Elijah Hungry and Weary Under the Juniper TreeBible World
19:51 Kings 19:5
And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
After Carmel Elijah fled Jezebel's threat into the wilderness, left his servant at Beer-sheba, went alone a day's journey, and in weariness and discouragement lay down praying to die, when asleep under a juniper tree he was touched and told to rise and eat, finding a cake baked on coals and water placed at his head. After eating he lay down again, and the angel came a second time with the same direction because the journey was too great for him, and in the strength of that food he traveled forty days and nights to Horeb where he lodged in a cave. It shows God did not forsake His exhausted servant in fear and solitude, but in pitying love watched over him no less under the juniper tree than when fire fell on Carmel. His flight was rash and a failure of faith, for weary and murmuring without food he forgot the God who had sent fire and rain, did not wait for protection, and asked to die when faith and patience would have brought another victory. Carefully studied it teaches God's people in difficulty to meet disheartenment with faith, prayer and work, trusting the Lord rather than yielding to fear, because He knows every need and in His own time overthrows the plans of enemies when faith has been tested.
Wilderness Flight and Awakening
The verse belongs after Carmel, when Elijah fled Jezebel's threat for his life into the wilderness to Beer-sheba, left his servant there, and went a day's journey alone into the desert. In weariness and weakness, exhausted and crushed by disappointment and discouragement after bearing a heavy burden for Israel, he lay down alone under a juniper tree. There prostrate and murmuring he prayed to die, saying he was no better than his fathers and feeling that life was no longer desirable. His flight was rash, for he had not waited for divine warning or direction to flee, and his yielding marked a failure of faith that cut short the work he had begun so that another was to be anointed prophet in his stead. That failure followed faithful warning against national idolatry and watching through three and a half years of famine for repentance, and standing alone for God upon Mount Carmel where faith cast down idolatry and the rain testified to blessing, after which he expected Israel to stay true and Jezebel to lose influence in a general revolution.
Exhausted and asleep under the juniper tree, Elijah was touched and told to arise and eat. A cake baked on coals and a jar of water had been placed at his head to meet his immediate physical need while despairing and far from people. He started up in terror as if his pursuing enemy had found him, awaked by a soft touch and pleasant voice. But bending over him was a pitying, friendly face of love, not an enemy but a friend, an angel sent from God from heaven with food.
After eating and drinking Elijah lay down again to sleep. The angel came a second time with the same direction to arise and eat, touching him with pitying tenderness and warning that the journey was too great for him without sustenance. In the strength of that food he traveled forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. There he lodged in a cave and was questioned by the word of the Lord about his presence there.
Divine Care and Provision
Exhausted and asleep under the juniper tree after fleeing Jezebel's threat, Elijah was touched and told to get up and eat, and that waking met his physical need while he was despairing and far from people and began to strengthen him for the journey ahead. He woke in terror, thinking an enemy had found him, but the one who woke him was a friend sent from God, and the soft touch and pleasant voice and pitying, friendly face bent over him showed pitying love rather than enmity. God did not forsake His servant when despondency and despair seized him after he had toiled all day without food, when the reaction that often follows exalted faith and marked success pressed upon him and his high hopes for Israel were disappointed. His eye was still upon His suffering servant, and He loved him no less while broken-hearted and feeling forsaken of God and man than when fire flashed from heaven on Carmel in answer to prayer. He knows and reads the sore anguish of the heart under temptation and severe conflict, an anguish of heavy responsibility and deep feeling that those who have not borne weighty burdens cannot understand.
The angel was sent with food from heaven to sustain the faithful, exhausted servant when he was about to perish in the desert from weariness and hunger, so divine care came as practical sustenance in fear and hardship and solitude. The waking was gentle, the provision was food from heaven for his immediate need, and after Elijah ate and lay down again the angel ministered a second time to strengthen him for the journey ahead. That repeated ministering is one instance of holy angels in all ages ministering to God's people.
The Lord miraculously fed Elijah on a long journey when food could be obtained from no other source, by the same care that rained manna from heaven for the children of Israel. This proves that God's eye is upon His own every moment, especially when the advent of light stirs the powers of darkness, and that He provides for their necessities. The same care provided a way for Joseph to preserve himself and his family on the journey to Egypt and while tarrying there as strangers, for the earthly parents of Jesus were poor and the costly, valuable gifts and offerings brought to the infant Saviour by the wise men were of sufficient value to sustain them all in that land.
Elijah's lying alone in weariness and weakness praying to die marked a failure of faith that cut short the work he had begun, so that the work he started he was not to complete and God appointed and bade him anoint another prophet in his stead. Yet God had marked the faithful heart-service of His servant through bearing a heavy burden for Israel, giving faithful warnings against national idolatry, and watching with deep solicitude through three years and a half of famine for some token of repentance. Alone he had stood for God upon Mount Carmel, where through the power of faith idolatry was cast down and the blessed rain testified to the showers of blessing waiting for Israel. By one yielding to human weakness and error, by letting go of faith, his faith failed, but in mercy God would not leave him to perish in discouragement and solitude in the wilderness, for him was appointed not descent to the tomb but ascent with God's angels to the presence of His glory.
