“He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat.” Then he looked and behold, there was at his head a bread cake [baked on] hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. The angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you.” So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.”
I told you that we would get unstuck at this place under the broom tree – that place where we’ve had enough and it’s just too much “ that place that fear drives us and hopes to keep us captive“ that place of both self-loathing and self-importance. We don’t “unstuck” ourselves.
God sent Elijah an angel to touch him. I love it when Scripture makes me laugh, and granted, you probably won’t find this in commentaries by great theologians, but I’m no theologian¦ so take this or leave it. It’s just my own interpretation. The Hebrew word for “touched” [naga’] means both “to touch or to strike”.. When I first read this passage, it’s easy to envision the tender touch on the shoulder by some sweet little angel. Sleepyhead Elijah awakes rubbing his eyes to find a jug of water and warm bread, eats heartily and lies down for another nap. But I don’t think it was like that if Elijah and I are anything alike. I think an exhausted, dirty, frustrated, depressed man hit the dirt under a tree in hopes that he would not wake up. And then some angel had to come along and ruin the plan. Yup. I think Elijah might have got a holy “smack”. It takes more than a touch to wake me when I don’t want to be woken. I think it’s possible that angel struck Elijah but good in a holy “GET UP.” But that’s just me.
The angels says “Arise and eat.” Let me ask you something: if you awoke to breakfast in bed, would you get up? The word says there at his head were fresh baked bread and a cool jug o’ water. Would you get to your feet? I don’t think he meant just “sit up”. The word means “to stand up”. But we aren’t told that Elijah stands; only that he ate and drank and laid back down. Reminds me of a stubborn teenager.
It looks as though God patiently allows Elijah a bit more rest. The angel comes a second time. Smack. “Elijah, arise and eat.” But this time, he gets the longer version. I do that. “Luke, it’s time to get up.” 2nd time, “Luke, it’s time to get up. You are going to be late for class.” [grin] The longer version is the why. “Elijah, get up and eat because the journey is too great for you.”
We’ve seen that word for “too great” already. When Elijah whined to God when he arrived at the tree, he said “It is enough!” It is too much! The angel uses Elijah’s complaint. “Arise and eat because the journey is just too much for you.” I like the assumption in this verse. It says, “You are going on a journey whether you want to or not” and you can do it on empty, in your own strength, or you can do it on full, in Mine. Either way, you are going on a journey.” That’s the Denise version. This time he “arose and ate and drank.”
In my situation, I didn’t have an angel smack me on the back of the head. Rather, the Holy Spirit did it in His own way. I need a holy smack every now and then. Maybe you’re one of the pliable sheep. I try to be, but sometimes I can be pretty stiff-necked. A smack on the back of the head will at least make me bow. I find it interesting that God leaves us to ourselves sometimes so that we can see how inept we are without Him. And then the Holy Spirit steps up to reinforce the lesson! Though painful, I’m grateful that God doesn’t always heed our pleas. Some of the things that I’ve asked for in the heat of my hurt and discouragement would have had cataclysmic results if God had granted them. Praise Him for His mercy!
But right here is the answer to moving on from the broom tree. “Arise and eat and drink.”
#1 Arise: Stand up. The Hebrew word can also mean “be established, fixed”. In other words, stand up and get your spiritual footing. Two verses came to mind when I read this. The first is found in Revelation 3:2-3a in Jesus' letter to the church at Sardis. “Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die, for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent.” Sometimes we just have to get up and start again, doing what we know God has already said to do. Remember what He said to you before all of this happened? Keep it. Repent and move on. And Hebrews 12:12-13 says this: “Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.” Check out the definition for “weak” hands. “To let pass, to pass by, to neglect, to relax, to loose, to disregard.” “Feeble” means “to kneel down”. Sure describes me sometimes. Ever feel like you’ve fallen and you can’t get up? So tired, so weak that things just pass you by? You become apathetic and just relax your spiritual grip so much that you disregard what’s important? God is telling us to get a grip and stand up. If I’m going to be on my knees, it needs to be for prayer, not apathy. Sometimes, even when we've been obedient, like Elijah had been, we can get burned by other people. Fear sets in and we arrive at the broom tree. It's hard to take the next step - we don't want to hurt again. We're tired and gun shy. Maybe we're shaking in our boots and refusing to move. "Deer in the headlights" disciples waiting for the next bus to run us over - sometimes it's even a church bus. That's where I've been recently. Injury in obedience doesn't necessarily encourage us to take the next step (unless it's to run in the wrong direction). It takes faith to stand up and strengthen your hands and knees and get your feet moving on the straight path again. That's one of the reasons Hebrews 12 is prefaced with Hebrews 11: "And without faith it is impossible to please God..." (v6) We have to believe "He is"... He is God and He is good - a rewarder of those who seek Him. Fear forces us to forget God is faithful. (I apologize for all the f's.)
