1 Kings 19:1-8

1 Kings 19:1-8

[1] And Ahab  told  Jezebel  all that Elijah  had done,  and withal how he had slain  all the prophets  with the sword.  [2] Then Jezebel  sent  a messenger  unto Elijah,  saying,  So let the gods  do  to me, and more  also, if I make  not thy life  of one  of them by to morrow  about this time.  [3] And when he saw  that, he arose,  for his life,  and came  to Beersheba,  which belongeth 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 away  my life;  for I am not better  than my fathers.  [5] And as he lay  and slept  under a  juniper tree,  behold, then an angel  touched  him, and said  unto him, Arise  and eat.  [6] And he looked,  and, behold, there was a cake  baken on the coals,  and a cruse  of water  at his head.  And he did eat  and drink,  and laid him down  again.  [7] And the angel  of the LORD  came again  the second time,  and touched  him, and said,  Arise  and eat;  because the journey  is too great  for thee. [8] And he arose,  and did eat  and drink,  in the strength  of that meat  forty  days  and forty  nights  unto Horeb  the mount  of God. 

What does 1 Kings 19:1-8 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Elijah was surprised that the revival he had just witnessed was not more effective in eliminating Baal worship. Apparently Jezebel"s threat drove the lessons of God"s power and provision that he had been learning at Cherith, Zarephath, and Carmel out of his memory.
"Probably Elijah had played into Jezebel"s hand. Had she really wanted Elijah dead, she surely would have seized him without warning and slain him. What she desired was that Elijah and his God be discredited before the new converts who had aided Elijah by executing the prophets of Baal. Without a leader revolutionary movements usually stumble and fall away. Just when God needed him the most, the divinely trained prophet was to prove a notable failure." [1]
Beersheba was the southernmost sizable town in the Southern Kingdom. Perhaps the fact that Elijah dismissed his servant there and then went farther alone indicates that he was giving up his ministry. [2] Elijah proceeded farther south into the wilderness where the Israelites had wandered for40 years because of their unbelief. He did not get much refreshment from the natural provisions of the wilderness such as the juniper (broom) tree ( 1 Kings 19:4). He said he was no better than his predecessors in purging Israel from idolatry ( 1 Kings 19:4), implying that he had expected to see a complete revival. God provided supernaturally for His servant in the wilderness for40 days and40 nights, as He had provided for the Israelites for40 years. The trip from Beersheba to the traditional site of Horeb (Mount Sinai) took only14days by foot. It seems that Elijah was experiencing the same discipline for his weak faith and the same education that God had given the Israelites years earlier. God sustained Elijah faithfully as He had preserved the nation. The Hebrew text has "the" cave rather than "a" cave ( 1 Kings 19:9) suggesting that this may have been the very spot where God had placed Moses before He caused His glory to pass before him ( Exodus 33:21-23).
"Elijah"s "pilgrimage" to Sinai was a search for the roots of Yahwism. There Yahweh had appeared to Moses when he was herding sheep, and there He appeared to him when he gave the law. Elijah needed reaffirmation. What he thought he saw happening on Mt. Carmel did not happen, namely, the repentance of Israel. So he went to Mount Sinai (also known as Mount Horeb) to chide Yahweh for forsaking him." [3]