Text -- 1 Kings 19:6-21 (NET)

19:6 He looked and right there by his head was a cake baking on hot coals and a jug of water. He ate and drank and then slept some more. 19:7 The Lord’s angelic messenger came back again, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, for otherwise you won’t be able to make the journey.” 19:8 So he got up and ate and drank. That meal gave him the strength to travel forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 19:9 He went into a cave there and spent the night. All of a sudden the Lord spoke to him, “Why are you here, Elijah?” 19:10 He answered, “I have been absolutely loyal to the Lord, the sovereign God, even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life.” 19:11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord. Look, the Lord is ready to pass by.” A very powerful wind went before the Lord, digging into the mountain and causing landslides, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the windstorm there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 19:12 After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a soft whisper. 19:13 When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his robe and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. All of a sudden a voice asked him, “Why are you here, Elijah?” 19:14 He answered, “I have been absolutely loyal to the Lord, the sovereign God, even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life.” 19:15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came and then head for the Desert of Damascus. Go and anoint Hazael king over Syria. 19:16 You must anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to take your place as prophet. 19:17 Jehu will kill anyone who escapes Hazael’s sword, and Elisha will kill anyone who escapes Jehu’s sword. 19:18 I still have left in Israel seven thousand followers who have not bowed their knees to Baal or kissed the images of him.” 19:19 Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen; he was near the twelfth pair. Elijah passed by him and threw his robe over him. 19:20 He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, then I will follow you.” Elijah said to him, “Go back! Indeed, what have I done to you?” 19:21 Elisha went back and took his pair of oxen and slaughtered them. He cooked the meat over a fire that he made by burning the harness and yoke. He gave the people meat and they ate. Then he got up and followed Elijah and became his assistant.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: 1Ki 19:7

_He needed not to complain of the unkindness of men, when it was thus made up by the ministration of angels. Wherever God's children are, they are still under their father's eye.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:8

He wandered hither and thither for forty days, 'till at last he came to Horeb, which in the direct road was not above three or four days journey. Thither the spirit of the Lord led him, probably beyond his own intention, that he might have communion with God, in the same place that Moses had.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:9

Perhaps the same wherein Moses was hid when the Lord passed before him, and proclaimed his name.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:10

_I have executed my office with zeal for God's honour, and with the hazard of my own life, and am fled hither, not being able to endure to see the dishonour done to thy name by their obstinate idolatry and wickedness.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:10

Of all thy prophets, who boldly and publickly plead thy cause: for the rest of thy prophets who are not slain, hide themselves, and dare not appear to do thee any service.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:10

I despair of doing them any good: for instead of receiving my testimony, they hunt for my life. It does by no means appear, that he was at all to blame, for fleeing from Jezebel. If they persecute you in one city flee into another. Besides, the angels feeding and preparing him for his journey, and the peculiar blessing of God upon that food, indicated the divine approbation.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:11

This is a general description of the thing, after which the manner of it is particularly explained.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:11

Whereby he both prepares Elijah to receive this discovery of God with greatest humility, reverence, and godly fear; and signifies his irresistible power, to break the hardest hearts of the Israelites, and to bear down all opposition that was or should be made against him in the discharge of his office.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:11

The Lord did not vouchsafe his special and gracious presence to Elijah in that wind, which possibly was to teach him not to wonder if God did not accompany his terrible administration at mount Carmel with the presence of his grace, to turn the hearts of the Israelites to himself.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:12

To intimate, that God would do his work in and for Israel in his own time, not by might or power, but by his own spirit, Zec 4:6, which moves with a powerful, but yet with a sweet and gentle gale.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:13

_Through dread of God's presence, being sensibly that he was neither worthy nor able to endure the sight of God with open face.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:13

Which God commanded him to do; and as he was going towards the mouth of the cave, he was affrighted and stopped in his course, by the dreadful wind, and earthquake, and fire; when these were past, he prosecutes his journey, and goeth on to the mouth of the cave.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:16

_That is, his grand - son, for he was the son of Jehosaphat, 2Ki 9:2. This was intended as a prediction that by these God would punish the degenerate Israelites, plead his own cause among them, and avenge the quarrel of his covenant.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:17

One or other of these should infallibly execute God's judgments upon the apostate Israelites. Elisha is said to slay them, either, because he slew those forty two children, 2Ki 2:24, besides others whom upon like occasions he might destroy; or, because he by God's appointment inflicted the famine, 2Ki 8:1, or rather, by the sword which came out of his mouth: the prophets being said to pull down and to destroy what they declare and foretel shall be pulled down. Hazael began to slay them before Jehu was king, though his cruelty was much increased afterward. Jehu destroyed those whom Hazael did not, as king Joram himself, and Ahaziah, and all the near relations of Ahab.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:18

Or, I have reserved to myself; I have kept from the common contagion: therefore thou art mistaken to think that thou art left alone.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:18

Either, definitely so many: or rather, indefinitely, for many thousands; the number of seven being often used for a great number.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:18

That is, all those who have not worshipped Baal, nor professed reverence or subjection to him: which idolaters did to their idols, by bowing the knee, and by kissing them.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:19

Who had twelve ploughs going, whereof eleven were managed by his servants, and the last by himself; according to the simplicity of those ancient times, in which men of good estate submitted to the meanest employments.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:19

By that ceremony conferring upon him the office of a prophet, which God was pleased to accompany with the gifts and graces of his spirit.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:20

Being powerfully moved by God's spirit to follow Elijah, and wholly give up himself to his function.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:20

That is, bid them farewell.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:20

And take thy leave of them, and then return to me again.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:20

Either first, to hinder thee from performing that office. That employment to which I have called thee, doth not require an alienation of thy heart from thy parents, nor the total neglect of them. Or, secondly, to make such a change in thee, that thou shouldst be willing to forsake thy parents, and lands, and all, that thou mayest follow me. Whence comes this marvellous change? It is not from me, who did only throw my mantle over thee; but from an higher power, even from God's spirit, which both changed thy heart, and consecrated thee to thy prophetical office: which therefore it concerns thee vigorously to execute, and wholly to devote thyself to it.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:21

From Elijah to his parents; whom when he had seen and kissed, he returned to Elijah.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:21

That is, with the wood belonging to the plow, &c. to which more was added, as occasion required. But that he burned, to shew his total relinquishing of his former employment.

Wesley: 1Ki 19:21

That is, he made thereof a feast for his servants who had been ploughing with him, and for him, and his other friends and neighbours who came to take their leave of him. Hereby he shewed how willingly and joyfully he forsook all his friends, that he might serve God in that high and honourable employment. It is of great advantage to young ministers, to spend some time under the direction of those that are aged and experienced; and not to think much, if occasion be, to minister unto them. Those who would be fit to teach, must have time to learn; those should first serve, who may hereafter rule.

JFB: 1Ki 19:16

That is, "the meadow of dancing," in the valley of the Jordan.

JFB: 1Ki 19:19

Most probably he belonged to a family distinguished for piety, and for their opposition to the prevailing calf-worship.

JFB: 1Ki 19:19

Indicating that he was a man of substance.

JFB: 1Ki 19:19

This was an investiture with the prophetic office. It is in this way that the Brahmins, the Persian Sufis, and other priestly or sacred characters in the East are appointed--a mantle being, by some eminent priest, thrown across their shoulders. Elisha had probably been educated in the schools of the prophets.

JFB: 1Ki 19:20

That is, Go, but keep in mind the solemn ceremony I have just performed on thee. It is not I, but God, who calls thee. Do not allow any earthly affection to detain you from obeying His call.

JFB: 1Ki 19:21

Having hastily prepared (2Sa 24:22) a farewell entertainment to his family and friends, he left his native place and attached himself to Elijah as his minister.

Clarke: 1Ki 19:6

A cake baken on the coals - All this seems to have been supernaturally provided.

Clarke: 1Ki 19:7

The journey is too great for thee - From Beer-sheba to Horeb was about one hundred and fifty miles.

Clarke: 1Ki 19:8

Forty days and forty nights - So he fasted just the same time as Moses did at Horeb, and as Christ did in the wilderness.

Clarke: 1Ki 19:9

He came thither unto a cave - Conjectured by some to be the same cave in which God put Moses that he might give him a glimpse of his glory. See Exo 33:22

Clarke: 1Ki 19:9

What doest thou here, Elijah? - Is this a reproach for having fled from the face of Jezebel, through what some call unbelieving fears, that God would abandon him to her rage?

Clarke: 1Ki 19:10

I have been very jealous for the Lord - The picture which he draws here of apostate Israel is very affecting: -

1. They have forsaken thy covenant - They have now cleaved to and worshipped other gods

2. Thrown down thine altars - Endeavoured, as much as they possibly could, to abolish thy worship, and destroy its remembrance from the land

3. And slain thy prophets - That there might be none to reprove their iniquity, or teach the truth; so that the restoration of the true worship might be impossible

4. I only, am left - They have succeeded in destroying all the rest of the prophets, and they are determined not to rest till they slay me.

Clarke: 1Ki 19:11

Stand upon the mount before the Lord - God was now treating Elijah nearly in the same way that he treated Moses; and it is not unlikely that Elijah was now standing on the same place where Moses stood, when God revealed himself to him in the giving of the law. See Exo 19:9, Exo 19:16

Clarke: 1Ki 19:11

The Lord passed by - It appears that the passing by of the Lord occasioned the strong wind, the earthquake, and the fire; but in none of these was God to make a discovery of himself unto the prophet; yet these, in some sort, prepared his way, and prepared Elijah to hear the still small voice. The apparatus, indicating the presence of the Divine Majesty, is nearly the same as that employed to minister the law to Moses; and many have supposed that God intended these things to be understood thus: that God intended to display himself to mankind not in judgment, but in mercy; and that as the wind, the earthquake, and the fire, were only the forerunners of the still small voice, which proclaimed the benignity of the Father of spirits; so the law, and all its terrors, were only intended to introduce that mild spirit of the Gospel of Jesus, proclaiming glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and good will unto men. Others think that all this was merely natural; and that a real earthquake, and its accompaniments, are described

1.    Previously to earthquakes the atmosphere becomes greatly disturbed, mighty winds and tempests taking place

2.    This is followed by the actual agitation of the earth

3.    In this agitation fire frequently escapes, or a burning lava is poured out, often accompanied with thunder and lightning

4.    After these the air becomes serene, the thunder ceases to roll, the forked lightnings no longer play, and nothing remains but a gentle breeze

However correct all this may be, it seems most probably evident that what took place at this time was out of the ordinary course of nature; and although the things, as mentioned here, may often be the accompaniments of an earthquake that has nothing supernatural in it; yet here, though every thing is produced in its natural order, yet the exciting cause of the whole is supernatural. Thus the Chaldee understands the whole passage: "And behold the Lord was revealed; and before him was a host of the angels of the wind, tearing the mountains, and breaking the rocks before the Lord, but the Majesty (Shechinah) of the Lord was not in the host of the angels of the wind. And after the host of the angels of the wind, there was a host of the angels of commotion; but the Majesty of the Lord was not in the host of the angels of commotion. And after the host of the angels of commotion, a fire; but the Majesty of the Lord was not in the host of the angels of fire. And after the host of the angels of fire, a voice singing in silence,"etc.; that is, a sound with which no other sound was mingled. Perhaps the whole of this is intended to give an emblematical representation of the various displays of Divine providence and grace.

Clarke: 1Ki 19:13

Wrapped his face in his mantle - This he did to signify his respect; so Moses hid his face, for he dared not to look upon God Exo 3:6. Covering the face was a token of respect among the Asiatics, as uncovering the head is among the Europeans.

Clarke: 1Ki 19:15

To the wilderness of Damascus - He does not desire him to take a road by which he might be likely to meet Jezebel, or any other of his enemies

Clarke: 1Ki 19:15

Anoint Hazael - For what reason the Lord was about to make all these revolutions, we are told in 1Ki 19:17. God was about to bring his judgments upon the land, and especially on the house of Ahab. This he exterminated by means of Jehu; and Jehu himself was a scourge of the Lord to the people. Hazael also grievously afflicted Israel; see the accomplishment of these purposes, 2 Kings 8 (note), and 2 Kings 9 (note).

Clarke: 1Ki 19:16

Elisha - shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room - Jarchi gives a strange turn to these words: "Thy prophecy (or execution of the prophetic office) does not please me, because thou art the constant accuser of my children."With all their abominations, this rabbin would have us to believe that those vile idolaters and murderers were still the beloved children of God! And why? Because God had made a covenant with their fathers; therefore said the ancient as well as the modern siren song: "Once in the covenant, always in the covenant; once a son, and a son for ever."And yet we have here the testimony of God’ s own prophet, and the testimony of their history, that they had forsaken the covenant, and consequently renounced all their interest in it.

Clarke: 1Ki 19:17

Shall Elisha slay - We do not find that Elisha either used the sword, or commissioned it to be used, though he delivered solemn prophecies against this disobedient people: and this is probably the sense in which this should be understood, as Elisha was prophet before Hazael was king, and Hazael was king before Jehu; and the heavy famine which he brought on the land took place before the reign either of Jehu or Hazael. The meaning of the prophecy may be this: Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha, shall be the ministers of my vengeance against this disobedient and rebellious people. The order of time, here, is not to be regarded.

Clarke: 1Ki 19:18

Seven thousand in Israel - That is, many thousands; for seven is a number of perfection, as we have often seen: so, The barren has borne seven - has had a numerous off-spring; Gold seven times purified - purified till all the dross is perfectly separated from it. The court and multitudes of the people had gone after Baal; but perhaps the majority of the common people still worshipped in secret the God of their fathers

Clarke: 1Ki 19:18

Every mouth which hath not kissed him - Idolaters often kissed their hand in honor of their idols; and hence the origin of adoration - bringing the hand to the mouth after touching the idol, if it were within reach; and if not, kissing the right hand in token of respect and subjection. The word is compounded of ad , to, and os , oris , the mouth. Dextera manu deum contingentes, ori admovebant : "Touching the god with their right hand, they applied it to their mouth."So kissing the hand, and adoration, mean the same thing -

Thus Pliny

Inter adorandum, dexteram ad osculum referimus, totum corpus circumagimus : Nat. Hist. lib. xxviii., cap. 2. -

"In the act of adoration we kiss the right hand, and turn about the whole body.

Cicero mentions a statue of Hercules, the chin and lips of which were considerably worn by the frequent kissing of his worshippers

Ut rictus ejus, et mentum paulo sit attritius, quod in precibus et gratulationibus, non solum id venerari, sed etiam osculari solent . - Orat. in Verrem

I have seen several instances of this, especially in the paintings of old saints: the lips and mouth of beautiful paintings literally worn away by the unmerciful osculations of devotees.

Clarke: 1Ki 19:19

Twelve yoke of oxen - Elisha must have had a considerable estate, when he kept twelve yoke of oxen to till the ground. If, therefore, he obeyed the prophetic call, he did it to considerable secular loss

Clarke: 1Ki 19:19

He with the twelfth - Every owner of an inheritance among the Hebrews, and indeed among the ancients in general, was a principal agent in its cultivation

Clarke: 1Ki 19:19

Cast his mantle upon him - Either this was a ceremony used in a call to the prophetic office, or it indicated that he was called to be the servant of the prophet. The mantle, or pallium, was the peculiar garb of the prophet, as we may learn from Zec 13:4; and this was probably made of skin dressed with the hair on. See also 2Ki 1:8. It is likely, therefore, that Elijah threw his mantle on Elisha to signify to him that he was called to the prophetic office. See more on this subject below.

Clarke: 1Ki 19:20

Let me - kiss my father and my mother - Elisha fully understood that he was called by this ceremony to the prophetic office: and it is evident that he conferred not with flesh and blood, but resolved, immediately resolved, to obey; only he wished to bid farewell to his relatives. See below

Clarke: 1Ki 19:20

What have I done to thee? - Thy call is not from me, but from God: to him, not to me, art thou accountable for thy use or abuse of it.

Clarke: 1Ki 19:21

He returned back - He went home to his house; probably he yet lived with his parents, for it appears he was a single man: and he slew a yoke of the oxen - he made a feast for his household, having boiled the flesh of the oxen with his agricultural implements, probably in token that he had abandoned secular life: then, having bidden them an affectionate farewell, he arose, went after Elijah, who probably still awaited his coming in the field or its vicinity, and ministered unto him

On the call of Elisha, I may make a few remarks

1.    Elijah is commanded, 1Ki 19:16, to anoint Elisha prophet in his room. Though it is generally believed that kings, priests, and prophets, were inaugurated into their respective offices by the right of unction, and this I have elsewhere supposed; yet this is the only instance on record where a prophet is commanded to be anointed; and even this case is problematical, for it does not appear that Elijah did anoint Elisha. Nothing is mentioned in his call to the prophetic office, but the casting the mantle of Elijah upon him; wherefore it is probable that the word anoint, here signifies no more than the call to the office, accompanied by the simple rite of having the prophet’ s mantle thrown over his shoulders

2.    A call to the ministerial office, though it completely sever from all secular occupations, yet never supersedes the duties of filial affection. Though Elisha must leave his oxen, and become a prophet to Israel: yet he may first go home, eat and drink with his parents and relatives, and bid them an affectionate farewell

3.    We do not find any attempt on the part of his parents to hinder him from obeying the Divine call: they had too much respect for the authority of God, and they left their son to the dictates of his conscience. Wo to those parents who strive, for filthy lucre’ s sake, to prevent their sons from embracing a call to preach Jesus to their perishing countrymen, or to the heathen, because they see that the life of a true evangelist is a life of comparative poverty, and they had rather he should gain money than save souls

4.    The cloak, we have already observed, was the prophet’ s peculiar habit; it was probably in imitation of this that the Greek philosophers wore a sort of mantle, that distinguished them from the common people; and by which they were at once as easily known as certain academical characters are by their gowns and square caps. The pallium was as common among the Greeks as the toga was among the Romans. Each of these was so peculiar to those nations, that Palliatus is used to signify a Greek, as Togatus is to signify a Roman

5.    Was it from this act of Elijah, conveying the prophetic office and its authority to Elisha by throwing his mantle upon him, that the popes of Rome borrowed the ceremony of collating an archbishop to the spiritualities and temporalities of his see, and investing him with plenary sacerdotal authority, by sending him what is well known in ecclesiastical history by the name pallium, pall, or cloak? I think this is likely; for as we learn from Zec 13:4, and 2Ki 1:8, that this mantle was a rough or hairy garment, so we learn from Durandus that the pallium or pall was made of white wool, after the following manner: -

The nuns of St. Agnes, annually on the festival of their patroness, offer two white lambs on the altar of their church, during the time they sing Agnus Dei, in a solemn mass; which lambs are afterwards taken by two of the canons of the Lateran church, and by them given to the pope’ s sub-deacons, who send them to pasture till shearing time; and then they are shorn, and the pall is made of their wool, mixed with other white wool. The pall is then carried to the Lateran church, and there placed on the high altar by the deacons, on the bodies of St. Peter and St. Paul; and, after a usual watching or vigil, it is carried away in the night, and delivered to the sub-deacons, who lay it up safely. Now, because it was taken from the body of St. Peter, it signifies the plenitude of ecclesiastical power: and, therefore, the popes assume it as their prerogative, being the professed successors of this apostle, to invest other prelates with it. This was at first confined to Rome, but afterwards it was sent to popish prelates in different parts of the world

6.    It seems, from the place in Zechariah, quoted above, that this rough cloak or garment became the covering of hypocrites and deceivers; and that persons assumed the prophetic dress without the prophetic call, and God threatens to unmask them. We know that this became general in the popish Church in the beginning of the 16th century; and God stripped those false prophets of their false and wicked pretensions, and exposed them to the people. Many of them profited by this exposure, and became reformed; and the whole community became at least more cautious. The Romish Church should be thankful to the Reformation for the moral purity which is now found in it; for, had not its vices, and usurpations, and super-scandalous sales of indulgences, been thus checked, the whole fabric had by this time been probably dissolved. Should it carry its reformation still farther, it would have a more legitimate pretension to the title of apostolic. Let them compare their ritual with the Bible and common sense, and they will find cause to lop many cumbrous and rotten branches from a good tree.

