After God asked Elijah a question in 1 Kings 19:13, Elijah’s response in 1 Kings 19:14 sounds like his earlier statement in verse 10. In verse 14, Elijah responded with the same answer as before, only now he was at the mouth of the cave (outside of which there have been all manner of environmental activities going on).
Now, it’s God’s chosen time to answer.
The LORD said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
1 Kings 19:15-18 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1ki.19.15-18.NIV
God didn’t have to respond to each of Elijah’s comments. God is sovereign and created human beings, so He isn’t beholden to us. However, in His love and His wisdom, God did provide Elijah with two valuable things. (How do we know that they were valuable? They came from God!)
First, God gave Elijah a few assignments. Elijah was ready for his life to be over (see 1 Kings 19:3-4), but God still had work for him to do. In the same way, I think that God gives each of us a purpose. We have a role in God’s plan, and while God has the power to achieve His goals without us, for some reason He chooses to involve us (both individually and collectively) in that plan.
By the way, a commentator pointed out that Jehu later ended up overthrowing Ahab’s family and attacking Baal worship in Israel [Long, p.222, footnote]. However, 2 Kings 9-10 suggests that it was Elisha who had Jehu anointed as king, so perhaps Elijah never made it that far (or maybe he “pre-anointed” Jehu before Elisha did so, although that doesn’t show up in the Bible).
Secondly, God enlightened Elijah with the truth about those in Israel who had remained faithful to God. Elijah – from his human perspective – seems to have thought that he was alone (whether he intellectually thought that, or was just caught a vicious, self-feeding cycle of negative thoughts within his own mind), but God knew that there were thousands who hadn’t forgotten Him (i.e., the true God). I have to think that this was encouraging to Elijah, if he let that reality sink in.
God offered Elijah purpose and encouragement. Elijah received a reason to keep going, as well as the reassurance that he was not alone.
God’s plan for Elijah (including getting Elijah some help from others, like Hazael, Jehu, Elisha, and about 7000 other followers of God) sounds a lot like the church today: a group of followers of Jesus, led by the Holy Spirit, who work together to get God’s plan of salvation out to a lost world. We have a mission (or, perhaps better defined as a great commission), and we have others to stand with us, to work with us, and to help us along the way.
When God gives us a response to our questions, though, let’s try to not ignore His solutions. After all, He knows what is best for us, and trying to do anything else – other than His direction – is probably going to make things worse. When God offers us help, we don’t have to be “lone wolf Christians”, or some sort of martyrs who “tough it out” when encountering problems. If He calls you to share your burdens (whether tough times or good works) with others, don’t turn Him down!
From Sunday School lesson prepared for May 18, 2025
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – 1 & 2 Kings, by Jesse C. Long, Jr. © 2002 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 