Failure Faith and Endurance
Elijah's flight before Jezebel's threat was rash, for he did not wait for God to speak or appeal to God for protection, and in weariness and weakness alone in the wilderness he prayed to die. Weary and prostrate and murmuring after toiling all day without food, in the reaction that often follows exalted faith and marked success, discouraged after high hopes for Israel, he asked God to take his life because he was no better than his fathers and life was no longer desirable. He forgot that God was the same all-powerful and pitiful God who had granted every request for fire from heaven on Carmel and for rain, and he expected after that display of power that Israel would stay true and faithful and that Jezebel would lose influence over Ahab in a general revolution. He had borne a heavy burden for Israel through three years and a half of famine, giving faithful warnings against national idolatry and watching with deep solicitude for some token of repentance, and alone he had stood for God upon Mount Carmel where through power of faith idolatry was cast down and the blessed rain testified to showers of blessing waiting for Israel. By that one yielding to human weakness and error, by that letting go of faith, his faith failed and cut short the work he had begun so that the work he had begun he was not to complete and God bade him anoint another to be prophet in his stead, when with faith and patience God would have shielded him and given another victory in sending judgments upon Jezebel.
The history tests character as natural impulses and spiritual life conflict, with impurity brought to the surface and consumed while the fine gold remains. It declares that sin can bring only shame and loss and that unbelief means failure. Despondency is sinful and unreasonable, while hope and courage as fruit of faith are essential to perfect service. God's mercy reaches to the deepest depths to lift the repenting soul to share the adoption of the sons of God.
Carefully and prayerfully studied, the account helps God's people facing difficulty by teaching them to trust in the Lord rather than human wisdom, to remain in the way of duty, and to wait patiently and prayerfully without yielding to fear. The remedy for the disheartened is faith, prayer, and work, and such faith and activity impart assurance and satisfaction that increase day by day even when appearances are most forbidding. This is because God knows every need and has all power with infinite unfailing love and compassion and eternal truth, never changes His covenant with those who love Him, more abundantly bestows needed strength and efficiency for test and trial, and in His own time and way overthrows the strongest plans of enemies when faith has been sufficiently tested. Waiting with confidence in God allows His power to be seen.
After Carmel Elijah fled Jezebel's threat into the wilderness, left his servant at Beer-sheba, went alone a day's journey, and in weariness and discouragement lay down praying to die, when asleep under a juniper tree he was touched and told to rise and eat, finding a cake baked on coals and water placed at his head. After eating he lay down again, and the angel came a second time with the same direction because the journey was too great for him, and in the strength of that food he traveled forty days and nights to Horeb where he lodged in a cave. It shows God did not forsake His exhausted servant in fear and solitude, but in pitying love watched over him no less under the juniper tree than when fire fell on Carmel. His flight was rash and a failure of faith, for weary and murmuring without food he forgot the God who had sent fire and rain, did not wait for protection, and asked to die when faith and patience would have brought another victory. Carefully studied it teaches God's people in difficulty to meet disheartenment with faith, prayer and work, trusting the Lord rather than yielding to fear, because He knows every need and in His own time overthrows the plans of enemies when faith has been tested.
Wilderness Flight and Awakening
The verse belongs after Carmel, when Elijah fled Jezebel's threat for his life into the wilderness to Beer-sheba, left his servant there, and went a day's journey alone into the desert. In weariness and weakness, exhausted and crushed by disappointment and discouragement after bearing a heavy burden for Israel, he lay down alone under a juniper tree. There prostrate and murmuring he prayed to die, saying he was no better than his fathers and feeling that life was no longer desirable. His flight was rash, for he had not waited for divine warning or direction to flee, and his yielding marked a failure of faith that cut short the work he had begun so that another was to be anointed prophet in his stead. That failure followed faithful warning against national idolatry and watching through three and a half years of famine for repentance, and standing alone for God upon Mount Carmel where faith cast down idolatry and the rain testified to blessing, after which he expected Israel to stay true and Jezebel to lose influence in a general revolution.
Exhausted and asleep under the juniper tree, Elijah was touched and told to arise and eat. A cake baked on coals and a jar of water had been placed at his head to meet his immediate physical need while despairing and far from people. He started up in terror as if his pursuing enemy had found him, awaked by a soft touch and pleasant voice. But bending over him was a pitying, friendly face of love, not an enemy but a friend, an angel sent from God from heaven with food.
After eating and drinking Elijah lay down again to sleep. The angel came a second time with the same direction to arise and eat, touching him with pitying tenderness and warning that the journey was too great for him without sustenance. In the strength of that food he traveled forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. There he lodged in a cave and was questioned by the word of the Lord about his presence there.
