Notes from a Sermon on 1 Kgs. 19.1-17

Notes on 1 Kgs. 19.1-17 Below are some slightly expanded notes from a sermon I recently gave on 1 Kgs. 19.1-17.

Theory and reality The backdrop to 1 Kgs. 19.1-17 is one of triumph. Elijah has challenged the prophets of Baal to a public showdown on Mount Carmel in order to settle the issue of who is sovereign over Israel’s history: YHWH or Baal. That issue has been settled decisively. YHWH is sovereign over Israel and over the gods of the nations, and Israel should serve him alone. Israel can actually learn a thing or two from the pagan prophets’ mindset. While the Israelites still limp[PSH. (G)] between two opinions, uncertain of which God to follow, the prophets are Baal were not so divided in their loyalties. They did not limp[PSH. (G)] about the altar, but leapt[PSH. (D)] upon it1 and called on their god with unimpeachable sincerity, in no doubt as to Baal’s power and greatness. Ultimately, however, their zeal and faith proved to be misguided. Baal did not respond to his prophets’ cries, while YHWH answered Elijah’s by fire (18.17-40). In theory, then, the events of 19.1-17 should now be characterised by repentance and reform. Ahab should arrive in Jezreel awed by God’s greatness. He should call his people to repent and to recommit themselves to YHWH their God. The first half of 19.1 seems hopeful (Ahab tells Jezebel ‘everything Elijah has done’: 19.1a), but not so the second half, since Ahab there goes on to recount to Jezebel ‘how [Elijah has] killed all the prophets [of Baal] with the sword’ (19.1b); in other words, Ahab seeks to provoke Jezebel to violence against Elijah. Needless to say, he succeeds in his objective. In 19.2, Jezebel sends a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘May the gods deal with me—and may they do so severely—if by this time tomorrow I have not done to you what has been done to my prophets!’. Given recent events on Mount Carmel, it does not seem as if Jezebel’s “gods” would actually be able to ‘deal’ with Jezebel at all, but Elijah is nevertheless fearful of Jezebel’s threats (19.3) and hence heads southwards.2 Elijah soon arrives at Beersheba (in Judah), where he travels out into the wilderness, slumps down 1

so DBY, NASB, NET, GHCL p¯ asah., CDCH «PSH.». Even if we favour the MSS where !‫ וירא‬is pointed as !‫‘( ו®ּי®רŸא‬he saw’) as opposed to !‫יר´א‬¢‫‘( ו®ּי‬he was afraid’), the expr. !‫נ®פְׁשֹו‬Ê‫‘( לָלֶכֶת אֶל‬to go or flee for one’s life’) should still be associated with fear, as per the expr. !‫נ®פְׁשֹו‬Ê‫ לָנּוס אֶל‬in 2 Kgs. 7.7. Besides, !‫ ו®ּי®רŸא‬is awkward, since it is not entirely clear what Elijah could have seen which caused him to head south. 2

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under a juniper tree, and cries out to God, “Enough! Now, therefore, O LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”. Ironically, Elijah’s desires are aligned with Jezebel’s insofar as he wants his life to come to an abrupt end.3 While, however, in ch. 18, God answered Elijah’s prayer, God does not now do so. Indeed, God will never answer Elijah’s prayer, for Elijah will pass directly from earth into the heavenly realms (2 Kgs. 2.11). Elijah’s movements in 18.40-19.12 have a distinctly Exodus-like shape about them. Just as Moses outdoes Pharaoh’s magicians, so Elijah outdoes the prophets of Baal. Just as Pharaoh gets into his chariot and sets out to do evil to Moses, so Ahab gets into his chariot and sets out to do evil to Elijah. Just as Moses’s prayer brings about a strong wind, thick clouds, and the miraculous movement of water, so does Elijah’s. Just as the Israelites’ boldness turns to fear,4 so does Elijah’s. Just as Moses and the Israelites enter the wilderness where they are miraculously fed with the “bread of angels”,5 so Elijah enters a wilderness where he is fed by bread baked by an angel. Just as Moses goes forty days and nights without food, so does Elijah. Just as Moses ascends Horeb (the mountain of God), so does Elijah.6 Just as Moses stands there as YHWH ‘passes by’, so does Elijah. And just as Moses wraps his head in a garment, so does Elijah.7 As such, Elijah’s experiences are distinctly exodus-shaped and, more particularly, Moses-like. But Elijah’s behaviour in 19.4 is very different from Moses’s. Whereas Moses intercedes on behalf of his people before YHWH, Elijah accuses and implicates his people before YHWH. And, whereas Moses puts his life in jeopardy for the sake of his people, Elijah wants his life to come to an end since he is so fed up with his people (Exod. 32.30-32). He has had enough. He can see no purpose in his ministry and no hope for Israel’s condition. Elijah’s depression is entirely understandable. Depression is a phenomenon which, unless experienced first hand, can be difficult for us to understand. It is often the result of an accumulation of different difficulties in a person’s life, and Elijah 3

