Is there any doubt Elijah is suffering from burnout and
depression? He has just defeated the
prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, the high point of his ministry, when God
manifested Himself powerfully at Elijah's call.
Now, he is informed that Jezebel is threatening to kill him and he is
afraid and on the run. He saw Yahweh act
and destroy the prophets and demonstrate His sovereignty over all things and
now one woman has him afraid. He is
weary and it seems it just never ends, there are no final victories, only
battles. He decides the only thing to do
is go to the wilderness, where no one will bother him. The Lord is there in the wilderness, under
the broom tree with Elijah. The Lord
knows there is a long journey yet ahead and provides personally for Elijah's sustenance
for the journey as He had done with the ravens and with the widow before. Alone in ministry is never a good thing.
Jesus provides for those in a desolate place, a wilderness
if you will. He provides, however, not
for one prophet, but for five thousand people.
Surely they will see that parallel between this event and the forty
years their forefathers spent eating manna in the wilderness. The disciples even doubt that there is any
way to feed this multitude and yet Jesus has faith that the Father will take whatever
they offer and multiply it according not only to need but to abundance. They have followed Him in faith to this
point, not bothering with things like food because what He is offering is more
important. Remember at the well in John
4 when the disciples are puzzled by Jesus speaking of food that they know
nothing of, to do the will of God? Such is
the case here as well but for all these who have followed and neglected to
concern themselves with their own needs.
There is to be unity in the body of Christ that approximates
and reveals the unity of the Trinity. We
are to be one as Jesus and the Father are one, as He prayed in John 17. Is that possible through some human
effort? No, the Spirit is given to each
to accomplish the work of unity. We all
have the same Spirit and yet there are different manifestations of the Spirit
among us in order that we might cooperatively build His kingdom as effectively
as the people worked to establish their own kingdom in Genesis 11 with the
tower of Babel. In that instance the
Lord said that there would be nothing impossible for mankind. The giving of the Spirit is meant to reunite
us so that this statement is true again.
We are not alone and we are meant to be a united body of believers who
carry one another's burdens so what happened to Elijah doesn't happen to us.
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