3 “Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”?
3 “Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars,
The majority of the people of Israel at the time of Elijah were apostate. Biblically, Israel was to have only one altar, but the nation moved to altars of other gods. Jezebel killed most of Israel’s prophets in the days of Elijah.
and I alone am left,
Elijah felt he was the only one in Israel left who would take a stand against the false doctrine of Israel and Jezebel. Utterly dejected, he thought he was the only prophet left true to the Word. He had a distorted view of the remnant of his day. As a result he entered into morbid dejection. He felt unwanted, unloved, and unappreciated. His career was in a stage of setback. Discouragement can be debilitating. As a result of getting down, he gave up. He had a pity-party.
Elijah sulked in a cave that was a journey of forty days and nights away from Jezebel. He thought he was a minority of one, but he was wrong. Pessimism can lead to faulty thinking.
and they seek my life”?
Elijah brooded in a cave on Mount Horeb far from his enemy Jezebel. He took extreme measures to save his life.
Elijah repeatedly complained about his situation. He was ready to turn in his prophet’s badge. His complaint was one of self-pity:
1 Kgs 19:4, But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”
Then he complained that he alone was left among the prophets:
1 Kgs 19:10, So he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
1 Kgs 19:14, And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
PRINCIPLE:
Pessimism can lead to faulty thinking.
APPLICATION:
We all have the proclivity in difficult days to think that we are alone. The tendency when we think this way is to turn to a solitude of pessimistic thinking. We can lose God’s viewpoint on our problems. When we do, we develop a human viewpoint rather than God’s viewpoint. We are not alone in our problems, because God is committed to see us through.
1 Pe 4:12-13, 12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
Failure to handle things God’s way will result in spiritual setback. Spiritual reversal leads to spiritual funk, even emotional depression and discouragement. Discouraged people experience feelings of worthlessness, dejection, and worry; they have a pessimistic outlook on life, a sense of failure, a vulnerability to threats, and feelings of inadequacy convincing them they are unworthy of love. These people always look at life through the wrong end of the telescope.