Defender: 1Ki 19:18

In spite of Elijah's great victory at Carmel and the excited cry of conversion by the people (1Ki 18:39), the people still feared to rebel against Jezebel and her Baalite state religion. Elijah therefore fled for his life, convinced he was the only true believer in Israel (1Ki 19:10). Nevertheless, God always, in every age, has His "7000" (1Ki 19:18) who are at least open-hearted to the truth when they hear it."

TSK: 1Ki 19:6

cake : 1Ki 17:6, 1Ki 17:9-15; Psa 37:3; Isa 33:16; Mat 4:11, Mat 6:32; Mar 8:2, Mar 8:3; Joh 21:5, Joh 21:9

head : Heb. bolster

TSK: 1Ki 19:7

the angel : 1Ki 19:5

because the journey : Deu 33:25; Psa 103:13, Psa 103:14

TSK: 1Ki 19:8

in the strength : Dan 1:15; 2Co 12:9

forty days : Exo 24:18, Exo 34:28; Deu 9:9, Deu 9:18; Mat 4:2; Mar 1:13; Luk 4:2

Horeb : Exo 3:1, Exo 19:18; Mal 4:4, Mal 4:5

TSK: 1Ki 19:9

unto a cave : Exo 33:21, Exo 33:22; Jer 9:2; Heb 11:38

What doest thou : 1Ki 19:13; Gen 3:9, Gen 16:8; Jer 2:18; Jon 1:3, Jon 1:4

TSK: 1Ki 19:10

very jealous : Exo 20:5, Exo 34:14; Num 25:11, Num 25:13; Psa 69:9, Psa 119:139; Joh 2:17

thrown down : 1Ki 19:14, 1Ki 18:4, 1Ki 18:30; Jer 2:30; Hos 5:11; Mic 6:16, Mic 7:2

I only : 1Ki 18:4, 1Ki 18:20, 1Ki 18:22, 1Ki 20:13, 1Ki 20:22, 1Ki 20:35, 1Ki 20:41, 1Ki 20:42, 1Ki 22:8; Rom 11:2-4

they seek my life : 1Ki 19:2, 1Ki 18:10, 1Ki 18:17

TSK: 1Ki 19:11

stand upon the mount : Exo 19:20, Exo 24:12, Exo 24:18, Exo 34:2; Mat 17:1-3; 2Pe 1:17, 2Pe 1:18

the Lord passed : Exo 33:21-23, Exo 34:6; Hab 3:3-5

and a great : Exo 19:16, Exo 20:18; Job 38:1; Psa 50:3; Isa 30:30; Eze 1:4, Eze 37:7; Nah 1:3, Nah 1:6; Heb 12:18-21; Rev 20:11

but the Lord was not in the wind : Zec 4:6

an earthquake : 1Sa 14:15; Psa 68:8; Nah 1:5; Zec 14:5; Mat 24:7, Mat 27:51-54, Mat 28:2; Heb 12:26; Rev 11:19, Rev 16:18

TSK: 1Ki 19:12

a fire : 1Ki 18:38; Gen 15:17; Exo 3:2; Deu 4:11, Deu 4:12, Deu 4:33; 2Ki 1:10, 2Ki 2:11; Heb 12:29

a still : Exo 34:6; Job 4:16, Job 33:7; Zec 4:6; Act 2:2, Act 2:36, Act 2:37

TSK: 1Ki 19:13

he wrapped his face : This he did to signify his reverence; for covering the face was a token of respect among the Asiatics, as uncovering the head is among Europeans. See note on 1Ki 18:42. Exo 3:5, Exo 3:6, Exo 33:23; Isa 6:2, Isa 6:5

What doest : 1Ki 19:9; Gen 16:8; Joh 21:15-17

TSK: 1Ki 19:14

I have been : 1Ki 19:9, 1Ki 19:10; Isa 62:1, Isa 62:6, Isa 62:7

forsaken : Deu 29:25, Deu 31:20; Psa 78:37; Isa 1:4; Jer 22:9; Dan 11:30; Hos 6:7; Heb 8:9

TSK: 1Ki 19:15

wilderness of Damascus : The wilderness of Damascus seems to have been that part of Arabia Deserta which lay on the south-east of that city, and east of the Trachonites, or the Djebel Haouran and El Ledja; at which the prophet could arrive without meeting Jezebel or any of his enemies. Gen 14:15; 2Ki 8:7; Act 9:2, Act 9:3

anoint : Isa 45:1; Jer 1:10, 27:2-22

Hazael : 2Ki 8:8-15, 2Ki 8:28, 2Ki 9:14; Amo 1:4

TSK: 1Ki 19:16

Jehu : 2Ki 9:1-3, 2Ki 9:6-14

Elisha : 1Ki 19:19-21; Luk 4:27, Eliseus

Abelmeholah : 1Ki 4:12; Jdg 7:22

TSK: 1Ki 19:17

him that escapeth : Isa 24:17, Isa 24:18; Amo 2:14, Amo 5:19

the sword of Hazael : 2Ki 8:12, 2Ki 10:32, 2Ki 13:3, 2Ki 13:22

the sword of Jehu : 2Ki 9:14-26, 2Ki 10:6-11

Elisha slay : 2Ki 2:23, 2Ki 2:24; Isa 11:4; Jer 1:10; Hos 6:5; Rev 19:21

TSK: 1Ki 19:18

Yet I have left : or, Yet I will leave, Isa 1:9, Isa 10:20-22; Rom 11:4, Rom 11:5

the knees : Exo 20:5; Isa 49:23; Rom 14:10-12; Phi 2:10

every mouth : Idolaters often kissed their hand in honour of their idols; and hence the origin of adoration from ad , to and os , oris , the mouth. Cicero mentions a statue of Hercules, the chin and lips of which were considerably worn by the kissing of his worshippers. Job 31:27; Psa 2:12; Hos 13:2

TSK: 1Ki 19:19

Elisha : 1Ki 19:16

he with : Exo 3:1; Jdg 6:11; Psa 78:70-72; Amo 7:14; Zec 13:5; Mat 4:18, Mat 4:19

his mantle : 1Ki 19:13; 1Sa 28:14; 2Ki 2:8, 2Ki 2:13, 2Ki 2:14

TSK: 1Ki 19:20

he left : Mat 4:20, Mat 4:22, Mat 9:9, Mat 19:27

I pray : Mat 8:21, Mat 8:22; Luk 9:61, Luk 9:62; Act 20:37

Go back again : Heb. Go, return

TSK: 1Ki 19:21

boiled their flesh : 2Sa 24:22

gave unto : Luk 5:28, Luk 5:29

ministered : 1Ki 18:43; Exo 24:13; Num 27:18-20; 2Ki 2:3, 2Ki 3:11; Act 13:5; 2Ti 4:11; Phm 1:13

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 1Ki 19:6

A cake baken on the coals - It is not implied that Elijah found a fire lighted and the cake on it, but only that he found one of the usual baked cakes of the desert, which form the ordinary food of the Arab at the present day.

At his head - The Hebrew word means simply "the place on which the head lies;"hence, the marginal rendering, "bolster."

Barnes: 1Ki 19:7

Arise and eat ... - i. e., "Eat a second time, for otherwise the journey will be beyond thy powers.""The journey"was not simply a pilgrimage to Horeb, which was less than 200 miles distant, and might have been reached in six or seven days. It was to be a wandering in the wilderness, not unlike that of the Israelites when they came out of Egypt; only it was to last forty days instead of forty years.

Barnes: 1Ki 19:8

The old commentators generally understood this to mean that Elijah had no other food at all, and compared this long fast with that of Moses and that of our Lord (marginal references). But the words do not exclude the notion of the prophet’ s having obtained such nourishment from roots and fruits as the desert offers to a wanderer, though these alone would not have sustained him.

Barnes: 1Ki 19:9

A cave - Rather, "the cave."Some well-known cave must be intended - perhaps the "cliff of the rock"Exo 33:22. The traditional "cave of Elijah"which is shown in the secluded plain immediately below the highest summit of the Jebel Mousa, cannot, from its small size, be the real cavern.

Barnes: 1Ki 19:10

I, even I only, am left - The same statement as in 1Ki 18:22, but the sense is different. There Elijah merely said that he alone remained to execute the prophet’ s office, which was true; here he implies that he is the only prophet left alive, whereas a hundred had been saved by Obadiah 1Ki 18:4.

Barnes: 1Ki 19:11

And behold, the Lord passed by - The remainder of this verse and the whole of the next are placed by the Septuagint, and by the Arabic translator, in the mouth of the Angel. But it seems best to regard the vision as ending with the words "before the Lord"- and the writer as then assuming that this was done, and proceeding to describe what followed.

Barnes: 1Ki 19:12

A still small voice - literally, "a sound of soft stillness."The teaching is a condemnation of that "zeal"which Elijah had gloried in, a zeal exhibiting itself in fierce and terrible vengeances, and an exaltation and recommendation of that mild and gentle temper, which "beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."But it was so contrary to the whole character of the stern, harsh, unsparing Tishbite, that it could have found no ready entrance into his heart. It may have for a while moderated his excessive zeal, and inclined him to gentler courses; but later in his life the old harshness recurred in a deed in reference to which our Lord himself drew the well-known contrast between the spirits of the two Dispensations Luk 9:51-56.

Barnes: 1Ki 19:13

Mantle - The upper garment, a sort of short cloak or cape - perhaps made of untanned sheepskin, which was, besides the strip of leather round his loins, the sole apparel of the prophet (compare Mat 3:4). For the action compare the marginal references.

There came a voice unto him ... - The question heard before in vision is now put again to the prophet by the Lord Himself. Elijah gives no humbler and more gentle answer. He is still satisfied with his own statement of his case.

Barnes: 1Ki 19:15

The answer is not a justification of the ways of God, nor a direct reproof of the prophet’ s weakness and despondency, nor an explanation or application of what Elijah had seen. For the present, he is simply directed back into the path of practical duty. His mission is not yet over, there is still work for him to do. He receives special injunctions with respect to Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha; and he is comforted with a revelation well adapted to rouse him from his despondency: there are seven thousand who will sympathize with him in his trials, and who need his care and attention.

The wilderness of Damascus - Probably the district north of the prophet’ s own country, between Bashan and Damascus itself, and which was known in later times as Iturea and Gaulanitis. Here the prophet might be secure from Jezebel, while he could readily communicate with both Israel and Damascus, and execute the commissions with which he was entrusted.

When thou comest, anoint - Rather, "and thou shalt go and anoint,"Elijah performed one only of the three commissions given to him. He appears to have been left free to choose the time for executing his commissions, and it would seem that he thought the proper occasion had not arisen either for the first or the second before his own translation. But he took care to communicate the divine commands to his successor, who performed them at the fitting moment (marginal references).

Barnes: 1Ki 19:16

Jehu, the son of Nimshi - In reality the grandson of Nimshi. But he seems to have been commonly known by the above title 2Ki 9:20; 2Ch 22:7, perhaps because his father had died and his grand-father had brought him up.

Abel-meholah - See Jdg 7:22 note. (Conder identifies it with Ain Helweh.)

Elisha ... shalt thou anoint - This is almost the only place where we hear of the anointing of prophets (compare 1Ch 16:22 and Psa 105:15).

Barnes: 1Ki 19:17

Compare the marginal references.

Shall Elisha slay - i. e., With a spiritual slaying by the "word of the Lord,"which is "sharper than any two-edged sword,"and may be said to slay those whose doom it pronounces (compare the marginal reference; Jer 1:10). Elisha does not seem, like Elijah, to have executed God’ s judgments on the guilty.

Barnes: 1Ki 19:18

Yet I have left me ... - Rather, as in the margin. "Seven thousand"faithful Israelites shall survive all the persecutions of Ahab and Jezebel, and carry down the worship of Yahweh to another generation. Elijah is mistaken in supposing that he only is left. The number is manifestly a "round"number, not an exact estimate. Perhaps it is, moreover, a mystical or symbolic number. Compare Rev 7:5-8. Of all the symbolic numbers used in Scripture, seven is the most common.

Every mouth which hath not kissed him - Idolaters sometimes kissed the hand to the object of their worship Job 31:26-27; at other times they kissed the actual image (marginal reference).

Barnes: 1Ki 19:19

Plowing - Elisha’ s occupation is an indication of his character. He is emphatically a man of peace. He passes the year in those rural occupations which are natural to the son of a wealthy yeoman - superintending the field-laborers himself, and taking a share in their toils. He thus presents a strong contrast to the stern, harsh, rugged Gileadite, who is almost half an Arab, who seems to have no settled home, no quiet family circle, who avoids the haunts of men, and is content for months to dwell in a cavern instead of under a roof.

With twelve yoke of oxen - He was plowing in a field with eleven other plows at work, each drawn by one yoke of oxen. Plowing with a single pair of oxen was the practice in Egypt, in Assyria, in Palestine, and in modern times throughout Western Asia.

Passed by him - Rather, "crossed over to him."Perhaps it is meant that he crossed the stream of the Jordan.

Cast his mantle upon him - The action is explained as constituting a species of adoption, because a father naturally clothes his children. The notion of fatherhood and sonship was evidently understood between them 2Ki 2:9-12.

Barnes: 1Ki 19:20

Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father ... - Not an unnatural request before following his new spiritual father. Elijah sees in his address a divided heart, and will not give the permission or accept the service thus tendered. Hence, his cold reply. See Luk 9:61-62.

Go back again ... - i. e., "Go, return to thy plowing ... why shouldest thou quit it? Why take leave of thy friends and come with me? What have I done to thee to require such a sacrifice? for as a sacrifice thou evidently regardest it. Truly I have done nothing to thee. Thou canst remain as thou art."

Barnes: 1Ki 19:21

Elisha returns to his oxen and laborers. He indicates his relinquishment of his home and calling by the slaughter of the particular yoke of oxen with which he had himself been plowing, probably the best beasts of the twelve, and by burning the "instruments,"the p oughs and yokes, both made of wood. Next he feasts his people to show his gratitude for his call, Elijah apparently remaining the while; and then, leaving father and mother, cattle and land, good position and comfortable home, Elisha became the "minister"to the wanderer. Compare Exo 24:13; Jos 1:1.

Poole: 1Ki 19:7

i.e. Above thy strength, now especially when thou art faint, and weary, and fasting.

Poole: 1Ki 19:8

In the strength of that meat God giving that food a far greater and more durable virtue than ordinary.

Unto Horeb: he wandered hither and thither for forty days, till at last he came to Horeb, which in the direct road was not above three or four days’ journey.

Poole: 1Ki 19:9

A tacit reproof. This is not thy proper place, nor the station in which I set thee, which was in Israel, to turn that backsliding people, to which end I gave thee my help, and would have proceeded to assist thee further, if thou hadst continued there. Nor did I give thee those excellent gifts to lie idle in this wilderness, but to employ them for thy people’ s good, whom now thou hast deserted, and art come hither, not by my command, but through thy own fear and cowardice.

Poole: 1Ki 19:10

I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts I have not been wholly wanting to my vocation, but have executed my office with zeal for God’ s honour and service, and with the hazard of my own life; and am fled hither, not being able to endure to see the dishonour done to thy name by their obstinate idolatry and wickedness.

Thrown down thine altars those which were erected for thy worship in high places, which they did not destroy because they were to be abolished by thy command, De 12 , but out of mere contempt and opposition against thee, and therefore they suffered the altars of Baal to stand.

I only am left to wit, of all thy prophets, I mean, which do boldly and publicly plead thy cause; for the rest of thy prophets who are not slain hide themselves, and dare not appear to do thee any service.

They seek my life to take it away: I despair of doing them any good; for instead of receiving my testimony, they hunt for my life.

Poole: 1Ki 19:11

The Lord passed by either, first, by his harbingers; for, as it follows, the Lord was not yet there; or, secondly, himself. And so this is a brief and general description of the thing, after which the manner of it is particularly explained.

Rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks whereby be both prepares Elijah to receive this discovery of God with greatest humility, reverence, and godly fear; and signifies his almighty and irresistible power to break the hardest hearts of the Israelites, and to bear down all opposition that was or should be made against him in the discharge of his office.

The Lord was not in the wind the Lord did not vouchsafe his special and gracious presence to Elijah in that wind, where he confidently expected him; which possibly was, either, first, To qualify the excessive fervour and passion of Elijah, which mixed itself with his zeal for God, and to make him more mild in his censures, and more meek and patient in waiting for the conversion of Israel; wherein he might sooner expect God’ s presence and blessed success, than in the storm of anger or impatience. Or, secondly, To teach him not to wonder if God did not accompany his terrible administration at Mount Carmel with the presence of his grace, to turn the hearts of the Israelites to himself, as he desired, but God for wise and just reasons saw fit to deny.

Poole: 1Ki 19:12

Wherein it is implied that God was present; which peradventure was to insinuate, that God would do his work in and for Israel in his own time, not by might or power, but by his own Spirit, Zec 4:6 , which moves with a powerful, but yet with a sweet and gentle gale.

Poole: 1Ki 19:13

He wrapped his face in his mantle through horror and dread of God’ s presence, being sensible that he was neither worthy nor able to endure the sight of God with open face. Compare Gen 16:13 , with Exo 3:6 .

Stood in the entering in of the cave which God commanded him to do; and as he was going towards the mouth of the cave, he was affrighted and stopped in his course, by the dreadful wind, and earthquake, and fire; and when these were past, he prosecutes his journey, and goeth on to the mouth of the cave, and there stands still. Or the words may be rendered, after (as vau is elsewhere used) he was gone out, and standing in the mouth of the cave ; which may be mentioned as the reason why he covered his face, because now he wanted the shelter of the cave.

What doest thou here, Elijah? what before he spake by an angel, he now speaks to him again immediately.

Poole: 1Ki 19:15

Return on thy way by which thou camest; for so in part lay the way from Horeb to Damascus.

Anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: anoint ; either, first, Figuratively, i.e. appoint or declare him king; which was done, 2Ki 8:12 ; for this word is oft used of them who were never anointed with oil, Psa 45:7 Isa 45:1 41:1 Zec 4:14 Dan 9:24 . Or, secondly, Properly; which might be done, though it be not related. Again, anoint , either by thyself, or by another; for so he anointed Jehu by Elisha, 2Ki 9:1,6 .

Poole: 1Ki 19:16

The son of Nimshi i. e. his grandson, for he was the son of Jehoshaphat, 2Ki 9:2 ; he constituted

Elisha prophet, by casting his mantle over him, here, 1Ki 19:19 .

Poole: 1Ki 19:17

Here the order of times seems to be perverted; for Elisha was prophet before Jehu or Hazael were kings, and Hazael was king before Jehu. But that is of no moment as to the substance of the thing threatened, which is only this, that one or other of these should infallibly execute God’ s judgments upon the apostatical Israelites. Elisha is said to slay them, either because he slew those forty-two children, 2Ki 2:24 , besides others whom upon like occasions he might destroy; or because he by God’ s appointment inflicted the famine, 2Ki 6:31 ; or rather, by the sword which came out of his mouth, as Isa 49:2 Rev 1:16 19:15,21 , by his cutting prophecies and threatenings of God’ s judgments; the prophets being said to pull down and to destroy what they only declare and foretell shall be pulled down, &c. Hazael began to slay them before Jehu was king, 2Ki 8:28 , though his cruelty was much increased afterward, 2Ki 10:32 13:1-3 ; and Jehu destroyed those whom Hazael did not, king Joram himself, and Ahaziah, and his forty-two brethren, 2Ki 9:24,27 10:14 , all the near relations of wicked Ahab.

Poole: 1Ki 19:18

I have left , or, I have reserved to myself ; I have by my grace kept from the common contagion; therefore thou art mistaken to think that thou art left alone, or that the people are universally corrupted. Or, I will reserve , from the slaughters last mentioned, and from Jezebel’ s rage.

Seven thousand either definitely so many; or rather, indefinitely, for many thousands; the number of seven being oft used for a great number, as Lev 26:18 Psa 12:6 Mic 5:5 Zec 3:9 Luk 17:4 . For it is altogether improbable that all the Israelites except seven thousand did worship Baal; except Baal be here synecdochically put for all their idols, and the calves among others.

