Dear Amy,
How does a mighty prophet of God lose his faith?
You’re surely familiar with the glorious story of Elijah on Mount Carmel, where he defeated the prophets of Baal and so was revealed who is the true God (1 Kings 18).
But look what happened next.
Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life.
― 1 Kings 19:2-3
Notwithstanding Jezebel’s threat to kill him, how does “he was afraid” make any sense given what had just happened? In fact it doesn’t.
I read a fascinating paper about this.
The pivotal term in our text is the Hebrew word wayyarʼ, the first word in verse three. This common verbal form should be translated “then he saw” (from rāʼâ). … Virtually all of the more recent translations of the Bible have opted for another reading, the Hebrew wayyîrāʼ, “and he was afraid” (from yārēʼ ).
Against this … most Hebrew manuscripts read “and he saw”.
― Ronald Barclay Allen, Elijah the Broken Prophet, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 22/3
Allen goes on to argue how “he saw” is surely what was originally written, and is in fact the only translation which makes any sense.
What then does it mean?
How had Elijah defeated the Baals? By exercising incredible faith in the infinite power and steadfast faithfulness of the invisible God. The invisible God who cannot be seen is the one who defines reality.
But what did Elijah do next. He saw. He looked at the so-called real world, and the pseudo-reality that he saw defeated him.
Paul writes about the reason for our courage and confidence in the Lord.
For we walk by faith, not by sight.
― 2 Corinthians 5:7
Walking by sight means looking at the visible world around us as all there is, or at least the most part of it. How this defeats us! It defeated Elijah, that mighty prophet of God, who ran for his life and hid in a cave, where he was rebuked by the Lord (albeit with great tenderness).
There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
― 1 Kings 19:9
Can you hear the love in that rebuke? Read the rest of 1 Kings 19 for further insight into the loving kindness and provision of our Heavenly Father. Elijah had gone off-script. He had momentarily lost his faith, precisely because he saw, and he thought that what he saw was the true reality. It was not, as the Lord showed him with such patience and love and kindness.
Consider the infinite power and the steadfast love and faithfulness and the great kindness of the invisible God, Amy, and walk by faith not by sight! 🙏