Side by side
1 Kings 19
Our retelling next to the Bible text it comes from. Each row lines up one scene with the verses it retells.
Scene 8: Under the Broom TreeVerses 1 to 4
Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done. He told her Elijah had killed the prophets.
Jezebel sent Elijah a message. By this time tomorrow, she would kill him too.
Elijah was afraid. He ran for his life. He went south to Beersheba, at the far edge of Judah. He left his servant there.
Then Elijah went on alone, a whole day into the desert. He sat down under a broom tree. A broom tree is a desert bush with thin branches.
Elijah was worn out. He felt alone. He prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers" (19:4). His fathers means his ancestors, the people in his family long ago.
Not long before, Elijah had watched fire fall from heaven. Now he could not go on.
If this part of the story brings up big feelings, talk with a parent, pastor, or trusted adult. There is more help below.
1Now Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the lives of those you killed!” 3And Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4while he himself traveled on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”
Scene 9: Bread and WaterVerses 5 to 8
Elijah lay down under the tree and fell asleep.
Then an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat."
Elijah looked around. By his head was a loaf of bread, baked on hot coals. There was a jar of water too. Elijah ate and drank. Then he lay down again.
The angel of the LORD came a second time. He touched Elijah again. "Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you" (19:7).
The angel did not scold Elijah. He did not give him a speech. He gave him food, water, and sleep.
Elijah ate and drank. The food gave him strength. He walked forty days and forty nights. At last he came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
5Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6And he looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. 7A second time the angel of the LORD returned and touched him, saying, “Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.” 8So he got up and ate and drank. And strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.
Scene 10: The CaveVerses 9 to 14
At Horeb, Elijah went into a cave and spent the night.
The LORD spoke to him. "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (19:9).
Elijah told God his story. He had been very zealous for the LORD. Zealous means eager and completely loyal. But the Israelites had turned away from God's covenant. A covenant is God's lasting promise with his people. They had torn down God's altars and killed his prophets. "I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well" (19:10).
God told him to go out and stand on the mountain. The LORD was about to pass by.
A great wind tore at the mountains and broke the rocks. But the LORD was not in the wind.
Then came an earthquake. But the LORD was not in the earthquake.
Then came a fire. But the LORD was not in the fire.
And after the fire came "a still, small voice" (19:12).
When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his coat. He went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
A voice asked him again, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (19:13). Elijah gave the same answer. He still felt he was the only one left.
9There Elijah entered a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10“I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.” 11Then the LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD. Behold, the LORD is about to pass by.” And a great and mighty wind tore into the mountains and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice. 13When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14“I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”
Scene 11: Not AloneVerses 15 to 18
The LORD gave Elijah work to do. Go back the way you came, to the desert near Damascus.
God told Elijah to anoint new kings. To anoint someone is to pour oil on them to show God has chosen them. Hazael would be king of Aram. Jehu would be king of Israel.
Elijah was also to anoint Elisha to be the next prophet after him.
God said that Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha would each put people to death with the sword. This is a hard verse too.
Then God answered Elijah's loneliness. Elijah was not the only one left. God had kept seven thousand people in Israel who had never bowed down to Baal.
Earlier, a palace official named Obadiah had hidden a hundred of the LORD's prophets in caves (18:13). Elijah had never been as alone as he felt.
Elijah did not have to do God's work by himself.
15Then the LORD said to him, “Go back by the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16You are also to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17Then Jehu will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu. 18Nevertheless, I have reserved seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
Between scenesVerses 19 to 21
This part isn't retold as its own scene.
19So Elijah departed and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve teams of oxen, and he was with the twelfth team. Elijah passed by him and threw his cloak around him. 20So Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and then I will follow you.” “Go on back,” Elijah replied, “for what have I done to you?” 21So Elisha turned back from him, took his pair of oxen, and slaughtered them. With the oxen’s equipment, he cooked the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow and serve Elijah.
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