All the knees which have not bowed unto Baal and every mouth which hath not kissed him, i.e. all those who have not worshipped Baal, nor professed reverence or subjection to him; which idolaters did to their idols, by bowing the knee, Rom 11:4 ; compare Rom 14:11 Phi 2:10 , and by kissing them, or by kissing their hand with their mouth before them, and in respect to them; of which mention is made both in Scripture, as Job 31:26,27 Ho 13:2 ; compare Psa 2:12 , and in Pliny, Apuleius, and other profane authors. And God chooseth these expressions here, to teach men that it is not sufficient to deny inward veneration of mind and heart to idols, unless they do also forbear all outward significations of worship or reverence to them; and that he will own none for his people that do otherwise.

Poole: 1Ki 19:19

He with the twelfth who had twelve ploughs going, whereof eleven were managed by his servants, and the last by himself; according to the simplicity and humility of those ancient times, in which men of good worth and estate submitted themselves to the meanest employments.

Cast his mantle upon him by that ceremony conferring upon him the office of a prophet, which God was pleased to accompany with the gifts and graces of his Spirit, wherewith he endowed and qualified him for it. The mantle was the usual habit of the prophets. See 2Ki 1:8 Zec 13:4 . But whether he did also anoint him is uncertain. See Poole "1Ki 19:16" .

Poole: 1Ki 19:20

He ran after Elijah being powerfully moved by God’ s Spirit to follow Elijah, and wholly to give up himself to his affection.

And said or, but he said ; or, yet he said .

Let me kiss my father and my mother i.e. bid them farewell, by the usual ceremony. See Gen 29:11 31:28 Act 20:37 .

Go back again and take thy leave of them, as thou desirest, and then return to me again.

What have I done to thee? either, first, To hinder thee from performing that office. That employment to which I have called thee doth not require an alienation of thy heart from thy parents, nor the total neglect of them. Or, secondly, To make such a change in thee, that thou shouldst be willing to forsake thy parents, and lands, and all, and desire only this liberty to go and bid them farewell, that thou mayest follow me. Whence comes this marvellous change? It is not from me, who did only throw my mantle over thee; but from a higher power, even from God’ s Spirit, which hath changed thy heart, and consecrated thee to thy prophetical office; which therefore it concerns thee vigorously to execute, and wholly to devote thyself to it.

Poole: 1Ki 19:21

He returned back from him from Elijah to his parents, whom when he had seen and kissed, he returned to the field where Elijah was.

With the instruments of the oxen i.e. with the wood belonging to the plough, &c., to which more was added, as occasion required; but that he burned, to show his total relinquishing of his former employment.

Gave unto the people i.e. he made thereof a feast for his servants who had been ploughing with him, and for him, and his other friends and neighbours who came to take their leave of him. Hereby he showed how willingly and joyfully he forsook all his friends, that he might serve God in that high and honourable employment.

Haydock: 1Ki 19:6

Cake, baked in a hollow stone, covered with fire. The Arabs call such cakes, Ridpha. An angel brought this nourishment. (Calmet)

Haydock: 1Ki 19:7

Go. Hebrew, "the journey is too great for thee," without this support. (Haydock) ---

He spent forty days in this journey, as he did not follow the straitest road. Horeb is only about fifty leagues from Bersabee. (Calmet) ---

He might have travelled thither in four or five days. (Menochius)

Haydock: 1Ki 19:8

In the strength of that food, &c. This bread with which Elias was fed in the wilderness, was a figure of the bread of life, which we receive in the blessed sacrament [of the Eucharist]: by the strength of which we are to be supported in our journey through the wilderness of this world, till we come to the true mountain of God, and his vision in a happy eternity. (Challoner) ---

Horeb signifies "a rock, or dry wilderness." (Calmet)

Haydock: 1Ki 19:9

Here. Thy presence is necessary in Israel. (Tirinus) ---

Elias had been guided by a natural fear. (Menochius) ---

"With how great familiarity is he received by God!" (Tertullian, contra Psychic. vi.)

Haydock: 1Ki 19:10

Zeal; ordering the idolatrous prophets to be destroyed, (Menochius) which has enkindled the rage of Jezabel against me. I cannot bear to see the general corruption. (Calmet) ---

Covenant; neglecting circumcision, (Rabbins) and almost the whole law. (Haydock) ---

Altars. Some had been erected by the prophets, (Estius) as the king would suffer none to go to Jerusalem. (Haydock) ---

The idolaters there them down, chap. xviii. 30. Such altars would have been unlawful in Juda. (Calmet) ---

I alone am left; viz., of the prophets in the kingdom of Israel, or of the ten tribes; for in the kingdom of Juda, religion was at that time in a very flourishing condition, under the kings Asa and Josaphat. And even in Israel there remained several prophets, though not then known to Elias. See chap. xx. 13, 28, 35. (Challoner) (Worthington) ---

Hebrew repeats I, as [in] ver. 14, and chap. xviii. 22. He might justly fear that those had been destroyed at last, whom Abdias had protected. At any rate, none durst appear in public to assist Elias. (Haydock) ---

God informs him (ver. 18.) that all is not yet lost.

Haydock: 1Ki 19:11

Lord; the angel, his representative. (Menochius) ---

God had formerly granted the like favour to Moses, in the same place, Exodus xxxiii. 21.

Haydock: 1Ki 19:12

Air. Something similar happened at the giving of the law, and at the propagation of the gospel, Exodus xix 9, 16., and Acts ii. 2. The Lord was pleased to shew his prophet the difference between the two laws: the own was full of terror, the other of mildness. (Grotius) ---

He insinuated likewise, that he could easily exterminate the offenders, but he chose to bear patiently with them; (Tirinus) and taught his prophet to moderate his zeal, and, after terrifying sinners, to being them to a sense of their duty by gentle means. (Sanctius) (Calmet) ---

"His spirit is most indulgent and mild." .... est teneræ serenitatis, apertus et simplex. (Tertullian, contra Marcion xxiii.)

Haydock: 1Ki 19:13

Mantle, out of respect, like Moses, Exodus iii. 6. So the cherubim veil their faces with their wings, Isaias vi. 2. (Menochius) ---

Among the Orientals, to cover the face has the same import as when we pull of our hats. (Calmet)

Haydock: 1Ki 19:15

Desert, avoiding the towns as much as possible, (Calmet) and travelling through the country of Ammon to Damascus. (Menochius) ---

God does not send Elias again into the midst of danger, at Achab's court. (Haydock) ---

Hazael. God exercises his authority over all nations, and disposes of crowns. He appoints Hazael to punish his people. It does not appear that Elias performed this commission in person, but by the hand of Eliseus, 4 Kings viii. 12. Neither do we find that Hazael was anointed, but he was "declared king;" in which sense the term is used, Judges ix. 8. (Salien) (Calmet) ---

Yet Torniel believes, that Elias really anointed both Hazael and Jehu. He foretold, at least, (Haydock) that they should reign. (Worthington)

Haydock: 1Ki 19:16

Jehu, the son of Jospahat, (4 Kings ix. 2.) and grandson of Namsi. (Menochius) ---

Eliseus sent one of his disciples to anoint him, (4 Kings ix. 1.; Calmet) with common oil; the sacred was reserved for priests and the kings of Juda, according to the Rabbins. ---

Anoint, or call to the ministry, perhaps by placing a mantle on his head, ver. 19. No mention is made of unction. (Calmet) ---

Yet the Fathers have hence inferred that prophets received it, as well as priests and kings. (Sanctius) ---

Elias had complained that he was left alone. God appoints him a coadjutor, and successor; a person who seemed to have yet made no immediate preparation for the office. His parents were probably known for their probity, and had taken no part in the worship of idols. (Calmet) ---

Abelmeula was in the great plain, ten miles south of Scythopolis. (Eusebius)

Haydock: 1Ki 19:17

Shall be slain by Eliseus. Eliseus did not kill any of the idolaters with the material sword; but he is here joined with Hazael and Jehu, the great instruments of God in punishing the idolatry of Israel, because he foretold to the former his exaltation to the kingdom of Syria, and the vengeance he would execute against Israel, and anointed the latter by one of his disciples to be king of Israel, with commission to extirpate the house of Achab. (Challoner) ---

They left nothing imperfect in the vengeance, 4 Kings viii., and ix. Eliseus sent bears to destroy forty-two children of Bethel; (4 Kings ii. 23.; Calmet) and Abulensis (q. 23.) thinks that he might put many false prophets to death, as the Scripture does not mention every thing, (Menochius) and as Elias had done himself. (Haydock) ---

Eliseus may also be the name of some general. (Du Hamel)

Haydock: 1Ki 19:18

Will leave. Hebrew also, "I have left," as Romans xi. 4. Septuagint, "thou shalt leave." (Haydock) ---

After answering the first part of the prophet's complaint, and informing him that the guilty should not pass unpunished, God lets him know that he is not left alone, but that many thousands (Calmet) even in Israel still continue faithful; so far was the true Church from being in danger of perishing entirely. (Haydock) ---

Seven is often put for a great number, Proverbs xxiv. 16. Yet some suppose, (Calmet) that only this number served God out of 1,110,000 men in Israel, 1 Paralipomenon xxi. 5. (Grotius, &c.) ---

Hands. To this custom the word adore owes it rise. (Haydock) ---

The pagans kissed their right-hand, or the statue itself, when they could reach it, to testify their veneration. Inter adorandum, dexteram ad osculum referimus. (Pliny, [Natural History?] xxviii. 2.) Cicero (in Ver. 4.) mentions a beautiful statue of Hercules, the cheeks and beard of which had been rather worn with kissing; non solum id venerari, sed etiam osculari solent. See Genesis xviii. 2. (Calmet) ---

Job xxxi. 27. (Menochius)

Haydock: 1Ki 19:19

Mantle, perhaps to signify that he must change his manner of living. (Menochius)

Haydock: 1Ki 19:20

Kiss, and bid them adieu. (Menochius) ---

To thee. I have no farther orders. Obey the Spirit of God. Hoc age. Hebrew, "for what have I done to thee?" Did I require thee to follow me? Act as God may direct thee. Yet remember the ceremony which thou hast seen, and do not turn back (Calmet) to neglect thy office. (Haydock) (Matthew viii. 22., and Luke ix. 62.)

Haydock: 1Ki 19:21

Oxen, to shew that he had relinquished his profession. (Menochius) ---

"He makes a vow of them." (St. Jerome, ep. xxviii.) ---

Elias waited for him in the field, while he made a feast for his fellow-citizens, at parting. (Calmet) ---

Then both probably retreated to Carmel, (Salien) to watch over the instruction of the college of prophets. (Haydock)

Gill: 1Ki 19:6

And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baked on the coals,.... Just took off the coals, quite hot. Bochart ^q thinks it should be rendered, "baked on hot stones"; and such was the way of baking cakes in some of the eastern countries; see Gill on Gen 18:6, the stones hereabout might be heated by a supernatural power, and the cake baked on them by an angel; these sort of cakes are in Hebrew called "huggoth", as some pronounce the word, and are said to be now common in Bulgaria, where they are called "hugaces" ^r:

and a cruse of water at his head; to drink of in eating the cake; which cruse or pot a learned man ^s thinks was Elijah's, not brought by the angel, only water put into it by him; see 1Sa 26:11, and he did eat and drink; but not all that was set before him:

and laid him down again; to take some more sleep for his greater refreshment.

Gill: 1Ki 19:7

And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him,.... In order to awake him out of sleep:

and said unto him, arise, and eat, because the journey is too great for thee; which he had to go to Horeb, without eating more than he had; and there were no provisions to be had in a common way and manner in his road thither.

Gill: 1Ki 19:8

And he arose, and did eat and drink,.... Of what was left of the cake and cruse of water, before provided for him:

and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God; for so long he was going to that place, though it might have been gone in three or four days; but he went in byways, and wandered about in the wilderness, as the Israelites did, and that for the space of forty days, as they did near forty years; and all this while he had no other sustenance than what he had taken under the juniper tree, from whence he set out, which must be supernatural; for it is said ^t, a man cannot live without food beyond seven days; see Gill on Exo 24:18 the food either staying in his stomach all this while, or however the nutritive virtue of it, by which he was supported, and held out till he came to Horeb or Sinai; called the mount of the Lord, because here he had appeared to Moses in the bush, and from hence gave the law to the children of Israel. Abarbinel is of opinion that this term of forty days was consumed in his whole journey to Horeb, his stay there, and return to the land of Israel.

Gill: 1Ki 19:9

And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there,.... This cave, some travellers say ^u, is to be seen at this day, not far from a church dedicated to the prophet Elijah, and that the cave itself has the appearance of a chapel; but a more particular account of it is given in a journal ^w lately published, which says, this cave exists to this very day, and is situated at the foot of Mount Sinai, and is now enclosed in a church built of red and white granite marble, the entrance into which is from the west; the dimensions of this cave are in length five feet, in depth four feet, and in height four and a half. The Jewish writers are of opinion that this was the cleft of the rock in which Moses was put, when the Lord passed before him; but, if so, there would have been no need of Elijah to have gone forth to and stand upon the mount when the Lord passed by, 1Ki 19:11,

and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him; an articulate voice was heard by him:

and he said unto him, what dost thou here, Elijah? this is not a proper place for a prophet to be in, in a wilderness, in a mountain, in a cave in it: what work could he do for God? or what service to his people? in the land of Israel he might bear his testimony against idolatry, and so be a means of reclaiming backsliders, and of establishing those that were in the true religion; but of what usefulness could he be here? Abarbinel takes it to be a reproof of Elijah, for going into a place so holy as it was, and in which Moses, the chief of the prophets, had been, and that it did not become such a man as he was to be in such a place.

Gill: 1Ki 19:10

And he said, I have been jealous for the Lord God of hosts,.... Through zeal for the glory of God he had slain four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and this had stirred up the malice and revenge of Jezebel against him, who sought his life, and which had obliged him to flee, and come to this place for shelter; this is the first part of his answer, others follow:

for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant; the law, especially the two first commandments delivered in this very place; and therefore he could hope for no protection from them, but was forced to leave his country:

thrown down thy altars: which had been built in times past for the worship of God, to sacrifice thereon to him, but were now demolished, that those that would not bow the knee to Baal, and could not go to Jerusalem, might make no use of them:

and slain thy prophets with the sword; which was done by Jezebel, the Israelites conniving at it, and consenting to it, and not daring to oppose her; slain all she had knowledge of, or even were known by the prophet: hence it follows,

and I, even I only am left, and they seek my life to take it away: all this Elijah said, as it seems, not only to excuse himself for fleeing, and taking up his abode where he was, but to stir up the indignation of God against Israel for their idolatries and murders, and to put him upon inflicting his judgments on them for the same.

Gill: 1Ki 19:11

And he said, go forth and stand upon the mount before the Lord,.... Who would appear there as he had to Moses formerly, though not in the same manner:

and, behold, the Lord passed by; or was about to pass, for as yet he had not; his messengers first went before him:

and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; strong enough to do all this, and so it might:

but the Lord was not in the wind; as he sometimes is, Nah 1:3, he spake to Job out of a whirlwind, Job 38:1,

and after the wind an earthquake; that shook the earth all around, and the mountain also, as it did when the law was given on it, Psa 68:8.

but the Lord was not in the earthquake; as he was when it trembled in the times of Moses, Exo 19:18.

Gill: 1Ki 19:12

And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire,.... As he was when he descended on this mount, and spake to Moses, Exo 19:1, the Targum, and so Jarchi, interpret all these appearances of angels, and not amiss; the wind, of an host of angels of wind; the earthquake, of an host of angels of commotion; the fire, of an host of angels of fire; see Psa 104:4, these ministers of the Lord went before him, to prepare the way of his glorious Majesty; which emblems may represent the power of God, the terribleness of his majesty, and the fury of his wrath, which he could display, if he would, to the destruction of his enemies; and could as easily destroy the idolatrous kingdom of Israel, which Elijah seems to be solicitous of, as the wind rent the mountains, and broke the rocks, and the earthquake shook the earth, and the fire consumed all in its way; but he chose not to do it now, but to use lenity, and show mercy, signified by the next emblem:

and after the fire a still small voice: not rough, but gentle, more like whispering than roaring; something soft, easy, and musical; the Targum is, the voice of those that praise God in silence; and all this may be considered as showing the difference between the two dispensations of law and Gospel; the law is a voice of terrible words, and was given amidst a tempest of wind, thunder, and lightning, attended with an earthquake, Heb 12:18, but the Gospel is a gentle voice of love, grace, and mercy, of peace, pardon, righteousness, and salvation by Christ; and may also point at the order and manner of the Lord's dealings with the souls of men, who usually by the law breaks the rocky hearts of men in pieces, shakes their consciences, and fills their minds with a sense of fiery wrath and indignation they deserve, and then speaks comfortably to them, speaks peace and pardon through the ministration of the Gospel by his Spirit; blessed are the people that hear this still, small, gentle voice, the joyful sound, Psa 89:15.

Gill: 1Ki 19:13

And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle,.... Through reverence of the divine Majesty he perceived was there, and through shame and confusion under a sense of his impurity, imperfections, and unworthiness, as the seraphim in Isa 6:2, and as Moses, Exo 3:6, and went out and stood in the entering in of the cave; he attempted to come forth out of the cave upon the divine order, 1Ki 19:11, but was stopped by the terrible appearances of the wind, earthquake, and fire, a little within it; but now he came quite out, and stood at the mouth of it, to hear what the Lord would say unto him:

and, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, what dost thou here, Elijah? the same question is here put as in 1Ki 19:9, though there by an angel, here by the Lord himself.

Gill: 1Ki 19:14

And he said,.... Elijah, in answer to the question put, and he says the same as before:

I have been very jealous,.... which the question was designed to draw from him, in order to give him some instructions and directions; which would suggest to him, that though he should not deal severely with Israel, nor with Ahab and his house, yet he would hereafter by the kings he should anoint over Syria and Israel, and by the prophet he should anoint in his room, as instruments of his vengeance.

Gill: 1Ki 19:15

And the Lord said unto him, go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus,.... He is bid to go back the way he came, through the wilderness of Arabia, which was part of his way to Damascus, near to which was another wilderness, which took its name from thence; though Fortunatus Schacchus ^x thinks no other is meant by this phrase than returning to his former course and custom of preach the law of God, and reclaiming men from the error of their ways:

and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria; it is nowhere related that Elijah did go to Damascus, and anoint Hazael, though it may be he did; however he acquainted Elisha with it, and he declared it to Hazael, that he should be king of Syria, and which perhaps is all that is meant by anointing; that is, that he should be made king, and which was declared by both these prophets, see 2Ki 8:13.

Gill: 1Ki 19:16

And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel,.... This was a son of Jehoshaphat, and a grandson of Nimshi; nor does he appear to have been anointed by Elijah, but by Elisha; and being done by his order and direction was the same as if it was done by himself, unless he was twice anointed, see 2Ki 9:1.

and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room; which was in the half tribe of Manasseh, on this side Jordan; See Gill on Jdg 7:22.

Gill: 1Ki 19:17

And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay,.... Which suggests that many should be slain in Israel by them both, as were by Hazael, 2Ki 10:32 and by Jehu, 2Ki 9:24,

and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay; which may be understood either literally of the forty two children cursed by him, in consequence of which they were destroyed by bears, 2Ki 2:24 or rather figuratively by his prophecies, see Hos 6:5 who foretold the slaughters made by Hazael and Jehu, as well as others, see 2Ki 8:12, these several things were not done in the order in which they are here put; for what Elisha did was before Hazael and Jehu, and Jehu before Hazael; these words therefore do not respect the exact order of time in which they should be done, only that each should do the part appointed and assigned unto him, and what could not be so well done by the other; thus Hazael was to destroy those that came out to war; and Jehu Ahab's family that did not; and Elisha the children of idolatrous parents at Bethel, that came not within the reach of either; though it may be observed, that Hazael began to distress Israel before Jehu appeared, 2Ki 8:28 and the prophecies of Elisha might not have their full accomplishment until after Hazael and Jehu had done what was appointed for them.

Gill: 1Ki 19:18

Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel,.... From perishing by the sword of either of them:

all the knees which have not bowed to Baal; that is, had not worshipped him, which was signified by this gesture:

and every mouth which hath not kissed him; either the image of Baal itself, or the hand, in reverence of him; which rites, one or other, or both, were used by his worshippers; See Gill on Hos 13:2. This either refers, as some think, to the present time, and so is an answer to Elijah, who thought he was the only worshipper left with which seems to agree Rom 11:2, or to the times to come, when destruction should be made by the above persons, and when God would have some faithful worshippers, and would take care of them; so some render the words, "I will reserve", &c. ^y.

