1 Kings 19
Failure and Discouragement

By Mike Sullivan

1Kings 18: Showdown at Mt. Carmel

2 Kings 2: Passing the Baton

Comparison between Elijah and Elisha

Expository Bible Teaching Outlines

e.g. I'm a big fan of Ohio State football. I'm one of those people at football parties who yells at the TV... Last season my expectations were high, anything less than a national title was going to be a disappointment. And when they lost to Michigan State it was a failure, and I was depressed. I went on a sports news blackout. I couldn't look at OSU flags on porches. I didn't want to have anything to do with college football. I developed an aversion the whole thing.

I think there is a similar danger, especially for a zealous, committed Christian. Discouragement from failure or perceived failure is one of the biggest reasons Christians take a step back from pursuing God and ministry. Nothing puts a bigger chill on our zeal to follow Him than discouragement.  The possibility of failure is also why many people stay away from God altogether. Perhaps your not a Christian yourself and you've already thought this through "Hey, if I get into this God thing, I'm probably going to mess it up. I'll never live up to God's expectations - so why bother. If people know what I was really like, the habits I have, the things that go through my head - they wouldn't want to serve God next to me. They wouldn't want me in their church! If I tried to follow God, I would be exposed for who I am and fail!"

Prolonged discouragement can shut down Christian growth, and for someone who doesn't know Christ, it can keep them from ever starting a relationship with Him! We are going to look at a period in Elijah's life where he failed, and became discouraged. Specifically, we want find out... What attitudes led to Elijah's failure and discouragement? How did God respond? How is our view of God effected by failure and defeat? Hopefully we can learn something about our lives from his.

Background

At one time, the Jewish people, all 12 tribes, lived together in one country - Israel. But the country split into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. And especially in the north, in Israel, worship of Yahweh, the God of the Bible, was in decline. Altars to the pagan deities of the surrounding nations were appearing on every hill. The decline was accelerated by Jezebel, the wicked wife of Ahab the king. She wanted everyone to worship her god, Baal. To this end, she appointed 450 people to become prophets of Baal and invited them to dine at her royal table. Jezebel also drove her impressionable husband, Ahab, to hunt down and kill all of the prophets of Yahweh. Things were so bad, that these prophets had to hid out in caves. Elijah enters on the scene. The closest modern parallel to this guy is Arnold Schwarzenneggar. He was tough.

e.g. One time, Ahazia, a different king, sent the captain of his guard with 50 men to tell Elijah to come down off a hill. Elijah said, "I don't think so", and he sent a fireball to consume all 50 men. A second captain came with 50 more men saying, "the king says come down off the hill!" Elijah said, "Who do you think you're talking to? I am a man of God!" and BOOM! 50 more were dead. Finally a third captain with 50 more men came. Before anything could happen, the captain begged Elijah, "please don't kill us, have mercy on us." Elijah said "OK", and came down off the hill!

So he was very tough. We saw an example of his toughness. Instead of cowering in a cave like the other prophets, he walked right up to the king of Israel, Ahab, and challenged him and the prophets of Baal to a showdown on Mt. Carmel. To prove who was really God, they set up 2 altars with 2 sacrifices, one for Yahweh, one for Baal. The real God would prove himself by sending fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice. The prophets of Baal chanted "Oh Baal, answer us" all day, but Baal never answered. Elijah made a pile of rocks, covered them with wood, put his sacrifice on top and soaked the whole thing with gallons of water. Then he said "let it be known today that you are God." Boom - instantly a fireball consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust they were sitting on. There was no question that day who the real God was. And after that, with the help of the people, Elijah personally executed all 450 of the prophets of Baal. It was a huge victory for Yahweh.

It's on the heels of this incredible victory that we pick up the story in 18:45,46:

In a little while the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy shower. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. (this was the capital) Then the hand of the LORD was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins (NIV - tucked his cloak in his belt) and outran Ahab to Jezreel.

So, just to put an exclamation point on the victory, Elijah runs back to Jezreel on foot (20 miles) and beats Ahab's chariot back to the capital. If I were Ahab, I would not want to have to tell Jezebel what happened. These were her prophets, they ate at her table. 1 Kings 19:1:

Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.

"Honey, you know those prophets you appointed? They're dead!" Notice he says Elijah did it; he didn't have the guts to admit to her that Yahweh was behind the victory. She probably picked up a chair and threw it at Ahab. Then it says she...(19:2 read)

So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.

This woman is like Cruella DeVille. She is seething with anger. "Elijah, watch your back. I'm going to send my hitmen to rub you out!" Elijah heard this and became frightened.19:3-4a

And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree...

You can't appreciate this without a map. When it says "Elijah was afraid and ran", he REALLY ran! Not just down the block. Not just across town. He went from the northern part of northern kingdom of Israel to the southern kingdom of Judah. A 90 mile ultra marathon! And just to be safe, he went a day's journey further into the desert.