In 19.10, Elijah describes what Jezebel and her people want to do to him in exactly the same terms as he employs in 19.4, i.e., via the constr. «LQH.» + nepeš + pron. suff. 4 Exod. 14.8-10. 5 Psa. 78.25. 6 Horeb is an alternative name for mount Sinai (Exod. 3.1, Deut. 1.6, etc.), which may be employed in 1 Kgs. 19 in order to bring out a play on words in the text (19.8 cf. 19.1, 19.10). Elijah runs to h.o ¯r¯eb in order to escape from the h.ereb (‘sword’). A related play on words may also be present in 18.28. There, the prophets of Baal are said to ‘cut themselves with knives as per their custom’ (‫תְּגֹדŸדּו‬¢‫ו®ּי‬ !‫ ּבַחֲר´בֹות‬Mָ‫ּפָט‬ ‫)ּכְמִׁש‬, but the same phrase can be translated, ‘They were rounded up in the desert plains at their [decreed] time of judgment’ or ‘They were hewn by swords as per their decreed sentence’, which, of course, is precisely what does in fact happen to the prophets. 7 19.13, Exod. 34.33-34. The connection is more explicit in the LXX, where Moses is said to put a kalumma (‘cover’) on his face, while Elijah is said to epikalupt¯ o (‘cover’) his face.

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is clearly weighed down by multiple difficulties in ch. 19. Consider his situation. Elijah is physically weary: he has just outrun Ahab from mount Carmel, and, given the famine in the land, he may not be well-fed. Elijah is also likely to be spiritually weary. He has just been engaged in a long spiritual battle and has experienced a huge spiritual ‘high’, which can often result in a ‘comedown’ afterwards. If so, the comedown would have been exacerbated by Israel’s faithlessness. The demonstration of YHWH’s power on Mount Carmel has made absolutely no difference to Israel’s spiritual deadness. And if such ‘fireworks’ cannot turn them back to YHWH, then what can? The situation (from Elijah’s point of view at least) is completely hopeless. Elijah may, in addition, be frustrated with his own faithlessness. He has recently trusted God to give him the victory over 450 prophets of Baal, and, as he did so, he may have looked down on his fellow prophets who failed to join him on pain of death. And yet he, Elijah, has now been paralysed by the fear of death and has fled for his life into Judah, and not because of the swords of 450 angry prophets, but because of the threat of a single woman. In other words, Elijah has capitulated, just like the rest of the prophets, hence his anguished cry, “I am no better than my fathers!” (19.4). On top of these things, Elijah seems to have begun to lose perspective, which only worsens a man’s state of mind. “The sons of Israel have...torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword”, he says to the LORD (19.10), “and I alone am left”. Elijah’s claim is understandable: he alone has taken action against the prophets of Baal. Yet Elijah’s claim is nonetheless untrue. He does not, for instance, mention the alter he has recently repaired (18.30-31). Furthermore, Obadiah has recently provided shelter to at least a hundred prophets who have remained faithful to YHWH, as Elijah well knows (18.4). Elijah, however, has lost sight of these details. He is caught in a downward spiral. His depression is grounded in reality, but it has taken on a life of its own, and is out of control.

