Sermon August 15, 1999 The Cure for Depression based on 1 Kings 19:9-18
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
By His power, our Lord provides a cure for Elijah's depression. He shows him that He is still in control. In the same way, we see our Lord demonstrate powerful forgiveness for us. Our Lord is in control of our future and this brings us out of depression and despair.
There is a lot that is not told of Elijah in our text. Unfortunately, I cannot share every detail here, and so I would like to encourage you to read the preceding chapter and the one containing our text, that is, 1 Kings 18 and 19. If you take the time to read this, you will be blessed to hear the account conveyed in the way that only God could convey it through His powerful Word. May you be blessed as you read this portion of the book God gave us as a wonderful gift.
In chapter 18 of 1 Kings, the prophet Elijah reaches the peak of his ministry. He comes to Mount Carmel for a duel with the opposing prophets of the false god Baal. These false prophets, some 450 of them, claimed to have real power from their god and so Elijah challenges them to demonstrate it. He put an offering on an altar and invited them to call on their god to start the fire under the offering. They prayed all day to their worthless god while Elijah stood by taunting them. They cut and slash themselves to try to compel their god to answer. He never did, which we would expect, for their god was nothing.
Then Elijah is ready to take a turn. However, he seems to be quite a showman, for he requests that the wood on the altar be drown in water several times, to make it more difficult to burn. Finally, he offers a brief prayer to God and this is what happened, as recorded in 1 Kings 18: "Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!" God powerfully demonstrated that He is God.
Elijah and the people who were true to God followed God's orders to kill those false prophets. This was the peak of his ministry, but even at the peak he falls rather quickly. The wicked queen Jezebel, who was a Baal worshiper herself, was upset with Elijah's actions and placed a death sentence upon him.
With this death sentence, he flees south into the desert. He travels a day from the Southernmost town in Israel, Beersheba. The beginning of chapter 19 of 1 Kings then reports how discouraged Elijah was. "He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. 'I have had enough, LORD,' he said. 'Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.' Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep."
This certainly sounds to me like Elijah was depressed. Now the Bible doesn't use that word "depression," and instead might use "despair." It was a situation in which he felt hopeless.
Perhaps many of us feel the same way. Maybe all people, though I can't say for sure. I wonder if people don't feel this way from time to time. In some cases it may be more frequent. Psychologists define something called "clinical depression." Ten million people in our country experience this clinical depression each year, psychologists say. How many of us just get discouraged and feel hopeless. I would think a larger number.
What kinds of things can lead us to such a feeling? It could be dealing with illness in ourselves or a loved one. It could be dealing with the loss of death or divorce or even the break-up with a girlfriend or boyfriend. It could be struggles in our relationships. It could be failures in work or school.
As I look at the field of farming today, it seems that there is much to be discouraged about. Of course, I am an outsider looking in. Yet, I see the financial pressures working against so many family farms, held for generations. I see farmers who know and love the land and are feeling squeezed off of it. This seems to be a situation bound to cause depression and despair.
Elijah knew this kind of situation. He was called by God to be a prophet and lead the people to truth, yet he was being rejected and threatened with death. Elijah will reveal even more of his feelings when he comes to God for "counseling."
We left Elijah sleeping under the broom tree out in the desert, wanting to die. The Lord then sends an angel to feed Elijah. He gets two meals from heaven, as the angel says, to strengthen him for the journey. This journey would be to travel some 250 miles south of Jerusalem to Mount Horeb also known as Mount Sinai. This is the same place where Moses was given the ten commandments while the people camped below. It was the place where Moses had seen the burning bush earlier and had returned to meet with Aaron before the Exodus.
Elijah undertakes that journey which lasts 40 days and nights. Apparently, Elijah does not eat on the way.
This forty day journey reminds us of another one, that of Christ following His baptism. He journeys 40 days without eating as reported in Matthew 4. Some have speculated that Jesus' journey was also to Mount Sinai. The 40 day journey also reminds us of the 40 year journey of the Israelites in the desert following the Exodus from Egypt. They spent 40 years being fed by God as the waited to receive the promised land for their new home. Further connected with the number 40 is the fact that Moses was up on Mt. Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights receiving the Ten Commandments and other instructions.
Now we are ready to discuss the events from our text. It begins with Elijah arriving at Mt. Horeb or Sinai. There he goes into the cave. Notice the definite article, the cave. This was a particular cave referred to here. The reader would need to understand which cave was being referred to here. The only possibility seems to be the same cave that Moses was hiding in when the glory of the Lord passed by. In other words, Elijah went to the same mountain and the same cave as Moses was in, some six hundred years earlier. The parallels between Moses and Elijah on Mount Sinai do not stop there.