Gill: 1Ki 19:19

So he departed thence,.... From Mount Horeb, and came to Abelmeholah, which Bunting computes ^z at one hundred and fifty six miles:

and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth; which may be understood either of twelve couple of oxen drawing one plough; which was a large number, but will not seem strange when it is observed, that Abelmeholah, where Elisha was ploughing, lay in the vale of Jordan, which was a clayey stiff ground, and required such a number of oxen to plough it up, especially at the first tilling of it, as this might be ^a; compare 1Ki 4:12 A late traveller ^b observes, that at Damegraed, in upper Egypt on the Nile, six oxen yoked to plough had a great deal of difficulty to turn up the ground; or else, as the Jewish writers generally understand it, there were twelve ploughs, and a yoke of oxen to each, and a ploughman to attend everyone, and Elisha attended the twelfth; or was with one of the twelve, as the Targum, and might have the oversight of them all; Kimchi thinks, and so Abarbiuel after him, that this signified that he should be leader of the twelve tribes of Israel:

and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him; the skirts of it.

Gill: 1Ki 19:20

And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah,.... His heart being touched by the Lord at the same time, and his mind enlightened to understand what was meant by that action:

and said, let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother; take his leave of them in this way, which was what was used by friends at parting, see Rth 1:9.

and then I will follow thee; which he understood was meant by his casting his mantle over him:

and he said unto him, go back again; to his plough:

for what have I done to thee? he had only cast the skirts of his mantle over him, and had said nothing to him; this he said to try him, and get out of him what was in his heart, and how it had been touched by the Spirit of God; and if so, then he suggests it was not what he had done, but what the Lord had impressed upon him, that would oblige him to return, and follow him, after he had taken his leave of his parents.

Gill: 1Ki 19:21

And he returned back from him,.... To his father's house, and took his leave, and then came back into the field, perhaps with others accompanying him:

and took a yoke of oxen and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen: their yokes, and the plough, with an addition of other things sufficient to boil them:

and gave unto the people, and they did eat; the ploughmen and others that came together on this occasion; he made a feast for them, to express his joy at being called to such service he was:

then he arose and went after Elijah; left his worldly employment, the riches he was heir to, his parents, and his friends, and followed the prophet:

and ministered unto him; became his servant, whereby he attained to great knowledge and understanding of divine things, and was trained up to the prophetic office, which he was invested with upon the removal of Elijah; see Mat 8:21.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:6

¹ tn Heb “and again lay down”

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:7

¹ tn Heb “for the journey is too great for you.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:10

¹ tn Or “very zealous.” The infinitive absolute preceding the finite verb emphasizes the degree of his zeal and allegiance.

² tn Traditionally, “the God of hosts.”

³ tn Heb “abandoned your covenant.”

⁴ tn Heb “and they are seeking my life to take it.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:11

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “tearing away the mountains and breaking the cliffs” (or perhaps, “breaking the stones”).

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:12

¹ tn Heb “a voice, calm, soft.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:13

¹ tn Heb “look.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:14

¹ tn Or “very zealous.” The infinitive absolute preceding the finite verb emphasizes the degree of his zeal and allegiance.

² tn Traditionally, “the God of hosts.”

³ tn Heb “abandoned your covenant.”

⁴ tn Heb “and they are seeking my life to take it.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:18

¹ tn Heb “I have kept in Israel seven thousand, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and all the mouths that have not kissed him.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:20

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:21

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “and with the equipment of the oxen he cooked them, the flesh.”

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 19:7

And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise [and] eat; because ^{( d )} the journey [is] too great for thee.

^{( d )} He declares that unless God had nourished him miraculously it would have been impossible for him to have gone on this journey.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 19:10

And he said, I have ^{( e )} 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.

^{( e )} He complains that the more zealous he was to maintain God's glory, the more cruelly he was persecuted.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 19:11

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] ^{( f )} not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; [but] the LORD [was] not in the earthquake:

^{( f )} For the nature of man is not able to come near God, if he appeared in his strength and full majesty, and therefore he mercifully submits himself to our limitations.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 19:14

And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: ^{( g )} 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.

^{( g )} So should not depend on the multitude in maintaining God's glory, but because our duty requires us to do it.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 19:18

Yet I have left [me] seven thousand in Israel, ^{( h )} all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

^{( h )} He declares that wicked deceivers and idolaters are not his.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 19:20

And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, ^{( i )} 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?

^{( i )} Though this natural affection is not to be contemned, yet it should not move us when God calls us to serve him.

Geneva Bible: 1Ki 19:21

And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the ^{( k )} instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.

^{( k )} He would not stay till wood was brought, so great was his desire to follow his calling.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 1Ki 19:1-21

1 Elijah, threatened by Jezebel, flees to Beer-sheba.

4 In the wilderness, being weary of his life, he is comforted by an angel.

9 At Horeb God appears unto him, sending him to anoint Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha.

19 Elisha, taking leave of his friends, follows Elijah.

MHCC: 1Ki 19:1-8

Jezebel sent Elijah a threatening message. Carnal hearts are hardened and enraged against God, by that which should convince and conquer them. Great faith is not always alike strong. He might be serviceable to Israel at this time, and had all reason to depend upon God's protection, while doing God's work; yet he flees. His was not the deliberate desire of grace, as Paul's, to depart and be with Christ. God thus left Elijah to himself, to show that when he was bold and strong, it was in the Lord, and the power of his might; but of himself he was no better than his fathers. God knows what he designs us for, though we do not, what services, what trials, and he will take care that we are furnished with grace sufficient.

MHCC: 1Ki 19:9-13

The question God put, What doest thou here, Elijah? is a reproof. It concerns us often to ask whether we are in our place, and in the way of our duty. Am I where I should be? whither God calls me, where my business lies, and where I may be useful? He complained of the people, and their obstinacy in sin; I only am left. Despair of success hinders many a good enterprise. Did Elijah come hither to meet with God? he shall find that God will meet him. The wind, and earthquake, and fire, did not make him cover his face, but the still voice did. Gracious souls are more affected by the tender mercies of the Lord, than by his terrors. The mild voice of Him who speaks from the cross, or the mercy-seat, is accompanied with peculiar power in taking possession of the heart.

MHCC: 1Ki 19:14-18

God repeated the question, What doest thou here? Then he complained of his discouragement; and whither should God's prophets go with their complaints of that kind, but to their Master? The Lord gave him an answer. He declares that the wicked house of Ahab shall be rooted out, that the people of Israel shall be punished for their sins; and he shows that Elijah was not left alone as he had supposed, and also that a helper should at once be raised up for him. Thus all his complaints are answered and provided for. God's faithful ones are often his hidden ones, Psa 83:3, and the visible church is scarcely to be seen: the wheat is lost in chaff, and the gold in dross, till the sifting, refining, separating day comes. The Lord knows them that are his, though we do not; he sees in secret. When we come to heaven we shall miss many whom we thought to have met there; we shall meet many whom we little thought to have met there. God's love often proves larger than man's charity, and far more extended.

MHCC: 1Ki 19:19-21

Elijah found Elisha by Divine direction, not in the schools of the prophets, but in the field; not reading, or praying, or sacrificing, but ploughing. Idleness is no man's honour, nor is husbandry any man's disgrace. An honest calling in the world, does not put us out of the way of our heavenly calling, any more than it did Elisha. His heart was touched by the Holy Spirit, and he was ready to leave all to attend Elijah. It is in a day of power that Christ's subjects are made willing; nor would any come to Christ unless they were thus drawn. It was a discouraging time for prophets to set out in. A man that had consulted with flesh and blood, would not be fond of Elijah's mantle; yet Elisha cheerfully leaves all to accompany him. When the Saviour said to one and to another, Follow me, the dearest friends and most profitable occupations were cheerfully left, and the most arduous duties done from love to his name. May we, in like manner, feel the energy of his grace working in us mightily, and by unreserved submission at once, may we make our calling and election sure.

Matthew Henry: 1Ki 19:1-8

One would have expected, after such a public and sensible manifestation of the glory of God and such a clear decision of the controversy depending between him and Baal, to the honour of Elijah, the confusion of Baal's prophets, and the universal satisfaction of the people - after they had seen both fire and water come from heaven at the prayer of Elijah, and both in mercy to them, the one as it signified the acceptance of their offering, the other as it refreshed their inheritance, which was weary - that now they would all, as one man, return to the worship of the God of Israel and take Elijah for their guide and oracle, that he would thenceforward be prime-minister of state, and his directions would be as laws both to king and kingdom. But it is quite otherwise; he is neglected whom God honoured; no respect is paid to him, nor care taken of him, nor any use made of him, but, on the contrary, the land of Israel, to which he had been, and might have been, so great a blessing, is now made too hot for him. 1. Ahab incensed Jezebel against him. That queen-consort, it seems, was in effect queen-regent, as she was afterwards when she was queen-dowager, an imperious woman that managed king and kingdom and did what she would. Ahab's conscience would not let him persecute Elijah (some remains he had in him of the blood and spirit of an Israelite, which tied his hands), but he told Jezebel all that Elijah had done (1Ki 19:1), not ton convince, but to exasperate her. It is not said he told her what God had done, but what Elijah had done, as if he, by some spell or charm, had brought fire from heaven, and the hand of the Lord had not been in it. Especially he represented to her, as that which would make her outrageous against him, that he had slain the prophets; the prophets of Baal he calls the prophets, as if none but they were worthy of the name. His heart was set upon them, and he aggravated the slaying of them as Elijah's crime, without taking notice that it was a just reprisal upon Jezebel for killing God's prophets, 1Ki 18:4. Those who, when they cannot for shame or fear do mischief themselves, yet stir up others to do it, will have it laid to their charge as if they had themselves done it. 2. Jezebel sent him a threatening message (1Ki 19:2), that she had vowed and sworn to be the death of him within twenty-four hours. Something prevents her from doing it just now, but she resolves it shall not be long undone. Note, Carnal hearts are hardened and enraged against God by that which should convince and conquer them and bring them into subjection to him. She swears by her gods, and, raging like one distracted, curseth herself if she slay not him, without any proviso of a divine permission. Cruelty and confidence often meet in persecutors. I will pursue, I will overtake, Exo 15:9. But how came she to send him word of her design, and so to give him an opportunity of making his escape? Did she think him so daring that he would not flee, or herself so formidable that she could prevent him? Or was there a special providence in it, that she should be thus infatuated by her own fury? I am apt to think that though she desired nothing more than his blood, yet, at this time, she durst not meddle with him for fear of the people, all counting him a prophet, a great prophet, and therefore sent this message to him merely to frighten him and get him out of the way. for the present, that he might not carry on what he had begun. The backing of her threats with an oath and imprecation does not at all prove that she really intended to slay him, but only that she intended to make him believe so. The gods she swore by could do her no harm. 3. Elijah, hereupon, in a great fright, fled for his life, it is likely by night, and came to Beer-sheba, 1Ki 19:3. Shall we praise him for this? We praise him not. Where was the courage with which he had lately confronted Ahab and all the prophets of Baal? Nay, which kept him by his sacrifice when the fire of God fell upon it? He that stood undaunted in the midst of the terrors both of heaven and earth trembles at the impotent menaces of a proud passionate woman. Lord, what is man! Great faith is not always alike strong. He could not but know that he might be very serviceable to Israel at this juncture, and had all the reason in the world to depend upon God's protection while he was doing God's work; yet he fled. In his former danger God had bidden him hide himself (1Ki 17:3), therefore he supposed he might do so now. 4. From Beer-sheba he went forward into the wilderness, that vast howling wilderness in which the Israelites wandered. Beer-sheba was so far distant from Jezreel, and within the dominion of so good a king as Jehoshaphat, that he could not but be safe there; yet, as if his fears haunted him even when he was out of the reach of danger, he could not rest there, but went a day's journey into the desert. Yet perhaps he retired thither not so much for his safety as that he might be wholly retired from the world, in order to a more free and intimate communion with God. He left his servant at Beer-sheba that he might be private in the wilderness, as Abraham left his servants at the bottom of the hill when he went up into the mount to worship God, and as Christ in the garden was withdrawn from his disciples, or perhaps it was because he would not expose his servant, who was young and tender, to the hardships of the wilderness, which would have been putting new wine into old bottles. We ought thus to consider the frame of those who are under our charge, for God considers ours. 5. Being wearied with his journey, he grew cross (like children when they are sleepy) and wished he might die, 1Ki 19:4. He requested for his life (so it is ion the margin), that he might die; for death is life to a good man; the death of the body is the life of the soul. Yet that was not the reason why he wished to die; it was not the deliberate desire of grace, as Paul's, to depart and be with Christ, but the passionate wish of his corruption, as Job's. Those that are, in this manner, forward to die are not in the fittest frame for dying. Jezebel has sworn his death, and therefore he, in a fret, prays for it, runs from death to death, yet with this difference, he wishes to die by the hand of the Lord, whose tender mercies are great, and not to fall into the hands of man, whose tender mercies are cruel. He would rather die in the wilderness than as Baal's prophet died, according to Jezebel's threatening (1Ki 19:2), lest the worshippers of Baal should triumph and blaspheme the God of Israel, whom they will think themselves too hard for, if they can run down his advocate. He pleads, "It is enough. I have done enough, and suffered enough. I am weary of living."Those that have secured a happiness in the other world will soon have enough of this world. He pleads, " I am not better than my fathers, not better able to bear those fatigues, and therefore why should I be longer burdened with them than they were?"But is this that my lord Elijah? Can that great and gallant spirit shrink thus? God thus left him to himself, to show that when he was bold and strong it was in the Lord and the power of his might, but of himself he was no better than his fathers or brethren. 6. God, by an angel, fed him in that wilderness, into the wants and perils of which he had wilfully thrown himself, and in which, if God had not graciously succoured him, he would have perished. How much better does God deal with his froward children than they deserve! Elijah, in a pet, wished to die; God needed him not, yet he designed further to employ and honour him, and therefore sent an angel to keep him alive. Our case would be bad sometimes if God should take us at our word and grant us our foolish passionate requests. Having prayed that he might die, he laid down and slept (1Ki 19:5), wishing it may be to die in his sleep, and not to awake again; but he is awakened out of his sleep, and finds himself not only well provided for with bread and water (1Ki 19:6), but, which was more, attended by an angel, who guarded him when he slept, and twice called him to his food when it was ready for him, 1Ki 19:5, 1Ki 19:7. He needed not to complain of the unkindness of men when it was thus made up by the ministration of angels. Thus provided for, he had reason to think he had fared better than the prophets of the groves, that did eat at Jezebel's table. Wherever God's children are, as they are still upon their Father's ground, so they are still under their Father's eye and care. They may lose themselves in a wilderness, but God has not lost them; there they may look at him that lives and sees them, as Hagar, Gen 16:13. 7. He was carried, in the strength of this meat, to Horeb, the mount of God, 1Ki 19:8. Thither the Spirit of the Lord led him, probably beyond his own intention, that he might have communion with God in the same place where Moses had, the law that was given by Moses being revived by him. The angel bade him eat the second time, because of the greatness of the journey that was before him, 1Ki 19:7. Note God knows what he designs us for, though we do not, what service, what trials, and will take care for us when we, for want of foresight, cannot for ourselves, that we be furnished for them with grace sufficient. He that appoints what the voyage shall be will victual the ship accordingly. See how many different ways God took to keep Elijah alive; he fed him by ravens, with multiplied meals - then by an angel - and now, to show that man lives not by bread alone, he kept him alive forty days without meat, not resting and sleeping, which might make him the less to crave sustenance, but continually traversing the mazes of the desert, a day for a year of Israel's wanderings; yet he neither needs food nor desires it. The place, no doubt, reminds him of the manna, and encourages him to hope that God will sustain him here, and in due time bring him hence, as he did Israel, though, like him, fretful and distrustful.

Matthew Henry: 1Ki 19:9-18

Here is, I. Elijah housed in a cave at Mount Horeb, which is called the mount of God, because on it God had formerly manifested his glory. And perhaps this was the same cave, or cleft of a rock, in which Moses was hidden when the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed his name, Exo 33:22. What Elijah proposed to himself in coming to lodge here, I cannot conceive, unless it was to indulge his melancholy, or to satisfy his curiosity and assist his faith and devotion with the sight of that famous place where the law was given and where so many great things were done, and hoping to meet with God himself there, where Moses met with him, or in token of his abandoning his people Israel, who hated to be reformed (in the latter case, it agrees with Jeremiah's wish, Jer 9:2, O that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men, that I might leave my people, and go from them, for they are all adulterers ) and so it was a bad omen of God's forsaking them; or it was because the thought he could not be safe any where else, and to this instance of the hardships this good man was reduced to the apostle refers, Heb 11:38. They wandered in deserts and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

II. The visit God paid to him there and the enquiry he made concerning him: The word of the Lord came to him. We cannot go any where to be out of the reach of God's eye, his arm, and his word. Whither can I flee from thy Spirit? Psa 139:7, etc. God will take care of his out-casts; and those who, for his sake, are driven out from among men, he will find, and own, and gather with everlasting loving-kindnesses. John saw the visions of the Almighty when he was in banishment in the isle of Patmos, Rev 1:9. The question God puts to the prophet it, What doest thou here, Elijah? 1Ki 19:9, and again 1Ki 19:13. This is a reproof, 1. For his fleeing hither. "What brings thee so far from home? Dost thou flee from Jezebel? Couldst thou not depend upon almighty power for thy protection?"Lay the emphasis upon the pronoun thou. "What thou! So great a man, so great a prophet, so famed for resolution - dost thou flee thy country, forsake thy colours thus?"This cowardice would have been more excusable in another, and not so bad an example. Should such a man as I flee? Neh 6:11. Howl, fir-trees, if the cedars be thus shaken. 2. For his fixing here. "What doest thou here, in this cave? Is this a place for a prophet of the Lord to lodge in? Is this a time for such men to retreat, when the public has such need of them?"In the retirement to which God sent Elijah (ch. 17) he was a blessing to a poor widow at Sarepta, but here he had no opportunity of doing good. Note, It concerns us often to enquire whether we be in our place and in the way of our duty. "Am I where I should be, whither God calls me, where my business lies, and where I may be useful?"

III. The account he gives of himself, in answer to the question put to him (1Ki 19:10), and repeated, in answer to the same question, 1Ki 19:14.

1. He excuses his retreat, and desires it may not be imputed to his want of zeal for reformation, but to his despair of success. For God knew, and his own conscience witnessed for him, that as long as there was any hope of doing good he had been very jealous for the Lord God of Hosts; but now that he had laboured in vain, and all his endeavours were to no purpose, he thought it was time to give up the cause, and mourn for what he could not mend. Abi in cellam, et dic, Miserere mei - "Away to thy cell, and cry, Have compassion on me. "

2. He complains of the people, their obstinacy in sin, and the height of impiety to which they had arrived: " The children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, and that is the reason I have forsaken them; who can stay among them, to see every thing that is sacred ruined and run down?"This the apostle calls his making intercession against Israel, Rom 11:2, Rom 11:3. He had often been, of choice, their advocate, but now he is necessitated to be their accuser, before God. Thus Joh 5:45, There is one that accuseth you, even Moses, whom you trust. Those are truly miserable that have the testimony and prayers of God's prophets against them. (1.) He charges them with having forsaken God's covenant; though they retained circumcision, that sign and seal of it, yet they had quitted his worship and service, which was the intention of it. Those who neglect God's ordinances, and let fall their communion with him, do really forsake his covenant, and break their league with him. (2.) With having thrown down his altars, not only deserted them and suffered them to go to decay, but, in their zeal for the worship of Baal, wilfully demolished them. This alludes to the private altars which the prophets of the Lord had, and which good people attended, who could not go up to Jerusalem and would not worship the calves nor Baal. These separate altars, though breaking in upon the unity of the church, yet, being erected and attended by those that sincerely aimed at the glory of God and served him faithfully, the seeming schism was excused. God owned them for his altars, as well as that at Jerusalem, and the putting of them down is charged upon Israel as a crying sin. But this was not all. (3.) They have slain thy prophets with the sword, who, it is probable, ministered at those altars. Jezebel, a foreigner, slew them (1Ki 18:4), but the crime is charged upon the body of the people because the generality of them were consenting to their death, and pleased with it.