Restoration begins In 19.5, the process of Elijah’s restoration begins. God deals with Elijah tenderly and beautifully. He knows exactly what Elijah needs. First of all, God sends Elijah an angelic helper, who gives him food and drink and time to rest (19.5-8); and later God allows Elijah to discharge some of his burdens to Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha (19.15-16). God also gives Elijah a sense of perspective. Elijah is depressed because Carmel’s fireworks have not resulted in any noticeable change in Israel’s condition, and, 3

from Elijah’s perspective, if the fireworks have not changed Israel’s heart, then nothing will. But God is about to show Elijah otherwise. Elijah has decided to head to Horeb, for what reason we are not told (19.9).8 Either way, God meets him there, and asks him what he hopes to achieve (19.10).9 Elijah’s presence in Horeb could, just about, be interpreted positively. (As the place where God’s covenant with Israel was made, Horeb would seem an appropriate place to repair a broken covenant.) But the sub-text of God’s question does not suggest Elijah has headed down to Horeb in a very positive manner,10 and Elijah’s answer (19.10) sounds more like a complaint than a statement of positive intent and, as discussed above, reflects a loss of perspective. (“I have been zealous for the LORD,...yet11 the sons of Israel have forsaken your covenant,...and I alone am left”.) Consequently, YHWH decides to ‘pass by’ Elijah, which causes him to run to the back of the cave. Elijah sees three tangible effects of God’s presence—a wind, an earthquake, and a fire—, but YHWH is not said to be present in any of these things (19.11-12). Afterwards, Elijah hears a low whisper (KJV: ‘a still small voice’), which causes him to come forth from his cave and listen. God asks Elijah the same question as before, and Elijah gives the same response (19.13-14). God then gives Elijah two important items of information: first, he is about to raise up three important men in Israel (Hazael, Yehu, and Elisha), whom Elijah must go and anoint; and, second, he will reserve 7,000 faithful believers in Israel who will remain loyal to YHWH despite the external pressures. The question therefore arises as to why God tells Elijah these things? Why is it important for Elijah to know about the ministries of Hazael, Yehu, and Elisha? And what do they have to do with Elijah’s complaint? The answer is as follows. The actions of Hazael, Yehu, and Elisha will (in reverse order) be like the wind, the earthquake, and the fire Elijah has just seen. Hazael is the fire (he sets Israel’s strongholds on fire: 2 Kgs. 8.12); Jehu is the earthquake (he effects a political upheaval in Israel: 2 Kgs. 9.6-15 cf. Isa. 5.24-30, Jer. 51.27-31, Hag. 2.21-23, etc.); and Elisha is the wind (rûah.), i.e., the one who perpetuates the spirit (rûah.) of Elijah in Israel 8

The angel tells Elijah to eat, saying, “The journey is too great for you”. The intention to go to Horeb may, therefore, have originated with Elijah, and the angel has been made aware of it. 9 The exact question God asks is, !‫הּו‬³‫ּלְœ פֹה אֵלִּי‬Ê‫( מַה‬lit. ‘What [is] to you?’), the sense of which is most likely, ‘What is your agenda, Elijah?’ (cf. Gen. 21.17, Jos. 15.18, Judg. 18.23, etc.). We can consider, by way of illustration, the expr., ‘What to me and to you?’, the sense of which is, ‘We have no shared agenda at all!’ (Judg. 11.12, 2 Kgs. 3.13, Mark 5.7, John 2.4). 10 The question !‫הּו‬³‫ּלְœ פֹה אֵלִּי‬Ê‫‘( מַה‬What is your agenda?’) may in fact be a statement as much as a question, since it sounds almost identical to the question !‫הּו‬³‫מַלְּכָה פֹה אֵלִּי‬, which translates as, ‘Is the queen here, Elijah?’. As such, God’s question could hint at its own answer. God knows exactly why Elijah has ended up at Horeb; he is there because he is on the run from Jezebel (cf. 19.3’s comm. above). 11 where the part. kî is understood ‘concessively’, as also the NLT, NET, HCSB.

