Prophets and Kings
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 13: "What Doest Thou Here?"
Elijah's retreat on Mount Horeb, though hidden from man, was
known to God; and the weary and discouraged prophet was not left to struggle
alone with the powers of darkness that were pressing upon him. At the entrance
to the cave wherein Elijah had taken refuge, God met with him, through a mighty
angel sent to inquire into his needs and to make plain the divine purpose for
Israel. {PK 167.1}
Not until Elijah had learned to trust wholly in God could he
complete his work for those who had been seduced into Baal worship. The signal
triumph on the heights of Carmel had opened the way for still greater
victories; yet from the wonderful opportunities opening before him, Elijah had
been turned away by the threat of Jezebel. The man of God must be made to
understand the weakness of his present position as compared with the vantage
ground the Lord would have him occupy. [168] {PK 167.2}
God met His tried servant with the inquiry, What doest thou
here, Elijah? I sent you to the brook Cherith and afterward to the widow of
Sarepta. I commissioned you to return to Israel and to stand before the
idolatrous priests on Carmel, and I girded you with strength to guide the
chariot of the king to the gate of Jezreel. But who sent you on this hasty
flight into the wilderness? What errand have you here? {PK 168.1}
In bitterness of soul Elijah mourned out his complaint:
"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." {PK
168.2}
Calling upon the prophet to leave the cave, the angel bade
him stand before the Lord on the mount, and listen to His word. "And,
behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and
brake in pieces 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: and
after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the
fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped
his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the
cave." {PK 168.3}
Not in mighty manifestations of divine power, but by "a
still small voice," did God choose to reveal Himself to His servant. He
desired to teach Elijah that it is not always the work that makes the greatest
demonstration that is most successful in accomplishing His purpose. While
Elijah waited [169] for the revelation of the Lord,
a tempest rolled, the lightnings flashed, and a devouring fire swept by; but
God was not in all this. Then there came a still, small voice, and the prophet
covered his head before the presence of the Lord. His petulance was silenced,
his spirit softened and subdued. He now knew that a quiet trust, a firm
reliance on God, would ever find for him a present help in time of need. {PK 168.4}
It is not always the most learned presentation of God's
truth that convicts and converts the soul. Not by eloquence or logic are men's
hearts reached, but by the sweet influences of the Holy Spirit, which operate
quietly yet surely in transforming and developing character. It is the still,
small voice of the Spirit of God that has power to change the heart. {PK 169.1}
"What doest thou here, Elijah?" the voice
inquired; and again the prophet answered, "I have been very jealous for
the Lord God of hosts: because 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." {PK 169.2}
The Lord answered Elijah that the wrongdoers in Israel
should not go unpunished. Men were to be especially chosen to fulfill the
divine purpose in the punishment of the idolatrous kingdom. There was stern
work to be done, that all might be given opportunity to take their position on
the side of the true God. Elijah himself was to return to Israel, and share
with others the burden of bringing about a reformation. {PK 169.3}
"Go," the Lord commanded Elijah, "return on
thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, [170]
anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou
anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah
shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass, that
him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth
from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay." {PK 169.4}
Elijah had thought that he alone in Israel was a worshiper
of the true God. But He who reads the hearts of all revealed to the prophet
that there were many others who, through the long years of apostasy, had
remained true to Him. "I have left Me," God said, "seven
thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every
mouth which hath not kissed him." {PK 170.1}
From Elijah's experience during those days of discouragement
and apparent defeat there are many lessons to be drawn, lessons invaluable to
the servants of God in this age, marked as it is by general departure from
right. The apostasy prevailing today is similar to that which in the prophet's
day overspread Israel. In the exaltation of the human above the divine, in the
praise of popular leaders, in the worship of mammon, and in the placing of the
teachings of science above the truths of revelation, multitudes today are
following after Baal. Doubt and unbelief are exercising their baleful influence
over mind and heart, and many are substituting for the oracles of God the
theories of men. It is publicly taught that we have reached a time when human
