HIDING PLACES

Hiding Places: 1 Kings 19:1-21;

            Have you ever read the diary of Anne Frank? After Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1940, increasingly severe anti-Jewish measures began. A Jewish family by the name of Frank tried to escape by going into hiding. On July 1942, Otto, Edith and their daughters Margot and Anne hid in this building at 263 Prinsengracht in Amsterdam. Their hiding place was the uppermost floors of the back annex of Otto’s office building. They never thought that when they entered that hiding place on July 6, 1942, that it would be two years before they would ever feel the sun on their faces again. After more than two years the group was betrayed and deported to various concentration camps in Poland. Edith died at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Anne and Margot died of typhus in Bergen-Belsen in March 1945, only a few weeks before this concentration camp was liberated. Otto Frank was the only member of the family to survive and return home after the war. Anne Frank was only 15 years old.
            What is a hiding place? Why do we seek to go there some times? A hiding place is a place where we can feel safe from impending danger. It’s a place where we can get away from whatever troubles us. It’s a place where no one knows just where we are and what we are feeling. I watch the children as they play and Hide-and-Seek around the school in our back yard and some of the places they choose aren’t much of a hiding place at all, under a slide  in the middle of the playground, or behind a tree with their feet showing. Children like to play games with hiding places, but adults have their hiding places too. Some will hide in a bottle of alcohol, trying to drown their fears in the booze. Some like the drugs to mask their feelings of fear and anxiety. Some like to find a special place where they can get alone, away from the crowds.
            There was a prophet in the Old Testament who sought out some hiding places too and I want us to look at his story for a few minutes and see what the Spirit has to say to each of us. Elijah was a mighty man of God. When he spoke, the whole nation of Israel shook, because he spoke for God Almighty. By his word, the rain stopped for three years and by Elijah’s word, the rain came again. By his word fire would fall out of a clear sky and consume the sacrifice, the stones of the altar, the water in the ditch and the very dust of the ground. When Elijah spoke his words would bring either a blessing or a curse and everyone listened to hear what he had to say. But there came a day when even this great man of God, this “man of faith and power for the hour”, began to seek out his hiding place too.
            It all began when Ahab, the king of Israel, married a heathen woman from the Sidonians by the name of Jezebel. If ever a man was unequally yoked with an unbeliever, Ahab was the one. Jezebel loved her heathen idols. She was missionary minded too, and established a large number of schools for her idol prophets and priests, and then built a lot of temples in honor of her gods of Baal and Asheroth. Israel was in trouble and God was not going to let his chosen nation go off into idolatry without trying to stop them, so he sent Elijah, His chosen servant, to put an end to it all. On Mount Carmel, Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal met for their showdown at the OK Corral. This was drama beyond anything that Hollywood could produce. Here he was, this man of faith and power, a chosen prophet of the most High God, alone against 450 idol prophets, and he was challenging them to slap leather. When the smoke cleared and the battle was over, Elijah stood alone and the 450 prophets that Jezebel had trained were dead. I know that what I am about to say is stereotyping but I can imagine Jezebel as a spoiled brat. Maybe she was a redheaded, feisty woman with one bad temper, that would blow her top at the drop of a hat, and she carried the hat.
            "And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time." 1 Kings 19:1-2
            Can you picture this scene in your mind? Here comes Ahab, the weak kneed king of Israel, scared to death of his Queen with the bad temper. He went striding into the palace like a king until he came to her door. Then he sent the guards away and very quietly steps into the door to tell Jezebel the bad news. And the reaction comes, just as he suspected. Jezebel came unglued! Elijah was dead meat and she meant to kill him.
            That kind of news spreads fast. Jezebel’s servant ran to tell Elijah that she was out to kill him. Suddenly, that man of God lost his power and ran for his life, taking his servant with him. After all, he was still a ‘man of God’ and he still needed his servant because everybody knows that the prophet doesn’t work for a living.
            "And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers." 1 Kings 19:3-4
            Elijah didn’t run for a few miles and quit. He kept on running until he crossed border into the Southern Kingdom of Judah where Ahab was not the king, and came to a little village called Beersheba. That’s as far as he would even let his servant go. This prophet was in trouble. He was willing to leave everything in his haste to find a hiding place where he could feel safe. Perhaps he didn’t even want his servant to know where to find him in case Jezebel would try to question him. Fear had replaced Elijah’s faith for now. Fear will drive you like cattle. It will take you places that you never thought you would ever go. From the mountaintop of Carmel to the deserts of Judah in one day!           How far can we fall when fear replaces faith! Have you ever experienced that before? Have you ever been on the mountaintop with God, like all is well, and then suddenly you crash in flames of doubt and fear at something that comes against you. Well, now you know that even God’s prophets have faced the same thing.
            Elijah went on for hours after leaving Beersheba and his servant behind. He was looking for a really good hiding place. After he had traveled a day’s journey into the desert, he found a little shade beneath a juniper tree in the middle of nowhere and that’s where he decided to sit and hide out for a while, and have his little pity party. He finally felt far enough away from everything and everybody that he could have a few minutes of peace. I think that Elijah might have finally came down to the point where he discovered that he was nothing without God and it was almost more than he could bear.       Perhaps all this time, with all of the mighty miracles, he had developed a feeling of superiority over all the people of Israel.  After all, he was a great prophet, and what were they but mere sheep in God’s fold.  Maybe God had to bring him down to the sheep’s level to teach Elijah that it was God and not Elijah that performed the miracles and brought down the fire.  After having run for so long and being driven by fear, Elijah was exhausted. He had come to the end of his rope and the knot was gone.  He just wanted to lie down and die. He wasn’t anything special now, just another man on the run.  He laid his head back upon the rocks and closed his eyes, hoping to die, but he only fell asleep. Sometimes, that’s what we need most of all; just a little sleep; a little rest; a little time of refreshing.
