1 Kings 19:3

Went for his life. After so complete a triumph over the prophets of Baal, and after so great a display of courage, it would seem that God’s prophet would be ready to meet any trial of faith. One might assume that Elijah, having had so marked an evidence of the presence and blessing of God, would never let his courage fail. But he was suffering from the reaction that so frequently follows marked success. He had hoped that the glorious victory on Carmel would break the spell of Jezebel upon the king. When the prophet was informed of the queen’s stubborn resistance to the new appeal for reformation, it was more than he could bear. He was unprepared for the cool, calculated, determined hatred of this wicked queen. He could think only of how to escape the clutches of so embittered and relentless a foe. Without thinking of the consequences of his course he fled for his life.

Elijah did not do right in forsaking his post of duty. His work was not yet over. The battle had only begun. Had he stayed courageously by, and had he sent back a message to the queen reminding her that the God who had given him victory over the prophets of Baal would not forsake him now, he would have found angels ready to protect his life. God’s judgments in signal fashion would have fallen upon Jezebel, a tremendous impression would have been made, and a mighty reformation would have swept over the land (see PK 160). By fleeing for his life Elijah played into the hands of the enemy. The flight to Beersheba went far toward nullifying the victory on Carmel.

Beer-sheba. The city was on the southern frontier of Judah, about 95 mi. (152 km.) from Jezreel. It belonged to the southern kingdom of Judah, which was at this time so closely associated with Israel that Elijah would not have been safe there.