3. He gives the reasons why he retired into this desert and took up his residence in this cave. (1.) It was because he could not appear to any purpose: " I only am left, and have none to second or support me in any good design. They all said, The Lord he is God, but none of them would stand by me nor offer to shelter me. That point then gained was presently lost again, and Jezebel can do more to debauch them than I can to reform them. What can one do against thousands?"Despair of success hinders many a good enterprise. No one is willing to venture alone, forgetting that those are not alone who have God with them. (2.) It was because he could not appear with any safety: " They seek my life to take it away; and I had better spend my life in a useless solitude than lose my life in a fruitless endeavour to reform those that hate to be reformed."

IV. God's manifestation of himself to him. Did he come hither to meet with God? He shall find that God will not fail to give him the meeting. Moses was put into the cave when God's glory passed before him; but Elijah was called out of it: Stand upon the mount before the Lord, 1Ki 19:11. He saw no manner of similitude, any more than Israel did when God talked to them in Horeb. But, 1. He heard a strong wind, and saw the terrible effects of it, for it rent the mountains and tore the rocks. Thus was the trumpet sounded before the Judge of heaven and earth, by his angels, whom he makes spirits, or winds (Psa 104:4), sounded so loud that the earth not only rang, but rent again. 2. He felt the shock of an earthquake. 3. He saw an eruption of fire, 1Ki 19:12. These were to usher in the designed manifestation of the divine glory, angels being employed in them, whom he maketh a flame of fire, and who, as his ministers, march before him, to prepare in this desert a highway for our God. But, 4. At last he perceived a still small voice, in which the Lord was, that is, by which he spoke to him, and not out of the wind, or the earthquake, or the fire. Those struck an awe upon him, awakened his attention, and inspired humility and reverence; but God chose to make known his mind to him in whispers soft, not in those dreadful sounds. When he perceived this, (1.) He wrapped hi face in his mantle, as one afraid to look upon the glory of God, and apprehensive that it would dazzle his eyes and overcome him. The angels cover their faces before God in token of reverence, Isa 6:2. Elijah hid his face in token of shame for having been such a coward as to flee from his duty when he had such a God of power to stand by him in it. The wind, and earthquake, and fire, did not make him cover his face, but the still voice did. Gracious souls are more affected by the tender mercies of the Lord than by his terrors. (2.) He stood at the entrance of the cave, ready to hear what God had to say to him. This method of God's manifesting himself here at Mount Horeb seems to refer to the discoveries God formerly made of himself at this place to Moses. [1.] Then there was a tempest, an earthquake, and fire (Heb 12:18); but, when God would show Moses his glory, he proclaimed his goodness; and so here: He was, the Word was, in the still small voice. [2.] Then the law was thus given to Israel, with the appearances of terror first and then with a voice of words; and Elijah being now called to revive that law, especially the first two commandments of it, is here taught how to manage it; he must not only awaken and terrify the people with amazing signs, like the earthquake and fire, but he must endeavour, with a still small voice, to convince and persuade them, and not forsake them when he should be addressing them. Faith comes by hearing the word of God; miracles do but make way for it. [3.] Then God spoke to his people with terror; but in the gospel of Christ, which was to be introduced by the spirit and power of Elias, he would speak by a still small voice, the dread of which should not make us afraid; see Heb 12:18, etc.

V. The orders God gives him to execute. He repeats the question he had put to him before, " What doest thou here? This is not a place for thee now."Elijah gives the same answer (1Ki 19:14), complaining of Israel's apostasy from God and the ruin of religion among them. To this God gives him a reply. When he wished he might die (1Ki 19:4) God answered him not according to his folly, but was so far from letting him die that he not only kept him alive then but provided that he should never die, but be translated. But when he complained of his discouragement (and whither should God's prophets go with their complaints of that kind but to their Master?) God gave him an answer. He sends him back with directions to appoint Hazael king of Syria (1Ki 19:15), Jehu king of Israel, and Elisha his successor in the eminency of the prophetical office (1Ki 19:16), which is intended as a prediction that by these God would chastise the degenerate Israelites, plead his own cause among them, and avenge the quarrel of his covenant, 1Ki 19:17. Elijah complained that the wickedness of Israel was unpunished. The judgment of famine was too gentle, and had not reclaimed them; it was removed before they were reformed: " I have been jealous, "says he, "for God's name, but he himself has not appeared jealous for it.""Well,"says God, "be content; it is all in good time; judgments are prepared for those scorners, though they are not yet inflicted; the persons are pitched upon, and shall now be nominated, for they are now in being, who shall do the business."1. "When Hazael comes to be king of Syria, he shall make bloody work among the people (2Ki 8:12) and so correct them for their idolatry."2. "When Jehu comes to be king of Israel he shall make bloody work with the royal family, and shall utterly destroy the house of Ahab, that set up and maintained idolatry."3. "Elisha, while thou art on earth, shall strengthen thy hands; and, when thou art gone, shall carry on thy work, and be a remaining witness against the apostasy of Israel, and even he shall slay the children of Bethel, that idolatrous city."Note, The wicked are reserved to judgment. Evil pursues sinners, and there is no escaping it; to attempt an escape is but to run from one sword's point upon another. See Jer 48:44, He that flees from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that gets up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare. Elisha, with the sword of the Spirit, shall terrify and wound the consciences of those who escape Hazael's sword of war and Jehu's sword of justice. With the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked, Isa 11:4; 2Th 2:8; Hos 6:5. It is a great comfort to good men and good ministers to think that God will never want instruments to do his work in his time, but, when they are gone, others shall be raised up to carry it on.

VI. The comfortable information God gives him of the number of Israelites who retained their integrity, though he thought he was left alone (1Ki 19:18): I have left 7000 in Israel (besides Judea) who have not bowed the knee to Baal. Note, 1. In times of the greatest degeneracy and apostasy God has always had, and will have, a remnant faithful to him, some that keep their integrity and do not go down the stream. The apostle mentions this answer of God to Elijah (Rom 11:4) and applies it to his own day, when the Jews generally rejected the gospel. Yet, says he, at this time also there is a remnant, 1Ki 19:5. 2. It is God's work to preserve that remnant, and distinguish them from the rest, for without his grace they could not have distinguished themselves: I have left me; it is therefore said to be a remnant according to the election of grace. 3. It is but a little remnant, in comparison with the degenerate race; what are 7000 to the thousands of Israel? Yet, when those of every age come together, they will be found many more, 12,000 sealed out of each tribe, Rev 7:4. 4. God's faithful ones are often his hidden ones (Psa 83:3), and the visible church is scarcely visible, the wheat lost in the chaff and the gold in the dross, till the sifting, refining, separating day comes. 5. The Lord knows those that are his, though we do not; he sees in secret. 6. There are more good people in the world than some wise and holy men think there are. Their jealousy of themselves, and for God, makes them think the corruption is universal; but God sees not as they do. When we come to heaven, as we shall miss a great many whom we thought to meet there, so we shall meet a great many whom we little thought to find there. God's love often proves larger than man's charity and more extensive.

Matthew Henry: 1Ki 19:19-21

Elisha was named last in the orders God gave to Elijah, but he was first called, for by him the other two were to be called. He must come in Elijah's room; yet Elijah is forward to raise him, and is far from being jealous of his successor, but rejoices to think that he shall leave the work of God in such good hands. Concerning the call of Elisha observe, 1. That it was an unexpected surprising call. Elijah found him by divine direction, or perhaps he was before acquainted with him and knew where to find him. He found him, not in the schools of the prophets, but in the field, not reading, nor praying, nor sacrificing, but ploughing, 1Ki 19:19. Though a great man (as appears by his feast, 1Ki 19:21), master of the ground, and oxen, and servants, yet he did not think it any disparagement to him to follow his business himself, and not only to inspect his servants, but himself to lay his hand to the plough. Idleness is no man's honour, nor is husbandry any man's disgrace. An honest calling in the world does not at all put us out of the way of our heavenly calling, any more than it did Elisha, who was taken from following the plough the feed Israel and to sow the seed of the word, as the apostles were taken from fishing to catch men. Elisha enquired not after Elijah, but was anticipated with this call. We love God, and choose him, because he chose us, and loved us, first. 2. That it was a powerful call. Elijah did but cast his mantle upon him. (1Ki 19:19), in token of friendship, that he would take him under his care and tuition as he did under his mantle, and to be one with him in the same clothes, or in token of his being clothed with the spirit of Elijah (now he put some of his honour upon him, as Moses on Joshua, Num 27:20); but, when Elijah went to heaven, he had the mantle entire, 2Ki 2:13. And immediately he left the oxen to go as they would, and ran after Elijah, and assured him that he would follow him presently, 1Ki 19:20. An invisible hand touched his heart, and unaccountably inclined him by a secret power, without any external persuasions, to quit his husbandry and give himself to the ministry. It is in a day of power that Christ's subjects are made willing (Psa 110:3), nor would any come to Christ unless they were thus drawn. Elisha came to a resolution presently, but begged a little time, not to ask leave, but only to take leave, of his parents. This was not an excuse for delay, like his (Luk 9:61) that desired he might bid those farewell that were at home, but only a reservation of the respect and duty he owed to his father and mother. Elijah bade him to back and do it, he would not hinder him; nay, if he would, he might go back, and not return, for any thing he had done to him. He will not force him, nor take him against his will; let him sit down and count the cost, and make it his own act. The efficacy of God's grace preserves the native liberty of man's will, so that those who are good are good of choice and not by constraint, not pressed men, but volunteers. 3. That it was a pleasant and acceptable call to him, which appears by the farewell-feast he made for his family (1Ki 19:21), though he not only quitted all the comforts of his father's house, but exposed himself to the malignity of Jezebel and her party. It was a discouraging time for prophets to set out in. A man that had consulted with flesh and blood would not be fond of Elijah's mantle, nor willing to wear his coat; yet Elisha cheerfully, and with a great deal of satisfaction, leaves all to accompany him. Thus Matthew made a great fast when he left the receipt of custom to follow Christ. 4. That it was an effectual call. Elijah did not stay for him, lest he should seem to compel him, but left him to his own choice, and he soon arose, went after him, and not only associated with him, but ministered to him as his servitor, poured water on his hands, 2Ki 3:11. It is of great advantage to young ministers to spend some time under the direction of those that are aged and experienced, whose years teach wisdom, and not to think much, if occasion be, to minister to them. Those that would be fit to teach must have time to learn; and those that hope hereafter to rise and rule must be willing at first to stoop and serve.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ki 19:1-8

The hope of completing his victory over the idolaters and overthrowing the worship of Baal, even in the capital of the kingdom, with which Elijah may have hastened to Jezreel, was frustrated by the malice of the queen, who was so far from discerning any revelation of the almighty God in the account given her by Ahab of what had occurred on Carmel, and bending before His mighty hand, that, on the contrary, she was so full of wrath at the slaying of the prophets of Baal as to send to the prophet Elijah to threaten him with death. This apparent failure of his ministry was the occasion of a severe inward conflict, in which Elijah was brought to a state of despondency and fled from the land. The Lord allowed His servant to pass through this conflict, that he might not exalt himself, but, being mindful of his own impotence, might rest content with the grace of his God, whose strength is mighty in the weak (2Co 12:8-9), and who would refine and strengthen him for the further fulfilment of his calling.

1Ki 19:1-2

Elijah's flight into the desert and guidance to Horeb . - 1Ki 19:1, 1Ki 19:2. When "Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and all, how he had slain all the prophets (of Baal),"she sent a messenger to Elijah in her impotent wrath, with a threat, which she confirmed by an oath (see at 1Ki 2:23), that in the morning she would have him slain like the prophets whom he had put to death. The early commentators detected in this threat the impotentia muliebris iracundiae , and saw that all that Jezebel wanted was to get rid of the man who was so distressing and dangerous to her, because she felt herself unable to put him to death, partly on account of the people, who were enthusiastic in his favour, and partly on account of the king himself, upon whom the affair at Carmel had not remained without its salutary effect.

1Ki 19:3-4

But when Elijah saw ( ויּרא ), sc. how things stood, or the audacity of Jezebel, from which the failure of his work was evident, he rose up and went to Beersheba in Judah, i.e., Bir-seba on the southern frontier of Canaan (see at Gen 21:31). The expression ליהוּדה אשׁר , "which to Judah,"i.e., which belonged to the kingdom of Judah, for Beersheba was really allotted to the tribe of Simeon (Jos 19:2), is appended not merely as a geographical indication that Elijah went outside the land, but to show that he meant to leave the kingdom of Israel, the scene of his previous labours, just as Jeremiah in a similar internal conflict gave utterance to the wish that he could leave his people, if he had but a lodging-place in the wilderness (Jer 9:2). ויּרא is not to be altered into ויּירא , et timuit , after the lxx and Vulg., notwithstanding the fact that some Codd. have this reading, which only rests upon an erroneous conjecture. For it is obvious that Elijah did not flee from any fear of the vain threat of Jezebel, from the fact that he did not merely withdrawn into the kingdom of Judah, where he would have been safe under Jehoshaphat from all the persecutions of Jezebel, but went to Beersheba, and thence onwards into the desert there to pour out before the Lord God his weariness of life (1Ki 19:4).

ילך אל־נפשׁו , he went upon his soul, or his life, i.e., not to save his life (as I once thought, with many other commentators), for his wish to die (1Ki 19:4) is opposed to this; but to care for his soul in the manner indicated in 1Ki 19:4, i.e., to commit his soul or his life to the Lord his God in the solitude of the desert, and see what He would determine concerning him.

(Note: G. Menken ( christl. Homil. üb. den Proph. Elias , p. 231) hasgiven the following admirable explanation of אל נפשו fo so far as thesense is concerned: "For conscience sake, from conviction, out ofobligation, not from fear. After all his former experience, and fromthe entire relation in which Elijah stood to God, it was impossible thathe should be afraid, and not be firmly convinced that the God who hadshut up heaven at his word, who had supplied him with bread and fleshfor a whole year in the desert through the medium of ravens, who hadsupported him miraculously for years in a foreign land through themedium of a poor widow, who had concealed and rescued him forthree years and a half from the search of the king, who had accreditedand honoured him in the sight of all the people as His servant, whohad given an immediate answer to his prayer for rain, could alsodefend him in this extremity, and rescue him from this danger, if suchshould be His will.")

- He left his servant in Beersheba, while he himself went a day's journey farther into the desert (Paran), not merely because he was so filled with weariness of life in his dark oppression, that he thought he should have no further need of his servant, and therefore left him behind in Beersheba, but that he might pour out his heart before God alone in the desert and yield himself up to His guidance. For however unquestionably his lamentation in 1Ki 19:4, for example, expresses a weariness of life, this merely indicates the feeling which had taken possession of his soul after a day's journey in the barren desert. And even there he lays his wish to die before God in prayer; so that this feeling is merely to be regarded as one result of the spiritual conflict, which is bodily exhaustion had now raised to a height that it cannot have reached when he was in Beersheba. If, therefore, he did not start with the intention of making a pilgrimage to Horeb, he had certainly gone into the desert for the purpose of seeing whether the Lord would manifest His mercy to him, as He had formerly done to His people under Moses, or whether He would withdraw His hand entirely from him. After a day's journey he sat down under a רתם (construed here as a feminine, in 1Ki 19:5 as a masculine), a species of broom ( genista Retem in Forskâl), which is the finest and most striking shrub of the Arabian desert, growing constantly in the beds of streams and in the valleys, where places of encampment are frequently selected for the sake of the shelter which they afford by night from the wind and by day from the sun (Rob. Pal . i. 299). למוּת ... ויּשׁאל : and wished that his soul might die (a kind of accusative with infinitive; see Ewald, § 336, b .), and said, עתּה רב , "Enough now; take, Lord, my soul, for I am not better than my fathers;"i.e., I have worked and endured enough, and deserve no longer life than my fathers. From this it appears that Elijah was already of a great age.

1Ki 19:5-6

In this disturbed state of mind he lay down and slept under a broom-tree. Then the Lord came with His power to the help of the despairing man. "An angel touched him (wakened him out of his sleep), and said to him: Arise, eat."And behold he saw at his head עגּת רצפים , a bread cake baked over red-hot stones, a savoury article of food which is still a great favourite with the Bedouins (see at Gen 18:6; Gen 19:3), and a pitcher of water, and ate and drank, and lay down again.

1Ki 19:7

But the angel wakened him a second time, and called upon him to eat with these words: "for the way is too far for thee"( רב ממּך הדּרך , iter est majus quam pro viribus tuis - Vat.).

1Ki 19:8

"Then he arose, ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to the mount of God at Horeb."As the angel did not tell him whither he was to go, and Elijah wandered to Horeb in consequence of this strengthening, it appears to have been his intention from the very beginning to go into the desert, and see whether the Lord would still further acknowledge him and his work; so that in the support and strength imparted by the angel he saw an indication that he was to follow the footsteps of the divine grace still farther into the desert, and make a pilgrimage to Horeb, with the hope that there perhaps the Lord would reveal to him His counsel concerning the further guidance of the people of His covenant, as He had formerly done to His servant Moses, and give him the necessary instruction for the continuance of his prophetic service. Horeb is called the mount of God here, as it was proleptically in Exo 3:1, as the place where the Lord confirmed the covenant, already made with the patriarchs, to their descendants, and adopted the tribes of Israel as His people and made them into a kingdom of God. The distance from Beersheba to Horeb is about 200 miles. Consequently Elijah would not have required forty days to travel there, if the intention of God had been nothing more than to cause him to reach the mountain, or "to help him on his say"(Thenius). But in the strength of the food provided by the angel Elijah was not only to perform the journey to Horeb, but to wander in the desert for forty days and forty nights, i.e., forty whole days, as Moses had formerly wandered with all Israel for forty years; that he might know that the Lord was still the same God who had nourished and sustained His whole nation in the desert with manna from heaven for forty years. And just as the forty years' sojourn in the desert had been to Moses a time for the trial of faith and for exercise in humility and meekness (Num 12:3), so was the strength of Elijah's faith to be tried by the forty days' wandering in the same desert, and to be purified from all carnal zeal for the further fulfilment of His calling, in accordance with the divine will. What follows shows very clearly that this was the object of the divine guidance of Elijah (cf. Hengstenberg, Diss. on the Pentateuch , vol. i. 171,172).

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ki 19:9-18

Appearance of God at Horeb . - 1Ki 19:9. When Elijah arrived at Horeb, he went into the cave (the definite article in המּערה , with the obvious connection between the appearance of God, which follows here, and that described in Exo 33:12., points back to the cleft in the rock, נקרת הצּוּר ) in which Moses had stood while the glory of Jehovah passed by (see at Exo 33:22), and there he passed the night. And behold the word of the Lord came to him (in the night): "What doest thou here, Elijah?"This question did not involve a reproof, as though Elijah had nothing to do there, but was simply intended to lead him to give utterance to the thoughts and feelings of his heart.

1Ki 19:10

Elijah answered: "I have striven zealously for Jehovah the God of hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, destroyed Thine altars, and killed Thy prophets with the sword; and I only am left, and they seek my life."In these words there was not only the greatest despair expressed as to the existing condition of things, but also a carnal zeal which would gladly have called down the immediate vengeance of the Almighty upon all idolaters. The complaint contained, on the one hand, the tacit reproof that God had looked on quietly for so long a time at the conduct of the ungodly, and had suffered things to come to such an extremity, that he, His prophet, was the only one left of all the true worshippers of God, and, on the other hand, the indirect appeal that He would interpose at last with His penal judgments. Because Elijah had not seen the expected salutary fruits of his zeal for the Lord, he thought that all was lost, and in his gloomy state of mind overlooked what he had seen a short time before with his own eyes, that even in the neighbourhood of the king himself there lived a pious and faithful worshipper of Jehovah, viz., Obadiah, who had concealed a hundred prophets from the revenge of Jezebel, and that the whole of the people assembled upon Carmel had given glory to the Lord, and at his command had seized the prophets of Baal and put them to death, and therefore that the true worshippers of the Lord could not all have vanished out of Israel. קנּא קנּאתי ליהוה recalls to mind the zeal of Phinehas (Num 25:11.), which put an end to the whoredom of the sons of Israel with the daughters of Moab. But whereas Phinehas received the promise of an everlasting priesthood for his zeal, Elijah had seen so little fruit from his zeal against the worshippers of Baal, that they actually sought his life. מזבּחתך are altars, which pious Israelites in the kingdom of the ten tribes had built in different places for the worship of Jehovah (see at 1Ki 18:30).