After spending the night in the cave, Elijah hears the voice of the Lord speaking to him. "What are you doing here, Elijah?" The Lord is trying to get him to speak about what is troubling him. So, Elijah gives a little speech. "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." This makes the picture more complete as to what is troubling Elijah. He is feeling like there has been little in the way of results of his ministry. He is feeling persecuted and all alone. The death sentence placed upon him does not make him feel very good.
After Elijah gives that speech and describes his troubles, the Lord follows with something unusual. He says, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." The connection here is plain. This is the same mountain that Moses was on and the Lord passed by Moses also in a special demonstration of His glory.
Exodus 33 reports the Lord passing by Moses. This follows the event where the Israelites worship the golden calf. That was a discouraging event to Moses. Then Moses asks the Lord to show His glory and the Lord agrees. However, because he could not stand to see God's face, the Lord tells him to hide in a cleft in the rock and He would cover him with His hand. This is what happens and Moses gets just a sample of the glory of the Lord.
The Lord passes-by Elijah in a slightly different fashion. While he remains in the cave there is a tremendous wind which blows, which actually tears the mountains apart and smashes rocks. This sounds like much more than a tornado. Next a great earthquake strikes. Then comes a terrible fire. The Lord was not present in any of these three phenomena. Finally there is a the sound of a quiet voice, a gentle whisper. Can you imagine the roar of the wind, earthquake, and then fire followed by a whisper? The contrast had to be deafening. The quietness had to be overpowering.
In this quiet voice, Elijah new the Lord was present. Now he covered his face with his garment. Again, this compares with Moses being covered by the hand of God. Neither Moses or Elijah could look at the Lord directly, so they needed to be covered.
This passing-by and the quiet voice certainly got Elijah's attention. He was then asked the same question by God, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" His answer is the same as previously: "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
Now the Lord responds by sending Elijah on a mission. He is to anoint two men to be kings. This is a process of marking them by pouring oil on them. Hazael is to be anointed king of Aram, or Syria and Jehu is to be anointed king of Israel. Elisha is also to be anointed as the prophet to follow Elijah. These two kings execute the Lord's judgment upon people who refuse to turn from their worship of false gods.
Lastly, the Lord tells Elijah that there are more people who are faithful to the Lord than he believes, He is not the only one, instead there are 7000.
The Lord has worked on Elijah's depression here. How did He do it? He did it by taking Elijah's attention off of himself and putting it instead on the Lord. Elijah's attention was drawn to the Lord with the demonstration of His power - in the rock-splitting wind, the earthquake, and the fire. He got his attention with these signs of His judgment and wrath. In the end, however, the Lord is in the gentle whisper. He comes to us speaking gently, and provided we are listening, then we will hear the Lord speaking to us gently.
Power is also demonstrated in God sending Elijah off to anoint the new kings and a new prophet. This shows that God is in power. He has a plan. Despite what we might think about the situation, regardless of how hopeless we feel it is, He is still in control. Through this, the Lord gets Elijah off of thinking only of himself and on to thinking about the Lord's plans and power. When we see things this way, we see they are not really hopeless. They are not a reason to despair for God is still in charge. This really is the answer to our depression that comes from life's circumstances also. God is still in charge. Therefore, we do not need to despair. We may get dealt a hand which is difficult to work with, but the Lord's plans are still in effect. He still has power.
Now, as we see how Elijah's depression was cured, we need to remember our own situation. For we come before our God with our own hopeless situation. We come in despair over our sins. We should be depressed because of our disobedience. Some people are not in this state of mind, for they do not know God's law or His requirement of perfection. When it is considered honestly, we really should be depressed.
Our God is a gracious and loving God who cures our depression as He cured Elijah's. He does it by sending a gentle whisper, that is a quiet man, who suffered and died for others. He was gentle and humble and went to the cross for us. Jesus Christ is that gentle whisper who also demonstrates God's power. Against the roar and scream of our sins, the gentle whisper of Christ forgives us all those sins.
Remember how Moses and Elijah could not look upon the Lord's face. They needed to fear their sins. With our sins we cannot look God in the face either. Yet, through Christ, we have full and complete forgiveness. This will be finalized when Christ returns and then we will see God face to face, for we will be free of sins, holy and blameless. This will be fully completed at that day, which is a day toward which we all ought to look forward.
The Lord cures Elijah's depression though the exercise of His power and showing that He has everything under control. He cures our despair and depression over our sins also through His power and control. This power was demonstrated in the one who came to die for us. Our Lord has our sins under control and our future is a blessed one through our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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