            "And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baking on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God." 1 Kings 19:5-8
            How many of us look for that hiding place sometimes and when we find a place where we can feel safe and get away from everything, that’s where we decide to camp out for a while? We don’t care what God wants us to do. We give up for a time on the call of God on our lives, and we fall asleep spiritually in our hiding place. That hiding place might be a large congregation where we can still have the appearance of being a mighty man or woman of God, but we don’t have to do anything or be accountable to anyone. It might be a job where we can work long hours to have a good excuse not to be where we should be or serve the Lord the way we know we should. It might be family that comes to visit, or cares of life that give us a hiding place. We all have them don’t we? But Elijah couldn’t hide from God and neither can we. God knows where you are. He knows what you are doing and He isn’t going to let you get too comfortable in your hiding place, overcome with fear and doubt. He wants you back on the battlefield!
            I don’t know what that angel gave Elijah to eat, but it must have been one really good energy bar. It wasn’t a Dr. Pepper that he drank, and it wasn’t a Hershey Granola Bar that he ate, or a Snicker’s bar because it was enough to give him all the food and drink he needed for the next 40 days. If we could find out what Elijah ate and drank, we could start up a diet program, with energy food bars and energy drink business that couldn’t fail.
            One good thing that I can say about Elijah’s running is that, all the time that he was running, he was running toward the Mount of God at Horeb. He was going toward Mt. Sinai where the Law was given and  God was known to have come down to speak to Moses. Elijah needed to hear from God, and even in his fear, he knew that God was his only source of real help. When Elijah reached the mountains, he was still a man on the run in fear. His faith was at an all time low point in his life. He needed help badly.
            "And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." 1 Kings 19:9-10
            There he is, that once powerful, anointed Prophet of God, called and chosen to give forth the Word of the Lord to God’s chosen people, in his new hiding place in a cave. Now the pity party grows larger and he starts murmuring and complaining and questioning God. Now God speaks. “What are you doing here Elijah?” God is asking (not that He doesn’t already know) so that He can remind Elijah of his calling. God was saying, “Elijah, you have a call on your life and a job to do. Why are you sitting here in fear, having your pity party?”Listen to Elijah’s answer. . . “Look here God. I’ve been the best prophet I know how to be. I’ve done things that no one else can, or will, ever do for you. I’ve been loyal. I’ve been faithful. I’ve kept my promise, but I can’t do this anymore. It’s me against the whole nation. Everyone has turned their backs on you and on me now. I’ve done all I can do to teach them the truth and now they are out to kill me. What else do you want from me God!
            We can really come up with the excuses for not serving the Lord the way we should can’t we. We go hide in our little corner, out of sight, out of mind, and hope that God just forgets about us for a little while, while we have our little pity parties!
            When God tries to speak to us to get up and get moving we just say  “Speak to the Hand, the ears aren’t listening.” “I’ve done more down at the church than all the other people put together. I’m tired of carrying the load while everyone else has a fun time, sits back and does nothing. I’m sick of people calling me, wanting me to do things for them. I’m burned out, tired, disgusted and worn to a frazzle. Leave me alone. They want me to do too much. I’m killing myself for nothing, because nobody else cares how I feel.”
            "And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.  And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." 1 Kings 19:11-14
            Once more, God speaks to Elijah in love, and gives him direction for his life. God knows that Elijah is but a man, a man running in fear, weak in body, and weak in the flesh. Thank God for his mercy and grace to frail human beings.  I’m so glad that He understands our weaknesses and overlooks our ignorance sometimes. God forced Elijah to hear His voice one more time. The voice of the Lord spoke, not in the power of the winds of adversity, not in the shaking circumstances that try to overwhelm us, not in the winds of false doctrines that come to our ears, not in the fires of trials and tribulations, but, in the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and through the quietness of His written Word.
            Elijah finally began to really listen and to hear the voice of God speaking to him. In that voice, he found peace and safety. In that still small voice he found the calming of the fears and the rising of his faith once again. In that voice, Elijah found strength to carry on the work that was set before him. He still answered God with the same words as before, but now the words don’t seem as forceful and full of fear, doubt and frustration. Elijah, like us, didn’t give up his pity party easily, but he was beginning to come out of it now. God showed Elijah that he wasn’t alone in the fight. God always has a remnant, but that remnant is still a mighty force to be reckoned with.
            God’s Got An Army, Marching Through The Land. Deliverance Is Their Song And There’s Healing In Their Hand. There’s Everlasting Joy And Gladness In Their Hearts, And In This Army I Have A Part. And you have a part, just like Elijah did.
            "Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him." 1 Kings 19:18
            From that cave Elijah went forth to do the work of the Lord again. God gave him a new servant by the name of Elisha. Elijah was to be the role model for this new servant and God was going to anoint Elisha with a double portion of the power and Spirit of his teacher.
            Keep on keeping on. No matter how discouraging it may get, no matter how tired you are, keep on keeping on. You never know when God is going to send you an Elisha to train and teach. You never know what you life is going to do to encourage someone else to carry on the work when you are gone. Thank God that He never gives up on us, even when we find ourselves in a cave having a pity party, God still sees greatness and leadership in us and He still wants to use us for His glory to build His kingdom.