1 Reis 19

1 Reis 19

Henry - He that stood undaunted in the midst of the terrors both of heaven and earth trembles at the impotent menaces of a proud passionate woman.… Great faith is not always alike strong. And arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah - In chapter 18 he risked his life and in chapter 19 he ran for his life. In Chapter 18 he risked his life for God’s Glory, in Chapter 19 he tries to save his life for his own sake. For 3.5 years Elijah had placed his faith in Yahweh's provision and protection, but now runs for his life. There is a sad irony here because Elijah had just run to the winter palace at Jezreel, clearly doing so by God's supernatural "hand," (1Ki 18:46+) but now, with his faith faltering, like a dog with his tail between his legs, Elijah runs from Jezreel. I tend to agree with Adam Clarke who wrote that Elijah "probably thought that the miracle at Carmel would have been the means of effecting the conversion of the whole court and of the country, but, finding himself mistaken, he is greatly discouraged.” The text says he ran for his life but this time there is no mention of the hand of the LORD empowering his run. There is no mention that the LORD told him to run (like when he told him to go to Brook Cherith). There is no mention that he prayed and then ran. His actions strongly suggest he is out of the will of the LORD. And he did not likely literally run the entire distance to Beersheba for this was far south in Judah about 100-120 miles south of Jezreel and would have been an "ultramarathon." He was obviously putting as much distance as possible between Jezebel and himself.