5 Smooth Stones

had executed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Eli jah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time." 3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.” What is remarkable here is that nothing really had changed for Ahab and Jezebel. They had been searching for Elijah unsuccessfully for three and one-half years and could not fi nd him in all this amount of time. It is interesting, though, that now Jezebel thinks that she can fi nd him in one day and execute him. It was not going to happen. She did not know where he had been, and she did not know where he was now. So how did she get the message to him? Keep in mind she was a high-level witch-priestess who could conjure and send evil. The word translated “messenger” in verse 2 is the word “angel” in the Hebrew. What is an angel of evil? It is a demon. She did not know where Elijah was, but the demon she sent found him and brought fear and doubt, which caused him to run in fear. Recall he had already been hiding for years, but without fear; it had all been in faith. Sometimes, when we are weakened through sickness or exertion, we are more vulnerable. But a spirit of doubt and fear got through and caused fear to replace the faith in which he had been walking. This occurred after the greatest spiritual victory of his life and perhaps the greatest outward showing of confrontation over evil since the walls of Jericho came down. Yet he was afraid. Once energy is expended, it is possible to be in a weakened condition. Jesus understood when power went out from Him (Mark 5:30). He also was diligent about spending time with the Lord being refreshed and strengthened (Ma tt hew14:23; John 6:15). It seems that Jezebel got a hit in on Elijah and he ran in fear. This caused him to make some irrational decisions and complaints. He left his servant behind, and then later complained to God that he was alone. He said he was the only one left standing for the Lord, after he had convinced the whole of the northern kingdom of Israel to fall on their faces and proclaim, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” (1 Kings 18:39). The Lord had compassion for Elijah and sent an angel to minister to him and refresh him. He spoke to him from a still small voice and encouraged him, and Elijah was granted one of the signi fi cant forty-day wilderness fasts with the Lord that is recorded in scripture. Signi fi cantly Moses (Law), Elijah (Prophets), and Jesus (New Covenant), each had to 148