Having said what I have about Elijah's toughness, his reaction to Jezebel's threat is surprising. Granted, there's a threat on his life, but let's not forget who he is. This is Elijah, the man who faced down a king, called fire from heaven, wiped out regiments of soldiers, killed 450 prophets of Baal, and rain twenty miles in a thunderstorm over some rocky terrain to Jezreel.

Elijah running from Jezebel? Shouldn't it be the other way around? If I were Jezebel, I would think twice before I made a threat like this. She's taking her life in her own hands. Despite who he is, Elijah gets spooked, his confidence crumbles and he runs. And here is something we have to be clear about: this was a failure!

The revival that started on Mt. Carmel could have continued. Thousands of people were persuaded that Yahweh was the true God. All they needed now was a leader to help teach them how to follow and obey God. But imagine how these new converts felt when they heard their leader was fleeing from Jezebel.

e.g. Headlines in the Jezreel Gazette: "Elijah, prophet of Yahweh, Flees from Queen." This would be very demoralizing to this new band of believers.

This was a critical time. Elijah needed to stay at his post to solidify his gains at Mt. Carmel. Instead, he deserted. And here's something to think about: Israel continued to decline spiritually and was eventually utterly destroyed. Would it have been different if Elijah had never ran?

This was a first-class failure with long lasting consequences. Let's look at the first attitude that led to Elijah's failure and discouragement...

1. Unrealistic Idealism
e.g. Remember the idealized view of marriage you had during your engagement? Unity, bliss, etc... That's unrealistic idealism!

e.g. Have you ever convinced yourself that you can take you daughter to the doctor, your son to soccer practice, go grocery shopping, clean the house, and take the car in for an oil change all in one day? That's unrealistic idealism!

Unrealistic idealism is when our expectations are out of synch with reality. And Elijah had a bad case of it. 1 Kings 19:4b-5a

(He) came and sat down under a juniper tree (bush that grows up to 10 feet high; offers some shade); and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, "It is enough; now, O LORD, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers." And he lay down and slept under a juniper tree... (wanting to sleep - what could be more typical of depression)

Elijah is despondent and laments, "I am not better than my fathers." Who is he referring to? All the prophets who had come before him. No prophet sent to Israel had ever succeeded in turning the country back to God. You see, as he came into the capital, jubilant about his victory at Mount Carmel, it was easy for him to think "maybe I'm different. Maybe the years in the wilderness, the hours in prayer, the dramatic standoffs have paid off. Maybe I'll be the prophet who turns Israel back to the true God!"

But something snapped when he heard Jezebel's threat. To come back from that victory only to find Jezebel and Jezreel as corrupt as ever... It was utterly devastating. Elijah failed to recognize the depth of Israel's problems, and when his idealism was faced with reality, he collapsed. Now, it's easy to snicker at his fit under the juniper tree but I can't because I've had a similar episode in my own life:

e.g. I became a Christian when I was nine years old. I'm a perfectionist so I decided right away if I followed God, I would do it right. I prayed before bed each night. I bought a Children's living Bible, and, of course, I decided I would quit sinning. This went OK for a little bit, but after a while I started to slip up and I felt bad about it. It all came to a head one day when I was on vacation at my Grandma's. She told me to never leave clothes on the basement floor, but rather to put them in her laundry basket. I would drop my ball of laundry each day like a bomb from the top of the steps. One day, all my clothes fell in the basket except for a sock. I felt bad. I thought, "God wants me to put the sock in the basket." I said no. I'm sick of this. I marched up two steps, shut the door. And I shut the door on God, too, for seven years. I didn't want to be a Christian anymore. I was tired of always failing. Were my expectations realistic? If your thinking about becoming a Christian, I hope that you don't expect that of yourself. 1 John 2:1,2

My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

Propitiation means to turn away wrath. John is saying that anger God has towards us for our sin is poured out on Christ instead.

e.g. When you pound your steering wheel in traffic, you're really pounding the head of the person in front of you, but the steering wheel takes the beating

This is the point of Jesus death. He satisfied God's justified outrage for our sin by being punished in our place. I wish someone would have told me when I was 9 that Christians don't have to live perfect lives. The sins they commit continue to be paid for by Christ's death. I hope if you fear the Christian life because you might fail to obey God, I hope that fear doesn't keep you from approaching him. God isn't idealistic about us. He knows what we're all about. With full knowledge of that he chose to die for us. Rom. 5:8

But God demonstrates his own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

God isn't calling on you for sinless perfection, he is asking that you humbly accept Jesus death on your behalf.

One last thought on unrealistic idealism before we move on... Israel had been in spiritual decline for over a century. Elijah thought he could erase it all in one dramatic event. Silly prophet?

