Joshua to Jesus - Day 6

Good evening, everyone. It's lovely to see you all here again this evening, and a few new faces as well. So, we'll carry on where we left off more or less yesterday. This is where we finished last night. When all the tribes of Israel and leaders had met at Shechem to appoint a new king, Rehoboam went from Jerusalem to Shechem, where all the tribal leaders and people had gathered to discuss who would be the king following the death of Solomon. They made a proposition to Rehoboam that if he would lower the taxes and treat them better, then they would be loyal to him. However, he spoke to his father's advisers, who said that was a good idea, but he didn't like that advice. His young friends suggested he should tell them he would raise the taxes instead, and that's what he did. Jeroboam then said, 'Well, that's the end of that; we're out of here,' and they left. Rehoboam escaped with his life, and when he arrived back in Jerusalem, he mustered Judah and the tribe of Benjamin to go to war against Israel and regain the kingdom.

If we think about it, whose fault was it? Basically, it was Rehoboam's fault. If he had behaved differently, if he had listened and been wiser—he was very young—but if he had listened to his father's advisers, he would have moderated things and done better. Sometimes people think it's good to have a young leader, but young leaders are often very idealistic and want to do lots of things, which usually doesn't work out well. Older people have been young once and tried all these things with enthusiasm, only to realize they didn't work. Experience brings wisdom about what works and what doesn't. Solomon's advisers had seen how Solomon and David did things; they understood that when you start off, you have to be humble. It's not enough to be appointed; you have to win the respect of the people for your kingship to be genuine and legitimate. Authority doesn't come from your title; it comes from the people you are leading. You're only a leader when you have followers. A leader without followers is not a leader.

Rehoboam really should have realized he needed to lead these people in a way that they would follow. If they were going to leave and do something else, the problem wasn't them; it was him. He needed to adjust his leadership and expectations to something manageable for them. Otherwise, he would just end up using force. Rehoboam was so annoyed with them because they wouldn't accept him, and he wanted to raise an army to force them to accept him as their ruler and king. That's completely wrong; authority based on force is not leadership. It's not genuine or legitimate authority. You always have to keep using force, and that's what fascists, communists, and dictators have always had to do because they knew their authority was not legitimate. One good thing about Rehoboam, though, is when the word of God came to Shemaiah, the man of God, he said to Rehoboam and all Judah and Benjamin, 'Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.' They obeyed the word of the Lord and went home as the Lord had ordered.

The first thing is they listened to God. The last thing God wanted was a civil war. The last thing He wants is Cain and Abel killing each other. God wants unity, not division through force. He told them to go home because He was behind this situation. When Jeroboam rebelled against Rehoboam and Rehoboam sought to kill him, the prophet came to Jeroboam and said God would make him king over Israel, but he needed to follow the Mosaic Law for his dynasty to last. In that sense, you could say it was God working here. If Rehoboam was going in the wrong direction, then the northern tribes could go in the right direction. It's not about one being chosen by God and the other not; it's about who aligns themselves with God and follows His ways. If you want God's blessing, there has to be freedom for God to work. Without freedom, God cannot bless a country because there's no space for Him to work. So, in that sense, God spoke to Jeroboam and said if he followed God's way, He would bless him. There was a real possibility of Israel being reunited centered on the northern tribes, depending on who fulfilled their responsibilities.

The good thing is they listened to the prophet and went home, avoiding war. This is how the kingdom split. These are the twelve tribes; this was the original land given to the Israelites by God. Two of the tribes, Gad and Reuben, decided they didn't want to go into Canaan and settled outside it. The split was between Judah and Benjamin in the south and the other ten tribes in the north, which is how the division took place. Jeroboam became the king of the northern kingdom of Israel, named after the tradition that Joseph inherited the title of Israel. Jeroboam felt insecure about his throne, fearing that if the people went to offer sacrifices at the temple in Jerusalem, they would give their allegiance back to Rehoboam, the king of Judah, and he would be killed. He decided to set up alternative shrines in Dan and Bethel so that people wouldn't have to go to Jerusalem to worship God. Bethel was a traditional place where people would pray and worship, and Dan was also a historical religious center.

