1 Kings 19:9 – “So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him.”
Elijah had been instructed various times to go to certain places. But the word of the Lord comes to him in today’s reading asking him, “What are you doing here?” The implication is that Elijah is possibly in the wrong place. But maybe it wasn’t the geographical location that was wrong. Could it be that he was in the wrong place spiritually?
Elijah had just come off a major victory at Mount Carmel. He had vindicated the lordship of Jehovah over Israel through a successful showdown with Jezebel’s 400 prophets and Asherah and the 450 prophets of Baal. Not only was there a phenomenal display of God’s power, there was a riddance of the false prophets as Elijah commanded that they be killed. However, this stirred up the wrath of Jezebel and she swore to kill Elijah. Upon hearing the news, Elijah flees into the wilderness and says in verse 4, “I have had enough…take my life.” Elijah withstood 850 false prophets but now is running from Jezebel. God sends and angel to strengthen Elijah and he arrives at Mount Sinai where the above verse is spoken. The Lord’s question to Elijah, which He repeats again in verse 13, May have more to it than what meets the eye. Could it mean, “How did you get here, why are you running, you’re not supposed to be here?” The Lord then tells him to go and anoint 3 people, one of whom is his replacement.
Position is everything. Being at the right place is important and should not be subject to our emotions or our difficulty or our dislike. Position should only be subject to God’s willing. So ….. what are you doing here?