By Paul G. Chandler - July 29, 2024
Ferdinand Bol, Angel Appearing to Elijah, 1642, Oil on canvas
I have been struck by the number of individuals that I have recently met who find themselves despairing, and experiencing a sense of hopelessness. It reminded me of a multi-platform marketing campaign I initiated in a previous role that I held. It was in a Western part of the US that had one of the highest rates of those who die by suicide. To capture people’s imaginations and with the intent to be of encouragement, using billboards on highways and via different social media platforms, the campaign slogan was simply “Rope Hope,” with an accompanying image of a cowboy roping a steer.
I have been reminded anew of one of history’s most colorful characters, the legendary and almost mythical figure of Elijah, the 9th century BCE seer, who was a contemporary of the Greek poet Homer, the author of the Iliad and Odyssey. Officially known as Elijah the Tishbite, or to my Muslim friends as Ilyas, just his name conjures up dramatic images for those who know his life story. He has certainly captured the imaginations of artists down through the centuries. Celebrated artists such as the 17th century artist Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn and the 19th century Belarusian-French artist Marc Chagall, found themselves returning numerous times to Elijah as the subject of their artwork.
Marc Chagall, Elijah Touched by an Angel, 1930, Handcolored Etching
However, the artist that I believe captures Elijah’s sense of hopelessness and emotional exhaustion most poignantly is the 17th century Dutch artist Ferdinand Bol, who studied for years under Rembrandt. He mastered Rembrandt’s technique so well that a number of his paintings would be falsely attributed to Rembrandt during the 19th century. Both Ferdinand Bol’s oil painting titled Angel Appearing to Elijah and his pen and ink drawing titled Elijah Resting under a Tree movingly depict the profound despair the great Elijah experienced. Ferdinand Bol himself was able to identify with Elijah’s suffering, having gone through his own dark night of the soul, when his wife died while giving birth to their son.
Ferdinand Bol, Angel Appearing to Elijah, 1642, Oil on canvas
In both the painting and drawing, we see Elijah lying collapsed on the ground, looking like he is at his end of his rope, as if he is almost dead. Ferdinand Bol is able to vividly convey the distress Elijah is experiencing. In these works one truly has a sense that Elijah could not go on any longer.
The dramatic historical story, that sets the stage for these works by Ferdinand Bol, is one in which Elijah is literally running for his life. He has publicly disagreed with both his king and his Lebanese wife, Queen Jezebel. In sharing his displeasure of their actions, Elijah foretells a devastating drought upon their land. Seeing his words as a confrontational threat, Elijah is forced to run for his life, fleeing into the desert, where he is taken care of by Bedouins. Strengthened, he returns and challenges his religious opponents to a contest high up on a mountain, which he miraculously wins. Furious at Elijah’s victory, Queen Jezebel swears she will have Elijah assassinated. So, Elijah flees again for his life, running toward Mt. Sinai in the desert, where he would seek divine protection.
Ferdinand Bol, Elijah Resting under a Tree, ca. 1642, pen and brown ink
While on that desert journey, he collapses under a little tree, completely exhausted - emotionally, spiritually and physically. In the story, he gets temporary help from an angel who gives him bread and water. Many scholars interpret this “angel” to have been a Bedouin passing through, as the Sinai Desert is where they live. The food provides just enough strength for Elijah to continue on his journey to Mt. Sinai, where he shelters in a cave. Some archeologists feel they have identified the cave, and one can even climb up to it today.
What some scholars believe to be Elijah's Cave on Mt. Sinai, in Egypt's Sinai Desert
Ferdinand Bol’s painting captures the complexity of the struggles facing Elijah. The way he has Elijah holding his head on his hand, as if there appears to be no possible hope, leads one to think that not only is he running from Queen Jezebel, but perhaps also running from himself. We are told he went into a cave to hide. In today’s psychology, we would say he entered into a state of depression. For figuratively, a cave is a depression in rock that gives apparent security and protection.
I grew up in Senegal, West Africa, where the magnificent Baobab tree is located, considered one of the world’s largest trees. Their tree trunks are sometimes so wide, that one could drive two cars through them side by side. A Baobab tree’s thick trunk and branches are in effect hollow, and they are able to store an enormous amount of water, often making the tree consist of 76% water. High up in the trees there are openings in the huge branches, that look like caves, hollowed out spaces. Throughout West African history, those traveling through the dry Sahel region might temporarily find shelter for the night in those spaces, often 50-75 feet off the ground – away from snakes and other predators. These large open spaces often catch rainwater as well, and hence the Baobab tree can offer drinking water to travelers. The Baobab tree also produces a fruit known as “bouye” in Wolof, the local language, often colloquially referred to as “monkey bread.” So, when finding shelter up in these trees, this “monkey bread” provides needed energy for travelers as they rest on their journeys. However, when sleeping high up one of these “tree caves,” travelers would tie thick multi-strand ropes to themselves, a rope with large knots tied every three feet or so. If they somehow fell out of the tree cave while sleeping, those large knots would get caught on a branch, and save their lives. That specially tied rope was known as the “rope of hope” or a “hope rope,” such a fitting name for it.
Baobab Tree by Senegalese sand artist TINE - sand with Baobab tree glue on wood panel
There are several strands that run through Elijah’s dramatic life that formed what might be called a “rope of hope” for him. One apparent strand is that due to the dire strait situations he found himself in, he ended up being someone who needed to travel. Hence, he was a journeyer. He found himself having to journey east, then north, and eventually southwest some 300 miles on foot. His story takes him in a fairly short period of time from his home to the countries of what are today known as Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt. Both of Ferdinand Bol’s artistic depictions of Elijah are in Egypt’s vast Sinai Desert. However, not only does Elijah journey geographically, the story of his life is one of him journeying spiritually as well. Each difficult life experience leads him toward seeing more and more of the Divine Artist’s care and compassion for him. Like Elijah, each of us are on different spiritual journeys, where we all have had different paths to take and tales to tell as a result. I love that line in one of the late 19th century Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh’s early reflections, before his decision to become a full-time artist. He wrote, “We are [all] pilgrims - our life is a long walk or journey from earth to Heaven.”