#2 Arise and Eat: I love a warm Panera Bread French baguette. I love it so much I can imagine the smell. It’s a delightful craving. I love the smell of chocolate too, but fresh baked bread will bend my will. Jesus said in John 6:35 “I am the Bread of Life; he who comes to Me will not hunger.” Did you know that the fresh baked bread in the tabernacle was called “the Bread of the Presence”. We talk frequently about the Scripture (or Word) being bread to us. After all, man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Yes, the written word is our manna, and we should daily eat from it. But I want to stress here what God has stressed to me. HE is the Bread of Life. His Presence is life to us. There is no life in the Scriptures without the breath or life of God in them. Ask an unbeliever how the word tastes and they’ll tell you, “not very filling; dry and bland; leaves a bitter aftertaste." But to the believer, the word is filling and satisfying and tasty. Why? Because the Presence of God, the Holy Spirit, brings it to life for you and me. “You will make known to me the path of life; in Your Presence there is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” Psalm 16:11
When we eat of His Presence, when we have an intimate relationship with Him (abide in Him, love Him, converse with Him, listen to Him), He makes known to us the path of life and the journey is not “too much” for us anymore. But try 40 days in a spiritual wilderness without Him: it ain’t pretty. Try just one day... it’s enough to make you find a broom tree.
#3 Arise and eat and drink: There’s a particular brand of water that I love (comes in a rectangular bottle). I love it because it’s smooth. There’s no “metal” taste; it seems taste-less. When the bottle is ice cold, I’d rather have that than a coke (and that’s saying a lot!). I also have this attraction to bodies of water. Streams, lakes, oceans. (I like to look AT them and be NEAR them; not be IN them or ON them.) Maybe it’s because the day I surrendered my life to Jesus, I was sitting by a lake. But even before, there was something about being on the beach in Florida or sitting by a stream that was soothing to me.
I love that Jesus followed his John 6 revelation as the Bread of Life, with John 7’s announcement. “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ˜From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ By this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive.” Ever been so long in a spiritual wilderness that you were absolutely parched for lack of His Presence? Maybe you don’t take detours like I have. Think of some time when you were in the heat and had to go a long time without that bottle of cold water we just talked about. Imagine someone binding your hands, sitting you on the hot pavement in full sun in Phoenix, AZ mid-summer with an ice cold bottle of water right within reach, but unable to get the cap off. That’s what it feels like once you drink from Him and then wander off on your own for too long. Living water is always within reach. Jesus says, “Are you thirsty? Come to Me and drink.” He says, “Be filled with the Spirit.” Bread and water... the necessities. Without them, we die. In them is life. IN JESUS ALONE IS LIFE and He is enough, sometimes too much!
God's answer to my dilemma was this: Stand up and get your spiritual footing in Me. Eat of My Presence every time you wake and throughout the day. Abide in Me and let Me teach you to love Me. Feast on My word and don’t neglect what I say. Listen. Meditate on My word to you and remind yourself of what I have already commanded you and promised you. Empty yourself of self-loathing and self-importance – and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Why? The journey is too much for you.
These are the things Jesus as spoken to me if I want to leave the broom tree. And I have to leave it. There’s a journey one way or the other. Do we want to run on empty? Or make the journey in His fullness. There’s a wilderness to come out of and a mountain ahead to climb and an “unlearning” in the future for Elijah… and for me. (See part 3)
