A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; OLD TESTAMENT STORIES

                                      THE RUNAWAY PROPHET PART XXVII

I, Elijah, the prophet of God, waited for the Lord to speak to me again.... I expected Him to respond to my words... He did so but not in the way I expected Him to... For He did not tell that, yes, I was right.....That I was the only prophet left... Instead, He told me there are still seven thousand prophets left in the country.....Seven thousand!!... I should think they would include the one hundred prophets Obadiah has been able to protect....For God knows, of course, of them.... That means I am not the only prophet left in the country.... God has told me as well that He wants me to go back to where I have come from.... That is, no doubt, because the route I am on is of my own choosing.... God did not tell me to run from queen Jezebel.... I chose to do that.... I must now go back before I can fulfill His new assignments for me.".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn that God has many more prophets in Israel besides Elijah.....



               ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; OLD TESTAMENT STORIES

                                  THE RUNAWAY PROPHET PART XXVII

However, God does not take any notice of the prophet Elijah's complaints, nor does He take any notice of Elijah's earlier death wish. Instead, He tells him what his next assignment is, but Elijah has to go back first as you can read in I Kings 19:5-18

The Lord said to him, "Go back the way you came, and go to the desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also anoint Jehu son of Mimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. Yet I reserved seven thousand in Israel -  all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him."

The journey Elijah has been on has been by his own choice and is not part of God's plan for him. Therefore, he needs to go back to where he came from and he can then fulfill the assignments God has for him. God has not yet finished with him. There is still work for him to do regardless what the prophet may think or want. Moreover, God corrects Elijah by telling him that there are still seven thousand people left in Israel who worship him, which are six thousand and nine hundred more than even Obadiah may have known about.