Elijah’s Refining Fire
09
March 2008
Lord's Day evening
1 Kings 19:1-8
Introduction: Open your Bibles to the book of 1 Kings 18:40-45. Tonight we are looking at a passage of how God puts his servants into the refining fire of crisis. Elijah in this passage goes from the heights of Mount Carmel to the depths of Jezreel and then flees for his life after killing 450 prophets of Baal. The life of Elijah is a lot of things, but it is certainly not boring.
Sometimes bad things happen to godly people. Sometimes God puts us in knots that don’t might not seem particularly distressing to others, but God brings us to the end of ourselves through them.
Tonight we are going to see the People the God Refines, the Protection during the Refining Fire, and the Process of God’s Refining Fire.
I Kings 18:44-19:8, “And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. 45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. 46 And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.”
19:1 “And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. 2 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 to morrow about this time.
3 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. 4 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. 5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. 6 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. 7 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. 8 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.”
I. First I want you to see the People that God is refining.
This passage introduces us to four types of people that are common in the Bible. There is the wise man, the simpleton, the fool, and the scorner.
· The simple is gullible. Proverbs 14:15, “The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.” He believes anything and he is a FOLLOWER. He doesn’t give thoughts to his steps, to where he is going! He just follows along and lets everyone else think for him! We can see these people in the passage in I Kings 18—these are the people of Israel. They are a bunch of simple people. Now thankfully, they were shown the power of God, and they repented and became wise.
We don’t see this in our passage, but we can clearly identify the three others.
· The fool is selfish. Proverbs 28:26, “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.” Proverbs 18:2, “A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover [or uncover] itself.” The fool thinks he is wise, but his wisdom base is his own opinions!
At this point, the fool listens to others, and he may follow others, but he thinks he’s pretty smart and is seeking popularity. We can see the fool in our passage is clearly Ahab.
· The scorner is hard and arrogant and proud, beyond teaching. Proverbs 21:24, “Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.” You cannot win scorners. They are given over to hard hearts and reprobate minds. These kinds of people will destroy organizations: churches, Christian camps, Christian colleges. There’s only one way to deal with a scorner found in Proverbs 22:10, “Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.” You already know who the scorner is: Queen Jezebel.
You can always tell who God has his hand on. It’s not hard to distinguish a true believer. God’s people are characterized by wisdom and righteousness. They are identifiable.
A. First let’s look at the wise man of our passage: ELIJAH! Proverbs 1:5 says “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels”. A true Christian is constantly progressing in sanctification. There is never a rest. There may be sins, but going backward is not the norm. Christians, are wise men—they have their minds enlightened by the Spirit of Christ. They SEE clearly. And there is always a progression—a growing and a changing. They never think they have arrived.
This is true in both revival and in rioting! After the great revival of God’s presence, Elijah continues to grow in supernatural strength, great humility, and downright hard work.
1 Kings 18:45-46, “And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. 46 And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.”
1. Elijah continues to grow in his dependence on God. Verse 46, “the hand of the LORD was on Elijah”. Elijah’s spiritual strength was growing.
Just after Ahab was on his way ot Jezreel, GOD gave supernatural strength to Elijah in an amazing way. Elijah pulled up his robe and tied it around his waist, and ran in front of Ahab’s chariot until they reached Jezreel. God gives supernatural strength to his servants. He did so with Elijah so that Elijah covered 18 miles and actually passed Ahab in his chariot.
He had seen fire come down from heaven, but he was STILL GROWING! And the more you grow in Christ, the more you know how much you don’t know. We have nothing to boast of. At best we are unprofitable servants.
2. Elijah grows in his deference. Verse 46, “the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.” So we see Ahab in the chariot, and Elijah on foot by passing the chariot!
Elijah was a humble man that kept deferring to others as greater than himself. Elijah was the prophet of God. He had just spared Ahab’s life, and Ahab is in the chariot, and Elijah is running like a common footman. He wasn’t looking for special treatment. Beware of these so-called “servants of God” that drive around in big cars and live in million dollar houses but will not clean a toilet at the church. We ought to wash each other’s feet! Elijah never thought he was anyone special on this earth. He grew in his humility and service of other people.
3. Elijah grows in his diligence. Elijah surely was exhausted. Verse 46, “he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.” Elijah ran in front of Ahab who was in the chariot! They did not have six or even four cylinder engines, but this it is still going at a good rate. It was a great amount of work for Elijah to keep up with it.
There is a beautiful truth here: Elijah never rested after spiritual victories. This is when he was on guard.
So we see a very wise man in Elijah.
B. Now let’s look at the fool of our passage: AHAB! Proverbs 10:8 says, “The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall.” Ahab is the babbling fool of this verse that talks and talks but knows nothing. We find him talking to Jezebel in verse 1 of 1 Kings 19¸ “And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword" (19:1). Waiting for Ahab in Jezreel is his pagan wife, Jezebel. She would have wanted to know how things had gone.
1. Look how Ahab as the fool forgets that there is a God. Look at Ahab’s testimony. There is nothing here about the Lord. Psalm 14:1, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Ahab tells Jezebel all that has happened. It is surprising that Ahab says NOTHING of the Lord. He is blind. Fire came down from heaven. Not only was the sacrifice consumed, but the torrents of water and even the very stones of the altar were consumed.
