But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”
Elijah has just won a public victory on Mount Carmel. One day later he is a day's walk into the desert, alone, asking to die. How does a man fall that far, that fast? And what does God do with a servant who wants to quit?
Standing Before the Wrong Face
Elijah's collapse started with a change in what filled his vision. He had lived by the words "the LORD, before whom I stand"; now a queen's threat fills it instead.
H. L. RossierHe flees before a woman — he who had met Ahab and resisted the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal! This attitude was so unlike his earlier one. It came from Elijah forgetting, at that moment, the source of his strength. He could no longer say, "The Lord before whom I stand." He felt himself to be before Jezebel, not before the Lord. The moment a believer lets anything at all come between his soul and God, the distance becomes immeasurable.
The flight kept going after the danger was behind him.
H. L. RossierFrom Jezreel he passes into Judah, where the queen could no longer reach him. He keeps running to Beersheba, the farthest border of Judah toward the wilderness, leaves his servant there, and, still not satisfied with his flight, goes a day's journey into the wilderness itself.
The Trial That Broke Him
Where did the pressure come from? Not from the world outside.
W. T. TurpinHere we find Elijah, the servant of God. He has lost all courage through the difficulties connected with the people of God — not his own difficulties. It is not trial in the world; it is trial among God's own people. Nothing tests the saints of God like the troubles of the people of God. Some can face their own difficulties. But difficulties connected with the testimony of the Lord often overcome them, and they give way.
Wishing to Die Is Not Faith
Wanting to die can look like faith. One writer weighs it the other way.
William KellyHe is still the man of God, but a man tired of life. That was not a feeling of faith. There is often far more faith in being willing to live than in wishing to die... Elijah wished to die, wished to get out of the trial — certainly a most unbelieving wish. The Lord never did.
"I Am No Better Than My Fathers"
Two writers read the closing line as pride, not modesty. The first hears a complaint dressed as a confession.
The Bible TreasuryA murmuring feeling rises. He asks God to take his life, saying, "I am no better than my fathers." This is not humility. He is saying that he ought to have been treated better. Since he was not, better to die — he had had enough of trial... A saint in close and peaceful communion with God never says, "It is enough." He follows the steps of the Perfect One and says, "Your will, not mine, be done."
The second asks who had ever said he was better.
W. W. FeredayIn these last words is perhaps the secret of his failure. Who ever said he was better than his fathers? Possibly his success on Mount Carmel had inflated him. All alone he had done great things for God. Did this make him feel important, even indispensable? This is a state of mind that can easily develop in any of us, and it is fatal to our usefulness... It is an unspeakable honour for the great God to use any of us in His work; but let us never imagine He cannot do without us.
The Prayer God Refused
Elijah did not get what he asked for. That was mercy.
W. W. FeredayUnbelief is always unreasonable and inconsistent. If the prophet really wished to die, why did he flee from Jezebel? Why not die a martyr's death among the people of God?... How gracious of our God not to always take His poor, wayward servants at their word! God intended that Elijah should not die at all. His exit from the world would be like no one else's, before or since.
Not Only What He Must Do
Serving God has a second half, and Elijah was not ready for it.
C. H. MackintoshElijah said nothing about longing to depart when he stood on Mount Carmel. There all was triumph. There he seemed to be achieving something, of some use. So he did not think of departing. But the Lord would show His servant not only what he "must do," but also what he "must suffer." We like the first well enough. We are not so ready for the second. Yet the Lord is as much glorified in a patient sufferer as in an active servant.
Summary
- Position — Elijah's strength lay in standing before the LORD. Once Jezebel filled his eye, the distance from God became immeasurable.
- Pressure — His breaking point came from trouble among God's own people. Nothing tests a believer like that.
- Prayer — "It is enough" was the language of a tired man, not a believing one. There is often more faith in being willing to live than in wishing to die.
- Pride — The words "no better than my fathers" answer a charge no one made. Success can leave a servant feeling indispensable, and that is fatal to usefulness.
- Patience — God said no. He had planned that Elijah should never die at all. The Lord is glorified in a patient sufferer as much as in an active servant.