The Elijah Proclamation! - Part 3

“Get away from here and turn eastward, and "HIDE" by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan."

Get away from here, turn eastward and HIDE! I told you that death was a possibility. There could also be other reasons for Elijah to hide. This drought thing was obviously going to require some period of time to be proven out. Three years as it turned out. Once the drought began to become real Elijah's life could be in jeopardy, but... maybe it was because Elijah was just a man. Could money, position or some persuasion have tempted Elijah? Could it be that there would be many distractions to Elijah hearing the voice of God clearly for the next part of this story? HIDE! One minute your a fearless prophet of God challenging King Ahab and the next your told to hide.

hide:
1. to conceal from sight; prevent from being seen or discovered: to conceal oneself.

Three years in hiding. There is a danger in trying to make these stories fit my circumstances. There is no written record of what Elijah did for the three years. What was he thinking on the next to last day of the three years, not knowing that the end of hiding was that close. I only get pieces of the story and so I try to fill in the blanks to make sense of it all. There are large gaps in the stories of the men of God. I realize also that not everyone who lived in those days was an Elijah or a David, or a Moses or a Noah. Thousands lived everyday lives that were never written about, yet none the less significant. Why am I not content in being one of those unwritten about (yet significant)lives? Am I like so many that want the things of God without the sacrifice? NO! That's not what I want. I do want the clarity, the obvious voice and plan of God for my EVERYDAY life. I want get away, turn eastward and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. I do not want to do my thing in what seems to be the absence of the God thing. I want it as clear and obvious for me as it was for Elijah! Even if just for a season.

I know my name is not Elijah and Elijah's journey is not my journey. Whether Elijah had questions or not is not important. The result was that Elijah did as God directed. Day by day and step by step. For some reason it seemed to me that Elijah had it made. Truth be told Elijah walked out his life with God on a need to know basis. Those few moments between his challenge to Ahab and when God told him to get away were probably as difficult for him as they are for me. That three years at the Brook probably seemed like a life time just as my situation today does to me. Being what I think is a big picture person is really small when compared to God's big picture. I will spend eternity with Elijah, David, Moses, Noah and all those who have gone before. That's a big picture, not one day of challenging a king or hiding in a cave. Maybe three years hiding will help me learn this?