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(2 Kgs. 2.15). The ministries of these men will be dramatic and powerful, but God will not be active in them insofar as he will not employ them to transform the hearts of the people of Israel, just as the wind, earthquake, and fire did not transform the heart of Elijah. The still small voice—i.e., the faithful voice of the 7,000—will ultimately be what grabs men’s attention and revives Israel, just as the still small voice grabbed Elijah’s attention. Put another way, the testimony of the faithful and the persistence of a prophetic voice will ultimately carry the day: it will arrest men’s attention, state what is true, and transform men’s hearts. Elijah’s pessimistic outlook on Israel’s situation is, therefore, quite unjustified. In Elijah’s view, Israel is doomed because if Carmel’s fireworks have not converted them, then nothing will. But Elijah is mistaken. The still small voice of the 7,000 will triumph, and all Israel will ultimately be saved. Elijah’s ministry is, therefore, far from a lost cause. On the contrary, it is part of the very means by which Israel will be restored. If the 7,000 abandon their task, then God’s voice will be lost forever amid the noise of the pagan nations, but, if the 7,000 maintain their testimony, then ultimately the whole nation will be infected by Elijah’s “jealousy” and life will come from the dead (Rom. 11.1-15). The truth of God’s ‘object lesson’ should be clear for us to see. Powerful miracles do not always do transform men’s hearts, and, often in history, they have not in fact done so. The exodus did not leave a purified people in its wake, nor did the conquest of Canaan, nor did the establishment of Israel’s monarchy, and nor did the judgment of Babylon and return from exile. Meanwhile, the persistence of a faithful witness to the Gospel amid the world has won millions for God’s kingdom over the years, and will continue to do so for as long as the Church remains faithful. Indeed, in Israel today, the prophetic voice of the New Testament is the means by which many thousands have recently been made “jealous” and converted, and the new covenant proclaimed within its pages will be the means of Israel’s restoration (Rom. 11.22-28).

Elijah as a foreshadow As we have seen, then, Elijah’s experiences in 19.1-17 are intended to teach him an important lesson. They also have symbolic value. Many prophets are called to ‘enact’ certain incidents which Israel must undergo, e.g., Ezekiel’s enactment of the exile (Ezek. 12.1-20). The same, I believe, is true of Elijah. Just as Elijah departs from the northern kingdom and relocates to Judah (19.3), so the northern kingdom will be taken away and leave Judah as Israel’s remnant in the 5

land. Just as Elijah journeys into the wilderness and finds shelter under a tree (19.4), so Judah will be carried into the wilderness of the nations and find shelter under the ‘tree of Babylon’ (Ezek. 20.34-35, Dan. 4.11-23). Just as Elijah (while seated under the tree) confesses his failure, falls asleep, and is woken by an angel (with the command, “Arise”: 19.4-5), so Judah (while in exile) will confess their sins; as such, they will ‘die’ and be raised to life by God’s power (Ezek. 37.1-23). And, just as the angel then visits Elijah for a second time and calls him into the wilderness of Horeb (19.6-8), so God will visit the exiles and call them into the wilderness; that is to say, he will bring them back into a position where they are ready to renew their covenant with their God (Hos. 2.14-23). Hence, at the outset of the Gospels, we will find Israel (spiritually) in the wilderness as a voice calls out, “Prepare the way of the LORD!”. Judah will have suffered long enough and paid for her sins, and it will be time for her to be comforted (Isa. 40.1-3 cf. Mark 1.1-3).12 As such, Elijah’s journey southwards serves as a ‘sign’ for Israel. The covenant forged on top of Mount Sinai has been “forsaken” on top of Mount Carmel (19.10, 19.14), and Israel is now locked in a downward spiral. Elijah’s time in the exile is a sign of their imminent exile, and his sleep is a picture of how they must ‘die’ before they are revived. The description of Elijah’s experiences in 19.3-9 also resonates with the narrative of Gen. 21.8-21, where Ishmael is separated from Abraham’s seed. In both cases, a descendant of Abraham together with a boy (na ,ar ) set out from the midst of their people (19.3, Gen. 21.12, etc.). In both cases, they travel into the wilderness of Beersheba. In both cases, one of them shelters under a bush.13 In both cases, they feel the pangs of death. In both cases, a traveller is quizzed about his agenda (mh-lk, lit. ‘What to you?’). In both cases, an angel appears in the wilderness and God provides bread and water for a hungry party. And, in both cases, the parties arrive back at the place of their roots: Ishmael, the son of an Egyptian, ends up in Paran (near Sinai) with an Egyptian wife (Gen. 21.21), and Elijah ends up back at Sinai, where Israel first entered into a covenant relationship with her God.14 The parallels between these two narratives are instructive. Ishmael in Gen. 21.8-21 is a picture of the unconverted Jewish nation. Hence, in 19.3-9, 12 For further details, see my comments on Mark 1.1-13: «academia.edu/30510553/Mark_1.113_A_New_Beginning». 13 Elijah shelters under a juniper tree (r¯ otem), while Ishmael shelters under a bush (śîah.), but the two plants are closely associated. The Targumim translates śîah. as ‘tree’ ( -yln -), and Rabbinic literature connects the śîah. in Gen. 21.5 with a r¯ otem (JDTT r¯ otem), possibly because Psa. 120.4-5 associates the r¯ otem with the tents of Kedar, i.e., the tents of an Ishmaelite (Gen. 25.13). The two plants are also connected by means of a parallelism in Job 30.4. 14 We can also note the slightly unusual employment of the vb. «ŠLK» (‘to throw’) in Gen. 21.15 and 1 Kgs. 19.19 (cf. the sense of «ŠLK» in 2 Kgs. 17.20, 24.20, etc.). Hagar ‘throws’ Ishmael under one of the bushes, while Elijah ‘throws’ his mantle around Elisha.

