“Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan” (1 Kings 17:3).
Elijah has just delivered his stinging message to the inhabitants of Gilead: there will be no dew nor rain for three and a half years except at his word. Then God tells him to flee, no doubt because of the serious dangers Jezebel and her minions pose for the prophet.
At the time, God is still operating through miracles, and He has every intention of protecting Elijah. Evidently Elijah does not have enough faith to realize how carefully God is going to take care of him. Knowing Elijah’s apprehensions, God gives the prophet the instruction in this verse.
In the Christian Age, God does not tell us verbally to “Get away from here” when we are in spiritual danger. But His word provides clear instruction about how we should live, how we are to commit to His Son wholeheartedly, and how we are to dedicate ourselves to His Cause, that is, through the Church.
Our job, then, is to apply His word to our lives and keep ourselves away from those influences that might weaken us spiritually. Finding ourselves going toward spiritual danger, we listen to the Word as it tells us to “Get Away from Here.”
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