The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1915-09-10

LESSON FOR SEPTEMBER u
EL,JAh's FLIGHT AND RETuR,

ANO HETOUWs
LESSON TEkrL KINGS ss:s-la CRsea
ooLDEN TExT.Be stil and know thas
I an God. Pr. s:M
Elijah's great victory over the
prophets OF Baal which resulted In
their determination II followed by .
most notable prayer service on the
top OF Mount Carmel ~(1S:42-45). So
confident was the prophet that 1t the
arising Of - little cloud" he hastily
summoned the feaRting king and urges
his departure to his home. that tina
rain stop thee not" The God whom
Elijah had honored 30 signally that
day laid his hand upon the prophet
(18:46) 90 that he was able to outrun
the kings horses to the entrance OF
Jexreel. There he is met by a mes
senger OF the wicked queen (19:9l
who had been the protector and pro-
WIDER OF the slain prophets. Getting
his eyes on Of God and seeing only .
vile and wicked woman Elijah not
only ran for his life out Of Ahab's do
mains but also went q days journey
into the wilderness" to the protecting
shade of . juniper tree ". ~.
!. The Discouraged Prophet, w.
- Old and young, great and small.
we all have u periods Of discourage
ment and frequently despair. Chris
tian's encounter with Giant Despair
appeals to us all for 1t IL so true to
Hfo A. Co-~o1 mitch nou%,oNeS %ha
king; in his palace at Jezreel, Jezebel
shattered his good resolutions.
II he had any. We must recall that
1t was her prophets Elijah had de-
stroyed. There is a suggestion in the
fact that Elijah did not enter her
presence (18:46). Yonder in the will
derness. his Gethsemane, Elijah
prayed . vastly different sort oe
prayer than upon Mount Carmel.
Jezebel 10 still In power. Heathenism
is not overthrown. his efforts had been
but trying to dam Niagara with bull
rushes."
Nc n who has ever heard the ora
torio Elijah" sung will ever forget
the bitter agony Of 1T is enough"
The prophet who alone had been ex-
allied to the heights was alone capable
to sounding such q depth Of human
despair. The sources of his discour.
agement ere his physical condition.
his loneliness, inactivity, mental reac-
ton and a feeling that his was
lost. q
History Is lined with similar expert
c in the lives Of the leaders OF
men. Elijah's experience under the
Juniper tree came chiefly from repre-
senting feelings as though they were
facts.
Gods first remedy was to feed hia
fainting servant and then give him .
task to perform. viz, q journey to
Mount Horeb Mount Of God), for God
loSed him just AZ truly now as pre-.
v1ously at Carmel. In this new
strength Elijah went "forty days" (v.
8; I Pet. 2:2).
u. The Encouraging God, W.. s.f4.
Gods second remedy was to give
Elijah his word though this time Il
suggested reproof. What doest thou
here?" Elijah Is out of place. In re-
ply he begins to rehearse his loyalty
to God. and how bad the others were
and then In seeming petulance he
adds. land they seek my Nfe." II
only" are the words Of the selfish man
and when Elijah used them he toe
was q ~backslidden servant. It IL true
that there was great apostasy In Israel
but the prophet was far from being
the only true servant remaining. (Sea
1894: 20:13; 22:35, II: $3.50. This
IL q favorite way the Evil One has for
paralyzing our efforts. There IL. NO
evidence but that the 1000 were ~
brave. certainly at that moment more
30, than Elijah God then continued
his treatment by giving the prophet
vision Of himself and Of his meth
DDS for advancing his kingdom. A
Of symbols made the truth
and impressive than
words alone could possibly have
done. Leaving the protecting cave
Elijah first met q wind which rent
the mountains" . type OF Elijah's past
activity. This was not Gods chief
power MOI method. The mighty wind
which destroys II ~ nothing COM
pared to the silent forces which Gre
ate.
It 10 not always the cyclonic fire
and earthquake men and women who
WELD the greatest power and infu-
ence. We are told that man never
feels so abjectly helpless az In An
earthquake, but the Lord was not in
the earthquake" ". 11). AFTER the
earthquake q IRE" ". 12). and that
had been Gods symbol on Mount Car
mel. Men who crave such visible evil
dences of power frequently ignore
those more silent but none the less
effective forms OF ministry as sug.
gested by the ''still small voice." or
literally. "a sound Of gentle Stiffness
". 12). Stirring ~revivals are neces-
sary. even as Ahab needed rain upon
his parched land. but the silent prog.
ress Of q religious life IL not soon
over for 1t goes on in the pow.
er Of an endless life. After these
symbols God again asks his search.
ing question: what doest thou here.
Elijah?" He had had his lesson; now
Il ID time for him to do something.
III. The Result, w 14-1a. Al . sov.
remedy God now sets beforo
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