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Israel (as depicted by Elijah) departs from God’s presence and enters a barren wilderness, exactly as Ishmael does. She thereby puts herself in a position of slavery rather than sonship; she associates herself with the flesh not the Spirit, and works not faith (Gal. 4.23-26). Nevertheless, she will be protected on the basis of her biological descent (Gen. 21.13, 21.18). She may not come into the fulness of God’s good purposes, but she will become numerous, and be protected, and be sustained by her God. Her departure can also (like those of Ishmael and others) be seen as a precursor to greater things.15 Ishmael must be sent away in order to make room for Israel in the promised land; Elijah must ascend in order to make room for Elisha; Moses must die before Israel can enter Canaan under Joshua’s leadership; John the Baptist must be put in prison before Jesus’ ministry can begin; and, in much the same way, a faithless Israel must be sent into the wilderness before Israel can be fully restored. In addition to the above considerations, Elijah’s ministry in 19.1-17 can be seen as a foreshadow of the Messiah’s. Like Elijah’s, Jesus’ signs will not transform the hearts of his people. Instead, Jesus will be frustrated by Israel’s faithlessness and hardness of heart (Mark 3.5, Luke 9.41 cf. Isa. 49.4). Jesus will therefore be forced to give Israel a different sign, namely the sign of Jonah. Just like Jonah, he will descend into the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. Jesus’ death and resurrection will constitute the cornerstone of his triumph over sin, Satan, and death (Acts 2.22-36, 1 Cor. 15.1-58), in which sense it will be the sign of a new dawn in world history.16 Yet it will also serve as a negative sign (cf. Ezek. 12.11, 14.8), namely a sign of Israel’s imminent trials. Like Elijah’s sleep, Jesus’ death and resurrection will foreshadow the way in which Israel must undergo a kind of death before they are restored and raised to life (Dan. 12.1-7). Elijah’s ministry in 19.1-17 can also be seen as a foreshadow of the Messiah’s ministry insofar as both ministries ultimately ‘give way’ to others. Just as Elijah must ascend before Elisha can come into his own, so Jesus must ascend before the Holy Spirit can come (John 16.7). More specifically, just as Elijah’s ministry climaxes in a cluster of dramatic events—an earthquake, the disintegration of rocks, a wind, a fire, and the emergence of thousands of godly voices—, so too will Jesus’ ministry. As men discuss whether or not Elijah will appear (Matt. 27.49), Jesus will be put to death, which will give rise to a remarkable sequence of events: an earthquake will shake the land of Judah; the rocks in the nearby 15

Alastair Roberts has some helpful thoughts along such lines here: «alastairadversaria.com/2013/02/20/hagar-and-ishmael-the-forerunners-in-the-wilderness-40-days-ofexoduses-7». 16 e.g., «academia.edu/30246894/John_18-21_An_Enactment_of_New_Creation»

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cemetries will be broken in pieces; the Holy Spirit will descend, accompanied by the sound of a mighty wind and tongues of fire; God’s people will begin to testify to God’s greatness, which will ‘cut to the heart’ of their hearers; and thousands of godly voices will emerge in Israel (Matt. 27.49-54, Acts 1.1-2.41). That the events of Acts 1-2 are inherently connected with the content and climax of the Gospels is, of course, not without significance. The death of Christ is not a ‘fly in the ointment’ of God’s plans, but, rather, the summit and culmination of Israel’s story. From his ascended position in heaven, Christ will outpour his blessings on the Church, enveloped by a cloud and flames, just as Moses brought the Law down from Mount Sinai. Thereafter, the ministry and authority of the Church will flow forth, not detached from Christ but intrinsically connected and rooted in the same person and movement of God. It is the continuance of what Christ begins, in Christ’s power and name—a new and rebuilt temple, and a new place of rest for God’s spirit. In sum, then, the connections between Elijah’s experiences in 19.1-17 and the experiences of God’s people at other points in redemptive history are multiple and complex. That fact could lead us to wonder whether we have let our analysis of Scripture run away with us, which is a legitimate concern. But then history does, in reality, repeat itself, as does the history of God’s people, which greatly multiplies the number of connections between one narrative and another; furthermore, history is in fact a complex matter. No simple narrative or trajectory can encompass the many facets of a people-group’s history or the many ways in which its past affects its future, and the same is true of Israel’s, which is set out for us in Scripture under the inspiration of a God whose complexity of thought is beyond compare.