1Ki 19:11

The Lord replied to the prophet's complaint first of all by the manifestation of His control of the phenomena of nature (1Ki 19:11-13), and then by a verbal explanation of His design (1Ki 19:15-18).

In this divine revelation men have recognised from the very earliest times a repetition of the appearance of God which was granted to Moses upon Sinai. As God, in token of His grace, granted the prayer of Moses that he might see His glory, after he had striven zealously for the honour of the Lord when the people rebelled by worshipping the golden calf; so did He also display His glory upon Horeb to Elijah as a second Moses for the purpose of strengthening his faith, with this simple difference, that He made all His goodness pass by Moses, and declared His name in the words, "Jehovah, a gracious and merciful God,"etc. (Exo 34:6-7), whereas He caused Elijah first of all to behold the operation of His grace in certain phenomena of nature, and then afterwards made known to him His will with regard to Israel and to the work of His prophets. This difference in the form of the revelation, while the substance and design were essentially the same, may be explained from the difference not only in the historical circumstances, but also in the state of mind of the two servants to whom He manifested His glory. In the case of Moses it was burning love for the welfare of his people which impelled him to offer the prayer that the Lord would let him see His glory, as a sign that He would not forsake His people; and this prayer was granted him, so far as a man is ever able to see the glory of God, to strengthen him for the further discharge of the duties of his office. Hidden in the cleft of the rock and shielded by the hand of God, he saw the Lord pass by him, and heard Him utter in words His inmost being. Elijah, on the other hand, in his zeal for the honour of God, which was not quite free from human passion, had been led by the want of any visible fruit from his own labour to overlook the work of the Lord in the midst of His people; so that he had fled into the desert and wished to be released from this world by death, and had not been brought out of his despair by the strengthening with meat and drink which he had received from the angel, and which enabled him to travel for forty days to the mount of God without suffering from want, a fact which was intended to remind him of the ancient God of the fathers, to whose omnipotence and goodness there is no end; so that it was in a most gloomy state of mind that he reached Horeb at last. And now the Lord designed not only to manifest His glory as the love in which grace and righteousness are united, but also to show him that his zeal for the honour of the Lord was not in harmony with the love and grace and long-suffering of God. "The design of the vision was to show to the fiery zeal of the prophet, who wanted to reform everything by means of the tempest, the gentle way which God pursues, and to proclaim the long-suffering and mildness of His nature, as the voice had already done to Moses on that very spot; hence the beautiful change in the divine appearance"(Herder, Geist der hebr. Poesie , 1788, ii. p. 52).

1Ki 19:12

After God had commanded him to come out of the cave and stand upon the mountain (that part of the mountain which was in front of the cave) before Him, "behold Jehovah went by (the participle עבר is used to give a more vivid representation of the scene); and a great and strong tempest, rending mountains and breaking rocks in pieces, before Jehovah - it was not in the tempest that Jehovah was; and after the tempest an earthquake - it was not in the earthquake that Jehovah was; and after the earthquake fire - it was not in the fire that Jehovah was; and after the fire a still, gentle rustling." דקּה דּממה קול , literally the tone of a gentle blowing. On the change of gender in וחזק גּדולה רוּח , see Ewald, §174 , e . - Tempest, earthquake, and fire, which are even more terrible in the awful solitude of the Horeb mountains than in an inhabited land, are signs of the coming of the Lord to judgment (cf. Psa 18:8.). It was in the midst of such terrible phenomena that the Lord had once come down upon Sinai, to inspire the people who were assembled at the foot of the mountain with a salutary dread of His terrible majesty, of the fiery zeal of His wrath and love, which consumes whatever opposes it (see at Exo 19:16.). but now the lord was not in these terrible phenomena; to signify to the prophet that He did not work in His earthly kingdom with the destroying zeal of wrath, or with the pitiless severity of judgment. It was in a soft, gentle rustling that He revealed Himself to him.

1Ki 19:13-17

When Elijah heard this, he covered up his face in his cloak ( אדּרת ; see at 2Ki 1:8) and went out to the entrance to the cave. And behold he heard the question a second time, "What doest thou here, Elijah?"and answered with a repetition of his complain (see 1Ki 19:9, 1Ki 19:10). - While the appearance of God, not in the tempest, the earthquake, and the fire, but in a gentle rustling, revealed the Lord to him as a merciful and gracious God, long-suffering, and of great goodness and truth (Exo 34:6), the answer to his complaint showed him that He did not leave guilt unpunished (Exo 34:7), since the Lord gave him the following command, 1Ki 19:15.: "Go back in thy way to the desert of Damascus, and anoint Hazael king over Aram (see 2Ki 8:12-13), and Jehu the son of Nimshi king over Israel (see 2Ki 9:2), and Elisha the son of Shaphat prophet in thy stead"(see 1Ki 19:19); and then added this promise, which must have quieted his zeal, that was praiseworthy in the feelings from which it sprang, although it had assumed too passionate a form, and have given him courage to continue his prophetic work: "And it will come to pass, that however escapeth the sword of Hazael, him will Jehu slay, and whoever escapeth the sword of Jehu, him will Elisha slay."

1Ki 19:18

But in order that he might learn, to his shame, that the cause of the Lord in Israel appeared much more desperate to his eye, which was clouded by his own dissatisfaction, than it really was in the eye of the God who knows His own by number and by name, the Lord added: "I have seven thousand left in Israel, all knees that have not bent before Baal, and every mouth that hath not kissed him." מדבּרה המּשׂק , into the desert of Damascus (with the He loc . with the construct state as in Deu 4:41; Jos 12:1, etc.; cf. Ewald, §216, b .), i.e., the desert lying to the south and east of the city of Damascus, which is situated on the river Barady ; not per desertum in Damascum (Vulg., Luth., etc.); for although Elijah would necessarily pass through the Arabian desert to go from Horeb to Damascus, it was superfluous to tell him that he was to go that way, as there was no other road. The words "return by thy way ... and anoint Hazael,"etc., are not to be understood as signifying that Elijah was to go at once to Damascus and anoint Hazael there, but simply that he was to do this at a time which the Spirit would more precisely indicate. According to what follows, all that Elijah accomplished immediately was to call Elisha to be his successor; whereas the other two commissions were fulfilled by Elisha after Elijah's ascension to heaven (2 Kings 8 and 9). The opinion that Elijah also anointed Hazael and Jehu immediately, but that this anointing was kept secret, and was repeated by Elisha when the time for their public appearance arrived, has not only very little probability in itself, but is directly precluded by the account of the anointing of Jehu in 2 Kings 9. The anointing of Hazael and Jehu is mentioned first, because God had chosen these two kings to be the chief instruments of His judgments upon the royal family and people for their idolatry. It was only in the case of Jehu that a real anointing took place (2Ki 9:6); Hazael was merely told by Elisha that he would be king (2Ki 8:13), and Elisha was simply called by Elijah to the prophetic office by having the cloak of the latter thrown upon him. Moreover, the Messianic passage, Isa 61:1, is the only one in which there is any allusion to the anointing of a prophet. Consequently משׁח must be taken figuratively here as in Jdg 9:8, as denoting divine consecration to the regal and prophetic offices. And so, again, the statement that Elisha would slay those who escaped the sword of Jehu is not to be understood literally. Elisha slew by the word of the Lord, which brought judgments upon the ungodly, as we see from 2Ki 2:24 (cf. Jer 1:10; Jer 18:7). The "seven thousand,"who had not bowed the knee before Baal, are a round number for the ἐκλογν́ of the godly, whom the Lord had preserved for Himself in the sinful kingdom, which was really very large in itself, however small it might be in comparison with the whole nation. The number seven is the stamp of the works of God, so that seven thousand is the number of the "remnant according to the election of grace"(Rom 11:5), which had then been preserved by God. Kissing Baal was the most usual form in which this idol was worshipped, and consisted not merely in throwing kisses with the hand (cf. Job 31:27, and Plin. h. n. 28, 8), but also in kissing the images of Baal, probably on the feet (cf. Cicero in Verr . 4, 43).

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ki 19:19-21

Call of Elisha to be a prophet . - 1Ki 19:19. As he went thence (viz., away from Horeb), Elijah found Elisha the son of Shaphat at Abel-Meholah, in the Jordan valley (see at Jdg 7:22), occupied in ploughing; "twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he himself with the twelfth"(a very wealthy man therefore), and threw his cloak to him as he passed by. The prophet's cloak was sign of the prophet's vocation so that throwing it to him was a symbol of the call to the prophetic office.

1Ki 19:20

Elisha understanding the sign, left the oxen standing, ran after Elijah, and said to him, "Let me kiss my father and my mother,"i.e., take leave of my parents, and when I will follow thee. For the form אשׁקה see Ewald, § 228, b . As he has ploughed his earthly field with his twelve pair of oxen, he was not to plough the spiritual field of the twelve tribes of Israel (Luk 9:62). Elijah answered, "Go, return, for what have I done to thee?" שׁוּב לך belong together, as in 1Ki 19:15; so that Elijah thereby gave him permission to return to his father and mother. כּי signifies for , not yet (Thenius); for there is no antithesis here, according to which כּי might serve for a more emphatic assurance (Ewald, § 330, b .). The words "what have I done to thee?"can only mean, I have not wanted to put any constraint upon thee, but leave it to thy free will to decide in favour of the prophetic calling.

1Ki 19:21

Then Elisha returned, took the pair of oxen with which he had been ploughing, sacrificed, i.e., slaughtered them ( זבח used figuratively), boiled the flesh with the plough, gave a farewell meal to the people (of his place of abode), i.e., his friends and acquaintance, and then followed Elijah as his servant, i.e., his assistant. The suffix in בּשּׁלם refers to הבּקר צמּד , and is more precisely defined by the apposition הבּשׂר , "namely, the flesh of the oxen."

Constable: 1Ki 16:29--22:41

1. Ahab's evil reign in Israel 16:29-22:40

Ahab ruled Israel from Samaria for 22 years (874-853 B.C.). During the first of these years Asa ruled alone in Judah. Then for three years Asa and Jehoshaphat shared the throne. For the remainder of Ahab's reign Jehoshaphat ruled alone.

Constable: 1Ki 19:1-8

Elijah's disillusionment 19:1-8

Elijah was surprised that the revival he had just witnessed was not more effective in eliminating Baal worship. Apparently Jezebel's threat drove the lessons of God's power and provision that he had been learning at Cherith, Zarephath, and Carmel out of his memory.

"Probably Elijah had played into Jezebel's hand. Had she really wanted Elijah dead, she surely would have seized him without warning and slain him. What she desired was that Elijah and his God be discredited before the new converts who had aided Elijah by executing the prophets of Baal. Without a leader revolutionary movements usually stumble and fall away. Just when God needed him the most, the divinely trained prophet was to prove a notable failure."²⁰⁵

Beersheba was the southernmost town in the Southern Kingdom. Perhaps the fact that Elijah dismissed his servant there and then went farther alone indicates that he was giving up his ministry.²⁰⁶ Elijah proceeded farther south into the wilderness where the Israelites had wandered for 40 years because of their unbelief. He did not get much refreshment from the natural provisions of the wilderness such as the juniper (broom) tree (v. 4). He said he was no better than his predecessors in purging Israel from idolatry (v. 4) implying that he had expected to see a complete revival. God provided supernaturally for His servant in the wilderness 40 days and 40 nights as He had provided for the Israelites for 40 years. The trip from Beersheba to the traditional site of Horeb (Mount Sinai) took only 14 days by foot. It seems that Elijah was experiencing the same discipline for his weak faith and the same education that God had given the Israelites years earlier. God sustained Elijah faithfully as He had preserved the nation. The Hebrew text has "the" cave rather than "a" cave (v. 9) suggesting that this may have been the very spot where God had placed Moses before He caused His glory to pass before him (Exod. 33:21-23).

"Elijah's pilgrimage' to Sinai was a search for the roots of Yahwism. There Yahweh had appeared to Moses when he was herding sheep, and there He appeared to him when he gave the law. Elijah needed reaffirmation. What he thought he saw happening on Mt. Carmel did not happen, namely, the repentance of Israel. So he went to Mount Sinai (also known as Mount Horeb) to chide Yahweh for forsaking him."²⁰⁷

Constable: 1Ki 19:9-21

God's revelation of His methods 19:9-21

Elijah's zeal for God's covenant, altars, and prophets was admirable, but he became too discouraged because he underestimated the extent of commitment to Yahweh that existed in Israel.²⁰⁸ He was not alone in his stand for Yahweh (v. 10; cf. 18:13). God asked him what he was doing there (vv. 9, 13) because He had not sent him to Horeb as He had to Cherith, Zarephath, and Samaria (cf. 17:3, 9; 18:1). Elijah had fled to Horeb out of fear. God proceeded to reproduce demonstrations of His power that He had given Israel at Mt. Sinai (Exod. 19:16-18) and to Elijah at Mt. Carmel (18:38, 45). Nevertheless God was not in these in the sense that they were not His methods now. Rather, God was in the gentle blowing (v. 12).²⁰⁹ Moses had spent 40 days and nights on the mountain fasting while he waited for a new phase of his ministry to begin (Exod. 34:28). Jesus spent 40 days and nights in a wilderness at the beginning of His public ministry too (cf. Matt. 4:1-2). Elijah covered his face because he realized that He could not look at God and live (v. 13), as Moses also realized (Exod. 33:20-22; cf. Gen. 32:30). Elijah was to learn that whereas God had revealed Himself in dramatic ways in the past, He would now work in quieter ways. Instead of Elijah continuing to stand alone for God, God would now put him into the background while the Lord used other people.²¹⁰ Elijah evidently got the message, but he still felt depressed (v. 14). God was dealing with him gently too.

"His [Elijah's] God-given successes had fostered an inordinate pride (cf. vv. 4, 10, 14) that had made him take his own importance too seriously. Moreover, Elijah had come to bask in the glow of the spectacular. He may have fully expected that because of what had been accomplished at Mount Carmel, Jezebel would capitulate and pagan worship would come to an end in Israel--all through his influence!"²¹¹

Yahweh next redirected Elijah to return to Israel to do three things (vv. 15-16). Elijah anointed only Elisha personally (vv. 19-21). He anointed Hazael and Jehu indirectly through his successor, Elisha (2 Kings 8:7-14; 9:1-3). Through these three men God would complete the purge of Baal worship that Elijah had begun (v. 17). God also had 7,000 other faithful followers in Israel through whom He could work (v. 18). The writer mentioned some of these loyal people in the chapters that follow.

Elisha was a prosperous farmer who lived near Abel-meholah (v. 16) in the Jordan Valley, 23 miles south of the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee). Throwing a prophet's cloak around a person symbolized the passing of the power and authority of the office to that individual.²¹² "What have I done to you" (v. 20) is an idiom that means, "Do as you please." Elisha terminated his former occupation and from then on served as a prophet (cf. Luke 9:62). His sacrifice of his oxen as a burnt offering to Yahweh symbolized his total personal commitment to God (v. 21). Perhaps his 12 pairs of oxen (v. 19) represented the 12 tribes of Israel whom Elisha would now lead spiritually.

"Elijah recruits his attendant and successor at the workplace, as Jesus was to do with many of his followers."²¹³

This closes the so-called Elijah cycle or narrative (chs. 17-19), one of the richest portions of the Old Testament for preaching and teaching.

Guzik: 1Ki 19:1-21

1 Kings 19 - God Encourages Discouraged Elijah

A. Elijah flees to the wilderness.

1. (1-3) Jezebel's threat.

And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time." And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

a. Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done: The report came as a great shock to this champion of Baal and Astarte worship in Israel. She thought so much of these priests that she supported them from the royal treasury - and now they were dead at the hand of Elijah.

b. So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time: Jezebel heard about all that Elijah had done, encompassing the great confrontation at Mount Carmel. Yet her response was not to say, "The silence of Baal and the fire from Yahweh proves that I am wrong and Yahweh is God." Instead, she responded with a vow to kill within 24 hours the man who exposed the lie of Baal worship and displayed the glory of Yahweh.

i. "He probably thought that the miracle at Carmel would have been the means of effecting the conversion of the whole court and of the country, but, finding himself mistaken, he is greatly discouraged." (Clarke)

c. When he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba: We cannot say for certain if this was led of God or not. It is clear that God wanted to protect Elijah, but we cannot say if God wanted to protect him at Jezreel or protect him by getting him out of Jezreel. Nevertheless, Elijah went about 80 miles south to Beersheba.

i. "Probably Elijah had played into Jezebel's hand. Had she really wanted Elijah dead, she surely would have seized him without warning and slain him. What she desired was that Elijah and his God be discredited before the new converts what had aided Elijah by executing the prophets of Baal." (Patterson and Austel)

ii. "Elijah failed in the very point at which he was strongest, and that is where most men fail. In Scripture, it is the wisest man who proves himself to be the greatest fool; just as the meekest man, Moses, spoke hasty and bitter words. Abraham failed in his faith, and Job in his patience; so, he who was the most courageous of all men, fled from an angry woman." (Spurgeon)

2. (4) Elijah's depression.

But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, "It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!"

a. He himself went a day's journey into the wilderness: Beyond the distant city of Beersheba, Elijah secluded himself even more.

b. And he prayed that he might die: This mighty man of prayer - mighty enough to make the rain and the dew stop for three and a half years, and then mighty enough to make it start again at his prayer - now he prayed that he might die.

i. Thankfully, this was a prayer not answered for Elijah. In fact, Elijah was one of the few men in the Bible to never die! We can imagine that as he was caught up into heaven, he smiled and thought of this prayer - and the blessed no that answered his prayer. To receive a no answer from God can be better than receiving a yes answer.

c. It is enough: We sense that Elijah meant, "I can't do this anymore, LORD." The work was stressful, exhausting, and seemed to accomplish nothing. The great work on Mount Carmel did not result in a lasting national revival or return to the LORD.

i. Perhaps Elijah had especially hoped that the events on Mount Carmel would turn around Ahab and Jezebel and the leadership of Israel in general. If so, Elijah forgot that people reject God despite the evidence, not because of the evidence.

ii. "Elijah said, 'It is enough,' yet it was not enough even for his own enjoyment, for the Lord had more blessings in store for him . . . It was so with Elijah, for he was to have that wonderful revelation of God on Mount Horeb. He had more to enjoy, and the later life of Elijah appears to have been one of calm communion with his God; he seems never to have had another fainting fit, but to the end his sun shone brightly without a cloud. So it was not enough; how could he know that it was? It is God alone who knows when we have done enough, and enjoyed enough; but we do not know." (Spurgeon)

d. Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers! When Elijah examined the apparent failure of his work, he instinctively set the blame on his own unworthiness. It was because he was a sinner as the rest of his ancestors that the work seemed to fail.

B. God's ministry to the despairing Elijah.

1. (5-8) God ministers to the physical needs of Elijah.

Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, "Arise and eat." Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, "Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you." So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.

a. As he lay and slept under a broom tree: This was the mercy of God extended to Elijah. Physically speaking, he needed rest and replenishment. God gave him rest under a broom tree, and provided miraculous food for the replenishment.

i. God first ministered to Elijah's physical needs. This is not always His order, but physical needs are important. Sometimes the most spiritual thing a person can do is get enough rest and replenishment.

ii. "And how many are there at this day that sit under Elias's juniper, willing and wishing to lay down that heavy burden imposed upon them by the Almighty!" (Trapp)

b. So he ate and drank, and lay down again: Elijah received this rest and replenishment repeatedly from the LORD. One quick nap and one quick meal wasn't enough.

i. "Before entering into that communion with him which was for the correction of his false attitude of fear, He commanded him to eat, thus ministering to his physical weakness." (Morgan)

ii. "The spirit needs to be fed, and the body needs feeding also. Do not forget these matters; it may seem to some people that I ought not to mention such small things as food and rest, but these may be the very first elements in really helping a poor depressed servant of God." (Spurgeon)

iii. "It was very gracious for God to deal this with his servant. We might have expected rebuke or remonstrance, chiding or chastisement; but we would hardly have expected such loving, gentle treatment as this." (Meyer)

c. Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you: God set Elijah on a 200 mile, 40 day trip to Mount Horeb, also known as Mount Sinai. This shows that God did not demand an immediate recovery from Elijah. He allowed the prophet time to recover from his spiritual depression.

i. "Elijah's forty-day journey is not without significance. Indeed, a straight trip from Beesheba would require little more than a quarter of that time. Therefore the period is designedly symbolic. As the children of Israel had a notable spiritual failure and so were to wander forty years in the wilderness, so a defeated Elijah was to spend forty days in the desert." (Patterson and Austel)

2. (9-10) God allows Elijah to vent his frustrations.