reason should be exalted above the teachings of the Word. The law of God, the
divine standard of righteousness, is declared to be of no effect. The enemy of
all truth [171] is working with deceptive power to cause men
and women to place human institutions where God should be, and to forget that
which was ordained for the happiness and salvation of mankind. {PK 170.2}
Yet this apostasy, widespread as it has come to be, is not
universal. Not all in the world are lawless and sinful; not all have taken
sides with the enemy. God has many thousands who have not bowed the knee to
Baal, many who long to understand more fully in regard to Christ and the law,
many who are hoping against hope that Jesus will come soon to end the reign of
sin and death. And there are many who have been worshiping Baal ignorantly, but
with whom the Spirit of God is still striving. {PK 171.1}
These need the personal help of those who have learned to
know God and the power of His word. In such a time as this, every child of God
should be actively engaged in helping others. As those who have an
understanding of Bible truth try to seek out the men and women who are longing
for light, angels of God will attend them. And where angels go, none need fear
to move forward. As a result of the faithful efforts of consecrated workers,
many will be turned from idolatry to the worship of the living God. Many will
cease to pay homage to man-made institutions and will take their stand
fearlessly on the side of God and His law. {PK 171.2}
Much depends on the unceasing activity of those who are true
and loyal, and for this reason Satan puts forth every possible effort to thwart
the divine purpose to be wrought out through the obedient. He causes some to
lose [172]
sight of their high and holy mission, and to become satisfied with the
pleasures of this life. He leads them to settle down at ease, or, for the sake
of greater worldly advantages, to remove from places where they might be a
power for good. Others he causes to flee in discouragement from duty, because
of opposition or persecution. But all such are regarded by Heaven with
tenderest pity. To every child of God whose voice the enemy of souls had
succeeded in silencing, the question is addressed, "What doest thou
here?" I commissioned you to go into all the world and preach the gospel,
to prepare a people for the day of God. Why are you here? Who sent you? {PK 171.3}
The joy set before Christ, the joy that sustained Him
through sacrifice and suffering, was the joy of seeing sinners saved. This
should be the joy of every follower of His, the spur to his ambition. Those who
realize, even in a limited degree, what redemption means to them and to their
fellow men, will comprehend in some measure the vast needs of humanity. Their
hearts will be moved to compassion as they see the moral and spiritual
destitution of thousands who are under the shadow of a terrible doom, in
comparison with which physical suffering fades into nothingness. {PK 172.1}
Of families, as of individuals, the question is asked,
"What doest thou here?" In many churches there are families well
instructed in the truths of God's word, who might widen the sphere of their
influence by moving to places in need of the ministry they are capable of
giving. God calls for Christian families to go into the dark places of the
earth and work wisely and perseveringly for those who are [173]
enshrouded in spiritual gloom. To answer this call requires self-sacrifice.
While many are waiting to have every obstacle removed, souls are dying, without
hope and without God. For the sake of worldly advantage, for the sake of
acquiring scientific knowledge, men are willing to venture into pestilential
regions and to endure hardship and privation. Where are those who are willing
to do as much for the sake of telling others of the Saviour? {PK 172.2}
If, under trying circumstances, men of spiritual power,
pressed beyond measure, become discouraged and desponding, if at times they see
nothing desirable in life, that they should choose it, this is nothing strange
or new. Let all such remember that one of the mightiest of the prophets fled
for his life before the rage of an infuriated woman. A fugitive, weary and
travel-worn, bitter disappointment crushing his spirits, he asked that he might
die. But it was when hope was gone and his lifework seemed threatened with
defeat, that he learned one of the most precious lessons of his life. In the
hour of his greatest weakness he learned the need and the possibility of
trusting God under circumstances the most forbidding. {PK 173.1}
Those who, while spending their life energies in
self-sacrificing labor, are tempted to give way to despondency and distrust,
may gather courage from the experience of Elijah. God's watchful care, His
love, His power, are especially manifest in behalf of His servants whose zeal
is misunderstood or unappreciated, whose counsels and reproofs are slighted,
and whose efforts toward reform are repaid with hatred and opposition. [174]
{PK 173.2}
It is at the time of greatest weakness that Satan assails
the soul with the fiercest temptations. It was thus that he hoped to prevail
over the Son of God; for by this policy he had gained many victories over man.
