Not everything is a lesson

We like to find little nuggets of wisdom in the Bible more often than not. But sometimes I think people look at the lives of some famous Biblical persons and think just because they did something, it's what we should do.

That is not always the case. Take the situation with Elijah in I Kings 19:

Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them."

Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.

All at once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat." He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.

The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night.

And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."

I don't think God ever hopes for us to fear, not trust Him, and have a pity party. Sometimes the information in the Bible is historical. Just because someone does something, even good, doesn't mean it's cause for us to need to do the same. It's good to apply wisdom and context.

Take time when you read and enjoy. Be wise when you rightly divide the Word. In the end, wisdom is the difference between a reader and a soul searcher.