1 Kings 19:15

GOD'S INSTRUCTIONS FOR ELIJAH TO GO BACK TO WORK

"And Jehovah said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest thou shalt anoint Hazael to be king over Syria; and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-mehola shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay; and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Yet will I leave me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth that hath not kissed him."

"Go, return on thy way" (1 Kings 19:15). From this, Elijah was to learn that, "Man may not abandon his duties, even when they are irksome, and when they seem to be hopeless."[17]

"Elisha ... shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room" (1 Kings 19:16). "God teaches here that there is no such thing as a NECESSARY man; man, even at his best estate, is altogether vanity; but God is all in all. God buries His workmen, but his work goes on."[18]

The three things that God commanded Elijah to do are nowhere stated in the O.T. as having been done by Elijah, but this is no problem. We may be certain that Elijah indeed obeyed the heavenly commandments, even if our extremely-abbreviated records do not tell us anything about how or when he did so. Furthermore, the fact of some other person being cited as anointing Jehu at a later time is probably another anointing.

"Yet will I leave me seven thousand in Israel" (1 Kings 19:18). The apostle Paul made reference to this passage as proof that in spite of the general apostasy of the whole Israel, God still retained the loyalty of seven thousand persons who had not bowed the knee to Baal (Romans 11:4). Seven thousand is a perfect number and probably should be understood as a larger but indefinite multitude. Right here is the beginning of the doctrine of the Righteous Remnant which receives so much attention in Isaiah (Isaiah 6:13; 10:20-23).

"And every mouth which hath not kissed him" (Baal) (1 Kings 19:18). "Kissing Baal was the usual form in which this idol was worshipped, not merely by throwing kisses with the hand but also by actually kissing the idol itself."[19] Hosea speaks of the cries that were shouted in the pagan sanctuaries, "Let the men that sacrifice KISS THE CALVES"! (Hosea 13:2).