1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21 (NRSV)
Read 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21 on biblegateway.com
Verse 15Then the Lord said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. Verse 16Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.
Verse 19So he set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him. Verse 20He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you." Then Elijah said to him, "Go back again; for what have I done to you?" Verse 21He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant.
Devotion
“You shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. Also you shall anoint Jehu…as king over Israel; and Elisha…as prophet in your place.”
Elijah hears God speak out of the silence after God was not in the wind, the earthquake or the fire. (These were signs used by God at Mount Carmel in the previous scene.) God speaks some terrifying words to the frightened, hunted prophet: anoint a new order of kings and prophets to cleanse the land of idolatry! Elijah wants so deeply to run from his fight with the wicked queen Jezebel and her death threats, yet it is through this fight that God tells Elijah, “You shall anoint.” God’s work is bigger than you and me; wider than our joy, deeper than our grief. God calls us like he calls Elijah—through our trembling fear—to touch and anoint.
From whom or what do you tremble and hide? Listen…
Prayer
Great God of the still, quiet voice, please comfort our troubled souls and focus our minds. Sharpen our hearing to attend to your call through the very things that trouble us most, especially when we would prefer to flee and hide. Reassure us of your unfailing love this day. Amen.