Elijah's retreat on Mount Horeb, though hidden from
man, was known to God; and the weary and discouraged
prophet was not left to struggle alone with the powers
of darkness that were pressing upon him. At the entrance
to the cave wherein Elijah had taken refuge, God met with
him, through a mighty angel sent to inquire into his needs
and to make plain the divine purpose for Israel.
Not until Elijah had learned to trust wholly in God could
he complete his work for those who had been seduced into
Baal worship. The signal triumph on the heights of Carmel
had opened the way for still greater victories; yet from
the wonderful opportunities opening before him, Elijah had
been turned away by the threat of Jezebel. The man of
God must be made to understand the weakness of his present
position as compared with the vantage ground the Lord
would have him occupy.
God met His tried servant with the inquiry, "What doest
thou here, Elijah? I sent you to the brook Cherith and
afterward to the widow of Sarepta. I commissioned you
to return to Israel and to stand before the idolatrous priests
on Carmel, and I girded you with strength to guide the
chariot of the king to the gate of Jezreel. But who sent
you on this hasty flight into the wilderness? What errand
have you here?
In bitterness of soul Elijah mourned out his complaint:
"I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for
the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown
down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets with the sword;
and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take
it away."
Calling upon the prophet to leave the cave, the angel
bade him stand before the Lord on the mount, and listen
to His word. "And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great
and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake 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: and after the earthquake a fire; but the
Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small
voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped
his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering
in of the cave."
Not in mighty manifestations of divine power, but by
"a still small voice," did God choose to reveal Himself to
His servant. He desired to teach Elijah that it is not always
the work that makes the greatest demonstration that is most
successful in accomplishing His purpose. While Elijah waited
for the revelation of the Lord, a tempest rolled, the
lightnings flashed, and a devouring fire swept by; but God was
not in all this. Then there came a still, small voice, and
the prophet covered his head before the presence of the
Lord. His petulance was silenced, his spirit softened and
subdued. He now knew that a quiet trust, a firm reliance
on God, would ever find for him a present help in time of
need.
It is not always the most learned presentation of God's
truth that convicts and converts the soul. Not by eloquence
or logic are men's hearts reached, but by the sweet influences
of the Holy Spirit, which operate quietly yet surely in transforming
and developing character. It is the still, small voice
of the Spirit of God that has power to change the heart.
"What doest thou here, Elijah?" the voice inquired; and
again the prophet answered, "I have been very jealous for
the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have
forsaken Thy covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and
slain Thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am
left; and they seek my life, to take it away."
The Lord answered Elijah that the wrongdoers in Israel
should not go unpunished. Men were to be especially chosen
to fulfill the divine purpose in the punishment of the
idolatrous kingdom. There was stern work to be done, that all
might be given opportunity to take their position on the
side of the true God. Elijah himself was to return to Israel,
and share with others the burden of bringing about a
reformation.
"Go," the Lord commanded Elijah, "return on thy way
to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest,
anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: and Jehu the son of
Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha
the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be
prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass, that him
that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him
that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay."
Elijah had thought that he alone in Israel was a
worshiper of the true God. But He who reads the hearts of all
revealed to the prophet that there were many others who,
through the long years of apostasy, had remained true to
Him. "I have left Me," God said, "seven thousand in Israel,
all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every
mouth which hath not kissed him."
From Elijah's experience during those days of
discouragement and apparent defeat there are many lessons to be
drawn, lessons invaluable to the servants of God in this
age, marked as it is by general departure from right. The
apostasy prevailing today is similar to that which in the
prophet's day overspread Israel. In the exaltation of the
human above the divine, in the praise of popular leaders,
in the worship of mammon, and in the placing of the teachings
of science above the truths of revelation, multitudes
today are following after Baal. Doubt and unbelief are
exercising their baleful influence over mind and heart, and many
are substituting for the oracles of God the theories of men.