And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" So he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life."

a. He went into a cave: Literally, the Hebrew is definite describing the cave. "The cave may well have been the specific 'clift of the rock' where God appeared to Moses (AV, Exodus 33:22) rather than the 'cave-region' generally." (Wiseman)

i. "Perhaps no spot on earth is more associated with the manifested presence of God than that sacred mount." (Meyer)

b. What are you doing here, Elijah? God knew the answer to this question, but it was good for Elijah to speak to the LORD freely and to unburden his heart.

i. "God has ways of teaching all of us in our bones and in our flesh, but he specially knows how to do this with those upon whom he puts any honor in his service. You must not marvel, if God should be pleased to bless you to the conversion of souls, that he should also make you sometimes smart." (Spurgeon)

c. I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts: Elijah protested to God, "I have faithfully served You and now look at the danger I am in." To Elijah - and many servants of God since - it seemed unfair that a faithful servant of God should be made to suffer.

d. I alone am left: This was not accurate, but if reflected how Elijah felt. Even back at the confrontation at Mount Carmel Elijah said I alone am left a prophet of the LORD (1 Kings 18:22). Discouraging times make God's servants feel more isolated and alone than they are.

e. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life: Strangely, the reasons Elijah provided were actually important reasons for him to remain alive. If he really was the last prophet or believer alive, should not he seek to live as long as possible? If the enemies of God like Jezebel wanted him dead, should he not seek to defeat her wicked will? Elijah here powerfully showed the unreasonable nature of unbelief and fear.

3. (11-12) God reveals Himself to Elijah.

Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces 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.

a. Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD: God knew what the depressed and discouraged Elijah needed. He needed a personal encounter with God. There was nothing fundamentally wrong with Elijah's theology, but at the time there was something lacking in his experience.

b. Behold, the LORD passed by: God brought His presence before Elijah, but first to show where He was not. The LORD was not in the wind, He was not in the earthquake, He was not in the fire. Like many others, Elijah probably only looked for God in dramatic manifestations. Certainly, God sometimes appears in such ways but He often appears in less dramatic surroundings.

i. "This same lesson has to be learned over and over by us all: let us repeat it, 'Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord.' It is to be lamented that the most of professors obstinately cling to the fatal error of looking for displays of power of one kind or another. I hear that a certain church is seeking for a very clever man: she thinks that God is in the wind . . . That still small voice will be hushed and silent, while the boastings of your wisdom resound like a howling wind or a thunder unaccompanied by rain." (Spurgeon)

c. After the fire a still small voice: This final phenomenon was a marked contrast to the previous manifestations. God actually met Elijah in the quiet whisper of a voice instead of the earth-shaking phenomenon that had gone before.

i. Wiseman calls the still small voice a gentle whisper.

ii. "And now the thunder ceased, and the lightning was gone, and the earth was still, and the wind was hushed, and there was a dead calm, and out of the midst of the still air there came what the Hebrew calls 'a voice of gentle silence,' as if silence had become audible. There is nothing more terrible than an awful stillness after a dread uproar." (Spurgeon)

iii. Elijah perhaps thought that the dramatic display of power at Mount Carmel would turn the nation around. Or perhaps he thought that the radical display of God's judgment against the priests of Baal following the vindication at Mount Carmel would change the hearts of the nation. Neither of these worked. This example is important for Christian ministers, especially preachers, today. It shows that displays of power and preaching God's anger don't necessarily change hearts. Instead, the still small voice of God speaking to the human heart is actually more powerful than outward displays of power or displays of God's judgment.

iii. "Because the success of Carmel melted like the morning mist, he thought that his career had been a failure all along, and that he had brought no one to reverence Jehovah; but he was reading with the eyes of unbelief, and his imagination was leading him rather than the facts of the case. Here are seven thousand people scattered up and down the country to whom God has blessed Elijah's testimony. If he had not blessed his big things as he had desired, yet his little things had prospered greatly. It was Elijah's daily conduct rather than his miracles which had impressed these seven thousand and led them to hold fast their integrity." (Spurgeon)

4. (13-15) After this ministry, God gives Elijah work to do.

So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" And he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life." Then the LORD said to him: "Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria.

a. He wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave: Immediately, Elijah sensed that God was present in the still small voice in a way that He was not in the previous, more dramatic phenomenon. Because he sensed the special presence of God, Elijah immediately humbled himself when he wrapped his face in his mantle.

i. "Through horror and dread of God's presence, being sensible that he was neither worthy nor able to endure the sight of God with open face." (Poole)

ii. "He first wrapped his mantle about his face - he became subdued and awe-stricken - full of reverence. Oh! it is a great thing when a sinner is willing to wrap his face when he is confounded, and say, 'I cannot defend my course; I am guilty.' We know that if at our judgment-seat a man pleads guilty, he is punished; but at the judgment-seat of the gospel whoever pleads guilty is forgiven. Wrap your face." (Spurgeon)

b. What are you doing here, Elijah? God asked Elijah the same question - and received the same response - as in 1 Kings 19:9-10. There was something helpful for Elijah in this question and answer process.

c. Go, return on your way . . . anoint Hazael as king over Syria: God gave Elijah something to do. He needed a task to focus on so he could avoid excessive introspection. He needed to stop looking at himself and his own (admittedly difficult) circumstances. He needed to get on with what God wanted him to do.

i. "Then the Lord did what perhaps was best of all for Elijah, he gave him some more work to do. He sent him off about his Master's business again; and I warrant you that, when Elijah went back over that road, it was with a very different step from that which brought him down to Beersheba. He had come along terrified and distressed; but now he goes back with the majesty that belongs to the Tishbite, he is afraid of no Jezebel now." (Spurgeon)

5. (16-18) Further assurance to Elijah.

"Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."

a. You shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel: God had more work for Elijah to do. He would also demonstrate God's choice of Jehu to be the king to succeed the corrupt Ahab and his wife Jezebel.

b. Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place: God gave something else to the discouraged and depressed prophet, beyond work to do. He also gave him a friend and a successor.

i. Elijah needed a friend; the core of his complaint before God was that he was alone. God let him know that there was a man ready to learn from the great prophet and be his disciple and companion.

ii. Elijah also needed hope, and since Elisha would be raised up as a successor to Elijah's prophetic office, Elijah then knew that his work would continue even after his death.

c. It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill: This was another source of encouragement to Elijah. With this promise he knew that ultimately justice would be done, and God would not allow the institutionalized persecution and promotion of idolatry to go unpunished.

d. Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal: This was a final encouragement to Elijah. He repeatedly bemoaned that he was alone among the true followers of God (1 Kings 18:22, 19:10, and 19:14). This both assured Elijah that he was not alone and that his work as a prophet had indeed been fruitful.

i. This showed Elijah that his quiet ministry over the years actually bore more fruit than the spectacular ministry at Mount Carmel. "Yet, all the while that vile idolatry was spreading in Israel, the worship of the true God was being retained by seven thousand faithful souls, though Elijah did not know that there was even one beside himself. How were they won to Jehovah? Certainly not by Elijah's impressive demonstration on the top of Carmel, for they were loyal to the Lord before that . . . The still small voice had been doing for Israel what Elijah could not do." (Spurgeon)

6. (19-21) The call of Elisha.

So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, "Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you." And he said to him, "Go back again, for what have I done to you?" So Elisha turned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled their flesh, using the oxen's equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant.

a. He departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat: Elijah did what the still small voice of God told him to do. He happened to do it in reverse order than God described to him in the previous passage. Perhaps Elijah believed that he first needed a friend and apprentice.

b. Who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him: Elijah found Elisha and commissioned him to ministry when Elisha was at work.

c. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him: The mantle was the symbol of Elijah's prophetic authority. This was a dramatic symbol that said, "I call upon you to join in my work as a prophet."

i. "The mantle, or pallium, was the peculiar garb of the prophet, as we may learn from Zechariah 13:4; and this was probably made of skin dressed with the hair on. See also 2 Kings 1:8." (Clarke)

d. What have I done to you? This question "Could mean, 'Go back, but remember what I have done to you.' It might be a rebuke at any delay in following." (Wiseman)

i. "Elijah's reply indicates that he himself had not called Elisha; it was God's call. Whether Elisha would follow that call was his own decision." (Patterson and Austel)

e. Took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled their flesh, using the oxen's equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate: This demonstrated Elisha's complete commitment to following Elijah. He destroyed the tools of his trade in a going away party for his family and friends.

i. "Elisha must have had a considerable estate, when he kept twelve yoke of oxen to till the ground. If, therefore, he obeyed the prophetic call, he did it to considerable secular loss." (Clarke)

ii. "Hereby he showed how willingly and joyfully he forsook all his friends, that he might serve God in that high and honourable employment." (Poole)

© 2004 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Introduction / Outline

JFB: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF KINGS, in the ancient copies of the Hebrew Bible, constitute one book. Various titles have been given them; in the Septuagint and the Vulgate they are called the Third and Fourth Books of Kings. The authorship of these books is unknown; but the prevailing opinion is that they were compiled by Ezra, or one of the later prophets, from the ancient documents that are so frequently referred to in the course of the history as of public and established authority. Their inspired character was acknowledged by the Jewish Church, which ranked them in the sacred canon; and, besides, it is attested by our Lord, who frequently quotes from them (compare 1Ki 17:9; 2Ki 5:14 with Luk 4:24-27; 1Ki 10:1 with Mat 12:42).

JFB: 1 Kings (Outline)

• ABISHAG CHERISHES DAVID IN HIS EXTREME AGE. (1Ki 1:1-4)
• ADONIJAH USURPS THE KINGDOM. (1Ki. 1:5-31)
• SOLOMON, BY DAVID'S APPOINTMENT, IS ANOINTED KING. (1Ki. 1:32-49)
• ADONIJAH, FLEEING TO THE HORNS OF THE ALTAR, IS DISMISSED BY SOLOMON. (1Ki 1:50-53)
• DAVID DIES. (1Ki 2:1-11)
• SOLOMON SUCCEEDS HIM. (1Ki 2:12-24)
• JOAB SLAIN. (1Ki. 2:28-45)
• SHIMEI PUT TO DEATH. (1Ki 2:34-46)
• SOLOMON MARRIES PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER. (1Ki 3:1)
• HIGH PLACES BEING IN USE, HE SACRIFICES AT GIBEON. (1Ki 3:2-5)
• HE CHOOSES WISDOM. (1Ki 3:6-15)
• HIS JUDGMENT BETWEEN TWO HARLOTS. (1Ki 3:16-28)
• SOLOMON'S PRINCES. (1Ki 4:1-6)
• HIS TWELVE OFFICERS. (1Ki 4:7-21)
• HIS WISDOM. (1Ki 4:29-34)
• HIRAM SENDS TO CONGRATULATE SOLOMON. (1Ki 5:1-6)
• FURNISHES TIMBER TO BUILD THE TEMPLE. (1Ki 5:7-12)
• SOLOMON'S WORKMEN AND LABORERS. (1Ki 5:13-18)
• THE BUILDING OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE. (1Ki 6:1-4)
• THE CHAMBERS THEREOF. (1Ki 6:5-10)
• GOD'S PROMISES UNTO IT. (1Ki 6:11-14)
• THE CEILING AND ADORNING OF IT. (1Ki 6:15-22)
• THE TIME TAKEN TO BUILD IT. (1Ki 6:37-38)
• BUILDING OF SOLOMON'S HOUSE. (1Ki 7:1)
• OF THE HOUSE OF LEBANON. (1Ki 7:2-7)
• HIRAM'S WORKS. (1Ki. 7:13-51)
• THE DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE. (1Ki 8:1-12)
• SOLOMON'S BLESSING. (1Ki 8:12-21)
• HIS PRAYER. (1Ki. 8:22-61)
• HIS SACRIFICE OF PEACE OFFERING. (1Ki 8:62-64)
• THE PEOPLE JOYFUL. (1Ki 8:65)
• GOD'S COVENANT IN A SECOND VISION WITH SOLOMON. (1Ki 9:1-9)
• THE MUTUAL PRESENTS OF SOLOMON AND HIRAM. (1Ki 9:10-23)
• SOLOMON'S YEARLY SACRIFICES. (1Ki 9:24-28)
• THE QUEEN OF SHEBA ADMIRES THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON. (1Ki 10:1-13)
• HIS RICHES. (1Ki. 10:14-29)
• SOLOMON'S WIVES AND CONCUBINES IN HIS OLD AGE. (1Ki 11:1-8)
• GOD THREATENS HIM. (1Ki 11:9-13)
• REFUSING THE OLD MEN'S COUNSEL. (1Ki 12:1-5)
• JEROBOAM MADE KING OVER THEM. (1Ki 12:20-33)
• JEROBOAM'S HAND WITHERS. (1Ki. 13:1-22)
• THE DISOBEDIENT PROPHET SLAIN BY A LION. (1Ki 13:23-32)
• AHIJAH DENOUNCES GOD'S JUDGMENTS AGAINST JEROBOAM. (1Ki. 14:1-20)
• REHOBOAM'S WICKED REIGN. (1Ki 14:21-24)
• SHISHAK SPOILS JERUSALEM. (1Ki 14:25-31)
• ABIJAM'S WICKED REIGN OVER JUDAH. (1Ki 15:1-8)
• ASA'S GOOD REIGN. (1Ki 15:9-22)
• NADAB'S WICKED REIGN. (1Ki 15:25-34)
• JEHU'S PROPHECY AGAINST BAASHA. (1Ki 16:1-8)
• ZIMRI'S CONSPIRACY. (1Ki 16:9-22)
• OMRI BUILDS SAMARIA. (1Ki 16:23-28)
• JOSHUA'S CURSE FULFILLED UPON HIEL THE BUILDER OF JERICHO. (1Ki 16:34)
• ELIJAH, PROPHESYING AGAINST AHAB, IS SENT TO CHERITH. (1Ki 17:1-7)
• HE IS SENT TO A WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH. (1Ki 17:8-16)
• HE RAISES HER SON TO LIFE. (1Ki 17:17-24)
• ELIJAH MEETS OBADIAH. (1Ki. 18:1-16)
• ELIJAH, BY PRAYER, OBTAINS RAIN. (1Ki 18:41-46)
• ELIJAH FLEES TO BEER-SHEBA. (1Ki 19:1-3)
• ELISHA FOLLOWS ELIJAH. (1Ki 19:19-21)
• BEN-HADAD BESIEGES SAMARIA. (1Ki 20:1-12)
• THE SYRIANS ARE SLAIN. (1Ki 20:13-20)
• A PROPHET REPROVES HIM. (1Ki 20:35-42)
• NABOTH REFUSES AHAB HIS VINEYARD. (1Ki 21:1-4)
• JEZEBEL CAUSES NABOTH TO BE STONED. (1Ki 21:5-16)
• ELIJAH DENOUNCES JUDGMENTS AGAINST AHAB AND JEZEBEL. (1Ki 21:17-29)
• AHAB SLAIN AT RAMOTH-GILEAD. (1Ki. 22:1-36)

TSK: 1 Kings 19 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

1Ki 19:1, Elijah, threatened by Jezebel, flees to Beer-sheba; 1Ki 19:4, In the wilderness, being weary of his life, he is comforted by an angel; 1Ki 19:9, At Horeb God appears unto him, sending him to anoint Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha; 1Ki 19:19, Elisha, taking leave of his friends, follows Elijah.

Poole: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

FIRST BOOK OF KINGS COMMONLY CALLED

THE THIRD BOOK OF THE KINGS

THE ARGUMENT

THESE two Books called Of the Kings, because they treat of the kings of Judah and Israel, were written by the prophets, or holy men of God, living in or near their several times, and by some one of them digested into this order. But whoever was the penman, that these are a part of those Holy Scriptures which were Divinely inspired is sufficiently evident first,

From the concurring testimony of the whole Jewish church in all ages, to whom were committed the oracles of God, Rom 3:2 , who also did faithfully discharge their duty in preserving and delivering them entirely and truly to their posterity from time to time, as plainly appears, because Christ and his apostles, who reproved them freely for their several sins, never taxed them with this fault, of depraving the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament. Secondly, Because this is manifest concerning divers parcels of them which were taken out of the records of the prophets Nathan, Ahijah, and Iddo, 2Ch 9:29 , and out of the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah; and the rest doubtless were of the same nature.

Thirdly, From the approbation of these books by the New Testament, both generally, as 2Ti 3:16 , All Scripture is given by inspiration from God, &c., which is affirmed concerning all those Holy Scriptures which Timothy had known, from a child, 2Ti 3:15 , and therefore must necessarily be meant of all the books of the Old Testament, which the Jews owned for canonical Scripture; and particularly Rom 11:2,3 , &c., where a passage out of these books is quoted and owned as a part of the Holy Scripture, called the Scripture by way of eminency.

Poole: 1 Kings 19 (Chapter Introduction)

KINGS CHAPTER 19

Elijah, threatened by Jezebel, fleeth to Beer-sheba; is comforted by an angel, 1Ki 19:1-8 . At Mount Horeb, complaining to God, he is strengthened by a special revelation, 1Ki 19:9-14 ; is sent to anoint Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha, 1Ki 19:15-18 . Elisha followeth Elijah, 1Ki 19:19-21 .

MHCC: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

The history now before us accounts for the affairs of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, yet with special regard to the kingdom of God among them; for it is a sacred history. It is earlier as to time, teaches much more, and is more interesting than any common histories.

MHCC: 1 Kings 19 (Chapter Introduction)

(1Ki 19:1-8) Elijah flees to the wilderness.

(1Ki 19:9-13) God manifests himself to Elijah.

(1Ki 19:14-18) God's answer to Elijah.

(1Ki 19:19-21) The call of Elisha.

Matthew Henry: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The First Book of Kings

Many histories are books of kings and their reigns, to which the affairs of their kingdoms are reduced; this is a piece of honour that has commonly been paid to crowned heads. The holy Scripture is the history of the kingdom of God among men, under the several administrations of it; but there the King is one and his name one. The particular history now before us accounts for the affairs of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, yet with special regard to the kingdom of God among them; for still it is a sacred history, much more instructive and not less entertaining than any of the histories of the kings of the earth, to which (those of them that are of any certainty) it is prior in time; for though there were kings in Edom before there was any king in Israel, Gen 36:31 (foreigners, in that point of state, got the precedency), yet the history of the kings of Israel lives, and will live, in holy Writ, to the end of the world, whereas that of the kings of Edom is long since buried in oblivion; for the honour that comes from God is durable, while the honour of the world is like a mushroom, which comes up in a night and perishes in a night. - The Bible began with the story of patriarchs, and prophets, and judges, men whose converse with heaven was more immediate, the record of which strengthens our faith, but is not so easily accommodated to our case, now that we expect not visions, as the subsequent history of affairs like ours under the direction of common providence; and here also we find, though not many types and figures of the Messiah, yet great expectations of him; for not only prophets, but kings, desired to see the great mysteries of the gospel, Luk 10:24 - The two books of Samuel are introductions to the books of the Kings, as they relate the origin of the royal government in Saul and of the royal family in David. These two books give us an account of David's successor, Solomon, the division of his kingdom, and the succession of the several kings both of Judah and Israel, with an abstract of their history down to the captivity. And as from the book of Genesis we may collect excellent rules of economics, for the good governing of families, so from these books we may collect rules of politics, for the directing of public affairs. There is in these books special regard had to the house and lineage of David, from which Christ came. Some of his sons trod in his steps, and others did not. The characters of the kings of Judah may be thus briefly given: - David the devout, Solomon the wise, Rehoboam the simple, Abijah the valiant, Asa the upright, Jehoshaphat the religious, Jehoram the wicked, Ahaziah the profane, Joash the backslider, Amaziah the rash, Uzziah the mighty, Jotham the peaceable, Ahaz the idolater, Hezekiah the reformer, Manasseh the penitent, Amon the obscure, Josiah the tender-hearted, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah, all wicked, and such as brought ruin quickly on themselves and their kingdom. The number of the good and bad is nearly equal, but the reigns of the good were generally long and those of the bad short, the consideration of which will make the state of Israel not altogether so bad in this period as at first it seems. In this first book we have, I. The death of David, ch. 1 and 2. II. The glorious reign of Solomon, and his building the temple (ch. 3-10), but the cloud his sun set under, ch. 11. III. The division of the kingdoms in Rehoboam, and his reign and Jeroboam's, ch. 12-14. IV. The reigns of Abijah and Asa over Judah, Baasha and Omri over Israel, ch. 15 and 16. V. Elijah's miracles, ch. 17-19. VI. Ahab's success against Benhadad, his wickedness and fall, ch. 20-22. And in all this history it appears that kings, though gods to us, are men to God, mortal and accountable.