Jeroboam thought to set up golden calves, not as idols like Baal, but as images of God. This was similar to when the people came out of Egypt and set up golden calves because Moses was missing. It wasn't that they were worshipping the calves; they were worshipping God through these images. He set up one calf in the south and one in the north. Another religious innovation he made was allowing anyone to function as a priest. During Moses' time, only the Levites were allowed to be priests. The Levites had no land, so their income depended on serving in the temple. By allowing anyone to be a priest, Jeroboam put the Levites out of business, and they migrated south. This was another significant change, as he also changed the calendar so that the worship festivals in the north wouldn't align with those in the south. Jeroboam himself performed the sacrificial service, which was another innovation, as there had always been a separation between the roles of king and priest.

A man of God came from Judah to Bethel while Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. By the word of the Lord, he cried out against the altar, saying it would be split apart and ashes poured out on it. This was a sign from God, and after the altar split apart, you might think Jeroboam would reconsider his actions. However, even after this impressive miracle, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways. He appointed priests for the high places from all sorts of people. This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and destruction from the face of the earth. It wasn't about worshipping idols; they were just worshipping God in a different way instead of going down to Jerusalem, which remained the religious center.

He set up alternative religious centres and an alternative priesthood, and he himself led that. We can see this sort of commentary even a leader designated; this is again a biblical kind of understanding, very much like the principle understanding of predestination. Even a leader designated by God may not abrogate or break or go against God's word. Jeroboam knew that only one place of worship was permitted in the Torah; it's very clear that worship should occur in one place, which was in Jerusalem. From that time, he had been designated by God to establish a new administration, but Jerusalem, the temple, should have remained the religious focal point. Had he not allowed his resentment towards the house of David to dominate, then the Jewish people might have remained a single nation with two states and two ministerial centres. They would have remained a single people worshipping God in the same way, joined together as a spiritual community, even if they were two different political communities.

Jeroboam was insistent upon making an absolute split, not just a political split in terms of two kings, but a religious and spiritual division as well, creating a new religion in the north. That was the real problem. Once that was established, they drifted further and further apart. It's a pity that Jeroboam wasn't able to overcome his resentment towards Solomon, who had mistreated him. God's verdict then comes to Jeroboam: 'I raised you up from among the people and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you. Now I gave you ten tribes, but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes. You've done more evil than all who lived before you. You've made for yourself other gods, idols made of metal. You've aroused my anger and turned your back on me. Because of this, I'm going to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam. God will root Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the river Euphrates because they aroused the Lord's anger by making Asherah poles.'

This is something that actually came to pass several hundred years later. Let's have a look and see what was going on in the southern kingdom then with Rehoboam. After Rehoboam's position as king was established and he became strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of God. Once Rehoboam established his position and became strong, he also started to abandon the Mosaic Law. As it says here, Judah did evil in the eyes of the Lord by the sins they committed; they stirred up his jealous anger more than those before them had done. They also set up for themselves high places, in other words, alternative places to worship and to give sacrifices other than the temple in Jerusalem. We saw that Solomon was doing that for his wives; he set up alternative places to worship the idols. They set up high places, sacred stones, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land, and the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.

In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and carried off the treasures of the temple of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything. Everything that Solomon had built up, Solomon had this huge income coming in from all this gold and silver over his period of 40 years. Then Rehoboam, within a very short space of time, split the kingdom and was no longer able to defend it. The Pharaoh from Egypt, who had been waiting for this opportunity, marched in, attacked Jerusalem, and carried off all the treasures in the temple, including the golden shields and other items in the palace. In a very short space of time, Israel or Judah reduced to some kind of poverty. We think about this sometimes; we saw that Rehoboam responded very harshly to Jeroboam and the leaders of Israel. The king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events is from the Lord to fulfil the word the Lord has spoken to Jeroboam, son of Nebat, through Ahijah.

This situation is very similar to what was going on with Moses and the Israelites. God said to Pharaoh and Moses, 'I'm going to harden Pharaoh's heart, and this will happen.' The question always arises: was Pharaoh free in that case? Was Pharaoh freely making his decisions, or did God really harden his heart? If God had really hardened Pharaoh's heart, then how can Pharaoh be held responsible for the decisions he made? How can the people of Egypt have suffered because of that? Did God then inflict all this suffering upon the people of Egypt because he had hardened Pharaoh's heart? When we looked at that story in detail, we saw that Pharaoh freely made these choices. When one of the disasters came, Pharaoh said to Moses, 'If you get rid of the frogs, I'll let you go.' But then it says that when the frogs disappeared, Pharaoh changed his mind and hardened his own heart. He did this several times; Pharaoh freely hardened his heart. In that sense, he was acting freely, but at the same time, he was fulfilling the prophecy or prediction that God made.

