Broom Tree Mercy (Pt 2)
For Part 1 of Broom Tree Mercy, click here.
Though He Lay Me Down to Sleep
Nothing happened. But like all his other requests, he knew God listened to and accepted his prayers, so he bided his time. As he waited, his mind wandered back to just three days earlier. The triumph! The glory! The people had seen Yahweh’s total and complete power. They had seen that Baal was a lie and had purged their land of his false prophets and their deceptions. Not only that, but the drought and famine had finally broken. As rain began to pour from the sky, the promise of restoration and renewal seemed to fall with it.
But then, the next day, Jezebel had sent a message. One that was loud and clear, and, worse still, deeply disturbing. The kind of message that someone only as evil as her could have sent. And in one moment, it was all over. He was a marked man. So he ran. Better to die at his own word than by the hand of that wretched woman.
A lighter breeze rustled causing a few of the white blossoms to float to the ground. Jarred from his bleak thoughts, he recalled where he was. Noticing that he was apparently still very much alive, he shook his head. Another disappointment. Where was God? Where was the answer to his earnest petition?
Not being able to muster another round of prayer, Elijah gave into his exhaustion and lay down to sleep. Maybe God would let death meet him in rest. After all, he was the God who always answered him. Eventually.
As Elijah drifted off to sleep, he thought he heard the sound of scraping rock, flint against stone, quickly followed by the pop and crackle of wood, as if someone had started a fire. No. Impossible.
“I’m alone,” was his last thought as the darkness overtook him.
Broom Tree Cook-Out
I’ll stop my retelling of the story and let your imagination pick it up from there!
The rest of the passage says that…
‘But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again.
Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.”
So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God.’ (1 Kings 19:5-8, NLT)
Broom Tree Mercy
Simply incredible. Elijah laid down to sleep after asking God to die, convinced that he was completely alone—alone in his ministry and the only prophet left in all of Israel. Not only did he feel alone, but he felt (and was!) hunted too. He was convinced that his future was over, and the prayers he prayed show that he’d reached the point of total despair.
God’s response? He made him lunch and dinner. Scholars agree that the angel of the Lord is actually Jesus himself appearing every so often in the Old Testament before arriving on earth as a baby, which is what we celebrate at Christmas. He is, and has always been, Immanuel, God with us.
And God was with Elijah too. He showed up when Elijah needed him most, faithfully providing more than enough nourishment - so much so, that it gave Elijah the strength to journey for 40 days and nights without needing to eat again.
Did you notice that the bread was cooked on hot coals? This wasn’t stale, cold bread. It was fresh and it had been prepared while he was sleeping. While Elijah thought he was alone, God was there. Right there. The whole time.
He knew where Elijah was because he was there too. And, in his knowing, God demonstrated his care for Elijah by providing him shade (as supplied by the broom tree), AND by offering the mercy of a cook-out under its branches (as prepared by the Almighty himself).
God’s care not only met Elijah physically, but emotionally too. He kindly made his presence known and felt. He didn’t just provide freshly baked bread and water, then bounce. He stayed. And he waited. Even better, he didn’t rush Elijah to “get going” before he was ready. This is evidenced by the fact that he told Elijah to go back for seconds.
God’s care of Elijah’s emotional well-being is also demonstrated in what was spoken. The only thing the angel of the Lord, Jesus, said in response to Elijah’s request to die was, essentially, “Replenish yourself.” God didn’t scold him about his prayer request, instead, he acknowledged that the journey ahead was too great for him, and, in that, he also gave Elijah clarity about his very next step. That’s it. That’s what we have recorded about what was spoken.
Dinner & direction. What a reply to a request to end one’s life. This is a triad kind of care. This is broom tree mercy.
My friend, if you’re in a place where you resonate with Elijah’s story and you really need to see God’s care in action, I’m so sorry it’s been hard. While I don’t know where you need the broom tree mercy of God, Jesus knows and is with you, and I’m also praying for you.
I pray that, like Elijah, you would experience God meeting you right where you are with the exact material, emotional, and soul care you need.
I pray that you receive vision to see God’s provision, and that his comprehensive, patient, replenishing care helps you keep journeying forward in his strength.
God sees, knows, and is going to take care of you. He is with you. Right now, right where you are.
Kemi
IMPORTANT NOTE: If thoughts of suicide have been on your mind, please find resources to help below. Elijah’s honest story is a word of encouragement that God’s people also deal with this under-talked about reality.