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Verse 16
Theosis · English Bible
3 Kingdoms (1 Kings)

3 Kingdoms (1 Kings) 19

Old TestamentTheosis · English Bible

1And Achaab told Jezabel his wife all that Eliu had done, and how he had slain the prophets with the sword. 2And Jezabel sent to Eliu, and said, If thou art Eliu and I am Jezabel, God do so to me, and more also, if I do not make thy life by this time to-morrow as the life of one of them. 3And Eliu feared, and rose, and departed for his life: and he comes to Bersabee to the land of Juda, and he left his servant there. 4And he himself went a day's journey in the wilderness, and came and sat under a juniper tree; and asked concerning his life that he might die, and said, Let it be enough now, O Lord, take, I pray thee, my life from me; for I am no better than my fathers. 5And he lay down and slept there under a tree; and behold, some one touched him, and said to him, Arise and eat. 6And Eliu looked, and, behold, at his head there was a cake of meal and a cruse of water; and he arose, and ate and drank, and returned and lay down. 7And the angel of the Lord returned again, and touched him, and said to him, Arise, and eat, for the journey is far from thee. 8And he arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights to mount Choreb. 9And he entered there into a cave, and rested there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said, What doest thou here, Eliu? 10And Eliu said, I have been very jealous for the Lord Almighty, because the children of Israel have forsaken thee: they have digged down thine altars, and have slain thy prophets with the sword; and I only am left alone, and they seek my life to take it. 11And he said, Thou shalt go forth to-morrow, and shalt stand before the Lord in the mount; behold, the Lord will pass by. And, behold, a great and strong wind rending the mountains, and crushing 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: 12and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire the voice of a gentle breeze. 13And it came to pass when Eliu heard, that he wrapt his face in his mantle, and went forth and stood in the cave: and, behold, a voice came to him and said, What doest thou here, Eliu? 14And Eliu said, I have been very jealous for the Lord Almighty; for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, and they have overthrown thine altars, and have slain thy prophets with the sword! and I am left entirely alone, and they seek my life to take it. 15And the Lord said to him, Go, return, and thou shalt come into the way of the wilderness of Damascus: and thou shalt go and anoint Azael to be king over Syria. 16And Ju the son of Namessi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel; and Elisaie the son of Saphat shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. 17And it shall come to pass, that him that escapes from the sword of Azael, Ju shall slay; and him that escapes from the sword of Ju, Elisaie shall slay. 18And thou shalt leave in Israel seven thousand men, all the knees which had not bowed themselves to Baal, and every mouth which had not worshipped him. 19And he departed thence, and finds Elisaie the son of Saphat, and he was ploughing with oxen; there were twelve yoke before him, and he with the twelve, and he passed by to him, and cast his mantle upon him. 20And Elisaie left the cattle, and ran after Eliu and said, I will kiss my father, and follow after thee. And Eliu said, Return, for I have done a work for thee. 21And he returned from following him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled them with the instruments of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate: and he arose, and went after Eliu, and ministered to him.

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3 Kingdoms (1 Kings) 19:16

Ephraem the Syrian

Ephraem the Syrian4th century

As previously mentioned, the soft whisper (1 Kings 19:13) that followed the fierce wind and fire conveyed a message of hope. The subsequent events align seamlessly with this context: Elijah, who had previously been fleeing from Queen Jezebel, is now commissioned to anoint kings and consecrate prophets. He uses his spoken word to appoint Hazael as king over Syria, anoints Jehu, the son of Nimshi, as the king of Israel and a judge against Ahab, avenger of innocent blood, and he bestows the prophetic office upon Elisha. Thus, when the Lord decreed that those who had been denounced by Elijah for their idolatry would face fitting consequences for their transgressions, punishment was imminent. Some would fall under the judgment of Hazael, king of Syria, while Ahab and Queen Jezebel would meet their end through Jehu. If anything were neglected, Elisha would fulfill the divine mission entrusted to him by the Lord. The people were indeed deserving of punishment as they continued in their misguided ways, failing to abandon their idol worship despite being shown the truth through the powerful and evident signs that Elijah performed. The iniquities of Ahab and Jezebel were heinous, openly acknowledged, and merited severe retribution. In addition, since Jezebel had appointed new prophets for her deity Baal to take the place of those Elijah had destroyed, these individuals were also liable to the same fate as their predecessors. Furthermore, there were compelling motivations for Elijah to elevate Elisha to the prophetic office just as he was preparing to depart from this earthly realm. Firstly, to have assistance in times of crisis; secondly, to affirm through his testimony the miraculous event of his mentor’s rapture and ascension into heaven—an occurrence never before witnessed; and to silence the deceitful claims of the prophets of Baal. These prophets could not endorse the actions of Elijah, their enemy, and exerted all their efforts to persuade the people through falsehoods, alleging that Elijah's followers had merely concocted the narrative of his abduction by God into heaven.