It's the same here. Could Rehoboam act differently? Could Rehoboam have listened to his father's advisors and behaved differently? I'm sure he could. This is the idea of prophecy here. Most prophets fail because the biblical understanding of prophecy is not prediction; prophecy is a warning. The most successful prophet in the Old Testament was Jonah because he went to Nineveh and preached, saying, 'God has said unless you repent, Nineveh will be destroyed in 40 days.' The people repented, and the city wasn't destroyed. Jonah was distraught and disappointed because he thought he had lost face since the city hadn't been destroyed. However, Jonah was a successful prophet because the people listened and chose to change their ways, and God changed what he was going to do. Most prophets are very unsuccessful because they come along and say, 'Unless you change your ways, this is what the Lord says will happen,' and generally speaking, people do not pay attention; they do not change their ways. Thus, the calamity that God forecasts or prophesies happens. Prophecy is a warning; a successful prophet is one whose prophecies don't come to pass. If a prophet makes a prophecy and the person doesn't respond, and the prophecy comes to pass, you can tell that what that prophet was saying was true. That is a true prophet because his prophecies came to pass because the people didn't listen. It's an awkward situation; yes, Rehoboam freely chose to make the decisions he made, and at the same time, these were what God prophesied would happen or warned would happen, just as God warned the people that if they had a king, this is what would happen.

Then Jeroboam died and was overthrown by someone; I can't remember now. I haven't gone into all these things in great detail; I didn't have a lot of time today to prepare. I don't even know if I'm going to be able to get to eight o'clock, to be honest, but we'll see how we get on. Ahab was a king when Elijah was around, so that's why I picked Ahab to look at. Ahab was the son of Omri, who was a very successful king. Not much is written about him in the Bible, but in the historical record, he was known to be quite successful. Under his leadership, the northern kingdom flourished, prospered, and became very wealthy, getting involved in lots of trade. Ahab became king of Israel and reigned in Samaria for 22 years. Omri was the one who established Samaria as the capital of the northern kingdom; he bought this piece of land on top of a hill from someone and named it after the person from whom he bought it. Jeroboam's capital was somewhere else, but Samaria was a much better place to have as a capital because it was on the north-south-east-west trade routes.

Ahab did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him, much more than Jeroboam. He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam, but he also married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than all the kings of Israel before him. One of the key events is who the king married. We saw that Solomon married an Egyptian princess, the daughter of the Pharaoh. Even though she was supposed to convert to Judaism, she remained a pagan and set up her own palace and temple. Solomon's wives, although they were supposed to have converted, wanted to have their own temples and worship their own idols outside Jerusalem, which was a problem. It was even worse here because Jeroboam married Jezebel, the daughter of the king of the Sidonians, whose name is associated with Baal. He set up an altar in Samaria.

You might wonder what this Baal worship is all about. The Sidonians were in Phoenicia, and I came across an interesting article last year from research at Oxford and other places about the ancient Carthaginians. The Carthaginians lived in North Africa, where Saint Augustine came from, and the Romans fought a bitter war against them. The Carthaginian leader, Hannibal, crossed over into Spain with elephants and attacked Rome. For a long time, it was written in Roman literature that the Carthaginians sacrificed their children, and many thought that was just slander. However, it has now been realised that Carthaginian parents ritually sacrificed young children as offerings to the gods. This practice was also carried out by their neighbours at other Phoenician colonies in Sicily, Sardinia, and Malta. Dedications from children's parents to the gods were inscribed on slabs of stone above their cremated remains, ending with the explanation that the god of gods concerned had heard their voice and blessed them. If we accept that child sacrifice happened on some scale, it begins to explain why the colony was founded in the first place. Perhaps the reason the Carthaginians and their neighbours left their original home in Phoenicia, modern-day Lebanon, was because others disapproved of their unusual religious practices.

Child abandonment was common in the ancient world, and human sacrifice is found in many historical societies, but child sacrifice is relatively uncommon. Perhaps the future Carthaginians were like the Pilgrim Fathers leaving from Plymouth; they were so fervent, zealous, and fanatical in their devotion to the gods that they weren't welcome at home anymore. This alliance that Ahab made with Phoenicia thrust Baal worship into the very centre of life in the northern kingdom. Along with Baal worship and the worship of Molech came child sacrifice, which makes it much worse than what Jeroboam was doing. Jeroboam was not engaged in worshipping Baal or idol worship; he was still involved in worshipping the God of Israel, just doing it in a different location. The calves were there as images of the God of Israel. Jezebel was an ardent, ruthless missionary of Baal, just as we saw the people who left Phoenicia to go to Carthage were religious fanatics. When you read the history of the war between the Carthaginians and the Romans, the Carthaginians were fanatical. If you look at the Christians from North Africa, like Saint Augustine, they were also pretty fanatical. It's Augustine who developed the ideological basis for...

