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And now Elijah spoke to Ahab, and
told him, that soon God would send rain upon the land. Ahab was glad
to hear this, and went away to eat and drink; but Elijah went to the top
of Carmel to pray. Then the prophet called his servant and said,
"Go to the sea, and look." The servant went; but he came
back soon, and said to his master, "I see nothing." Then
Elijah told him to go again seven times. Why was the servant to go
and look towards the sea? Because Elijah wanted to see if the black
clouds were coming, and the wind, and the rain. He knew that soon
the rain would fall, for God had promised it; and he waited patiently,
praying in faith, till the right time came. God does not always
answer prayers directly. Sometimes He waits a long while before He
answers them. Does not God attend to our prayers? Yes; but He
knows what is right for us, better than we can know; and He often sees it
best that we should wait for what we ask. But we must not be tired
of praying. We must do as Elijah did; he prayed and waited a long
time; and at last, God answered his prayer, and gave him what he asked. The
servant came back, and said, "I see a little cloud, like a man's
hand, coming out of the sea." Then Elijah knew that the rain
was coming, and he sent his servant to tell Ahab. The little cloud
grew larger and larger, and the sky became very black, and the wind blew,
and then the rain began to fall very heavily. The poor people, and
the thirsty animals were very glad of the rain. It would soon make
the grass and the corn spring up, and then there would be food for them
again. How kind God is to His people to give them rain and sunshine,
to make the corn, and herbs, and grass, grow out of the ground! Where
did Elijah go now? He ran before Ahab to Jezreel. But when
Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done to Baal's prophets, she was
very angry. She loved Baal and the wicked prophets; but she hated
God and His holy prophets, and she said, "I will kill Elijah:
to-morrow he shall be dead, as my prophets of Baal are." When
Elijah heard this, he arose, and escaped to Beersheba, and went alone into
the wilderness, and sat down under a tree. Elijah was very
unhappy. He had many enemies seeking to kill him; many of his
friends were dead; cruel Jezebel had slain them; and the people were very
wicked; they served Baal and not God. All this made Elijah feel sad;
and he thought of heaven, that happy place where there are no cruel
enemies and no wicked people; and he wished to be there, and cried,
"O Lord, take away my life." Was
this right? No; Elijah forgot then that God could comfort him, and
take care of him still. There was much for Elijah to do; it was not
the will of God that he should die yet; and, therefore, he was to wait
patiently. But God loved and pitied His poor servant, and sent an
angel to comfort him. Elijah soon fell asleep under the tree, for he
was very tired and sorrowful; and as he slept, an angel came to him and
touched him, and said, "Arise, and eat." Elijah looked up,
and what did he see? There was a cake baked on the coals, ready for
him to eat, and a cruse of water at his head. Who had brought
them? God had sent them; God, who before had sent the ravens to feed
Elijah by the brook Cherith. How kind God was to His prophet!
Elijah ate and drank, and lay down, and slept again. Soon the angel
touched him the second time, and said, "Arise, and eat."
And Elijah obeyed; and now he felt strong, and able to do all that God
gave him to do. He went to Horeb, and was there forty days and forty
nights. He ate nothing all that time, but he did not want food, for
God kept him without it. When Moses was in the mountain, he lived
forty days without food too. God can preserve His people very
wonderfully, if he so please. How
pleasant it was for Elijah to have God's holy angels so near him when he
slept! God takes care of all His people, as He took care of
Elijah. When they are asleep, and cannot take care of themselves, He
is with them. His eye never sleeps. He can see in the dark
night, when they are alone, and have no friend near them: and He
sends His holy angels to guard them then. If God please, they will
sleep in peace and safety, and awake alive in a happier world—the holy
angels will carry their souls safely to their home in Heaven.
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