When the will power weakened and faith failed, then those who had stood long
and valiantly for the right yielded to temptation. Moses, wearied with forty
years of wandering and unbelief, lost for a moment his hold on Infinite Power.
He failed just on the borders of the Promised Land. So with Elijah. He who had
maintained his trust in Jehovah during the years of drought and famine, he who
had stood undaunted before Ahab, he who throughout that trying day on Carmel
had stood before the whole nation of Israel the sole witness to the true God,
in a moment of weariness allowed the fear of death to overcome his faith in
God. {PK 174.1}
And so it is today. When we are encompassed with doubt,
perplexed by circumstances, or afflicted by poverty or distress, Satan seeks to
shake our confidence in Jehovah. It is then that he arrays before us our
mistakes and tempts us to distrust God, to question His love. He hopes to
discourage the soul and break our hold on God. {PK 174.2}
Those who, standing in the forefront of the conflict, are
impelled by the Holy Spirit to do a special work, will frequently feel a
reaction when the pressure is removed. Despondency may shake the most heroic
faith and weaken the most steadfast will. But God understands, and He still
pities and loves. He reads the motives and the purposes of the heart. To wait
patiently, to trust when everything looks dark, is the lesson that the leaders
in God's work need to learn. Heaven will not fail them in their day of
adversity. [175] Nothing is apparently more
helpless, yet really more invincible, than the soul that feels its nothingness
and relies wholly on God. {PK
174.3}
Not alone for men in positions of large responsibility is
the lesson of Elijah's experience in learning anew how to trust God in the hour
of trial. He who was Elijah's strength is strong to uphold every struggling
child of His, no matter how weak. Of everyone He expects loyalty, and to
everyone He grants power according to the need. In his own strength man is
strengthless; but in the might of God he may be strong to overcome evil and to
help others to overcome. Satan can never gain advantage of him who makes God
his defense. "Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and
strength." Isaiah 45:24. {PK 175.1}
Fellow Christian, Satan knows your weakness; therefore cling
to Jesus. Abiding in God's love, you may stand every test. The righteousness of
Christ alone can give you power to stem the tide of evil that is sweeping over
the world. Bring faith into your experience. Faith lightens every burden,
relieves every weariness. Providences that are now mysterious you may solve by
continued trust in God. Walk by faith in the path He marks out. Trials will
come, but go forward. This will strengthen your faith and fit you for service.
The records of sacred history are written, not merely that we may read and
wonder, but that the same faith which wrought in God's servants of old may work
in us. In no less marked manner will the Lord work now, wherever there are
hearts of faith to be channels of His power. {PK 175.2}
To us, as to Peter, the word is spoken, "Satan hath
desired [176]
to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that
thy faith fail not." Luke 22:31, 32. Christ will never abandon those for
whom He has died. We may leave Him and be overwhelmed with temptation, but
Christ can never turn from one for whom He has paid the ransom of His own life.
Could our spiritual vision be quickened, we should see souls bowed under
oppression and burdened with grief, pressed as a cart beneath sheaves, and
ready to die in discouragement. We should see angels flying quickly to the aid
of these tempted ones, forcing back the hosts of evil that encompass them, and
placing their feet on the sure foundation. The battles waging between the two
armies are as real as those fought by the armies of this world, and on the
issue of the spiritual conflict eternal destinies depend. {PK 175.3}
In the vision of the prophet Ezekiel there was the
appearance of a hand beneath the wings of the cherubim. This is to teach God's
servants that it is divine power that gives success. Those whom God employs as
His messengers are not to feel that His work is dependent on them. Finite
beings are not left to carry this burden of responsibility. He who slumbers
not, who is continually at work for the accomplishment of His designs, will
carry forward His work. He will thwart the purposes of wicked men and will
bring to confusion the counsels of those who plot mischief against His people.
He who is the King, the Lord of hosts, sitteth between the cherubim, and amidst
the strife and tumult of nations He guards His children still. When the
strongholds of kings shall be overthrown, when the arrows of wrath shall strike
through the hearts of His enemies, His people will be safe in His hands. {PK 176.1}
Click here to read the next chapter:
"In the Spirit and Power of Elias"
|