Totalitarian Christianity, with her hundreds of idolatrous prophets, outlaws the worship of God and persecutes those who prophesy in His name. Jezebel's lack of conscience is unprecedented; when you read the things she does, it's horrendous. She commits terrible crimes without any sense of guilt. Her dominance over her husband is significant, much like Pharaoh's wife and daughter dominated Solomon. Solomon was dominated by his wives, even though he thought that by marrying them, he could convert them and spread knowledge of the God of Israel to their countries. The reality is that anyone who thinks they can dominate their wife in such a way really doesn't understand how things work. Jezebel's dominance, coupled with her fearless resolve, contributes significantly to Israel's spiritual deterioration under Ahab. Baal becomes the official religion; the Israelites had dabbled with other gods before, but they had always maintained a fundamental alignment with the God of Israel. Now, worship of Baal becomes the official religion, marking a significant cultural shift.

This cultural impact is evident whenever Israel allied itself economically or militarily with a regional power. Social and cultural effects, including religious influences, are not far behind. We can see similar patterns in the world today; when people make economic trading partners, they also import cultural elements. For instance, along with trade with America comes McDonald's, democracy, and Christianity. Similarly, trade alliances with China bring in Chinese missionaries and cultural influences, such as Confucius Institutes. If the Australian government criticises China, it risks being cut off from these economic ties. Thus, when Israel allied itself with Phoenicia, it also absorbed various social and cultural effects, including religious influences. This is why some countries are very careful about their relationships with foreign nations, immigration, and the acceptance of foreign religions.

Different countries have varying attitudes towards immigration, whether from other European nations or Middle Eastern countries. This is particularly evident in their responses to refugees, as they weigh the desire to preserve their homogeneous culture against the potential benefits of diversity. God is very careful about prohibiting intermarriage with foreigners, as marrying outside the faith invites not just a spouse but also their culture and religious influences. This concern has always been paramount. Baal, the rain god, was responsible for fertility and agricultural success. Statues of Baal were placed in temples where people would bring offerings and pray for rain and good harvests. In the dry regions of Israel, where there are no major rivers, rain is crucial for survival. Farmers depended on it, and if it didn't rain, droughts would lead to famine and starvation.

The Hebrew understanding was that if they observed the Torah, God would bless them with rain. However, some farmers, hearing that Baal was also responsible for rain, thought it wise to worship both the God of Israel and Baal to hedge their bets. Baal was a male representation of the rain god, while his female counterpart was Asherah. The union of Baal and Asherah led to cultic sexual rites in temples, where sexual acts were believed to bring about the desired rainfall. This connection between idolatry and illicit sexual practices is a recurring theme in the Torah. Idol worship is seen not only as a betrayal of love for God but also as a gateway to moral decline and sexual perversion. This concern over ritualised prostitution and moral collapse was significant during this period.

This sets the stage for King Ahab and the transformation he brought to Israel. Under Jeroboam, there were religious changes, but they still worshipped the God of Israel, albeit with new practices. However, Ahab's reign marked a complete abandonment of the God of Israel in favour of Baal worship, which brought with it a host of sexual immorality. Worship in a particular religion encompasses not just ceremonies but also the moral values associated with it. Even as society becomes more secular, many countries like Britain and America still reflect a Christian moral framework, inherited from previous generations. However, as questioning arises about the basis of these moral values, traditional sexual mores are gradually abandoned, leading to a decline in societal norms.

Elijah, the prophet during Ahab's time, addressed these issues. He confronted the prophets of Baal, and we see a significant moment in the rebuilding of Jericho. When the Israelites entered Canaan, they destroyed Jericho, and Joshua pronounced a curse on anyone who would rebuild it. However, during Ahab's reign, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho, sacrificing his sons in the process, fulfilling the curse. This act was seen as a memorial to the destruction of Canaanite tradition. Ahab, witnessing the prosperity of Israel through trade alliances, questioned why the curse of Moses had not come to pass despite their idol worship. In response, Elijah, outraged by Ahab's complacency, proclaimed that there would be neither dew nor rain for the next few years except at his word. This proclamation was made without a direct command from God, suggesting Elijah's initiative in response to Ahab's arrogance.