Matthew Henry: 1 Kings 19 (Chapter Introduction)

We left Elijah at the entrance of Jezreel, still appearing publicly, and all the people's eyes upon him. In this chapter we have him again absconding, and driven into obscurity, at a time when he could ill be spared; but we are to look upon it as a punishment to Israel for the insincerity and inconstancy of their reformation. When people will not learn it is just with God to remove their teachers into corners. Now observe, I. How he was driven into banishment by the malice of Jezebel his sworn enemy (1Ki 19:1-3). II. How he was met, in his banishment, by the favour of God, his covenant-friend. 1. How God fed him (1Ki 19:4-8). 2. How he conversed with him, and manifested himself to him (1Ki 19:9, 1Ki 19:11-13), heard his complaint (1Ki 19:10-14), directed him what to do (1Ki 19:15-17), and encouraged him (1Ki 19:18). III. How his hands were strengthened, at his return out of banishment, by the joining of Elisha with him (1Ki 19:19-21).

Constable: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

The Books of 1 and 2 Kings received their names because they document the reigns of the 40 kings of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah following David.¹

In the Hebrew Bible 1 and 2 Kings were one book until the sixteenth century. The ancients regarded them as the continuation of the narrative begun in Samuel. The Septuagint (Greek) translation of the Hebrew text, dating from about 250 B.C., was the first to divide Kings into two books. That division has continued to the present day. The Septuagint translators, however, called these two books 3 and 4 Kingdoms. First and 2 Kingdoms were our 1 and 2 Samuel. Jerome's Vulgate (Latin) translation, which dates about A.D. 400, changed the name from Kingdoms to Kings.

"The English Bible presents the books primarily as historical accounts. Their placement next to 1, 2 Chronicles demonstrates the collectors' interest in detailing all the events of Israel's history. In contrast, the Hebrew Bible places Joshua-Kings with the prophets, which highlights their common viewpoints. This decision implies that 1, 2 Kings are being treated as proclamation and history."²

Writer and Date

Most Old Testament scholars today believe several different individuals wrote and edited Kings because of theories concerning textual transmission that have gained popularity in the last 150 years. However, many conservatives have continued to follow the older tradition of the church that one individual probably put Kings together.³ This view finds support in the stylistic and linguistic features that run through the whole work and make it read like the product of a single writer. Some of these features are the way the writer described and summarized each king's reign, the consistent basis on which he evaluated all the kings, and recurring phrases and terms.

The identity of the writer is unknown today and has been for centuries. Ancient Jewish tradition suggested Ezra or Ezekiel as possible writers since both of these men were biblical writers who lived after the Babylonian exile. The record of King Jehoiachin's release from Babylonian captivity (2 Kings 25:27-30) points to a date of final composition sometime after that event. Jeremiah has traditional Talmudic support as well though he never went to Babylon but died in Egypt. Of course, someone else may have written Kings. Scholars have suggested these men only because they were famous writers who lived when Kings reached its final form.

Most non-conservatives date Kings considerably later than the sixth or fifth centuries.⁴

Scope

The historical period Kings covers totals about 413 years. The events that frame this period were Solomon's coronation as co-regent with David (973 B.C.) and Jehoiachin's release from Babylonian exile (560 B.C.).

However, most of Kings deals with the period that spans Solomon's coronation and the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., a period of 387 years. In terms of the temple, at the beginning we see the temple built and at the end the temple burnt.

". . . 1, 2 Kings present Israel's history as a series of events that describe how and why the nation fell from the heights of national prosperity to the depths of conquest and exile."⁵

"More specifically, 1, 2 Kings explain how and why Israel lost the land it fought so hard to win in Joshua and worked so hard to organize in Judges and 1, 2 Samuel."⁶

"Plot relates the causes and effects in a story. Thus, the story line in 1, 2 Kings may be that Israel went into exile, but the plot is Israel went into exile because of its unfaithfulness to God. To make cause and effect unfold, plots normally have at least two basic aspects: conflict and resolution. A plot's conflict is the tension in a story that makes it an interesting account, while a plot's resolution is the way the conflict is settled. How the author develops these two components usually decides the shape and effectiveness of the plot."⁷

This historical period is more than twice that of the one the Books of Samuel covered, which was about 150 years in length. The Book of Judges covers about 300 years of Israel's history.

The dates of the kings of Israel and Judah that I have used in the following notes are those of Edwin Thiele.⁸ He has worked out the many problems regarding these dates more satisfactorily than anyone else in the opinion of most scholars.⁹

Message¹⁰

The fact that this book opens and closes with death should be a clue as to its message.

It opens with David's death, and it closes with Ahab's death. The intervening period of about a century and a half is a story of national decline, disruption, disintegration, and disaster. Israel and Judah passed from affluence and influence to poverty and paralysis.

There is an emphasis in this book on thrones.

Obviously there were the thrones of Judah and Israel on earth with their kings who succeeded one another. However there is also the throne in heaven with its one King. Rehoboam and Jeroboam had their successors, the kings who replaced one another. Yahweh also in a sense had His successors, the prophets who replaced one another as His messengers to the people. While the kings remind us of the thrones on earth, the prophets remind us of the throne in heaven.

The thrones on earth present a story of disruption, disintegration, and disaster in both kingdoms, Judah and Israel. This trend continued despite changes in the methods the various rulers employed to govern their people.

Solomon's method of government was oppression. He taxed the people greatly and conscripted them into government service. The result was material magnificence. He multiplied riches and manifested great displays in the temple, the palace, and throughout his kingdom. He increased the military strength of the nation. Nevertheless in the process he ground down the people. The state became more important than the people. The testimony to this appears in 12:4. The result was dissatisfaction with Solomon's method of government.

In reaction to this method Rehoboam chose a new method of government: autocracy. He decided to tighten his grip on the people so he could control them (12:14). He believed the people should trust in their rulers, but he did not trust in God. Consequently he failed. Autocracy led to revolution (12:16).

Jeroboam chose a third method of government: democracy. He let the people determine how they would live. While this resulted in more pleasant conditions for the people, it also resulted in ultimate disaster for his nation. Notice what democracy produced in Jeroboam's day: 12:27-29. People cannot rule themselves effectively. We need God to govern us. Jeroboam believed rulers should trust in the people, but he did not trust in God. Consequently he failed. He made religion convenient, and the people became corrupt (12:30-31).

Rehoboam's successors in Judah chose a method of government we could call government by policy. That is, they chose to follow precedent, the pattern of their predecessors, rather than getting and following God's direction for their nation. There were some exceptions to this approach, but on the whole this was Judah's method of government.

Jeroboam's successors in Israel, however, chose a different method of government: selfishness. The kings of Israel cared little for the people of Israel. What concerned them primarily was what they could get out of being king for themselves. That is why the story of the kingdom of Israel is a story of intrigue, assassinations, and much bloodshed.

In summary, every form of human government results in disastrous failure if people do not acknowledge God's sovereignty. People cannot govern themselves effectively. The result is always decline, disruption, and disintegration. This is one of the great revelations of 1 Kings.

However there is another throne in view in this book: the throne in heaven. Whereas 1 Kings reveals that human government always fails, it also reveals that God's government never fails. There are two ways God exercised His kingship over His people during Israel's monarchy.

First, He broke in on human life with messages that the prophets delivered. Ahijah announced the division of the kingdom (11:26-39). Later he announced the death of Jeroboam's son (14:4-16). Shemaiah directed Rehoboam not to fight against Jeroboam (12:21-24). An unnamed prophet announced the fate of Jeroboam's altar (13:1-10). Jehu announced Baasha's doom (16:1-4). Elijah vindicated Yahweh in the days of Ahab's apostasy (chs. 17-21). Another unnamed prophet rebuked Ahab for allowing Ben-Hadad to escape (20:35-43). Micaiah foretold Israel's scattering (22:8-28). These are all evidences that God was governing His people independently of the kings when they forgot Him. The heavenly throne ruled in spite of the earthly thrones.

The second way God exercised His rule, in addition to sending messages by the prophets, was by directly and indirectly intervening in the lives of His people. He appeared and spoke directly to Solomon, which resulted in the building of the temple. He raised up an adversary to Solomon, namely Jeroboam. He slew Abijah. He withheld rain and brought famine. He sent fire from heaven on Mt. Carmel. He sent rain. He appeared to Elijah in an earthquake. He enticed Ahab into battle through the mouths of lying prophets.

In short, God ruled by exercising direct and indirect influence over people, by directly intervening and by controlling circumstances occasionally. He manipulated history. God sits in perfect control and continuity over all the human chaos that peoples' failure to rule themselves causes.

The message of the book, therefore, is that when people exclude God, every method of human government will fail; but even so God is still on His throne and is in control.

If people exclude God, every method of government ends in disaster. Even though in Solomon's reign the king emphasized religious forms and ceremonies, internal development, foreign treaties, and intellectual attainment, his oppression did not bring stability and peace. Autocracy will end in revolution eventually. Democracy that locks God out can result in the most terrible consequences for the people whose interests it professes to advocate. Government by policy can only deteriorate. Selfish rulers will only rape their nations.

Man cannot govern himself because he does not know himself apart from God's Word. How can he govern others about whom he knows even less? If people do not submit to the throne in heaven, no matter what method of government they choose, they will fail. As Christians, we must remember who is in control. We must look beyond our government to our God.

First Kings also reveals God's method in the midst of human failures.

First, when a throne on earth rebels against the throne in heaven God abandons that throne on earth. He separated Himself from it. He allowed the evil choices of the rulers to work themselves out to their inevitable consequences. Departure leads to disaster. Apostasy results in awful consequences (cf. Rom. 1).

Second, God keeps some consciousness of Himself and His government alive in the hearts and minds of a remnant. The prophets spoke. All Christians exercise that ministry today. We should speak for God to our generation.

Third, God maintains ultimate control. He controls history directly and indirectly so His purposes get accomplished. The Christian never needs to panic. God has revealed His plan for history. Knowledge of the Word should give us stability in uncertain times.

What I have said is true on the national scale is also true on the individual level. If a person excludes God from his or her life, no matter how the person may live, he or she will fail. We can resist God's authority, but we cannot overcome it. People only break themselves by refusing to submit to the throne in heaven. People need reminding of the throne in heaven. These principles have worked out throughout history. God's plan moves ahead.

Constable: 1 Kings (Outline)

Outline

I. The reign of Solomon chs. 1-11

A. Solomon's succession to David's throne 1:1-2:12

1. David's declining health 1:1-4

2. Adonijah's attempt to seize the throne 1:5-53

3. David's charge to Solomon 2:1-9

4. David's death 2:10-12

B. The foundation of Solomon's reign 2:13-4:34

1. Solomon's purges 2:13-46

2. Solomon's wisdom from God ch. 3

3. Solomon's political strength ch. 4

C. Solomon's greatest contribution chs. 5-8

1. Preparations for building ch. 5

2. Temple construction ch. 6

3. Solomon's palace 7:1-12

4. The temple furnishings 7:13-51

5. The temple dedication ch. 8

D. The fruits of Solomon's reign chs. 9-11

1. God's covenant with Solomon 9:1-9

2. Further evidences of God's blessing 9:10-28

3. Solomon's greatness ch. 10

4. Solomon's apostasy ch. 11

II. The divided kingdom -1 Kings 12-2 Kings 17

A. The first period of antagonism 12:1-16:28

1. The division of the kingdom ch. 12

2. Jeroboam's evil reign in Israel 12:25-14:20

3. Rehoboam's evil reign in Judah 14:21-31

4. Abijam's evil reign in Judah 15:1-8

5. Asa's good reign in Judah 15:9-24

6. Nadab's evil reign in Israel 15:25-32

7. Baasha's evil reign in Israel 15:33-16:7

8. Elah's evil reign in Israel 16:8-14

9. Zimri's evil reign in Israel 16:15-20

10. Omri's evil reign in Israel 16:21-28

B. The period of alliance -1 Kings 16:29-2 Kings 9:29

1. Ahab's evil reign in Israel 16:29-22:40

2. Jehoshaphat's good reign in Judah 22:41-50

3. Ahaziah's evil reign in Israel -1 Kings 22:51-2 Kings 1:18

(Continued in notes on 2 Kings)

One writer observed that a chiastic structure marks the Books of Kings.¹¹

A Solomon/United Monarchy -- 1 Kings 1:1-11:25

B Jeroboam/Rehoboam; the division of the kingdom -- 1 Kings 11:26-14:31

C Kings of Judah/Israel -- 1 Kings 15:1-16:22

D The Omride dynasty; the rise and fall of the Baal cult in Israel and Judah -- -1 Kings 16:23-2 Kings 12

C' Kings of Judah/Israel -- 2 Kings 13-16

B' The fall of the Northern Kingdom -- 2 Kings 17

A' The Kingdom of Judah -- 2 Kings 18-25.

Constable: 1 Kings

1 Kings

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

THE THIRD BOOK OF KINGS.

INTRODUCTION.

This and the following Book are called by the holy Fathers, The Third and Fourth Book of Kings; but by the Hebrews, the First and Second. They contain the history of the kingdoms of Israel and Juda, from the beginning of the reign of Solomon to the captivity. As to the writer of these books, it seem most probable they were not written by one man, nor at one time; but as there was all along a succession of prophets in Israel, who recorded, by divine inspiration, the most remarkable things that happened in their days, these books seem to have been written by these prophets. See 2 Paralipomenon, alias 2 Chronicles ix. 29., xii. 15., xiii. 22., xx. 34., xxvi. 22., and xxxii. 32. (Challoner) --- This book informs us of the death of David, chap. ii. 11, where some Greek copies concluded the second book "of the reigns or kingdoms," as they style all the four books. Theodoret and Diodorus follow this division. The point is of no consequence; and the Hebrew editions have often varied. Origen observes, that the Jews denoted these two books from the first words, "Ouammelech David." (Eusebius, Hist. vi. 25.) (Haydock) --- In St. Jerome's time, the four books made only two. The present book details the actions of Solomon, (Calmet) till the end of the 12th chapter. Then we behold the division of the kingdom: Roboam, Abias, Asa, and Josaphat, reign over Juda; Jeroboam, &c., over Israel; while the prophets Abias, Elias, Eliseus, appear in the remaining eleven chapters. (Worthington) --- Though the memoirs seem to have been left by contemporary authors, (Haydock) one, and most probably Esdras, made the compilation, after the captivity, inserting frequently the very words of his authors, yet so as to make some additional reflections. (Calmet) --- The Rabbins generally attribute the work to Jeremias. (Haydock) --- He is more attentive to the house of David, and to display the rewards of the piety, and the punishment of vice, as well as the glory of the temple and of religion, than to describe the military exploits, which occupy so much of the profane history. (Calmet)

Gill: 1 Kings (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS

This, and the following book, properly are but one book, divided into two parts, and went with the Jews under the common name of Kings. This, in the Syriac version, is called the Book of Kings; and in the Arabic version, the Book of Solomon, the Son of David the Prophet, because it begins with his reign upon the death of his father; and, in the Vulgate Latin version, the Third Book of Kings, the two preceding books of Samuel being sometimes called the First and Second Books of Kings, they containing the reigns of Saul and David; and in the Septuagint version both this and the following book are called Kingdoms, because they treat of the kingdom of Israel and Judah, after the division in the times of Rehoboam, son of Solomon, and of the several kings of them; as of Solomon before the division, so afterwards of the kings of Judah; Rehoboam, Abijam, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Ahaziah, Jehoash, Amaziah, Uzziah or Azariah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah; and of the kings of Israel, Jeroboam, Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah, Jehu, Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam the son of Joash, Zachariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, and Hoshea; so that these books may, with great propriety, be called the books or histories of the kings in the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel: who they were written by, is not easy to say; some think they were written by piecemeal by the prophets that lived in the several reigns successively, as Nathan, Ahijah the Shilonite, Iddo, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and afterwards put together by an inspired writer. The Jews commonly say ^a, that Jeremiah wrote the book of the Kings, by which they mean this, and the following book; though very probably they were written by Ezra, since the history in them is carried down to the liberty granted to Jehoiachin in Babylon; but that Ezra was the writer of all the preceding historical books, and even of the Pentateuch, cannot be admitted, which is the conceit of Spinosa ^b; part of whose tract is just now republished by somebody, word for word, under a title as in the margin ^c; but that Ezra was not the writer of the Pentateuch is clear, since he refers to it as written by Moses, and as the rule of religion and worship in his times, Ezr 3:2; and it is certain these writings were in being in the times of Josiah, Amaziah, Joash, yea, of David, and even of Joshua, 2Ch 34:14; and as for the book of Joshua, that also was written long before Ezra's time; it must be written long before the times of David, before the Jebusites were expelled from Jerusalem, since the writer of it says, that they dwelt there in his days, Jos 15:63; the book of Judges must be written before the times of Samuel and David, since the former refers to the annals of it, 1Sa 12:9; and the latter alludes to some passages in it, Psa 68:7; see Jdg 5:4; and a speech of Joab's, 2Sa 11:21, shows it to be an history then extant: to which may be added, that in it Jerusalem is called Jebus, Jdg 19:10; which it never was, after it was taken by David out of the hands of the Jebusites, 2Sa 5:6; the book of Ruth very probably was written by Samuel; had it been of a later date, or written by Ezra, the genealogy with which it concludes, would doubtless have been carried further than to David: the Book of Samuel, and particularly the song of Hannah in it, were written in all probability before the penning of the hundred thirteenth psalm, Psa 113:1, in which some expressions seem to be taken from it wherefore, though the two books of Kings may be allowed to be written or compiled by Ezra, the ten preceding ones cannot be assigned to him: however, there is no room to doubt of the divine authority of these two books, when the honour our Lord has done them is observed, by quoting or referring to several histories in them; as to the account of the queen of Sheba coming to hear the wisdom of Solomon; of the famine in the times of Elijah; and of that prophet being sent to the widow of Sarepta, and of the cleansing of Naaman the Syrian in the times of Elisha, Mat 12:42 from 1Ki 17:1 2Ki 5:10; to which may be added, the quotations and references made by the apostles to passages in them, as by the Apostle Paul in Rom 11:2 from 1Ki 19:14 where this book is expressly called the Scripture; and by the Apostle James, Jam 5:17; who manifestly refers to 1Ki 17:1; and there are various things in this part of Scripture, which are confirmed by the testimonies of Heathen writers, as will be observed in the exposition of it. The use of these books is to carry on the history of the Jewish nation, to show the state of the church of God in those times, and his providential care of it amidst all the changes and vicissitudes in the state; and, above all, to transmit to us the true genealogy of the Messiah, which serves to confirm the Evangelist Matthew's account of it.

Gill: 1 Kings 19 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 19

This chapter gives us a further account of Elijah, of his being obliged to flee for his life through the threats of Jezebel, 1Ki 19:1, of the care the Lord took of him, providing food for him, in the strength of which he went to Horeb, 1Ki 19:5, of the Lord's appearance to him there, and conversation with him, 1Ki 19:9, of some instructions he gave him to anoint a king over Syria, another over Israel, and a prophet in his room, 1Ki 19:15, and of his finding Elisha, and throwing his mantle over him, who left his secular employment, and followed him, and became his servant, 1Ki 19:19.