M-G: 7.2.14 // What Are You Doing Here, 1 Kings 19:1, Part 14 of 17

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We now come to that part in the series where hypothetical, psychological, physical, and spiritual complexities have become so intertwined that it is like a labyrinth. I trust that the readers are not like Sergeant Joe Friday on the old TV series Dragnet in the late ’60s, “Just the facts, ma’am.” There are a few Bible facts strewn about here and there, but mostly we are in the land of in-between the lines, perhaps deeper still than previously. To travel in the unknown, with only a few fingerprints of facts, trying to establish some kind of contextual composite for any ventures of speculation are the stuff that endless theories are made of.

We got our educated guesses then our guesses gradually get less educated and unwieldy, and if we are not careful in this investigation, it will turn out as merely imagination run wild, unrestricted by reality (truth established, not theoretical truth). It may appear as if I am disclosing a spiritual structure or spiritual sequence as to why we wind up in a place where we don’t belong. I cannot be dogmatic over such conjectures. I am looking for answers as to why I did this or that in the past, looking for any clues even from the slightest hint from Scripture that will shed light on the truth. In the end, we may never know, but what we do know is that there was a man who loved the LORD that went on a mission for Him with great gallantry and wound up running like a coward into the desert. David went straight into the fray; so did Elijah. Both faced imminent death, but David fought; Elijah fled. We want to know why.

Could this very thing happen to me as a believer (Rom 15:4)? No doubt. Truthfully, we may never know the precise reason why Elijah bolted or us given our faulty sinful nature (Jer 17:9) and the lack of biblical data. The fearful reality and spiritual relief are if it happened to a spiritual giant like Elijah, “a man with a nature like ours” (Jas 5:17a), we could also be on a flight heading south from the will of God. Some of us already know and have experienced the truth of it. We are all, no matter our background, subject to fall until the time we leave this world.

The will of God today for many is like it was in the days of Elijah; everyone is doing their own thing, doing what is right in their own eyes rather than in the eyes of the LORD. There is a name for such a thing – apostasy; it’s a very ugly word and something you and I don’t want to be guilty of in going there. I might mention one more thing in all of this. This is not a physical conflict; it is spiritual in nature (1 Sam 17:47; Zech 4:6; Rom 13:12; 2 Cor 6:7; 10:3-5; Eph 6:13-18; 1 Thes 5:8), manifesting itself in the physical realm in our attitudes and actions. So it was with Elijah. 

There is a lot going on behind the scenes, and that is where we are now, behind the scenes. We got a glimpse behind-the-scenes in the Garden that led up to eating the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So taking our eyes off the LORD is a clear and ever-present danger to us who believe. We need something to alert us before that ever happens, finding ourselves in a place where we don’t belong. Elijah’s answer to Yahweh’s question would suggest he believed he had never taken his eyes off the LORD! He admitted he failed under the broom tree; he was no more successful than his predecessors (1 Kgs 19:4), but somehow we get the impression on Mt Horeb that it was out of his control. The choice was still his: to leave or to stay.  

With the death of the other prophets of Yahweh in the Northern Kingdom (1 Kgs 18:4), we do not have any information as to the reason for their demise only that Jezebel was implicated in their deaths (1 Kgs 18:13a; cf. 1 Pet 5:8). Apparently, it was God’s will for this to take place, but we do not have any of the facts surrounding the murders, but we know it was not God’s will for Elijah to die (2 Kgs 2:11) though he had no prior knowledge of that at the time of his departure from Jezreel. So, why did Elijah take the natural route rather than the spiritual one? Why did Elijah’s faith and trust in Yahweh not sustain him there in Jezreel? If he had taken his eyes off the LORD before then, as I have maintained, what led to his disobedience which seemed so unexpected given his past spiritual successes?

Whoever, whatever, whenever, wherever, and however never provide any legitimate reason for us to take our eyes off the LORD! All reasons would therefore be considered without merit. Naturally, our actions often reveal that we don’t agree with that statement. Recall, Elijah attempted to justify his actions. The very reasons that we appeal to for our defense may inadvertently reveal the real truth about what got us to a place without a purpose. God was already aware of any facts surrounding our case. His question revealed Elijah was not spiritually and physically where he needed to be. He was out of alignment with the will of God. But Elijah clung to his reasons anyway rather than admitting he was in a place serving no purpose whatsoever.

Our reasons can never justify how or why we got to a place where we don’t belong, and this is precisely the objective of the seed-planting devil, to move us to a place where we are of no use for God’s purposes, taking potential glory away from God. The first case study was in the Garden. If Satan can persuade us to simply disagree with Yahweh on a matter, for example, “You shall surely die,” everything will eventually fall into place falling out of place. Satan’s insidious strategy was to mix a seed of doubt with the lie that leads to questioning the integrity, motive, and goodness of God.

“You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gn 3:4-5).

The devil hasn’t stopped using this technique because God’s people have never quit biting into it (cf. Rom 15:4 again). Once we willingly disagree, our eyes are off the LORD, and we wind up in a place where we don’t belong. And the devil reveals a sinister smile like Ahab thinking Jezebel will rid him of the pesky prophet of Yahweh as she rants, raves, and seeks revenge (1 Kgs 19:1-2), “Ah, another one bites the dust!” The devil doesn’t care where we are physically as long as we are ineffective for the LORD, in a place that serves no purpose for His glory. Again, it can be a remote place, like Mt Horeb, or a densely populated metropolis like Shanghai with over 24 million people. We can run from God’s will and not physically travel any distance at all as Elijah did. 

