“Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lordcame a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there.” 1 Kings 19:1-9

{My husband bought an exercise machine to help him shed a few pounds. He set it up in the basement but didn’t use it much, so he moved it to the bedroom. It gathered dust there, too, so he put it in the living room. Weeks later I asked how it was going. “I was right,” he said. “I do get more exercise now. Every time I close the drapes, I have to walk around the machine.”}

One of the first things that you learn about the geography of the Holy Land is that it’s tiny by American standards. From north to south, the modern state of Israel is only 290 miles long, and its width varies between 9 miles and 85 miles. With distances like that, a journey of 40 days and 40 nights is remarkable. The fact that the text says Elijah traveled day and night would presumably indicate walking at least 10-12 hours a day, leaving time for breaks and sleep. The math would indicate that if Elijah walked even 3 miles an hour, he would travel between 30 and 36 miles a day – which over 40 days and nights would mean he walked over 1200 miles. With that in mind, saying that his walk took “40 days and 40 nights” is just a way to say that he took “a long journey” – most likely not meant to be taken literally. It’s rather like when we say, “Thanks a million”—the million is just a way to indicate great thanks.

Did Elijah feel thankful for the provisions he received before he took “a long journey”? We are not told, but it was enough to strengthen him so he could make it to the Mountain of G-d. At Mt. Horeb he faces not only G-d but the awesomeness of G-d. And G-d gives him his instructions – he basically tells him to “go and do what needs to be done”. The bread and wine in communion we receive each Sunday may seem like a meager meal, but it is enough to strengthen us. In this bread and wine we see the awesomeness of G-d – and having received the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation, we too are told to “go do what needs to be done”. As I say each Sunday, “Come to the banquet for all is now ready”. It is spiritual food – and spiritual drink – to sustain us to do G-d’s work.

Pastor Dave

“When the king heard the charge, he was very much distressed. He was determined to save Daniel, and until the sun went down he made every effort to rescue him. Then the conspirators came to the king and said to him, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no interdict or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.” Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!” A stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no food was brought to him, and sleep fled from him.” Daniel 6:14-18

{Living in a household with eight indoor cats requires buying large amounts of kitty litter, which I usually get in 25-pound bags—100 pounds at a time. When I was going to be out of town for a week, I decided to go to the supermarket to stock up. As my husband and I both pushed shopping carts, each loaded with five large bags of litter, a man looked at our purchases and queried, “Bengal or Siberian?”}

A man brought in his 12-year-old cat, complaining that the cat was peeing all over the apartment and had been for years. The veterinarian started the consultation with the basics:

Dr.: “What kind of litter are you using in the box?”

Client: “Box?”

Dr.: “Yes, what kind of litter is in the litter box?”

Client: “He doesn’t have a litter box. I let him out twice a day to do his business.”

Pause.

Dr.: “Get a litter box.”

Two weeks later, the client called with great news about the cat’s potty issues: “He’s cured!”

That is a true story, and I don’t know what to say. Except this, sometimes the most obvious remains elusive. This is true with the story of Daniel in the lions den. One could surmise that we should learn from Daniel that trust in G-d will solve all of our problems. But that is not the lesson we should learn. The chief lesson we should learn comes form the confession of King Darius: “For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end” (Daniel 6:26). In other words, our faith in G-d is a faith in a sovereign, omnipotent presence whose will takes precedence over our own. G-d’s ways are not our ways, and G-d’s thoughts are not our thoughts. Our task is to trust and obey, as the old hymn suggests. Or as Job teaches us: “You talk…foolish. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” (Job 2:10)

Sometimes we may feel like we are living in a box of kitty litter surrounded by, well, you know. But our faith does not guarantee us a rose garden – it only confirms that G-d is the source of all blessings, and challenges, and that G-d’s Kingdom will not be destroyed.

Pastor Dave