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| Elijah is Comforted by an Angel |
| After Elijah killed the prophets of Baal, Queen Jezebel, who had brought the prophets to the kingdom of Israel, was famous. She sent a message to Elijah, telling him that within 24 hours he would be dead. When Elijah heard this, he panicked. He and a servant quickly left Jezreel, the capital of the kingdom of Israel, and traveled 130 miles to the south. There the two men stopped at Beer-sheba, in the kingdom of Judah, where Jezebel had no authority. Yet even in Beer-sheba Elijah feared for his life, so he left his servant behind and hiked through the wilderness for another day. Weak from exhaustion, hunger, and thirst, Elijah searched for a place to rest. But the only protection he could find from the powerful heat of the sun was in the shade of a broom tree, a small desert shrub. Sitting under the tree, the weary and discouraged Elijah prayed, "It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life" (1 Kings 19:4). Then he fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched Elijah, and he aoke to see a freshly baked cake and some water near his head. The angel told him to eat and drink to build up his strength because God wanted him to take a 40-day journey to Horeb, another name for Mount Sinai. Elijah did as he was instructed, and when he reached Horeb, God guided him from that time forward. Did you know? As Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, awaiting his arrest, he too was comforted by an angel. |