WHAT DOEST THOU HERE?

Time with Jesus - Saturday, 24 November 2012

Hi all,

Today’s meditation looks at Elijah and his exploits from Mt Carmel to Mt Sinai, sometimes called Horeb. Sadly, our superhero is found to have feet of clay. Our meditation looks at why this was so. It also asks the question, “What are you doing here?

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Saturday, 24 November 2012			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
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INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	WHAT DOEST THOU HERE?
I was born in the town of Reading in March 1942. World War 2 was in full swing. That’s what I’ve been told. I can’t affirm or deny it. I don’t remember arriving and asking mom if there were any Nazi’s in the area. I don’t really remember anything from those dim and distant days. I do have the odd things buzzing in my head. But whether or not they were from those days is anyone’s guess. I have heard many tales of what happened back then. I’ve been told that my mother was a very anxious person, so those days must have been very traumatic. We lived in Hull for some of those war years. Hull got a terrible pounding from the Luftwaffe so it would be reasonable to assume that anxiety and fear must have gone hand in hand with her. She told me that we were “evacuated” to Strensil close to Beverley in Yorkshire. From there she could hear the sound of the bombs falling on Hull. She could also see the flashes of light from the action taking place in the air as the “ack ack guns” (artillery designed to shoot upward at airplanes) were firing in an attempt to drive the Luftwaffe away. I was only 3 years old when the war in Europe came to an end. At my age now, who knows what they did or didn’t do 67 years ago? One thing I can tell you is that many people in the UK lived with constant fear for their lives. Certainly mom would have experienced this. This has left me with an anxious personality. People who are frightened usually run away. Watch TV or movies about sudden catastrophes and you will see it for yourself. When an explosion takes place near them, few people pause and wonder what happened. Mostly they “high tail” it out of there as quickly as possible. “Discretion is the better part of Valour”. So most of us want to be at a discreet distance from what happened. I’m told that heroism is very often incidental. Things happen so quickly that the hero or heroine acts instinctively. Don’t be too surprised by this. Many men and women decorated for an act of outstanding bravery often say that it happened so quickly they didn’t know they were being brave! You would think that our Biblical heroes would be very different. They are not much different from our average hero today. Things sort of happened and here they still are! This means that even great heroes can sometimes falter and make a mess of things. It also has a great deal to do with knowing whether or not their actions have the backing of God. Elijah was like this. He had no problem with confronting the Baal priests on Mt Carmel. He knew God was on his side and he would be victorious in the end. Then, when it came to praying for rain, he knew that the Lord would answer his prayer. God had told him this much earlier. In view of this we may be tempted to state that one of the greatest miracles of the day was God empowering him to run in front of Ahab’s chariot from Mt Carmel to Jerusalem. How can a man run faster than a horse? So here was an exhausted prophet of God being informed that Jezebel intended to kill him. He freaked out and ran for his life. God wasn’t quite finished with him. He had to get from the broom tree in the wilderness to Mt Sinai (Horeb) without food. So what was in the hot freshly baked bread? Good question. My guess is it was “high performance manna”. It lasted him 40 days. Then he came to the place where we all have to get too. The place where God asks us all, “What are you doing here?” Jim &Phyllida Strickland			9 There he went into a cave and spent the night. Then the LORD spoke his word to Elijah. He asked, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 1 Kings 19:9 GW 10 But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. Job 23:10 TNIV For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. 1 You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Psalms 139:1-3 TNIV 7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Psalms 139:7 & 9-10 TNIV 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. James 5:17 NASB 25 If you are afraid of people, it will trap you. But if you trust in the LORD, he will keep you safe. Proverbs 29:25 NIrV 24 Even if the man trips, he won't fall. The LORD'S hand takes good care of him. Psalms 37:24 NIrV 16 A righteous person may fall seven times, but he gets up again. However, in a disaster wicked people fall. Proverbs 24:16 GW 9 So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up. Galatians 6:9 NLT 41 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!" Matthew 26:41 NLT 13 The LORD is like a father to His children, tender and compassionate to those who fear Him. Psalms 103:13 NLT	Elijah was no coward. But he had run away, Frightened by a woman, who said that she would slay Elijah for his killing her false prophets on Carmel. This infuriated her, this bad queen Jezebel.  Please do not be angry. We know Elijah won. But somehow, all his bravery vanished and was done. Sometimes men are frightened, when that which they’ve achieved, Aggravates a woman who is feeling very peeved! She had lost her prophets; they were dead and gone. But she was still determined, that she would carry on. “I’m going to kill Elijah!” this wicked woman swore. “I’m going to keep pursuing him, until he is no more!” Elijah didn’t like it. This great big man of God. Did something the people thought was surely rather odd. He ran into the wilderness and found a great broom tree. There he said, “I’ve had enough, Lord Take my fife from me. I’m surely little better than my ancestors who’ve died. Lord please let me pass away!” is what our hero cried! He lay beneath the broom tree and soon fell fast asleep. And since he was exhausted, his slumber was quite deep. And then an angel touched him. He’d heard his hungry groans. There was a jar of water and baked bread on hot stones. “Get up and eat!” the angel said. He ate and drank his fill. And then he went to sleep again and carried on until, Once more the angel touched him. “Get up and eat some more!” There is a lot of travelling. The journey that’s before Is going to take you forty days; Mount Sinai’s your goal.” There’d be no more nourishment to feed his hungry soul. At last he came to Horeb and a cave in which to rest. He went inside and spent the night. Then came Elijah’s test. The Lord said to Elijah, “What are you doing here?” He came with his excuses, prompted, I think, by fear. “I have been very zealous and now there’s only me. No one else is still alive who wants to worship Thee! The people broke Your covenant; Your altars have been smashed. And now they want to murder me. Then I too will be trashed!” Elijah was mistaken. Some seven thousand more Were left who hadn’t bowed their knees and Yahweh still their adored. Elijah’s days were numbered. God told him to anoint, Elisha to succeed him. Elijah would appoint, Elisha as the prophet to do what God had bid. And in the course of time it is precisely what he did. Jim Strickland  Written 24th November 2012