Good & Evil Audio - Elijah Flees

Transcription

[music]

Host:  Elijah has just had a true mountaintop experience on Mount Carmel, when the Lord defeated the prophets of Baal. That means his faith is unshakeable now, right? I guess Elijah is a lesson to us all.

Narrator:  The prophets of Baal were all killed.

Man:  O King, you will need to eat and drink and then make haste for home. I hear the sound of an abundance of rain.

Narrator:  Three and a half years earlier, Elijah had told Ahab that it would not rain in Israel again, until Elijah so commanded it. With the prophets of Baal dead, and the people once again worshiping the true God, Elijah commanded it to rain. A big rain would swell the rivers and prevent them from returning home. So they had to make haste, or risk being cut off by the floods. Elijah, empowered by God, ran in front of the horses for the 20-mile trip back to the king's palace.

Jezebel:  I suppose you killed that Elijah. I see that Baal is sending us rain.

Ahab:  No, dear. Elijah is just outside. He ran ahead of my chariot all the way from Mount Carmel.

Jezebel:  That is ridiculous. No one could run that far ahead of a chariot. Where are the priests of Baal? We must celebrate the coming of rain.

Ahab:  I had them all killed. They were liars and deceivers.

Jezebel:  [gasp] You what? You idiot! You should have killed Elijah!

Ahab:  But his God answered by fire. It was a miracle. Our priests were powerless. The people all turned to Jehovah. But, honey, what else could I do? I feared the people!

Jezebel:  You killed my priests! You fool! No miracle will protect Elijah from the wrath of Baal! If I do not kill Elijah for this, let the gods do the same to me and more!

Elijah:  I must get away.

Narrator:  Elijah forgot to trust God and fled for his life.

Elijah:  O God, I have had all I can stand. Let me die now before Jezebel finds me. I'm ashamed of myself. I have failed to trust you. I am no better than my sinful fathers. Just let me die!

Narrator:  Elijah fled for 40 days deep into the wilderness to hide in a cave. He came to Mount Sinai, the same mountain on which Moses received the Ten Commandments. There, God spoke to him. [thunder]

God:  Elijah, what are you doing here?

Elijah:  Everyone has forsaken your law except me. All of your prophets have been killed. I am the only one left that worships you. And they seek my life.

God:  Go and stand on the mountain before the Lord.

Narrator:  As Elijah stood before the Lord, there came a strong wind. But God was not in the wind. Then there came an earthquake. But God was not in the earthquake. Finally, there was a fire from heaven. But God was not in the fire. God was trying to show Elijah that he was far more terrible than Jezebel. Then, when the wind, earthquake, and fire had ceased, Elijah heard God speaking in a still, small voice. He asked Elijah the same question he had asked before.

God:  Elijah, what are you doing here?

Narrator:  Elijah hadn't learned anything. He was still feeling sorry for himself. So he answered just as before.

Elijah:  Everyone has forsaken your law, except me. All of your prophets have been killed. I am the only one left that worships you. And they seek my life.

God:  All right. If you would have it this way, go and anoint Elisha to take your place as my prophet. And though you don't know it, there are 7,000 in Israel who have not bowed down to the statues of Baal and have not kissed his feet. Now go your way. All the family of Ahab shall die.

Narrator:  Elijah found Elisha plowing with his oxen and anointed him to be a prophet.

Elijah:  The Lord has said you are to be his prophet.

Host:  We are happy you could listen today and hope you enjoyed it. Please remember to check out our great current specials.