Elijah and Solomon

Elijah and Solomon

In 1 Kings this week two separate characters keep coming to mind to ponder.

Elijah who was angry at the Children of Israel for not keeping their covenants- again. For destroying the alters and killing the prophets. That was the order he listed them in. Elijah who fled into the wilderness and was fed by angels and when God asked Elijah, what are you doing?  Answered upfront and honest. Lord I am mad for you. A righteous anger. Elijah was then taught about the Holy Spirit and how to find it and guess what? He was still mad, but he still obeyed and returned.

When we have truly righteous anger, not petty anger, not selfish anger the Lord does not chastise us for that, but neither does he excuse us from our duties.

Solomon has quite a duty to perform as well, as King over the Israel he had to rule and in addition was in charge of building the temple. It took Solomon 7 years to build the Temple and it was beautiful. Yet he spent 13 years building his “house” that can only be described as a mansion. While building this mansion did not stop his work on the temple the elaborate mansion that took nearly twice as long to complete as the temple and was larger than the temple makes you wonder what was going through Soloman’s mind.

When we look back at our life we can often see the roots of our decisions both good and bad crystalized as moments of time. By listening to the Holy Ghost we can recognize those times and make the better or best decisions and not regret later.

What doest thou here, Elijah?

Answering the Lord and Finding the Spirit

In 1 Kings Chapter 19 Jezebel finds out about Elijah facing down the prophets of Baal and killing them. Her response to the deaths of the false prophets is that she wants Elijah to be killed also.

When Elijah hears of this, he disappears into the wilderness, first stopping to sleep under a juniper tree a day’s journey in (v 4) and asked the Lord to die.  His request was not granted and an angel appeared to him and brought him food and water. After eating, he slept again. The angel returned with more food and bid him to eat warning him that the journey would be too great for him. The food the angel feed him sustained him for a 40 day and night journey to Horeb where he stayed in a cave and the Lord found him and asked him a question “What doest thou here, Elijah?”

The modern interpretation of this would be “What are you doing here Elijah?”

Elijah doesn’t get sulky or petulant. He is very self-aware

v 10 “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.”

It is worth noting that jealous in this case means resentful or angry.  

Elijah who is the prophet who is to be speaking with the Children of Israel is angry with them for forsaking the covenants, destroying the alters, slaying the prophets until he is the only one left. I personally, don’t blame him a bit. I faced similar feelings just reading about it last semester over 3000 years later. The Lord tells Elijah to go stand on the mountain and sends the wind and earthquake against the mountain and then a fire. He shows Elijah how to find Him. That He is not in the wind, the earthquake or fire, He show Elijah the Holy Spirit –the still small voice.  What an amazing gift. And the Lord asks him again what he is doing here- it is remarkable the answer does not change. He is still angry with the Children of Israel, and the Lord sends Him back with instructions.

There are some great lessons in this interaction between Elijah and the Lord. Elijah fled in part because his life was in danger but mostly because he was angry. The people he was trying to teach who were supposed to be following the covenants were forsaking their oaths, destroying the alters and killing the prophets. When asked by the Lord he owned up to his anger and was rewarded with a great gift, learning of the Holy Spirit.

Many people today mistake the Spirit, and 1 Kings 19:11-12 show us without a doubt that the Holy Spirit is not in the wind, it is not in any natural disaster that befalls the earth be it fire, flood, or earthquake. The Holy Spirit is a still small voice. D&C 8:2-3 explains further that the spirit of revelation is the Holy Spirit, which will come upon you and dwell in your heart. The Spirit is in your heart. Some people feel it as a burning in the heart (Luke 24:31-32) others may feel it as a prickling (Acts 2:37) I personally have also felt goosebumps when in the presence of truth.  The Holy Spirit communicates with you, but you have to listen but without a doubt, He is within you not in the wind and fire.