Are We Alone? The Lesson of Elijah
“… I reserve seven thousand in Israel - all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.” 1 Kings 19:18
This passage intrigues me. Elijah has just destroyed the pagan spiritual powerhouse of his day. He is then threatened by Jezebel, the battle-axe wife of King Ahab, has an abrupt turn-about in courage and runs for his life. During his pity-party that follows he moans to God in v14 that he is the only prophet left. God’s answer is that there is not one left, but seven thousand.
It begs the questions - who were these seven thousand and why were they not known to Elijah? Perhaps it is more pointed to ask if they were hidden or whether Elijah just failed to see them. Did the seven thousand belong to a different expression to Elijah, or perhaps to many different expressions?
Pointing the finger back at us, does this image reflect the diversity within Christ’s family? Are we so sectarian in our views that we think that we are the only ones left? Do we in our bigotry fail to see that it is God who reserves his own? Christ’s body is not the visible church but the invisible.