Elijah's declaration led to a severe drought lasting three years, resulting in widespread suffering, failed harvests, and starvation. During this time, Elijah found refuge by a brook, where he was fed by ravens. Eventually, God instructed him to visit a widow who was preparing her last meal for herself and her son. Elijah's request for her to feed him first was a shocking demand, but she complied, demonstrating her faith amidst dire circumstances. This narrative illustrates the profound challenges faced during Ahab's reign and the moral and spiritual crises that ensued.

First, we see the story of Elijah and the widow. Elijah stays with the widow and her son, and every morning, when the widow gets out of bed, more oil and flour miraculously appear. However, the widow's son dies, and she questions Elijah, asking why he came to stay with her only to prolong their suffering. In response, Elijah stretches himself over the boy and prays to God, bringing the child back to life. This narrative highlights the immense suffering present and raises the question of when Elijah will relent and retract his harsh oath. God makes Elijah aware of the suffering around him, yet Elijah remains steadfast, refusing to change his mind until God intervenes.

Eventually, God tells Elijah to appear before Ahab, indicating that He will send rain upon the earth. Ahab, who is informed by an intermediary named Obadiah, meets Elijah and accuses him of being a troubler of Israel. This title, 'troubler of Israel', reflects the role of a prophet, who often disturbs the status quo by asking difficult questions and challenging the people. Elijah counters Ahab's accusation, stating that it is Ahab and his family who have caused trouble by abandoning God's commands and following Baal. He then calls for a gathering of the people at Mount Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table.

The significance of Mount Carmel lies in its geographical position; it overlooks both Phoenicia to the north and Israel to the south. Elijah challenges the people, asking how long they will waver between two opinions. He urges them to choose between following the Lord or Baal, but the people remain silent, unwilling to commit. This indecision reflects their fear and passivity, as they struggle to make a choice between the two paths. Elijah's call to commitment echoes Joshua's challenge to the Israelites, urging them to align themselves with either the God of Israel or the idols of the surrounding cultures.

In a dramatic contest, Elijah allows the prophets of Baal to go first in making their sacrifice. They pray, sing, and dance around their altar, but nothing happens. Elijah mocks them, suggesting that perhaps their god is asleep or busy. Despite their frantic efforts, there is no response from Baal. When it is Elijah's turn, he repairs the altar of the Lord with twelve stones, symbolising the twelve tribes of Israel. He drenches the altar with water, making the task more challenging, and then prays to God, reminding the people of their heritage as descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God responds by sending fire that consumes the sacrifice, leading the people to proclaim, 'The Lord, He is God.'

Following this, Elijah instructs that the prophets of Baal be put to death, and he then prays for rain. After several attempts, he sees a small cloud forming, which eventually grows into a heavy rainstorm. Elijah runs ahead of Ahab's chariot to Jezreel, demonstrating respect for Ahab's authority. However, upon Ahab's return to Jezebel, he reports all that has transpired, but Jezebel responds with anger, threatening Elijah's life. Despite his recent triumph, Elijah becomes afraid and flees for his life, illustrating the often unpredictable nature of human emotions and reactions.

Elijah's fear leads him to abandon his mission, and he journeys into the wilderness, where he prays for death. This moment of despair mirrors the experiences of other biblical figures, such as Jonah and Moses, who also faced overwhelming challenges. Elijah's expectations of a swift transformation in Israel are shattered, leading to his deep despair. He had anticipated that Jezebel would be swayed by the miraculous events, but her unwavering fanaticism leaves him feeling defeated. This narrative serves as a reminder that significant change often requires time and persistent effort, rather than expecting immediate results from a single event.

That's where the hard work starts. You may be able to fill a stadium with 50,000 people and think that's a great victory, but then the next day it looks like nothing's changed. That's the beginning point of getting involved in the hard work of educating people and teaching them about God, about the right way of life, etc. You can't just change a country overnight. I think Elijah thought he could, but you can't. It takes a long time to bring about substantial change. Anyway, Elijah then set off again. God woke him up from his sleep; an angel woke him up and fed him. God brought him some breakfast, and he set off towards Mount Sinai. It took him 40 days and 40 nights to walk there, and on the way, an angel came along and fed him. They didn't have little cafés on the way; you needed an angel to help you out there.

