Proclamations of Death

I Kings 19-21

There is a lot of good stuff tucked away in chapter 19. On the surface it seems really depressing but there is hope just beneath the surface. We begin with Ahab going home and crying to Jezebel that he lost to Elijah. He really was a whiny crybaby as we will see again in chapter 21. When she learns that her prophets were killed, she sends word to Elijah that she is going to kill him, or die trying. This is DEATH PROCLAMATION 1.

Elijah runs away into the wilderness where he prays to die. He goes to sleep but is awakened by an angel who gives him food and water. He goes back to sleep and is again awakened by an angel who again gives him food and water. He is told that he needs the nourishment for the journey ahead. In his talking to the angel, he says that he is all alone as a worshiper of God in Israel. God tells him that he as protected 7,000 men who have not bowed their knee or kissed the idol of Baal.

Elijah is a man on a mission. He is sent to anoint two kings and a prophet. He anoints Hazael as the next king of Syria. He then anoints Jehu to be the next king of Israel. Then he calls Elisha to be a prophet, and as we will see, he will be Elijah's successor.

In chapter 20, Syria lays siege to Samaria. The king of Syria tries to take all of the silver, gold, and women of Samaria. The people refuse and so war is imminent. A prophet comes to Ahab and tells him that a group of "young men of the princes of the province" will deliver Samaria from the Syrians. This victory is to show Ahab that Jehovah is indeed God. This happens not once but twice. The second time Ahab's army pursues the Syrian army and surround the King of Syria in a city.

Delegates come out to negotiate the safe release of the king. Ahab demands to talk to the king himself. The king comes out and meets Ahab in his chariot. Ahab talks with him and they agree to be allies.

In the meantime, God speaks to a prophet and tells him to command a man to strike him. The prophet does as God commands but the man refuses. The prophet tells the man that because he has disobeyed God, he will die by a lion, DEATH PROCLAMATION 2.

The prophet tells another man and he is obedient. The prophet then goes to Ahab with a message. The message is this: "Because God delivered your enemy to you, and you did not kill him, you will die for your disobedience." This is DEATH PROCLAMATION 3. Ahab then returns home.

In chapter 21, we read more about the royal brat Ahab. A man named Naboth has a vineyard that is next door to Ahab's house. Ahab wants it but Naboth tells him that he cannot give it away because it is part of his inheritance from when Israel entered the promised land with Joshua. The man is obeying God. Ahab gets mad, goes home, lays down on his bed, turns away from everyone, and pouts.

Jezebel comes in and asks Ahab what is wrong. He tells her and she says, "leave it to me. I will fix this and get you the vineyard." She forges a letter from the king that commands the elders of the city to hire men to lie and say that Naboth has committed blasphemy; DEATH PROCLAMATION 4. They do and Naboth is taken out and stoned. Ahab then lays claim to the vineyard he wanted.

God sends Elijah back to visit Ahab. He goes and tells Naboth, because he has killed Naboth, he will be killed, his throne will be taken from him, and his descendants will also be killed; DEATH PROCLAMATION 5. Elijah also tells him, because of Jezebel's part in this (arranging the death of Naboth), she too will be killed and dogs will eat her body; DEATH PROCLAMATION 6.

I want to move on from the topic of death, but before I do, we must take a moment to consider "why all this death." Very simply stated, "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Where sin is rampant, death will be present. Here we see death as a byproduct of sin or evil people killing others. We also see death as a judgment for sin. Sin is never innocent or benign. All sin is terminal!

On a more positive note, I would like to take a few minutes to look at chapter 19 again. Elijah is condemned to death. He flees for his life into the wilderness. While along, depression sets in. In his depressed state, Elijah prays to die. This is such a sad chapter, on the surface. However, lets look a little deeper.

While Elijah was depressed, God sent an angel to minister to him. God did not leave his man alone. God kept his promise to never leave nor forsake. God knows what lies ahead of all of us. When we are doing his will, and the world fights back, he stays with us. We are human and our emotions can get the best of us, but God does not abandon us if we will focus on Him.

Also, during his time of depression, God sent him to call his successor. This is not because Elijah was going to be killed by Ahab or Jezebel. Actually, as we will see, Elijah never died. I will save that story for later. Elijah would call, train, and commission Elisha to take his place. He was able to invest in this young man and train him to serve God in a mighty way.

Think about this for a moment. Elijah is depressed because he feels all alone. God not only tells him that there are 7,000 others in Israel, but he also calls him to train one of them. God says, "Elijah stop focusing on yourself and see what I am doing." Then, God sends him to invest in another man. The best way to stop feeling sorry for ourselves is to focus on others. Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, "...in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves (Philippians 2:3). Not only does this keep us from fighting for what we want, but we learn to focus on others' needs.

Sin is destructive and deadly. It also tears us down physically and emotionally. When this happens (and it will), shift your focus from your problems and feelings, to God and others. Ask him how you can be a blessing to someone. He just might give you an Elisha!