NOTE: Look for all the signs of depression in this story: withdrawal from friends and family, sleeping too much, loss of appetite, hopelessness, a death wish, preoccupation with the same negative thoughts, loss of enthusiasm, self-pity and despair. But also note that the end of Elijah’s depression came when God, the greatest psychologist, gave him hope and a mission. Everyone needs hope and to feel productive and we all need to be needed.
ELIJAH FIGHTS HIS TOUGHEST BATTLE: DEPRESSION
(I Kings 19:1-18)
Jezebel threatened to kill Elijah--
'fore tomorrow’s end drew nigh!
Elijah was so afraid of death,
That he just wanted to die.
He had endured many trials,
With courage, strength and honor,
But now that he faced Jezebel,
He thought he was a goner.
He ran for his life to Beersheba,
And left his servant there.
In the desert he prayed for death;
His problems were too much to bear.
He told God frankly he’d had enough,
And begged Him to take his life.
Weary from worry, he fell asleep;
He was physically spent by his strife.
All at once, he was touched by an angel,
Which, of course, made him awake.
The angel asked him to get up and eat;
By his head was water and cake.
He ate the simple meal,
Then lay down again to rest.
He was still consumed by grief;
In other words, he was depressed.
Again he was touched by the angel,
With a cake, and water to sip.
“Arise and eat," the angel said;
"You need strength for a very long trip.”
For forty days and nights he traveled,
Still preoccupied by his plight.
He reached Horeb, the mountain of God;
In a cave he spent the night.
The word of the Lord came to him,
“What are you doing here?”
Elijah told God the predicament,
That was causing him so much fear.
“Go stand on the mountain,” God said,
“For the Lord will soon pass by.”
Elijah now had a mountain to climb;
He must have wanted to cry.
A wind tore apart the mountain,
Yet God was not in the wind.
Elijah most surely wondered,
When would his nightmare end.
When the earth began to quake,
He expected God to be there,
But God was not in the rumble,
So Elijah was still in despair.
Elijah pursued God’s help,
So he looked for Him in a fire.
When God was not in the flames,
Elijah wallowed in his mire.
Then he heard a still, small voice--
He was scared; he could hardly cope.
He pulled his cloak across his face,
But the words brought whispering hope.
God gave Elijah a mission,
For the seven thousand still true.
He wasn’t the only believer,
And he was no longer blue.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Jezebel was a mean queen -- bad to the bone.
Jezebel Goes to the Dogs
Ahab’s humility didn’t last;
To false prophets he returned.
He hated God’s own prophet;
In other words, God he spurned.
Ahab and the king of Judah,
Joined forces to start a war.
They got advice from false prophets,
Which hurt God to the core.
The king of Judah asked for God’s prophet,
Which only made Ahab mad.
He called for God’s prophet, Micaiah, saying,
“He tells nothing good but all bad.”
The false prophets said “Go to war.
You will surely win.”
But Satan put words in their mouths,
Through a lying spirit within.
Micaiah warned against the war;
He told them to go home instead.
With that, he was put in prison,
Where he was fed water and bread.
So the two kings went to war.
Ahab wore a disguise.
But a random arrow found an open space,
The result of his listening to lies.
They propped him up in his chariot,
As the driver wheeled him about.
The battle raged on all day,
By evening he had bled out.
They washed the chariot in a harlot’s pool,
And in places where Ahab bled,
The dogs licked up his blood,
As the word from God had declared.
Ahab’s son was crowned the new king,
But God had a different plan.
He had Elisha send a prophet,
To anoint another man.
The man’s name was Jehu.
As a commander he was employed.
God told him to destroy Ahab’s house,
To avenge His servants they destroyed.
Jehu went to Naboth’s land,
Where he found Ahab’s son.
He shot Ahaziah through the heart,
While his chariot was on the run.
Then Jehu went near the palace.
The queen knew he’d pass just below,
So she painted her eyes and fixed her hair,
Then watched him from her window.
When Jehu approached the window,
Jezebel began to jeer.
“Who is on my side?” Jehu said.
Then he saw eunuchs behind her appear.
“Throw her down,” Jehu said.
When they did, she was trampled by horses.
The dogs ate all but her skull and hands,
And got rid of her evil forces.
In order to punish her evil deeds,
There could never be enough flogs.
Her death resembled her life;
One could say she went to the dogs.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(My favorite)
(Based on Num 22-24, Deut 23:5-6, Josh 24:9-10,
Neh 13:1-2, 2 Pet 2:15, Jude 11)
BALAAM AND THE TALKING DONKEY
Balak, the son of a king,
Summoned Balaam, a pagan priest,
To put a curse on the Israelites,
Who had settled near him to the east.
The Israelites were conquerors,
So the prince was afraid of their horde.
He wanted a hex put on them,
Balaam would call on the Lord.
Balaam supposedly met with success,
When upon gods he would call,
He was paid to bring curses or blessings,
And he called upon them all.
But now he had met the one true God,
Whom he called to by divination.
He boldly asked God to send a curse,
On the whole Israelite nation.
God told Balaam to refuse,
The prince's ridiculous request,
So Balaam sent the officials back,
Which made the prince greatly distressed.