Some final thoughts A number of important considerations follow from our consideration of 1 Kgs. 19.1-17. First, in our Christian lives, we frequently need to brought to the point where we realise we are no better than the rest of God’s church. We are branches plucked from the fire—nothing less and nothing more—, and we all too often lapse back into our old ways. Sadly, however, when we are spared from (what we perceive to be) the sins of others, or exhibit a courage not apparent in others, we can often become proud and hard-hearted. We grow not in grace, but in self-righteousness and smugness and superiority. When such things happen, it is necessary for us to be brought back to a place of humility before God, just as 8

Elijah is. The man who proclaims “I am better than my fathers!” is not in a position where he can be taken up and used by God, but the man who proclaims “I am no better than my fathers!” is ready to be restored. Second, we should not underestimate the connection between our physical and spiritual condition in life. Elijah’s depression was not brought about solely by his physical tiredness, but it was certainly not helped by it. When we are physically tired, we are prone to temptation. We become weak and vulnerable. And Satan is well aware of that fact. When we are tired, we therefore need to be on our guard. We need to watch ourselves and our thought-lives carefully, to surround ourselves with Christian influences, and to get as much rest as we possibly can. To run ourselves into the ground is not necessarily a sign of spiritual zeal; it is all too often a sign of folly and pride. Wisdom is to know how much sleep we need and to make sure we get it. Third, as Christians, we do not always deal with depression-related problems very well. We find them hard to relate to, and we do not, therefore, know how to deal with those beset by them. As a result, people who suffer from depression do not always get the support they need from fellow believers. But thankfully God knows exactly what we need and how we need to be restored, and he wants to restore us in exactly the same way as he restored Elijah. When we are spiritually low, let us therefore seek to get alone with God and to trust him to restore us to a healthy state of body, mind, and spirit. That may, of course, take time, just as it did in Elijah’s case, but it is the only sure road to recovery.17 The value and benefit of time spent alone with God simply cannot be overemphasised. There is no substitute for it in all heaven and earth. Fourth, when our spiritual endeavours fail to bear fruit (or at least the fruit we expected), it is easy for us—and perhaps even right for us—to get frustrated. It is good for us to pray with fervour and urgency, and not to be satisfied with fruitless endeavours. But we must not let our frustrations crystallise into despair or hopelessness. Ultimately, the LORD’s prophetic voice will win the day. And, often, what is required from believers in the meantime is not ‘quick-blitz evangelism’ but, rather, patience and perseverance. To preserve a prophetic voice in the public square and to maintain a faithful testimony is of great value. It is a vital part of how God’s gospel goes forth over space and time. It brings glory to our Father in heaven. And it preserves nations and churches and believers. 17

In response to the oft-quoted adage, ‘Time heals all wounds’, it has been said, ‘No, God heals all wounds, but he takes time to do it’, which is quite true.

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True—it may not always seem as if our testimony is worthwhile, but its results will become clear in eternity, and for a prophetic voice to disappear from an area altogether (as almost happened in Elijah’s day) is an unmitigated disaster. At certain points in time, then, we are called simply to ‘strengthen and preserve what remains’, and to do so is a victory in and of itself. Let us, therefore, be encouraged to stand firm and to persevere in our endeavours: to continue to pray for our friends and neighbours, to challenge them with the Gospel, to preach the Gospel in the streets of our local towns, to knock on doors, and to maintain a voice in the public square. “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Gal. 6.9). Who knows? Maybe a ‘still small voice’ will achieve far more than many great fireworks. One thing is certain: we only have one opportunity to serve the LORD in the present age, and we will never be ashamed of the investment of time and effort in God’s kingdom.

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