The "Elijah in the Wilderness" Syndrome

In 1 Kings 19, the prophet Elijah fled into the wilderness because he had received word that Jezebel, the wicked queen of Israel, had sworn to have him killed. This threat against his life came shortly after he had defeated the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel and had slain 450 of them. After that mighty feat, which God had done through him, Elijah should have realized that God would continue to be with him and would allow no harm to come to him. Yet, Elijah feared for his life and failed to trust in God whole-heartedly and as a result, he tried to run away from his problems.

In 1 Kings 19:13, we find Elijah hiding in a cave in the Sinai Desert. God speaks to him and says, “What doest thou here Elijah?” “Why are you in hiding?” seems to be the question God is asking. In verse 14 Elijah answers, “I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” What Elijah was really saying is, “Nobody else is doing anything, nobody else is as faithful as me and everybody has turned against me, so I’ll just take my things go away.”

What was Elijah really doing, when he was hiding in a cave in the wilderness? He was pouting! He was feeling sorry for himself and was sulking because of it. When I was a child and would go off and pout, my mother would find me pouting and would tease me saying, “Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I’ll go and eat some worms.” She did this to demonstrate how ridiculous I sounded, sulking over some little bit of nonsense. That is what God does to Elijah – He shows Elijah how ridiculous he sounded, thinking that he alone was faithful. God said in verse 18, “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.”

Elijah was pouting because he thought himself to be the only one who was faithful. This kind of thinking led him to do nothing. Elijah’s sulking caused him quit working for the Lord and to sit on his hands and do nothing. His fear and despair coupled with his mistaken belief that he alone was faithful, caused this great man of God to be paralyzed into inactivity.

The same thing happens to many Christians today. The erroneous belief that no one else is being faithful has led many to become unfaithful themselves. This attitude is without excuse. Even if there were only one man or one family who was faithful, God would still expect those individuals to be working. Look to the example of Noah and his family. They really were the only faithful family left on the face of the earth, yet we have no record of them despairing and becoming despondent. Noah was a “preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5) for one hundred years while the ark was being built. He never converted anybody outside of his immediate family, yet we do not read of him pouting or sulking as we do read of Elijah. Noah never gave up, he never quit, and he never hid himself away in despair.

Many times faithful Christians are made to feel like they are alone. They feel that no one else is willing to work, or that they will be alone if they take a stand against error and the result is that no work is done and the truth is not defended. It is at those times that we need to place our trust in God and know that He will be with us. We will not be alone! When we feel alone, like Elijah felt, we need to realize that we are not truly alone. Somewhere else, in another town or another country, there is a faithful Christian facing the same trials and fears that we face. Perhaps, he too, feels alone. Yet the knowledge that there are other faithful Christians elsewhere gives him hope and drives him to continue in the work of righteousness.

If every faithful Christian, in every town and in every country (even if there were only one such Christian in a given location) were to be like Noah and simply do the best he can where he is and not worry over what another person is doing, or not doing, then the church as a whole would be in much better shape. If there is one thing that is bringing the church down more than any other, it is the inactivity and passivity of the faithful, who have been stricken with the Elijah in the Wilderness Syndrome. The only cure for this disorder is trust in God and perseverance. “Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” (Galatians 6:9).

Too Righteous?

“Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself? Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?” Ecclesiastes 7:16-17

How can one be too righteous or too wise? One is “too righteous” when he or she becomes self-righteous. A self-righteous person supplants God’s standard with his own standard of righteousness. The Jews of Jesus’ day are a good example of this type of self-righteousness. One can become too wise if their wisdom is based solely upon secular wisdom. Secular wisdom can be good, but we must not neglect the wisdom that is able to make one wise unto salvation. (2 Timothy 3:15).

What does it mean to be over much wicked or foolish? All are guilty of sin from time to time, but it is the rebellious lifestyle of foolishness and wickedness that brings an early death. All one needs to see, to understand this, is the average age at death for rock stars and for homosexuals.

Average Age at Death:

USA Average: 75.8 years
Gay Women: 44.5 years
Gay Men: 40.0 years
Rock Stars: 36.0 years

If we continue to walk in God’s ways we will not fall into the traps of self-righteousness, worldliness, foolishness and sin.

The Curse of the Law

Galatians 3:10-13 “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, the just shall live by faith. In addition, the law is not of faith: but, the man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree…”

What law is Paul speaking of and what is the “curse” of that law? Paul was referring specifically to the Law of Moses (i.e. the Ten Commandments), but the same principles apply to any system of law. The “curse” of the law is that one must keep the entire Law in order to be justified by it and that once one has sinned under the Law, there is no way to put away one’s guilt. The Law of Moses made no provision for the forgiveness of sin. In James 2:10, we are taught that under a system of law (any system that is totally based upon a rule of law), if one tries to keep the whole law but offends in even one point, he is guilty of all. The curse of the Law, according to Paul in Romans 7:7-13, is that it exposed sin in his life, yet it did nothing to take away his guilt. The Law of Moses only allowed for forgiveness in prospect, that is, it only covered the sins of men until Christ came to take away those sins. Now that Christ has come, the Law has been taken away. It was nailed to the cross along with Him (Colossians 2:13-14) So now, we are free from the curse of the Law of Moses. Does this mean that there is no longer a law that we must follow? Is there not a requirement for Christians to obey in the New Testament?

Yes, obedience is a requirement even under the Law of Christ. Christ demands our obedience. Matthew 7:21 teaches that we must do the will of the Father in order to enter into the kingdom of heaven. The will of God is our law. The will of God has been revealed in its fulness in the New Testament. The Word of Christ will judge us in the last day. Those who reject Christ and His Word are rejecting the very law that will judge them. (John 12:48) We are now under the Law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 gives us the imperative command to bear one another’s burdens in order to fulfill the law of Christ.

We are under the law of Christ, which is a law of Liberty. The fact that Christ’s law is a law of liberty does not mean that we are free to disobey it (Galatians 5:13). James teaches, that we must be a doer of the Word of God and not a hearer only (James 1:22-25). One who is a doer of the Law of Liberty will be blessed. James also teaches in that we will be judged by that Law of Liberty (James 2:12).

Since one could not keep all of the commandments under the Law of Moses, as we read in James 2:10, one would be guilty of all the Law. There was no way under the Old Law for ones sins to be taken away. The punishment for sin is death. Therefore, violation of any point of the Law of Moses brought one under the “curse” of the law, which was the death sentence. Only by the grace of God was a way made for man to rid himself of the “curse” of law. The grace of God freed man from the curse of the law.

Does this mean that grace and law are mutually exclusive? God forbid! Grace is what brought about a system of salvation by faith in Christ Jesus. We are justified only by our obedient faith in Christ, not by works of law. However, that does not void every form of law. Romans 3:31 teaches that law is established through faith. Faith establishes or confirms law. If we have faith in Jesus and are obedient to His Will, then we must recognize His Will as law, or else we would not be faithful to it. Our obedience to Christ’s Law confirms that His Law is in effect.

In Galatians 2:16-21, the word “law” is referring any system whereby one is saved according to works of merit. Whether it is by the Law of Moses, which made no provision for forgiveness, or whether it was by the Law of the Jews, which was apart from the Law of Moses, and had developed into a system of works based salvation. The Jews believed that they could earn their way to heaven by keeping the traditions of their ancestors. Therefore, we are not justified by law keeping in and of its self, but we are justified by the law of faith in Christ Jesus.