Summer Heat
1 Kings 19:1–21
August 10, 2025
“The fire isn’t always what’s important.”
INTRO: You all know I love fire… It’s useful and it’s beautiful. But it isn’t always the most important thing in the story.
Last week, we saw Elijah on the mountain with the “prophets” of Baal. It was a “Mountain top moment.”
God then gives Elijah the ability to outrun a chariot! It’s been a good day!
But now, things change. In a drastic way!
1 Kings 19:1–21 Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.”
3 And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.”
5 He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat.”
6 Then he looked and behold, there was at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again.
7 The angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you.”
8 So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.
9 Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
11 So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks 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.
12 After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.
13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
14 Then he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
15 The LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram;
16 and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place.
17 “It shall come about, the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death.
18 “Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
19 So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed over to him and threw his mantle on him.
20 He left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?”
21 So he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen, and gave it to the people and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah and ministered to him.
- Elijah has a VERY real problem!
- Jezebel is out to get him!
- She means business.
- “I’m coming for you!
“You’ll be dead by this time tomorrow!”
- Elijah is rightfully concerned.
- Jezabel has a track record.
- Anyone who gets on her bad side has a habit of dying.
- Elijah does the prudent thing… He RUNS!
- He goes from Jezreel to Beersheba.
- This is about 100 miles.
- Elijah leaves his servant behind, and he heads out into the wilderness.
- He travels another whole day!
- He sits down in the shade of a tree.
- Elijah is depressed and simply wants to give up!
- “It is enough; now, O LORD, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.”
- “Lord, I just want to die!”
- “I’m no better than my ancestors.”
- Maybe he means that they all died, and so should he.
- Perhaps he is getting at the idea that he is the latest in a long line of God’s prophets who have failed to “fix” Israel.
- It could be that he’s just saying whatever comes into his head to say.
- But the bottom line is that Elisha is DEPRESSED in a huge way!
- WHY IS ELIJAH DEPRESSED?
- Perhaps it’s because he viewed the “showdown” with the “prophets” of Baal as a final act that would “fix” everything.
- Israel will throw out Ahab and Jezebel.
- They will finally see how little power Baal has.
- The people will finally tear down the altars and shrines of the false “gods.”
- Israel will all come back to God.
- Things will be right again!
- These things do not happen, and Elijah is disappointed!
- He feels like a failure.
- He’s ready to be done!
- He is ready for God to “retire” him! PERMANANTLY!
- The irony here is that Elijah is one of two people recorded in scripture who never died. (Enoch being the other one.)
- At this moment, God doesn’t answer “Yes,” or “No.”
- Instead, God gives him rest!
- What a WONDERFUL gift!
- He sleeps.
- He wakes up to a nice breakfast.
- He sleeps some more.
- He is awakened to another meal and to a task.
“Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you.”
- Isn’t it interesting that when faced with the fact that he just doesn’t have what it takes, God doesn’t disagree… He just gives Elijah what he needs!
- The food and water he is given allows Elijah to travel for 40 days without needing anything to eat or drink!
- Elijah winds up at Mt. Sinai.
- Why would God lead Elijah there?
- This is where God met Moses.
- In the burning bush
- In the fire and smoke at the top of the mountain! (10 commandments)
- Now, God will meet Elijah there as well!
- God shows up!
- God asks Elijah, “What are you doing here?”
- Elijah proceeds to let God know EXACTLY what he’s doing there!
Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
- “I’ve been very zealous….
- I’ve done everything you’ve told me to do!
- The unspoken part is “not that it’s done me any good.”
- I’ve tried to point people in the right way, but nothing has worked!
- The people have quit following you!
- They have torn down Your altars.
- They have killed Your Prophets.
- I’m all that’s left, and they are trying to kill me!
- He lays out ALL his complaints before God.
- They don’t totally make sense.
- 1 minute, Elijah is asking God to take his life, and the next he is complaining that Jezebel wants to do exactly that!
- Notice that God does not get angry.
- God speaks to Elijah.
- God sends a wind so strong it is breaking rocks off the side of the mountain.
- The Lord was not in the wind.
- God sends an earthquake!
- But the Lord is not in the earthquake.
- God sends FIRE! (See, we finally got to the fire!)
- But the Lord was NOT in the fire.
- God sent “the sound of a gentle blowing.”
- When Elijah hears it, he wraps his mantle around his head to cover his face.
- He goes out of the cave to talk to God.
- God asks the same question again. “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
- Elijah lays out his complaints once again to God.
- Again, God does not answer his complaints with explanations.
- Does God need to explain Himself to ANY human being?
- But God DOES give him another job to do.
- Anoint a new king for Aram.
- God is at work, even in other places.
- Anoint Jehu as the new King of Israel.
- God is at work in Israel.
- Anoint Elisha as your future replacement!
- God is at work with Elijah!
- God is in the process of setting things right!
“It shall come about, the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death.
We could end the story there! But it wouldn’t be right.
- God shows Elijah that he is NOT alone!
- He is given a replacement who will “shadow” him for some time.
- Elisha will be the Prophet when Elijah is done.
- There are 7000 people in Israel who are still faithful to God.
- They haven’t bent the knee or kissed the statue.
- They have been faithful, at their peril!
- Elijah gets on with his work!
Conclusion: There’s a lot to learn from this.
- Christians are allowed to be depressed!
- Some folks would tell you otherwise…
- Like Joseph M. Scriven, who wrote the following lyrics.
What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy-laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.
Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised
Thou wilt all our burdens bear;
May we ever, Lord, be bringing
All to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright, unclouded,
There will be no need for prayer—
Rapture, praise, and endless worship
Will be our sweet portion there.
- Elijah was depressed… Elijah was discouraged….. all with good reason.
- He was being hunted.
- He felt like he had failed in his mission.
- He felt all alone!
- Does God Scold him? NO!
- God gives him purpose.
- God gives him proof that his work has not all been in vain.
- God gives him a companion.
- There will be “Elijah moments” in our lives.
- Things will go wrong…
- Friends will fail us….
- The thing we are “doing for the Lord” won’t work out exactly as we planned.
- We may feel like a failure.
- But we need to look for the help God sends, and get back to what He has for us to do!
- God’s help may come in the form of time to rest.
- Contrary to popular belief, we all need to do that from time to time.
- It may be sleeping in.
- It may be getting away for a while.
- God’s help may involve His listening as we crying out with our complaints to Him!
- God’s help may lead us to look for the next job that He has for us.
- God’s help may lead us to look for companions that can lift us up when we need it, and that can depend on us for the same help!
- It’s great to get help, it’s also great to give our help to others.
- They may need to know what we have learned through our struggles.
ELIJAH WAS SO DISCOURAGED THAT HE ASKED GOD TO “TAKE HIM OUT OF THE GAME.” BUT WHEN GOD SAID “NO!” ELIJAH TRUSTED HIM AND CARRIED ON!
