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Strange as it may seem, these felt weaknesses of men like Elijah come upon us with
almost a sense of relief. It is not only that we realize that these giants of faith are men
of like passions with ourselves, but that the Divine in their work is thereby the more
prominently brought out. It deserves special notice that Elijah proceeded on his hasty
journey without any Divine direction to that effect. Attended only by his faithful
servant, he passed without pausing to the farthest boundary of the neighboring
kingdom of Judah. But even that was not his final destination, nor could he in his
then mood brook any companionship. Leaving his servant behind, he went into the
wilderness of Paran. In its awful solitude he felt himself for the first time free to rest.
Utterly broken down in body and in spirit, he cast himself under one of those wide-
spreading brooms,^19 which seemed as if they indicated that even in the vast, howling
wilderness, the hand of the Great Creator had provided shelter for His poor, hardly
bestead wanderers.
There is something almost awful in the life-and-death conflicts of great souls. We
witness them with a feeling akin to reverence. The deep despondency of Elijah's soul
found utterance in the entreaty to be released from work and suffering. He was not
better than his fathers; like them he had vainly toiled; like them he had failed; why
should his painful mission be prolonged? But not so must he pass away. Like Moses
of old, he must at least gain distant view of the sweet land of beauty and rest. As so
often, God in His tender mercy gave His beloved the precious relief of sleep. And
more than that - he was to have evidence that even there he was not forsaken. An
angel awakened him to minister to his wants. God careth for the body; and precious
in His sight is not only the death, but also the felt need of His people. The same great
Jehovah, Whose manifestation on Carmel had been so awful in its grandeur,
condescended to His servant in the hour of his utmost need, and with unspeakable
tenderness, like a mother, tended His weary child. Once more a season of sleep, and
again the former heaven-given provision for the journey which he was to make - now
in the guidance of God.^20
The analogy between Moses, as he through whom the Covenant was given, and
Elijah, as he through whom the Covenant was restored, has already been indicated.
There is, however, one great difference between the two. When Israel broke the
Covenant which Moses was about to make, he pleaded for them with the most
intense agony of soul (Exodus 33-34:9). When once more Israel broke the Covenant
on the morrow of Carmel, Elijah fled in utter despondency of spirit. In both cases
God granted light to His servants by such manifestation of Himself as gave deepest
insight into His purposes of grace and anticipation of the manner in which they
would be ultimately realized in all their fullness through Jesus Christ. And hence it
was in this respect also fitting that Moses and Elijah should be with Jesus on the
Mount of Transfiguration. But Elijah had not been like Moses; rather had he been
like the children of Israel. And therefore, like them, must he wander for symbolic
(^)