Jesus in 1 & 2 Kings
September 30, 2022
Jesus Cares for Elijah (1 Kings 19:5-7)
Elijah lived in a day of extreme chaos. A madman and his wife were on the throne. Idol-worshipping people and priests filled the land. Elijah felt as if he was alone, standing for God.
He was a blood-and-thunder man. Rough and rugged on the outside, Elijah concealed a sensitive soul. And in this moment we meet him, he was letting his emotions rule him. In spite of a huge victory on Mount Carmel, a murderous threat from Jezebel unraveled Elijah. He cried out to God to take his life. He was in a bad way when an “angel of the Lord” showed up to help him. This was no ordinary angel—this was a manifestation of the second person of the Trinity. This was no less than the Savior Himself, coming to personally minister to the prophet.
First, the Lord put him to sleep. He needed rest, and God knew that.
Then Elijah needed some good food; he hadn’t been eating regularly. And now there was bread being cooked over a fire. And the same one who prepared breakfast on the shore of Galilee the morning after the resurrection, He’s the One caring for His prophet now. Our Lord comforted Elijah, fed him, and then put him to sleep again.
Then He fed him again and told him something that Elijah was beginning to learn. The Lord said to him, “The journey is too great for you.”
My friend, you may think you’re sufficient for the battle of life, but the journey’s too great for you, too! You’re going to need a Savior. You’re going to need a Helper. Even this man Elijah, as rugged as he was, knew that. And there never is an end to the degree of our Savior’s love and care for us, nor to the capacity and power at God’s disposal to supply any need at any time.