Joshua 1:9
King James Version
9 Have not I commanded thee?
Be strong and of a good courage;
be not afraid,
neither be thou dismayed:
for the Lord thy God is with thee
whithersoever thou goest.
He was a false prophet slayer.
And yet, he became afraid -- of a woman.
Read an account of this curious story.
This is Elijah, who was inspired by the SPIRIT of GOD to make declarations:
1 Kings 18:17-19
King James Version
17 And it came to pass,
when Ahab saw Elijah,
that Ahab said unto him,
Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
18 And he answered,
I have not troubled Israel;
but thou,
and thy father's house,
in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord,
and thou hast followed Baalim.
19 Now therefore send,
and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel,
and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty,
and the prophets of the groves four hundred,
which eat at Jezebel's table.
1 Kings 18:21-24
King James Version
21 And Elijah came unto all the people,
and said,
How long halt ye between two opinions?
if the Lord be God,
follow him:
but if Baal,
then follow him.
And the people answered him not a word.
22 Then said Elijah unto the people,
I,
even I only,
remain a prophet of the Lord;
but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
23 Let them therefore give us two bullocks;
and let them choose one bullock for themselves,
and cut it in pieces,
and lay it on wood,
and put no fire under:
and I will dress the other bullock,
and lay it on wood,
and put no fire under:
24 And call ye on the name of your gods,
and I will call on the name of the Lord:
and the God that answereth by fire,
let him be God.
And all the people answered and said,
It is well spoken.
1 Kings 18:30-39
King James Version
30 And Elijah said unto all the people,
Come near unto me.
And all the people came near unto him.
And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.
31 And Elijah took twelve stones,
according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob,
unto whom the word of the Lord came,
saying,
Israel shall be thy name:
32 And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord:
and he made a trench about the altar,
as great as would contain two measures of seed.
33 And he put the wood in order,
and cut the bullock in pieces,
and laid him on the wood,
and said,
Fill four barrels with water,
and pour it on the burnt sacrifice,
and on the wood.
34 And he said,
Do it the second time.
And they did it the second time.
And he said,
Do it the third time.
And they did it the third time.
35 And the water ran round about the altar;
and he filled the trench also with water.
36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice,
that Elijah the prophet came near,
and said,
Lord God of Abraham,
Isaac,
and of Israel,
let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel,
and that I am thy servant,
and that I have done all these things at thy word.
37 Hear me,
O Lord,
hear me,
that this people may know that thou art the Lord God,
and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell,
and consumed the burnt sacrifice,
and the wood,
and the stones,
and the dust,
and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 And when all the people saw it,
they fell on their faces:
and they said,
The Lord,
he is the God;
the Lord,
he is the God.
This is the same Elijah, who slew all 450 prophets of Baal.
1 Kings 18:40
King James Version
40 And Elijah said unto them,
Take the prophets of Baal;
let not one of them escape.
And they took them:
and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon,
and slew them there.
Which, of course, elicited the wrath of the wicked Jezebel, when her husband, king Ahab told her.
1 Kings 19:1-2
King James Version
19 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done,
and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah,
saying,
So let the gods do to me,
and more also,
if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.
What do you think Elijah -- slayer of 450 false prophets -- did?
1 Kings 19:3-4
King James Version
3 And when he saw that,
he arose,
and went for his life,
and came to Beersheba,
which belongeth to Judah,
and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness,
and came and sat down under a juniper tree:
and he requested for himself that he might die;
and said,
It is enough;
now,
O Lord,
take away my life;
for I am not better than my fathers.
Perhaps, apart from fearing for his life, the slaying of all those Baal prophets was too much for this outnumbered prophet, that's why he said, "It is enough".
(Of course, that's conjecture on my part.)
But the Lord took mercy upon His momentarily-frightened prophet, and sent an angel to minister to him.
1 Kings 19:5
King James Version
5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree,
behold,
then an angel touched him,
and said unto him,
Arise and eat.
(The whole account can be read here.)
It's understandable our prophet became momentarily frightened, for even the LORD JESUS warned one of His churches regarding this wicked Jezebel.
Revelation 2:18-23
King James Version
18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write;
These things saith the Son of God,
who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire,
and his feet are like fine brass;
19 I know thy works,
and charity,
and service,
and faith,
and thy patience,
and thy works;
and the last to be more than the first.
20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee,
because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel,
which calleth herself a prophetess,
to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication,
and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication;
and she repented not.
22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed,
and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation,
except they repent of their deeds.
23 And I will kill her children with death;
and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts:
and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
Whether prophet, or not, we have help from the LORD's SPIRIT.
2 Timothy 1:7
King James Version
7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;
but of power,
and of love,
and of a sound mind.
All we have to do, is believe in the LORD JESUS.
John 14:1
King James Version
14 Let not your heart be troubled:
ye believe in God,
believe also in me.
Related material:
PROPHETS are Not Smooth Talkers
(Image source: Clipart Library)
