Moses once stood as the glory of the Lord passed by. In that sacred location the word of the Lord came to him. God asked, What doest thou here, Elijah. This question was not for information, since God knew exactly why Elijah was there. It was an invitation for Elijah to unburden his heart.
Elijah poured out his frustrations. He declared that he had been very jealous for the Lord, meaning he had been intensely committed to God and His covenant. Yet despite his faithfulness, Israel had forsaken the covenant, torn down the altars dedicated to the Lord, and murdered the prophets who proclaimed God’s truth. Elijah felt entirely alone. He believed he was the only faithful servant left, and now his enemies sought to take his life as well. His perspective was accurate in terms of Israel’s rebellion but flawed in believing he was truly alone. Discouragement amplifies isolation and magnifies the sense of personal failure.
Elijah’s words also revealed the unreasonable nature of fear. If Elijah truly believed he was the last prophet of God, then preserving his life would have been essential. If Jezebel wanted him dead, then he should have resisted her will with courage, as he had done on Mount Carmel. But discouragement distorts judgment. Elijah’s despair made him long for escape rather than perseverance. God invited him to speak these things, not because they were correct, but because the wounded heart must first be expressed before it can be healed.
B. God’s ministry to the despairing Elijah.
3. God reveals Himself to Elijah.
1 Kings 19:11-12 (KJV)
And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind, and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake, and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire a still small voice.
The Lord instructed Elijah to go forth and stand upon the mount before Him. Elijah did not need a new doctrine. His theology was sound. What he needed was a renewed personal encounter with the living God. Discouragement had clouded his vision, not his understanding. God brought Elijah out of the cave so that the prophet might behold the presence of the Lord in a way that corrected his despairing assumptions. Elijah needed more than rest. He required communion with God that would reshape his perspective.
As Elijah waited, the Lord passed by. A great and powerful wind arose, so fierce that it tore into the mountains and shattered the rocks. Yet the Lord was not in the wind. Then the ground shook beneath him in an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. A fire followed, blazing with intensity, but the Lord was not in the fire. God first revealed where He was not. Elijah, like most people, expected God to appear in dramatic manifestations. God has often spoken through wind, earthquake, and fire, but here He deliberately withheld His presence from these overwhelming displays. He used them to teach Elijah that His work is not limited to extraordinary demonstrations of power.
This truth must be learned repeatedly by God’s servants. Many believers long for displays of force, brilliance, or outward success, imagining that God’s presence is tied to visible might. Churches seek talent and spectacle, assuming the Lord is in the wind of cleverness or the earthquake of emotional excitement. Yet God often is not found there. His voice is drowned out by noise and human effort.
After the fire, Elijah heard a still small voice. The contrast was deliberate. The Hebrew phrase can be translated a gentle whisper or a voice of gentle silence. After the violence of wind, quake, and flame, the quiet was profound. Elijah perceived the presence of God in the calm whisper, a voice that carried divine authority without outward spectacle. There is nothing more arresting than the sudden stillness that follows great uproar. The point was unmistakable. God often does His most significant work not through dramatic events but through the quiet, penetrating work of His Spirit upon the human heart.
Elijah had assumed that the dramatic victory on Mount Carmel would transform the nation. He saw the fire fall, the false prophets judged, and the drought ended, yet Israel did not experience revival. The people remained unchanged, and Jezebel did not repent. Elijah concluded that all his work had failed. But God taught him that dramatic displays do not convert hardened hearts. The still small voice of God is more powerful than fire from heaven. This lesson is vital for every minister of the gospel. The greatest spiritual victories do not always come through outward success or visible displays of power, but through the quiet and persistent influence of God’s Word upon the soul.
Elijah had misread the situation because he viewed it through the eyes of discouragement. He believed he had accomplished nothing and had influenced no one. Yet God would soon reveal that seven thousand Israelites had remained faithful, bowing neither to Baal nor kissing his image. Elijah’s daily life and steady testimony had strengthened these believers far more than the events of Carmel. God’s work had been advancing quietly through the still small voice long before Elijah arrived at Horeb.
4. After this ministry, God gives Elijah work to do.
1 Kings 19:13-15 (KJV)
And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah. And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away. And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.
When Elijah heard the still small voice, he immediately recognized the unmistakable presence of God. The dramatic wind, earthquake, and fire did not move him from the cave, but the quiet whisper of God drew him out in reverence. He wrapped his face in his mantle to shield himself from the overwhelming sense of divine holiness. Elijah understood that sinful man cannot behold God’s glory uncovered, so he humbled himself with deep awe.
The voice of God asked the same question as before, What doest thou here, Elijah. Though Elijah had already answered, God invited him to speak again because the process of confession was part of Elijah’s healing. Elijah repeated his complaint. He had been zealous for the Lord. Israel had forsaken the covenant, torn down altars, murdered the prophets, and sought his life. The repetition revealed that Elijah’s discouragement was deep seated. God did not correct him by argument. He corrected him by assignment.
