1 Kings 19:18 (NIV)
Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel.
God always reserved the best for Himself. Those words must have been a stinging rebuke to the Prophet Elijah. Elijah was a great man of God who was taken up into heaven in the physical bodily form. Along with Enoch, he is one of the few in history who never died. However, even this great man of God was arrogant enough to think that he was the only true believer left. Elijah had had a great showdown with the false prophets of Baal and successfully destroyed them at God's command. However, even such a zealous man of God ran from a woman, Jezebel. This indicates that our zeal should come from the Holy Spirit and not the natural strength. Elijah was a powerful man, but he was too weak to face a belligerent woman.
When we think we know everything about the Lord, God must humble us. There is always one more fact that only God knows. In this instance, Elijah was unaware that there were many other saints in Israel at that time who had never defiled themselves with Baal. That fact God always reserved a remnant untouched by sin and that he wasn't unique must have been both humiliating and enlightening to the great Prophet Elijah. It should be to us as well. Amen.