What do Elijah, Moses, and Jonah have in common?

Elijah & Jonah Attempt Fleeing

Elijah in 1 Kings 19.1-3

1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 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 as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” 3 Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

Jonah 1.1-3

1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah . . . 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tar-shish from the presence of the Lord.

Deathwish

Elijah in 1 Kings 19.4

4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”

Jonah 4.3-6

3 “O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” . . . 5 Jonah went out of the city . . . 6 Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort.

Sleep Interrupted

Elijah in 1 Kings 19.5-6

5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again.

Jonah 1.5-6

5 . . . Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god!”

Second Chance

Elijah in 1 Kings 19.7-8

7 And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” 8 And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights . . .

Jonah 3.1-4

1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh . . . 4 And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

Elijah & Moses on Horeb, God’s Mountain

Elijah in 1 Kings 19.8

8 . . . to Horeb, the mount of God.

Moses in Exodus 2.15 & 3.1

2.15 Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian . . . 3.1 Moses led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Covered Faces

Elijah in 1 Kings 19.9-14

9 There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” 11 And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. 13 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”

Moses in Exodus 3.2-6

2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed . . . 4 God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” . . . 6 And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Sent Back on Mission

Elijah in 1 Kings 19.15-18

15 And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Ha-za-el to be king over Syria. 16 And Jehu the son of Nim-shi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Sha-phat of A-bel-me-ho-lah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. 17 And the one who escapes from the sword of Ha-za-el shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. 18 Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Moses in Exodus 3.9-10

9 "And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh."

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.