The Lord commanded Elijah to return on his way and go to the wilderness of Damascus. There he was to anoint Hazael as king over Syria. God gave Elijah work to do because purposeful obedience is often the cure for introspective despair. Elijah had been looking inward and downward. God redirected him outward and forward. When Elijah set out again, he carried himself not as a fleeing man but as the prophet of the Lord, restored in purpose and strength.
5. Further assurance to Elijah.
1 Kings 19:16-18 (KJV)
And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay, and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
God expanded Elijah’s mission even further. He instructed him to anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. Jehu would be the future instrument of divine judgment against the wicked dynasty of Ahab and Jezebel. This assured Elijah that the evil leadership of Israel would not stand forever. God would raise up a man who would purge idolatry and execute justice.
God also directed Elijah to anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat as prophet in his place. This was not a dismissal but a gift. Elijah complained that he was alone, but God showed him that He had prepared a companion, disciple, and successor. Elisha would walk with him, learn from him, and continue the work long after Elijah’s ministry ended. God not only gave Elijah new tasks but also gave him friendship and future hope.
The Lord then revealed His plan for judgment. Whoever escaped the sword of Hazael would fall by the sword of Jehu, and whoever escaped Jehu would fall by the ministry of Elisha. This assured Elijah that God was fully aware of the corruption in Israel and would bring justice in His time. The persecution of God’s servants and the promotion of idolatry would not go unpunished.
Finally, God gave Elijah the greatest encouragement of all. He revealed that seven thousand Israelites had remained faithful, bowing neither knee nor mouth to Baal. Elijah had repeatedly insisted that he was alone, but he was wrong. God had preserved a remnant. His ministry had not been fruitless. Even when Elijah saw no visible results, the still small voice of God had been quietly strengthening believers across the land.
This revelation corrected Elijah’s despair. His spectacular victory at Mount Carmel had shaken the nation, but it was his quiet and consistent testimony that had influenced these seven thousand faithful ones. God reminded him that the real work of ministry is often unseen and that faithfulness produces fruit even when outward signs appear minimal.
God Encourages Discouraged Elijah
C. The call of Elisha.
6. (1 Kings 19:19-21) The call of Elisha.
1 Kings 19:19-21 (KJV)
So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth, and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee, and he said unto him, Go back again, for what have I done to thee. And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat, then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.
Elijah obeyed the command of God and departed to find Elisha the son of Shaphat. Though God had listed the tasks in a certain order, Elijah carried them out beginning with the call of his successor. This may reveal that Elijah instinctively understood his own need for companionship and help. God had told him that seven thousand remained faithful, and now God provided one faithful man who would walk beside him, learn from him, and later carry on the prophetic ministry. Elisha was not found in idleness but at work, plowing a field with twelve yoke of oxen. This indicates that Elisha came from a family of considerable means, since twelve yoke represented significant wealth. Elijah found him in faithful labor, demonstrating industrious character and responsibility.
Elijah passed by Elisha and cast his mantle upon him. The mantle was the official garment of a prophet. It symbolized authority, office, and divine calling. By placing his mantle on Elisha, Elijah declared, without a word, that Elisha was chosen to join him in prophetic ministry. The gesture was dramatic and unmistakable. It was a visible reminder that the call came not from Elijah himself but from the Lord who sent him.
Elisha immediately left the oxen and ran after Elijah. He asked permission to return and kiss his father and mother before following Elijah. Elijah replied, Go back again, for what have I done to thee. This response likely meant, Go back, but remember the significance of what has been done to you. Elijah reminded Elisha that the call came from God, not from man. There was no pressure, manipulation, or compulsion. Elisha had to decide freely whether he would obey the divine call.
Elisha returned and performed a decisive act of commitment. He took a yoke of oxen, slaughtered them, and boiled their flesh using the wooden equipment that had been part of his plow. He then fed the people with the meal. By destroying the instruments of his former livelihood and offering the oxen in a farewell feast, Elisha demonstrated that he was cutting ties with his past life. He left no backup plan, no retreat route, and no possibility of returning to his old work. Elisha responded to God’s call with total dedication.
This act was costly. Owning twelve yoke of oxen indicated a large estate. By sacrificing the oxen and burning the equipment, Elisha willingly embraced personal loss to answer the call of God. His family and community saw his commitment. His departure from his prosperous life was joyful, deliberate, and public. Then Elisha arose and followed Elijah, becoming his servant. Before he would become a prophet, he would first learn to serve. God gave Elijah not only a successor but a companion and a friend, a source of encouragement for a prophet who had believed himself alone.