It is publicly taught that we have reached a time when
human reason should be exalted above the teachings of the
Word. The law of God, the divine standard of righteousness,
is declared to be of no effect. The enemy of all truth
is working with deceptive power to cause men and women
to place human institutions where God should be, and to
forget that which was ordained for the happiness and salvation
of mankind.
Yet this apostasy, widespread as it has come to be, is not
universal. Not all in the world are lawless and sinful; not
all have taken sides with the enemy. God has many thousands
who have not bowed the knee to Baal, many who long
to understand more fully in regard to Christ and the
law, many who are hoping against hope that Jesus will
come soon to end the reign of sin and death. And there
are many who have been worshiping Baal ignorantly, but
with whom the Spirit of God is still striving.
These need the personal help of those who have learned to
know God and the power of His word. In such a time
as this, every child of God should be actively engaged in
helping others. As those who have an understanding of
Bible truth try to seek out the men and women who are
longing for light, angels of God will attend them. And
where angels go, none need fear to move forward. As a
result of the faithful efforts of consecrated workers, many
will be turned from idolatry to the worship of the living
God. Many will cease to pay homage to man-made institutions
and will take their stand fearlessly on the side of
God and His law.
Much depends on the unceasing activity of those who
are true and loyal, and for this reason Satan puts forth
every possible effort to thwart the divine purpose to be
wrought out through the obedient. He causes some to lose
sight of their high and holy mission, and to become satisfied
with the pleasures of this life. He leads them to settle down
at ease, or, for the sake of greater worldly advantages, to
remove from places where they might be a power for good.
Others he causes to flee in discouragement from duty,
because of opposition or persecution. But all such are
regarded by Heaven with tenderest pity. To every child
of God whose voice the enemy of souls had succeeded in
silencing, the question is addressed, "What doest thou here?"
I commissioned you to go into all the world and preach
the gospel, to prepare a people for the day of God. Why are
you here? Who sent you?
The joy set before Christ, the joy that sustained Him
through sacrifice and suffering, was the joy of seeing sinners
saved. This should be the joy of every follower of His, the
spur to his ambition. Those who realize, even in a limited
degree, what redemption means to them and to their fellow
men, will comprehend in some measure the vast needs
of humanity. Their hearts will be moved to compassion
as they see the moral and spiritual destitution of thousands
who are under the shadow of a terrible doom, in comparison
with which physical suffering fades into nothingness.
Of families, as of individuals, the question is asked,
"What doest thou here?" In many churches there are families
well instructed in the truths of God's word, who might
widen the sphere of their influence by moving to places
in need of the ministry they are capable of giving. God calls for
Christian families to go into the dark places of the earth
and work wisely and perseveringly for those who are
enshrouded in spiritual gloom. To answer this call requires
self-sacrifice. While many are waiting to have every obstacle
removed, souls are dying, without hope and without God.
For the sake of worldly advantage, for the sake of acquiring
scientific knowledge, men are willing to venture into pestilential
regions and to endure hardship and privation. Where
are those who are willing to do as much for the sake of
telling others of the Saviour?
If, under trying circumstances, men of spiritual power,
pressed beyond measure, become discouraged and desponding,
if at times they see nothing desirable in life, that they
should choose it, this is nothing strange or new. Let all
such remember that one of the mightiest of the prophets
fled for his life before the rage of an infuriated woman.
A fugitive, weary and travel-worn, bitter disappointment
crushing his spirits, he asked that he might die. But it was
when hope was gone and his lifework seemed threatened
with defeat, that he learned one of the most precious lessons
of his life. In the hour of his greatest weakness he learned
the need and the possibility of trusting God under
circumstances the most forbidding.
Those who, while spending their life energies in self-sacrificing
labor, are tempted to give way to despondency
and distrust, may gather courage from the experience of
Elijah. God's watchful care, His love, His power, are especially
manifest in behalf of His servants whose zeal is
misunderstood or unappreciated, whose counsels and reproofs
are slighted, and whose efforts toward reform are repaid
with hatred and opposition.