Another strand running through Elijah’s life is hardship; his journeys are full of seemingly insurmountable challenges. As a result of the honest glimpse of his life that we are given, he is not put up on a mythical high pedestal. In Ferdinand Bol’s painting and drawing, we are invited to enter into Elijah’s emotional state of mind. We see him tremendously vulnerable, while at a very low ebb. He is lying down under a tree, while on the run, out in the middle of nowhere. He is deeply afraid, lonely, fatigued, and depressed. In the story, his internal anguish is so great and his despair so profound, that he even cries out to his Creator to take his life. At his lowest point, feeling emotional collapse, the pain no longer seems bearable. It is his sense of desperation that gives him the energy to walk several hundred miles on foot to Mt. Sinai, where he hopes to find divine help.
Elijah’s experience is a reminder of life’s unexpected suffering and challenges. In the midst of our life journeys, we are all guaranteed that life will present many hardships. Our life journeys will take us all through some desolate “wilderness-like” experiences. As the old African American song goes, “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.” And of course, no one really knows the trouble any of us have seen, or will see. Like Elijah, each and every one of us will experience in life what will seem like an emotional or spiritual desert.
However, Elijah at the same time becomes for us a reminder of divine comfort, as this is another strand that runs throughout his life. As Ferdinand Bol depicts in his painting, while Elijah is in a state of despair, an “angel” comes to comfort him, bringing him bread and water. I love how Ferdinand Bol visually portrays Elijah with his eyes closed, and not yet even aware of the angel’s presence. Elijah was clearly not expecting it. In fact, even when it was right in front of him, he wasn’t attentive as to how the help he cried out for was being presented to him.
The story tells us that he was given a cake of bread baked on hot stones. Bread is frequently used in ancient literature as a metaphor for the very sustenance of life. So, Elijah’s story is in effect an invitation to experience the security and safety of being dependent on the Divine Artist, our beautiful Creator. Throughout the story of Elijah’s life journey, we see him over and over again being provided food, water, protection, shelter, comfort and encouragement. His life is essentially a story of learning that dependence on his Creator was where his real protection and help was to be found.
Hence, the primary strand running throughout Elijah’s life is his decision to live in a continual state of dependency on his Creator, regardless of the despair he experienced. For as the angel says in the story to Elijah, “Otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” This sense of dependence is really the essence of our relationship with our Creator. It is the idea of relying on the Divine Artist for our well-being, regardless of our state of being.
I am reminded of the English author J.R.R. Tolkien’s magnificent fantasy novels in his The Lord of the Rings trilogy, in which the narrative is all about journeying. The story tells of a bread called Lembas, that was used for long journeys by elves. Lembas, which literally meant “Waybread" or “journey bread,” was a delicious honey-flavor bread that has amazing powers to both sustain travelers and even bring healing to the wounded or the sick. Just one little piece can sustain someone the whole day. I love his description of this life-giving bread. Tolkien writes, “And yet this waybread [Lembas] of elves had a potency that increased as travelers relied on it alone and did not mingle it with other foods.” (The Return of the King)
The story of Elijah reminds us that our Creator is at core about giving life, over and over again. As my Arab friends love to remind me, “God is closer to us than our jugular vein.” In the midst of Elijah’s profound discouragement, while in his weakest state emotionally and spiritually, he experienced afresh a beautiful display of his Creator’s tenderness, compassion and love.
Elijah’s life ends on a hopeful note. After all he had gone through, he ends up carrying out the most important role of his life. Which is why to this day, the Abrahamic traditions see Elijah as representing the divine hope that we are all promised on life’s journey, even when we feel we have had enough and cannot go on.
This life-giving story about Elijah portrayed so powerfully by Ferdinand Bol reminds me of a short story by another artist, Lebanese born poet-artist Kahlil Gibran, titled The Tempest. In his story, a young man who is roaming the Cedar Forests of Lebanon gets caught in a terrible storm, and seeks cover in a cave inhabited by a hermit. And he sees his being caught in the storm as a fortunate opportunity, enabling him to visit this old hermit in his cave, as he has long wanted to learn this old man’s spiritual secrets. Upon being let in, when he complains about the tempest outside, the wise old man says to him, “The tempest is clean…why do you seek to escape from it?…" He then goes on to impart his wisdom to the young man, and near the end of the story, the old hermit declares, “I am going now to walk through the night with the tempest…it is a practice that I enjoy greatly…”. And then looking deeply into the young man’s eyes, he says, “I hope you will teach yourself to love the tempest.”
This is the lesson Elijah learned. His tempest allowed him to experience anew the beautiful presence and care of the Divine Artist, regardless of the strength of any of life’s storms.
Artworks in this Visual Meditation (in order of presentation):
-Ferdinand Bol, Angel Appearing to Elijah, 1642, Oil on canvas
-Marc Chagall, Elijah Touched by an Angel, 1930, Handcolored Etching
-Ferdinand Bol, Elijah Resting under a Tree, ca. 1642, pen and brown ink
-Baobab Tree by Senegalese sand artist TINE, 2024, sand with Baobab tree glue on wood panel
-Kahlil Gibran, Self-portrait