1 Kings 19 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

1 Kings 19 Short Summary:

After Elijah killed the 450 prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel, Jezebel resolved to kill him. He fled south the mountain of God, Mount Horeb. God spoke to him there, showing him a great wind, an earthquake, and a fire, before speaking to him through a low whisper. Elijah returned to Israel and anointed Elisha to be his student and successor.

1 Kings 19 Extended Summary

WHEN:

• According to the timeline we are using for this study, the kingdom of Israel and Judah divided in 975 B.C.

• The period that followed, sometimes called the period of the “Divided Kingdom,” lasted the next few centuries. Israel remained a cohesive nation until 721 B.C. (Assyrian captivity), while Judah lasted until 607 B.C. (Babylonian exile).

• King Ahab’s reign over Israel (22 years) probably fits somewhere between 920-890 B.C.

CHARACTERS:

• Elijah – A prophet of God who announced God’s judgement against Ahab and Israel.

• Ahab – Omri’s son and one of Israel’s most wicked kings. He was married to Jezebel.

• Jezebel – Ahab’s wicked wife. She was a Sidonian.

• Elisha – He was chosen by God to replace Elijah as prophet.

WHERE:

• Elijah fled from Israel and went to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. The location of the mountain is debated, you’ll see the traditional location on the map. It is generally agreed that it was many miles south of the Promised Land. It was at Mount Horeb that God spoke with Moses and gave him the 10 Commandments.

OUTLINE:

• ELIJAH FLEES FROM JEZEBEL TO MOUNT HOREB (19:1-8):

  • After Elijah killed the 450 prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel, Ahab reported the news to Jezebel, who resolved to murder Elijah.

  • Elijah fled south of the Promised Land, below the territory of Judah, and spent the night under a broom tree.

  • An angel appeared to him in the night, brought him food, and told him to eat because he had a long journey ahead of him.

  • After eating, he journeyed 40 days and 40 nights “in the strength of that food” to Mount Horeb, which was called the mountain of God.

• GOD SPEAKS TO ELIJAH AT MOUNT HOREB (19:9-18):

  • Elijah stayed in a cave at Mount Horeb.

  • One day, God’s voice spoke to Elijah and asked, “What are you doing here?”

  • He told the Lord he had fled because the people rejected God and he was the only faithful prophet left in Israel.

  • God sent a strong wind which broke the rocks of the mountain into pieces, but the text says, “the Lord was not in the wind.”

  • Next, God sent an earthquake, but “the Lord was not in the earthquake.”

  • Next, God sent a fire, but “the Lord was not in the fire.”

  • Finally, Elijah heard the sound of a low whisper.

  • God asked him again, “What are you doing here Elijah.”

  • Elijah responded exactly as he had before.

  • God told him to return to Israel and anoint Hazael king of Syria, Jehu king of Israel, and Elisha to be replacement as prophet of God.

  • God’s judgement of the wicked would be facilitated by these three men.

  • To reassure Elijah that he wasn’t alone, God told him there were still 7,000 men in Israel who were faithful to the Lord and hadn’t worshipped Baal.

• ELISHA IS CALLED TO HELP ELIJAH (19:19-21):

  • As the Lord instructed, Elijah found a man named Elisha and called him to follow him.

  • At the time Elisha was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen in the field.

  • He cooked the oxen using the wood of the yokes, ate the meat with his family and friends, and then set off to follow Elijah.

APPLICATIONS:

• What can we learn from Elijah’s encounter with God on the mountain.

• One lesson is that God doesn’t always work through noticeable manifestations of power.

• God wasn’t present in the displays of great power on the mountain (wind, earthquake, and fire).

• Instead, God was heard in the low whisper.

• Is it the case that the only time we acknowledge God working is when we see what we deem to be significant outworkings of His power, great preachers, big revivals, positive cultural uprisings.

• God does work through those things, as He showed Elijah on Mount Carmel, but that doesn’t mean He isn’t working during the times we don’t observe Him.

• God is at work in the silent places of the world. He has servants everywhere, even if you don’t know about them, just as had 7,000 that Elijah wasn’t aware of. He is working in hearts and the homes through low whispers and building faith in invisible ways. There is no reason for despair.