“I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”
No man can hide from God's eye or word, not in a cave, not in the wilderness. Elijah came there melancholy and afraid, perhaps hoping to find God where Moses found Him, but God found him first, and His question cuts to the heart: what are you doing here, fleeing your calling?
AI summary
Commenting on 1 Kings 19:9-18
His zealousness for God's glory brought him only persecution, the more faithfully he defended the Lord, the more cruelly they hunted him. This is the bitter paradox he lays bare.
AI summary
Elijah spoke not from faith but carnal zeal, and his despair was willful blindness. He had just seen Obadiah shelter a hundred prophets, and the people at Carmel turn to God and execute Baal's prophets, yet he cried out that all was lost and he alone remained. His gloomy mind forgot what his own eyes had witnessed.
AI summary