But the prince was more determined--
He wanted those Israelites cursed.
He sent a greater reward,
And officials more distinguished than the first.
Balaam opened his mouth to accept,
But here’s what the people heard:
“Offer a palace with silver and gold,
But I must obey God’s word.”
God then commanded Balaam,
"Go on, since they summoned you.
But I instruct you to do,
Only what I tell you to do."
God sent an angel to block the way,
So Balaam would learn his lesson.
For he had lived a reckless life;
With the true God he was now messin’.
His donkey’s way was blocked,
By an angel sent by the Lord.
The donkey turned into a field,
For the angel carried a sword.
Balaam beat his donkey and then,
Started down a narrow, walled path.
Balaam’s foot was crushed on the wall;
He again showed the donkey his wrath.
Then the angel moved on ahead,
And completely blocked their way.
The donkey laid down with Balaam on top.
For that, he was made to pay.
The Lord then opened the donkey’s mouth,
To Balaam he began talking.
He asked his master why the beatings,
For he had good reason for balking.
Balaam now saw the angel,
Who was ready to settle the score.
If it hadn’t been for his donkey,
He would be living no more.
Balaam still desired to please Balak,
So he kept on pursuing his quest.
But every time he opened his mouth,
The Israelites were blessed.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
JOSHUA DEFEATS JERICHO
When Joshua was near Jericho,
A city in the Promised Land,
He looked up and saw a man standing,
With a drawn sword in his hand.
Joshua went up to the man,
And asked on which side was he,
The man replied “Neither.”
He was Commander of God’s army.
Joshua fell on his face in reverence,
Expecting something profound.
The man said, “Take off your sandals,
For you’re standing on holy ground.
Through the man, the Lord said to Joshua,
“I’ve delivered Jericho to you.”
The war had not yet been fought,
But now the time was due.
The Jerichonians were afraid;
They wanted to be left be.
They had heard the amazing story,
Of the parting of the Red Sea.
The city was walled and tightly shut up;
No one went in or out.
An ill wind was blowing their way,
Of that fact, no one had a doubt.
The Lord’s instructions to Joshua,
As Jericho before them lay:
March around it one time for six days,
And seven on the seventh day.
Seven priests were to carry trumpets,
In front of the ark of the covenant.
On the seventh day they would blow their horns,
As they marched in a circular movement.
When the army heard a long trumpet blast,
That was their cue to shout.
The walls would come crashing down,
And they could move freely about.
The seventh day was an all-day event;
For Jericho was large.
The noise had to be deafening,
A wise plan from the One in charge.
The loud blast caused vibrations;
Cracks formed in each stone block.
One could blame the rolling stones,
On the priests playing hard rock.
Rahab and her family were spared,
They were taken outside of the city.
For she had helped the Israelites,
In return, they showed her pity.
The Lord God loves a challenge;
He can always beat the worst odds.
And because the Lord is jealous,
He takes issue with other gods.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FROM A ZERO TO A HERO
(Judges 6 & 7)
God’s people turned away from Him;
They were known as the Israelites.
So God allowed them to be,
Oppressed by the Midianites.
The Israelites called to God for help,
While hiding in mountain caves.
The Midianites were stealing their goods,
And treated them worse than slaves.
The Lord needed a leader,
Whose strength was not of might.
He would ask the man He chose,
To instigate a fight.
An angel spoke to Gideon,
While he was threshing wheat.
He called him a Mighty Warrior,
Tho’ unlikely as one could meet.
Gideon stuttered with fear and doubt,
He knew God needed a hero.
He first thought, “I’m not the man,
For I am but a zero.”
“My clan is considered the least,
And I am the least of the least.
I am not the one to ask,
To slay the men from the east.”
The Lord said “I will be with you;
We will do it together.”
Gideon was so amazed,
One could knock him down with a feather.
So Gideon said, “OK, I’ll go,
Just tell me where and when.”
Then Gideon gathered an army,
Of thirty-two thousand men.
But that was way too many,
At least it was in God’s eyes,
For when God is with an army,
It’s not about the size.
The Lord instructed Gideon,
To narrow the army down.
Ten thousand men were brave enough,
The rest returned to town.
But there was still too many,
So God put them through a test.
Three hundred passed unwittingly,
The Lord sent home the rest.
Armed with trumpets and jars,
And torches hidden within,
They were prepared for battle —
Just Gideon and 300 men.
The enemies they would face,
Numbered like grains of sand.
But an army of one is enough,
If the battle is in God’s hand.
Gideon saw the opposing army,
And lost his confidence.
But he was soon to get it back,
Not by chance, but by Providence.
He overheard a dream being told,
While he spied on the enemy nation.
That Gideon would win the war,
Was the enemy’s revelation.
So Gideon found his strength again,
And his army set forth at night.
With trumpets, jars and torches,
Locked and loaded, they were ready to fight.
They followed God’s instructions,
And in unison gave a shout.
When they broke the jars and blew their horns,
Pandemonium broke out.
The enemies slew each other that day,
God’s army took care of the rest.
The least of the least defeated,
The so-called best of the best.
God was given the glory,
Why they won, there was no doubt.
For they had won a major war,
With a horn, a jar, a torch, and a shout.