Ahab is truly blind to the things of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 2:14, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
Application: I have come to a realization over my years in ministry, and that is I cannot open any ones eyes. God must draw them, and God must convict and convert them. And if the Lord does not convert a sinner after the hearing of the Word, then there is no hope for me to convert you. Ahab would not have been converted if Moses himself would have come back to preach to him. I
Luke 16:19 is a frightening passage that alerts us to this. It concerns the poor beggar named Lazarus (not to be confused with Mary and Martha’s brother). Lazarus would beg at the rich man’s house full of sores. Both eventually died. Lazarus goes to paradise and the Bible says in Luke 16:23, that the rich man “in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments”.
Now in Luke 16:28, this rich man pleads for the poor Lazarus be raised from the dead and sent to the rich man’s brothers. The rich man says (verse 28), “For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”
2. Look how Ahab as the fool is fixated only on men. Ahab forgets God, but notice what Ahab DOES mention verse 1, “And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done.” Those who are religious but lost often talk about the power of a man and his extraordinary abilities. Friends, Elijah had truly done nothing—and our Lord said, “Without Me ye can do nothing”. But Ahab doesn’t see this. He only sees HIS plans and how they have been ruined by Elijah—and Jezebel doesn’t know the half of it. So Ahab tells Jezebel (verse 1) “all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.” He told her how he had mocked the priests of Baal, and how he had put them to death. How fire fell, the people fell, and she could see the rain falling.
Application: Let me make an application: Fools gossip. Fools talk about what so and so has done whether good or bad. So and so did this to me! I’m so angry! Or so and so is so awesome! He’s really something special. The wise do not have their focus on men, whether good or bad. Those men who fall do not shake the faith of the wise, neither do those who are extremely gifted receive the worship of the wise. The wise are God-centered!
C. Now let us look at the scorner of the passage: JEZEBEL. Proverbs 21:24, “Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.” Jezebel is sitting in the seat of the scornful. Look at Jezebel’s amazing irreverence.
Queen Jezebel is the classic picture of the scorner. She is one of the most notorious women in the Bible. She is the example of someone who is in full blown rebellion against God. She is her own god. She puts a death warrant on Elijah’s head!
Look at Jezebel’s response in verse 2, “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 to morrow about this time.” Here she stands opposed to this man who has just called fire down from heaven and slain 450 priests of Baal! There are some people who have so rejected God that they do not take off their shoes when they are walking on holy ground. There is no fear of God in Jezebel. She like Goliath of old defies God Himself. Now she says, I don’t care what it takes, Elijah must die!!
Now out of Jezebel and Ahab, its clear that Elijah is the true believer. You can identify him. And God is using and protecting him. I want you to see this in verse 2.
II. I want you to see God’s Protection during the Refining Fire. Sometimes God puts us in a crucible. And here it is as if God crushes Elijah’s heart to put a thorn in his flesh and show him his humanity.
God is going to do that at times. And Jezebel makes the declaration that she wants to kill Elijah. She could have sent her guards down there and done it. Elijah is very nearby, at the very gate of Jezreel where Ahab and Jezebel lived. It’s not like Jezebel has to go searching for him.
But look at how God protects his servant in verse 3, “And when he [ELIJAH] saw that [SAW WHAT? SAW THAT JEZEBEL WAS GOING TO TAKE HIS LIFE], he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba”. Now we do not know what happened here. It may be that God removed Elijah’s sense of safety, and very well may have spared his life. This really is uncharacteristic of Elijah, since he had waited so many times until the Word of the Lord came in order to change locations.
At any rate, Elijah is thrust into a time of personal crisis. His humanity is seen. And here you see that all men of God are merely that: they are just men. It is possible that this is a weak moment in Elijah’s life and he who had been sustained by great faith and vision of the living God, now seems to have lost sight of the Lord and sees only the fury of Jezebel!
I believe God is using this in Elijah’s life to humble him further, just as he gave Paul a thorn in his flesh.
III. So let us finally see the Process of God’s Refining Fire.
A. First we see his Run. Verse 3, ““And when he [ELIJAH] saw that [SAW WHAT? SAW THAT JEZEBEL WAS GOING TO TAKE HIS LIFE], he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba. 4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree:” I believe you see Elijah here without the power of the Lord. He runs from Jezreel to Beersheeba. He goes 80 miles on foot!!!
B. Now look at his Request in verse 4b, “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.” Let me be clear here. Elijah is not wishing for suicide. In no way! He is asking God to take him to heaven. This man would not die a natural death, much less through suicide. He would be carried to heaven in a chariot of fire! No he says “I am not better than my fathers” that I should live longer than they lived. And truly it was enough for most men, and Elijah would not a lot longer after this. He had lived a full life. He was not giving up, but he was asking God to call the fight.
Application: Here is encouragement for all who are weary. Why does Paul say in 2 Thessalonians 3:13, “be not weary in well doing”? Because we often are! And God does not send the chariot yet! Elijah’s ministry is not over yet, but in the crucible, God does answer Elijah’s request.
C. We see Elijah’s Rest. Verse 5, “And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree”. Elijah was exhausted. He had come 80 miles from Jezreel. He had see fire come from heaven. He spent three years before that waiting on God at the Brook Cherish and with the widow of Zerapheth. You need to serve God with all your might, but then God will give you times to rest. Take them! Take care of yourself.
Illustration: Robert Murray McCheyne dead at age 27. Preached himself to death. He bemoaned his fate, “God gave me a horse to ride and a message to preach. I’ve killed the horse and I can’t deliver the message.”
D. Look at Elijah’s Renewal and Revitalization. Verse 5, “behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. 6 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. 7 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. 8 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.”
Conclusion: Take time to be holy. Let the Lord minister to you. Rest in the Lord. Abide in Christ. And look at the renewal—Elijah (verse 8) “went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.”