Don't we do the same when we try to help someone who has a deeply ingrained character flaw (anger, insecurity) and on the strength of one or two conversations we think we've helped the person to substantially overcome their problem? Often, when they lapse back into their old ways, we're shocked!!! Some of us were 20, 30, 40 years old before we became a Christian. Old ingrained habits and ways of thinking won't be undone in a few conversations!

To be fair to Elijah, it was more than that.... it was years of work he invested... but sometimes even years aren't enough. Change in the life of a Christian almost always takes time. Lots of time. And if we don't have this realization, we are setting ourselves up for the same burnout and depression we see in Elijah. Maybe you're waiting for the day your roommate becomes a joy to live with. You may be waiting for a loooong time!What can we do if we recognize unrealistic idealism in our own lives?

A. See people for who they are and stay at our post. When we are trying to help another Christian grow, or make a marriage work - and things go sour - our natural tendency is desert, to run away.

e.g. My wife has no illusions about the depth of my problems. No unrealistic idealism there. Yet her support, both verbal and through what she does, communicates her resolve to see me grow closer to God.

Awareness and resolve: we need both with each other. This is part of what Paul means when he says... Romans 12:10 "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love;" There's nothing sweeter, than having hung in there over a period of years and seeing someone change. We should also remember that...

B. Lack of visible success does not mean lack of progress.

e.g. I mentioned earlier I ran from God for seven years. During that time a Christian faithfully sent me books, tapes and letters about Christianity. I never mailed him back; I don't even know his name. But his love and concern kept me from writing off God altogether. He never saw it, but his work wasn't in vain. He kept God on my mind and eventually I did return back to Him.

Let's read on in our story...1 Kings 19:5b-10

behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, "Arise, eat." Then he looked and behold, there was at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. The angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, "Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you." So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God. (Horeb is on the southern end of the Sinai Peninsula, 200 miles from Beersheba. It is also known as Mt. Sinai, the mountain where Moses received the 10 commandments.) Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (You're supposed to be in Jezreel) He said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away."

All alone... the only one... I hope you can guess the second attitude that led to his failure and depression...

2. "Messiah Complex"

This is when we overestimate our importance. Thinking we're the only one who can do the job.

e.g. This is the guy on the basketball court who hogs the ball. It's like passing into a black hole. Nothing ever comes back out. He's the franchise player, he's got the shot, the moves. He's a one-man team.

Take Elijah. Was it really true that Elijah was the only one left? No! Micaiah, a well known prophet who also was willing to take on Ahab, was Elijah's contemporary. Obadiah, another man of God in Israel, told Elijah how he hid 100 prophets of Yahweh in caves. Elijah wasn't the only one and he knew it! And more than that, by saying I'm the last one, and without me all is hopeless, what is Elijah saying about God? He's saying that God isn't reliable or able to do anything about the situation.

Many people develop a messiah complex at work. Sometimes we're asked to complete a project that is too big to do alone, a project that involves managing other people. We think we can (and often it's true) do the job better than anyone else. This makes it hard to delegate. We're tempted to look over people's shoulders and insist on being involved in every decision. Instead of valuing our coworker's contribution, we view them as a threat to the quality of the project. In the end, our messiah complex alienates those around us and lowers the productivity of the whole team.

We can have this same destructive effect when we develop a messiah complex among a group of Christians. Do you have a "messiah complex"? Here's a test:

Question 1: Are you frequently frustrated by the "poor" performance of the people around you?

Question 2: Do you feel like you're the only one who cares?
Does anyone in this office have a work ethic? Does anyone in this house pick up after themselves

Question 3: Are you tired?
Carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders can wear you out!

If you've answered yes to all of these questions, here are a few suggestions:

A. Remember how God has composed the body of Christ. Ephesians 4:16:

from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

How do we grow as individuals? How do we move forward as a group? As each part does its work!

e.g. My wife and I lead a home bible study with another couple. Each of us are totally different. One person is dynamic, another is thoughtful, someone else has common sense, this person over here is visionary. And when we appreciate what each other contributes to our leadership, we are more effective. We come up with better ideas, make better decisions, and the people in our group are better served.

Realize that God is not dependent on you to accomplish his purposes.

"There is no such thing as a necessary man. God buries his workmen and then he continues his work." F.W. Farrar D.D., commentary on 1 Kings.

It's easy to see how "unrealistic idealism" and a "messiah complex" can deepen the depression that follows failure. Now let's answer another question: how does God respond when we do fail and get depressed?

God's response to our failure and discouragement. If you were God, how would you have responded to Elijah's collapse? God must have been frustrated with Elijah after empowering him in so many ways. I'd be tempted to grab him buy the neck, slap him around a little, and say, "You wimp! I can deal with Jezebel. Now get back out there and be a man!" Instead we read 1 Kings 19:5b-7:

there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, "Arise, eat." Then he looked and behold, there was at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, "Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you."