The real threat to us is Satan getting us to disagree with God on anything. He only needs the proverbial foot in the door. This should put us on high alert. Satan is up to something, dropping seeds all over the place for the possibility of germinating into disobedience on our part! Satan will use that to displace us as believers to a spiritual no man’s land, where the only people there spiritually are me, myself, and I, and they make for lousy company. He can’t physically make us do anything, but he can be allowed to influence and drop in a situation connected with the disagreement, like a messenger dispatched by Jezebel, that reveals either a stalwart or a wayward heart. Is it any wonder we are commanded to keep our heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life (Prov 4:23)?

By the way, a tough situation falling into our lap does not necessarily mean we are in some kind of disagreement with God, or that the LORD is using that to bring it out into the open for a 1 Jn 1:9 closure. Yahweh’s question for Elijah on Horeb revealed there was some form of disagreement between God and Elijah.

Was not Elijah a man of God? Yes. Did he not do everything the LORD instructed him to do? Yes, until it came to Jezreel. The flight is possible evidence that something is amiss between Elijah and the LORD. The prima facie evidence is the nature of Yahweh’s question. Further evidence is found in Elijah's answer to Yahweh on Mt Horeb; it was treated as irrelevant to the question. Why didn’t the LORD read Elijah's Miranda rights or something like that to inform him of his right to remain silent and advise him that anything said can and will be used against him in the court of public opinion? 

While in this series, we will revisit his testimony one more time. One of the things I love about the Bible is that it doesn’t hold back on any punches; it is straightforward, telling it like it is. We never have to worry about being misled by anything or any hidden agendas; it's simply refreshing! Not only that, it is completely trustworthy. “Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God” (Lev 20:7) is a crystal clear agenda, don’t you think?

Supporting the underlying cause of taking our eyes off the LORD can be a rather lengthy discussion, so I will try my best to be succinct and persuasive. Whenever we sin against God, most fail to recognize even that concept – against God, we are in effect saying when we sin that we are not in agreement with God about that sin. God tells us it is not worth the costs; we think it is. Whatever the sin for whatever reason, we plunge headlong into it. It’s pleasurable for a season then the bitterness from the aftershocks arrives. We can seek and get forgiveness, but the ripple effect could go on for a lifetime. Sadly, this could happen again with the same sin or some other. It can be devastating and destructive; no one wins. The only light at the end of the tunnel for the believer caught up in disagreeing with God over sins is 1 Jn 1:9.

Do you know what is interesting about that verse? The verb confess (Gk, homologeō) means to acknowledge or be in agreement with! In other words, if we come to a unilateral agreement with God about that sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We are spiritually back in alignment with Him in fellowship. Being in disagreement with God is unrighteousness or defilement. 

We cannot be in fellowship with Him if we are in disagreement with Him about something pertaining to godliness or holiness which is linked to His will. Technically speaking, the phrase, “If we confess,” is a third-class condition and present active subjunctive. In other words, it carries the idea, “if we keep on confessing (or agreeing).” Fellowship is a choice; it’s not on autopilot; it can come to an abrupt halt because of sins of omission or commission. Fellowship will be broken over disagreements about sins. Remember the words of Amos, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed” (3:3)? 

In this matter of agreement, we don’t think or use this terminology, but we simply refer to being in or out of God's will, not in or out of agreement with Yahweh. This is the common religious vernacular. However, being in His will is literally being in agreement with Him, and conversely, being out of His will is literally being in disagreement with Him. Let’s take it from a broader perspective. Elijah complained to Yahweh that “the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant” (1 Kgs 19:10). Covenant here means an agreement between God and the tribes of Israel; Israel had forsaken God’s agreement; they had forsaken the Law of Moses. They weren’t guilty of violating some technicality of the Law or accidentally straying from the path; they had forsaken the LORD’s covenant or agreement with them. They let go of their relationship with Yahweh for something else – Baalism and apostasy resulted. A covenant can be between people, nations, God and man, depending upon the context. We call the two major sections of the Bible Old and New Testaments. But we could refer to them as the Old Covenant or the Old Agreement and the New Covenant or the New Agreement. 

Depending again on the context, there were conditional and unconditional features in the covenants. In a conditional agreement the responsibility was on both parties: if we do this God will do this. In an unconditional covenant, however, God was solely responsible for fulfilling the terms of the agreement. For example, the Abrahamic covenant was unconditional; God would make him a great nation. The blessings of the Mosaic covenant, in its Levitical aspect, were contingent on every man, woman, and child in their respective tribes to be in full compliance with Yahweh’s covenant or agreement made with them. 

Anyway, the idea of agreeing with God is all over the place, even in the matter of personal fellowship. The Bible is replete with stories of disagreement. History is full to the brim of lives in disagreement with Yahweh, a nation with another, and a man with another man. So, what disagreement did Elijah have with Yahweh that caused him to take his eyes off Him? I will propose that to you in Part 15 for your consideration, God willing. <><

To Part 15