Sat 1st August – 1 Kings 19:7-8

Sat 1^st August  –  Read 1 Kings 19:7-8

V7:  Now we learn something even more amazing. This is no “mere angel” – if we dare say that – but ” the angel of the Lord”, that mysterious figure who came to chosen servants of the Lord in the OT and left them somehow aware that they had met with God Himself, so that as narratives developed this person is called at times simply ” the Lord” ( See for example, Genesis 22:15-17; Exodus 3:2-6: Judges 6:12.) This person, meeting whom is meeting God, and would be devastating but for His grace, is regarded by most Bible scholars as a “pre-incarnation” appearance of Jesus Himself – eternally the Son of God – many think appearing in the form that would be His in His earthly life. So, we may say it is Jesus Himself who comes to minister to Elijah in his low condition, even to feed and sustain his body. He tells Elijah he needs this food to sustain him for a journey. Remember, he had no intention of making a journey – just wanted to die. God is still dealing with his servant  in His great mercy and tenderness.

V8:  And that ( miraculous?) food sustains him for a 40 day journey to Horeb, the mount of God, another name for Sinai, where God met with Moses to give him the law, and in the desert far below the southern border of Judah. God has his servant in His hand, and is preparing him for the revelation he needs, in his low state.