It is at the time of greatest weakness that Satan assails
the soul with the fiercest temptations. It was thus that he
hoped to prevail over the Son of God; for by this policy
he had gained many victories over man. When the will
power weakened and faith failed, then those who had stood
long and valiantly for the right yielded to temptation. Moses,
wearied with forty years of wandering and unbelief, lost
for a moment his hold on Infinite Power. He failed just
on the borders of the Promised Land. So with Elijah. He
who had maintained his trust in Jehovah during the years
of drought and famine, he who had stood undaunted before
Ahab, he who throughout that trying day on Carmel had
stood before the whole nation of Israel the sole witness to
the true God, in a moment of weariness allowed the fear
of death to overcome his faith in God.
And so it is today. When we are encompassed with
doubt, perplexed by circumstances, or afflicted by poverty
or distress, Satan seeks to shake our confidence in Jehovah.
It is then that he arrays before us our mistakes and tempts
us to distrust God, to question His love. He hopes to
discourage the soul and break our hold on God.
Those who, standing in the forefront of the conflict, are
impelled by the Holy Spirit to do a special work, will
frequently feel a reaction when the pressure is removed.
Despondency may shake the most heroic faith and weaken
the most steadfast will. But God understands, and He still
pities and loves. He reads the motives and the purposes of
the heart. To wait patiently, to trust when everything looks
dark, is the lesson that the leaders in God's work need to
learn. Heaven will not fail them in their day of adversity.
Nothing is apparently more helpless, yet really more invincible,
than the soul that feels its nothingness and relies
wholly on God.
Not alone for men in positions of large responsibility is
the lesson of Elijah's experience in learning anew how to
trust God in the hour of trial. He who was Elijah's strength
is strong to uphold every struggling child of His, no matter
how weak. Of everyone He expects loyalty, and to everyone
He grants power according to the need. In his own strength
man is strengthless; but in the might of God he may be
strong to overcome evil and to help others to overcome. Satan
can never gain advantage of him who makes God his
defense. "Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness
and strength." Isaiah 45:24.
Fellow Christian, Satan knows your weakness; therefore
cling to Jesus. Abiding in God's love, you may stand every
test. The righteousness of Christ alone can give you power
to stem the tide of evil that is sweeping over the world.
Bring faith into your experience. Faith lightens every burden,
relieves every weariness. Providences that are now
mysterious you may solve by continued trust in God. Walk
by faith in the path He marks out. Trials will come, but
go forward. This will strengthen your faith and fit you
for service. The records of sacred history are written, not
merely that we may read and wonder, but that the same
faith which wrought in God's servants of old may work
in us. In no less marked manner will the Lord work now,
wherever there are hearts of faith to be channels of His
power.
To us, as to Peter, the word is spoken, "Satan hath desired
to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed
for thee, that thy faith fail not." Luke 22:31, 32. Christ
will never abandon those for whom He has died. We may
leave Him and be overwhelmed with temptation, but Christ
can never turn from one for whom He has paid the ransom
of His own life. Could our spiritual vision be quickened,
we should see souls bowed under oppression and burdened
with grief, pressed as a cart beneath sheaves, and ready to
die in discouragement. We should see angels flying quickly
to the aid of these tempted ones, forcing back the hosts of
evil that encompass them, and placing their feet on the
sure foundation. The battles waging between the two armies
are as real as those fought by the armies of this world, and
on the issue of the spiritual conflict eternal destinies depend.
In the vision of the prophet Ezekiel there was the appearance
of a hand beneath the wings of the cherubim. This
is to teach God's servants that it is divine power that gives
success. Those whom God employs as His messengers are
not to feel that His work is dependent on them. Finite
beings are not left to carry this burden of responsibility.
He who slumbers not, who is continually at work for the
accomplishment of His designs, will carry forward His
work. He will thwart the purposes of wicked men and will
bring to confusion the counsels of those who plot mischief
against His people. He who is the King, the Lord of hosts,
sitteth between the cherubim, and amidst the strife and
tumult of nations. He guards His children still. When the
strongholds of kings shall be overthrown, when the arrows
of wrath shall strike through the hearts of His enemies, His
people will be safe in His hands.