Rereading the Elijah story through the lens of Jesus, “Go Back the Way You Came”
As a recovering Calvinist indoctrinated into a wrathful god who creates most humans for eternal punishment it is a very difficult learning curve to read the old testament through the self-giving, non-violent lens of Jesus. Recently I read the story of Elijah from 1 King 17 through 2 Kings 2 looking at the flow of the whole story and ended up with a lot of questions.
Elijah starts his career inclusive and life-giving with the widow of Zarephath(non-Jew) but seems to get worn down by the constant threat and pressure from Ahab and Jezebel and from a large number of false prophets. After the drought/famine episode this "calling down fire" (whatever that is all about) capability shows up (why doesn't he call down fire on Jezebel instead of running?) He seems to buy into the temptation to use POWER to further God's agenda, and when that results in a bounty on his head he goes into a real funk/burnout/depression and wishes to die. God seeks him out and calls him to Horeb (as in the burning bush, water from the rock) .
He ends up in a cave at Horeb and encounters God. God calls him out to stand on the mountain, but apparently he stays inside. God sends him a sample of power (earth, wind & fire) but what is effective in calling him out is a whisper because God was not in the wind, earthquake or fire.
God's method is quite interesting; he seemingly quite gently asks him, “Elijah, why are you here?” Elijah pours out his heart. God's remedy to Elijah is “Go back the way you came”. Is this simply God's Garmin? A 'turn by turn' physical route-finder? Or is it possible that it refers to Elijah's attitude? Go back as humble and powerless as you came here to Horeb?
God then commissions him to 3 anointings of which he (apparently) did none. When he found Elisha he did not anoint him but threw his cloak over him and when Elisha ran after him he in effect (it seems to me) blew it off and says 'what do I care?'. Elisha ends up anointing Jehu in 2 Kings 9:6. In 2 Kings 8, Elisha commissions Hazael.
Elijah still seems to be in a really bad mood when he next shows up and calls down fire on the 2 groups of 50.
The next and last, thing that happens is the trip to the Jordan to be taken up. He repeatedly tries to talk Elisha out of succeeding him. Also of interest is that the role of the chariot and horses is to separate Elijah and Elisha and then Elijah is taken up in the whirlwind – not the chariot.
It strikes me that Elijah is very disillusioned, belligerent and burnt out end to his career.
While God is often associated with fire, it is a protecting, enlightening, cleansing fire. Elijah seems to have combined his gift of calling down fire with a misguided zealousness for God. When God points this out to him he, at best, finds it extremely difficult to give up.
My take-away is that I MUST trust that the quiet whisper of love really is more powerful than the fire of zealotry. It is sobering to think that this was so difficult even for a spiritual giant like Elijah.
What might this mean in today's unholy alliance between evangelicalism and politics?
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