Divine Care and Provision
Exhausted and asleep under the juniper tree after fleeing Jezebel's threat, Elijah was touched and told to get up and eat, and that waking met his physical need while he was despairing and far from people and began to strengthen him for the journey ahead. He woke in terror, thinking an enemy had found him, but the one who woke him was a friend sent from God, and the soft touch and pleasant voice and pitying, friendly face bent over him showed pitying love rather than enmity. God did not forsake His servant when despondency and despair seized him after he had toiled all day without food, when the reaction that often follows exalted faith and marked success pressed upon him and his high hopes for Israel were disappointed. His eye was still upon His suffering servant, and He loved him no less while broken-hearted and feeling forsaken of God and man than when fire flashed from heaven on Carmel in answer to prayer. He knows and reads the sore anguish of the heart under temptation and severe conflict, an anguish of heavy responsibility and deep feeling that those who have not borne weighty burdens cannot understand.
The angel was sent with food from heaven to sustain the faithful, exhausted servant when he was about to perish in the desert from weariness and hunger, so divine care came as practical sustenance in fear and hardship and solitude. The waking was gentle, the provision was food from heaven for his immediate need, and after Elijah ate and lay down again the angel ministered a second time to strengthen him for the journey ahead. That repeated ministering is one instance of holy angels in all ages ministering to God's people.
The Lord miraculously fed Elijah on a long journey when food could be obtained from no other source, by the same care that rained manna from heaven for the children of Israel. This proves that God's eye is upon His own every moment, especially when the advent of light stirs the powers of darkness, and that He provides for their necessities. The same care provided a way for Joseph to preserve himself and his family on the journey to Egypt and while tarrying there as strangers, for the earthly parents of Jesus were poor and the costly, valuable gifts and offerings brought to the infant Saviour by the wise men were of sufficient value to sustain them all in that land.
Elijah's lying alone in weariness and weakness praying to die marked a failure of faith that cut short the work he had begun, so that the work he started he was not to complete and God appointed and bade him anoint another prophet in his stead. Yet God had marked the faithful heart-service of His servant through bearing a heavy burden for Israel, giving faithful warnings against national idolatry, and watching with deep solicitude through three years and a half of famine for some token of repentance. Alone he had stood for God upon Mount Carmel, where through the power of faith idolatry was cast down and the blessed rain testified to the showers of blessing waiting for Israel. By one yielding to human weakness and error, by letting go of faith, his faith failed, but in mercy God would not leave him to perish in discouragement and solitude in the wilderness, for him was appointed not descent to the tomb but ascent with God's angels to the presence of His glory.
Failure Faith and Endurance
Elijah's flight before Jezebel's threat was rash, for he did not wait for God to speak or appeal to God for protection, and in weariness and weakness alone in the wilderness he prayed to die. Weary and prostrate and murmuring after toiling all day without food, in the reaction that often follows exalted faith and marked success, discouraged after high hopes for Israel, he asked God to take his life because he was no better than his fathers and life was no longer desirable. He forgot that God was the same all-powerful and pitiful God who had granted every request for fire from heaven on Carmel and for rain, and he expected after that display of power that Israel would stay true and faithful and that Jezebel would lose influence over Ahab in a general revolution. He had borne a heavy burden for Israel through three years and a half of famine, giving faithful warnings against national idolatry and watching with deep solicitude for some token of repentance, and alone he had stood for God upon Mount Carmel where through power of faith idolatry was cast down and the blessed rain testified to showers of blessing waiting for Israel. By that one yielding to human weakness and error, by that letting go of faith, his faith failed and cut short the work he had begun so that the work he had begun he was not to complete and God bade him anoint another to be prophet in his stead, when with faith and patience God would have shielded him and given another victory in sending judgments upon Jezebel.
The history tests character as natural impulses and spiritual life conflict, with impurity brought to the surface and consumed while the fine gold remains. It declares that sin can bring only shame and loss and that unbelief means failure. Despondency is sinful and unreasonable, while hope and courage as fruit of faith are essential to perfect service. God's mercy reaches to the deepest depths to lift the repenting soul to share the adoption of the sons of God.
Carefully and prayerfully studied, the account helps God's people facing difficulty by teaching them to trust in the Lord rather than human wisdom, to remain in the way of duty, and to wait patiently and prayerfully without yielding to fear. The remedy for the disheartened is faith, prayer, and work, and such faith and activity impart assurance and satisfaction that increase day by day even when appearances are most forbidding. This is because God knows every need and has all power with infinite unfailing love and compassion and eternal truth, never changes His covenant with those who love Him, more abundantly bestows needed strength and efficiency for test and trial, and in His own time and way overthrows the strongest plans of enemies when faith has been sufficiently tested. Waiting with confidence in God allows His power to be seen.