Title: When I Miss Death
Contents
“He went into the wilderness on his own, and traveled about a day’s journey, and sat under a broom tree, begging him to die, saying, “It is enough, O LORD;
I am no better than my ancestors.” And as he lay down under the rosemary tree and fell asleep, the angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” (1 Kings 19:4-5)
I. text commentary
Elijah was a prophet during the time of King Ahab of northern Israel, a prosperous time materially but the most apostate spiritually. The most painful thing in Ahab's time was Jezebel, who had no faith in the fear of Jehovah God because she was married in Phoenicia with a mission to serve Israel through the Baal religion. At that time, Elijah had to suffer a lot, and the text sets it as the background.
II. The Prophet's Despair
Elijah is called the most powerful prophet in the Old Testament. When the whole land of Israel experienced a drought, Elijah and 850 Baal prophets went up to Mount Carmel to pray for rain to fall on their gods. God answered Elijah's prayer at once and burned the altar he had built. Elijah was victorious in that battle and was victorious. However, Jezebel refused to accept the fact and ordered the arrest of the prophet Elijah, who was pursued by the soldiers and fled into the wilderness.
While running a long way from Carmel to Beersheba and from Beersheba to the wilderness and running away, he became deeply discouraged and sat down in the shade of a broom tree, praying that he might die before God and take his soul. It was not a situational night, but a night of his own heart, that discouraged the Prophet, who lived powerfully in the midst of a historical night. This was by no means a religious image, and the deep disappointment in life always contained some degree of disappointment with God.
III. God's comfort
The deep loneliness that I was the only prophet standing on God's side came rushing to the strong prophet Elijah, and in front of that loneliness, he fell down in deep discouragement. But instead of rebuking the prophet who was discouraged and seeking death, God sent a hand of comfort. Because God knows that sometimes we are strong and sometimes we are weak. Because Jesus came in a human body and experienced how weak humans are, He knows our weaknesses very well. And this fact gives us infinite comfort.
1. Angel's caress
To the prophet who was so discouraged, God sent an angel to caress him. Meditate on this fact quietly. When the Prophet is exhausted from deep fatigue and hunger, and is lying under a rosemary tree, discouraged by the loneliness of being alone and the disappointment of God. An angel comes down and caresses the prophet with a loving hand, like a child. This is the comfort of God that we need.
There may be some people who go through the deep night of their life, in loneliness and pain, holding a grudge against God, and in desperation who would rather seek death. Some people promise to come back to God after this period is over and obey and serve God. Some people think that they cannot find God in this iniquity, so they will seek God after they are freed from this sin. But God puts us in our suffering so that we can heal us in our suffering and find God in it. Therefore, the effort to escape the night of life with one's remnants will never succeed. The only thing we need to seek is the comfort of God. God's love has the power to subdue our twisted hearts. The problem is not that I am in trouble, but that I have no true comfort other than God and no faith that I have no choice in life apart from the Lord.
2. Giving bread and water
Also, God placed well-baked bread and water at his head. God not only deals with us in a spiritual way, but also multiplies the effect by using a physical method with him. We must bring any problems, not only spiritual ones, before God to ask them about it. In all areas of your life, you must be a person who honestly presents before God without hiding anything. Then we will experience the comfort of God and discover that we are never alone.
2004-10-24