The angel offered Elijah food and water and rest. God met Elijah at his point of need. I think there is an important principle here for us: God responds to our failure and defeat with compassion. If you don't know Christ, if you're afraid of following God, I hope you realize the significance of this principle. What happens when Christians fail, or more than that, if Christians sin? God responds with compassion. Titus 3:4-7

But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

God doesn't want us to bring him 5 years of good deeds to get back in his good standing. He accepts us based on His provision, not our deeds, His mercy - extended to us because of what Christ has done. This is God's response to our failure to obey him. But we can't benefit unless we, like Elijah, "get up and eat." Acknowledging God's forgiveness is not enough. We must tell Him, "please extend your forgiveness to me."

I hope now you have a more realistic picture of what God requires of you and that you will take Him up on this offer. I would like to close with a few thoughts on... our view of God in the midst of failure. Failure and depression can warp our view of God

e.g. About 10 years ago I was helping to teach and lead a High School Bible study. Our group grew rapidly and many students were leaving a lifestyle of drug addiction and turning to Christ. It was a special time where God was visibly working among us and changing lives. A beachhead was being established into groups of kids that really needed help. Our Bible study grew so big that we divided the meeting in two.

Within six months or so, both groups fizzled out. Many of the students we reached quit walking with the lord. Later I visited the gymnasium where we used to meet. I was depressed and wondered if a lifestyle of ministry was really worth it. I thought, "All those teachings, conversations, prayers, and hard work - for what? What has come of it?" That time of failure and discouragement challenged my view of God. Like Elijah, I started to question... Is God able to change people? Is God really involved in what we do? Is God even there? In our passage, God is aware that Elijah has lost confidence in him. And so he summons Elijah in for an appointment to correct Elijah's limited view of God. 1 Kings 19:11-13

So (God) said, "Go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD." (This is like going to the principal's office, only here, the principal is God!) And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the LORD ; but the LORD was not in the wind (What kind of wind does it take to rend a mountain? To smash rocks? This was a strooong wind!) And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. (The ground is opening up and rubble is falling on Elijah's head. If I were him, I'd think, "If God isn't in this, I don't want to be there when he does show up!") After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

So God asks him the same question. "What are you doing here?" And you can see what God is driving at: "Elijah, if you believed I was powerful, if you believed I had the situation in control, would you be here? No! Elijah, you have forgotten who I am."

e.g. When I was on the steps of the gym. I had to ask myself a similar question: is my depression, is my temptation to withdraw from the arena of service consistent with who God is?

In failure and defeat we have a decision to make: will we reaffirm our belief in God, or lay down, and go to sleep? Well, Elijah doesn't get it. And he repeats his earlier response to God's question. 1 Kings 19:14-18

Then he said (whined), "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away."The LORD said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram; and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. "It shall come about, the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death. "Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him."

God tells Elijah how the problem of Baal worship will be resolved. Hazael was anointed king of Aram. He fought Israel and weakened Ahab's dynasty. Jehu wiped out the house of Ahab and replaced him as king. Jehu also killed all the remaining prophets of Baal and destroyed their altars. Elisha, chosen to succeed Elijah, continued Elijah's war against Baal. When these three men were finished, Baal worship would never recover. And then, for added effect, God reminds Elijah, "by the way, you are not my only follower; there are 7000 people in this country who are faithful to me."

The God that Elijah was reintroduced to was a powerful God who had the situation under control. This is the same God we worship today. God asked Elijah, "Why are you here?" What question would he ask you? How about: "Do you have a single character flaw that I can't change?"

Is it really true we will never overcome our insecurity and fear of other people? Do we have unique character flaws that even God can't change?

Is it really true we will never have a successful marriage because our last one failed?

Is it really true we will never be able control our anger?

In Philippians 2:12 Paul says, "God is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." If this powerful God is really living and working in us, then change and growth in any area is possible. If we've resigned ourselves to defeat, then we've slipped into a limited view of God. To correct this, God pointed Elijah back to the truth of His power. We need to do the same with ourselves.Notice how the Psalmist challenges his own view of God. He asks himself, "is my state of despair consistent with what is true about God?" Psalm 42:5

Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence.

The Psalmist is addressing himself and saying, "I wont lay down, I will hope in God. I have reason to hope because of the help of His presence."

Conclusion

The question isn't if you'll fail and become depressed, but when. Hopefully this talk will help you be prepared when it's your turn. If we've identified attitudes that lead to our failure and discouragement, if we understand that God responds with compassion, and if we've corrected our limited view of God, what is left to do? That's another teaching! For now we can say...we need to get back into our relationships, back into using our God-given abilities to serve others, back into prayer for other people, back into encouragement... back to our post.

NEXT: 2 Kings 2 - Passing the Baton