When he arrived at Mount Sinai, it was a significant place where Moses received the people of Israel and made the covenant with God. Mount Sinai is where Moses encountered God deeply, received the Ten Commandments, and had many profound conversations with God, where God revealed Himself to Moses in numerous ways. When Elijah was there, he went up onto the mountain, and the word of the Lord came to him, asking, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' When God asks this, the implication is always, 'Shouldn't you be somewhere else?' God was essentially saying, 'This isn't your mission; your mission as a prophet is to be where the people are, not on the mountain.'

Elijah replied to God, 'I've been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they're trying to kill me too.' There's nothing here about the prophets of Baal being put to death or about the Israelites repenting and following the God of Israel. Elijah equates the Israelites with Jezebel, who is not an Israelite but a Phoenician worshipper of Baal. The Israelites didn't reject the covenant; they came back into their relationship with God. Yes, Jezebel tore down the altars and put up altars for Baal, but the Israelites were being punished and persecuted for worshipping the God of Israel. Elijah's perspective is skewed; he blames the Israelites for something that Jezebel did.

God then instructed Elijah to go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord was about to pass by. This is reminiscent of what God said to Moses when Moses asked to see His glory. God told Moses He would place him in the cleft of a rock and reveal His glory. A great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart, shattering 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. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. Finally, after the fire came a still small voice, the voice of silence. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out to stand at the mouth of the cave.

Some people think God is a force of nature, and they find Him in nature, but here, God is not in the wind, the fire, or the earthquake; He is in the still small voice. The God of Israel has always been a voice, the voice of conscience. That's why God is invisible; you can't make an image of a voice. You can only worship God through one's conscience and through an encounter with God within oneself. When Elijah heard the still small voice, he pulled his cloak over his face, as if hiding from God. It's interesting that after this encounter, God asked him again, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' Elijah's response was the same: 'I've been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I'm the only one left, and now they're trying to kill me too.'

This shows that after his experience with God, Elijah hasn't changed. Nothing has changed within him; he still has the same attitude and view about what happened in Israel. Elijah speaks a language of fiery passion, and when the world around him fails to correspond to the truth that burns within him, he cannot accept the travesty. He cannot stand by and watch as a nation adopts Baal as its deity. God wishes to function in the world through a still small voice, and ultimately, people must choose whether they want to worship Him or not. God doesn't force people to worship Him; it's always been a choice. When the Israelites decided they wanted a king, God told Samuel, 'It's not you they have rejected, but me as king over Israel.'

Elijah cannot accept this; he believes God ought to force Himself upon people. He uses a lot of force and cannot stand by while Jezebel rules with a free hand. He does not understand why God will not bring the world to order. This raises the question of why God allows suffering and does not intervene to punish the wicked. Even when God instructs Elijah to act differently, Elijah cannot identify with the still small voice. When God asks him the same question a second time, He hopes Elijah has learned something, but Elijah gives the same answer, indicating he cannot change his perspective. This is all taking place on Mount Sinai, and interesting comparisons can be made between Moses and Elijah.

When the people built the golden calf, Moses pleaded for the nation, saying to God, 'Please forgive them. If you won't forgive them, then I'm out of here.' Moses knew how to present God's demands to the people in a way they could understand and accept. He stood boldly before God and demanded national forgiveness, while Elijah accuses the nation of breaking the covenant. The cave at Sinai should have resounded with a mandate to defend and shield the nation despite its sins. Elijah, however, chooses to malign and accuse Israel of breaching the covenant. God wants to give Elijah another task, saying, 'Okay, Elijah, I want you to continue with your mission, but you need to change.'

Elijah's mission is not over yet, but he needs some kind of inner transformation to continue. Ultimately, Elijah resigns, and God allows him to do so. He instructs Elijah to go and commission Elisha in his place. Elijah finds Elisha, commissions him, and blesses him, giving him his spirit and strength so that he can perform miracles like Elijah did. Elisha then continues Elijah's mission because Elijah is unable to undergo the change needed to be the kind of prophet God required. Elijah remains an important figure in Jewish history. As we know, the last prophet, Malachi, said, 'Before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes, I will send Elijah my prophet to make straight the ways of the Lord.' Whenever a Jewish boy is circumcised on the eighth day, it is done on what is called Elijah's chair, with the hope that this boy will be the Elijah, signalling the coming of the Messiah.

During Passover, there is a moment when Jews open the door and invite Elijah to come in, asking if he is there to celebrate with them. A glass of wine is poured out at the beginning and end of the Passover meal, and one of the children checks to see if any of the wine has been drunk, indicating whether Elijah actually came in. This tradition keeps the hope and expectation alive within the spiritual community for decades, centuries, and thousands of years, maintaining a vibrant faith in that sense.