Who Were the 7,000?

Following the showdown with the prophets of Baal, Elijah was forced to flee from Jezebel (1 Kings 19:1-3). He had just participated in a great victory for the cause of the Lord, but because of the opposition he was facing he prayed for the Lord to take his life (1 Kings 19:4). He explained to God why he felt the way that he did:

“I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away” (1 Kings 19:10).

Elijah believed he was the only one left serving the Lord. Yet there were others. In fact, God told Elijah that there were “7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him” (1 Kings 19:18).

Who were these 7,000 individuals about whom the Lord spoke? More importantly, what lessons can we learn from them to apply to us today?

The 7,000 in Elijah’s Day

We are not told much about these individuals. However, there are at least three things we do know about them.

First, they were unknown to Elijah. Humans are very limited in their perspective and knowledge. Yet God is not limited as we are. He understands our thoughts, is acquainted with all of our ways, and knows what we will say even before we say it (Psalm 139:2-4). God knew of these 7,000 individuals even though Elijah did not.

Second, they were a strong minority. Compared to Elijah’s thought of being the only one (1 Kings 19:10, 14), 7,000 sounds like an impressive number. However, it still would have been a minority in the nation of Israel; but it was a strong minority.

Third, they were faithful to the Lord. The Lord indicated that they were His people. They had been faithful to Him by refusing to worship Baal, obeying the command they had been given in the Law of Moses to serve no other gods (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 6:14).

Are We Like This Faithful Remnant?

In the midst of a nation that had strayed from the Lord, the 7,000 represented a faithful remnant. It is possible to be faithful when most will not. “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord,” even though he was surrounded by people whose “every intent of the thoughts of [their] heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5-9). Joshua determined that he and his house would serve God, even before he knew if the rest of the nation would decide to do the same (Joshua 24:15). There were “a few people in Sardis” who were “worthy” to “walk with [the Lord] in white,” even though the majority of the brethren caused the church to be labeled as “dead” (Revelation 3:1-4). These examples, along with the 7,000, show us that we can be faithful no matter what others do. Are we like the 7,000 today? If we are part of the Lord’s faithful remnant, we will share the traits of the group in Elijah’s day.

First, we will not necessarily be known to others. This will be true individually and in our local churches. There are three reasons for this:

We are independent – This simply means we are not dependent upon others; therefore, we can be faithful to God no matter what others do. We already noticed this on an individual level (Genesis 6:5-9; Joshua 24:15; Revelation 3:1-4), but it is also true on a congregational level. The local church as God designed it is all-sufficient to do the work it needs to do – upholding the truth of the gospel (1 Timothy 3:15) and strengthening its own (Ephesians 4:16).
We are autonomous – Autonomy is about being self-governing. As it relates to the church, it means that local churches are not directly tied to others churches in their work for the Lord. The New Testament pattern is for congregations to be self-governing as the elders “shepherd the flock of God among [them], exercising oversight” (1 Peter 5:2). There is no denominational hierarchy or inter-dependent network of churches authorized in the New Testament. An autonomous congregation is not answerable to any governing council. If every other sound church in the area closed their doors, an autonomous church could continue its work unhindered.
We are added by God to the church – This means that our place among the Lord’s remnant is not dependent upon the approval or knowledge of others. When people obeyed the gospel on the day of Pentecost, God added them to the church (Acts 2:47). The same thing happened every time people obeyed the gospel. This included the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:35-38). He was baptized in a deserted place with no other Christians around except Philip – and Philip was immediately taken away after the eunuch’s baptism (Acts 8:39). This man was added by God to the church even though no one but Philip (most likely) knew who he was.

Second, we will be a strong minority. When we make this application here, we are not just concerned with numbers, but with strength. We know that few will be saved because Jesus said so (Matthew 7:13-14). We will always be in the minority. Yet we are “strong in the Lord” as we “put on the full armor of God” (Ephesians 6:10-17). This strength comes as we depend upon the Lord rather than ourselves. Jesus told His disciples, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5). Paul recognized that he could “do all things through Christ who strengthens [him]” (Philippians 4:13, NKJV). We may be few in number, but we are “strong in the Lord” (Ephesians 6:10) as we put our trust in Him.

Third, we will be faithful to the Lord. This is not just about thinking we are being faithful, but being recognized by God as being faithful by doing His will rather than what we assume will be pleasing to Him (Matthew 7:21-23). This involves a respect for the Lord’s authority (Matthew 28:18) and striving to “do all in the name of the Lord” (Colossians 3:17). We are to “hold fast the pattern of sound words” found in the New Testament (2 Timothy 1:13, NKJV). This respect for the Lord’s authority will manifest itself in various ways:

We will obey the gospel as it has been revealed – This includes belief, repentance, confession, and baptism (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Romans 10:9-10). This “plan of salvation” has been altered by much of the religious world, but those who want to be part of the Lord’s faithful remnant will follow the steps outlined in the gospel in order to become a Christian.
After obeying the gospel, we will obey the Lord’s commandments – After Jesus told His apostles to “make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19), He explained what was to happen next: “Teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). The Lord’s faithful remnant will strive to continually serve Christ by obeying His word.
In our churches, we will do the work God has given the church to do – As the church is “the pillar and support of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15), faithful churches will be involved in the work of evangelism by proclaiming and upholding the truth of God’s word. Since the church is a self-edifying body through the “proper working of each individual part” (Ephesians 4:16), sound churches will be doing the work of edification by strengthening and encouraging those who are part of the body. With the example of local churches providing benevolent assistance exclusively to Christians (Acts 4:34-35; 11:29-30; et al.) and generally for a temporary period of time (1 Timothy 5:3-16), churches that are following the New Testament pattern will engage in the work of limited benevolence as it is outlined in the word of God. Churches that are made up of those among the Lord’s faithful remnant will limit themselves to the work Christ gave His church and will carry out that work in ways that are authorized in His word.
In our worship, we will “worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24) – This will involve certain “acts” of worship that are discussed in the New Testament – singing (Colossians 3:16), praying (Acts 2:42), preaching and teaching (Acts 2:42), partaking of the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26), and giving of our means on the first day of the week (1 Corinthians 16:1-2). Those who are part of the Lord’s faithful remnant will be members of churches that worship according to the Lord’s instructions.
We will not change the message that has been revealed – Paul told the churches of Galatia, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” (Galatians 1:8-9). Regardless of who is preaching, if the message is different from the message that was delivered by the Lord’s apostles in the beginning, we are to reject it. Therefore, those among the Lord’s faithful remnant will not change or tolerate those who will change the message that has “once for all [been] handed down to the saints” (Jude 3).
We will refuse to compromise or corrupt our service to God – It is not enough to merely claim to follow the Lord. Jesus said, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). Calling Jesus “Lord” necessarily means we must recognize His authority over us. We are not to be like the church in Sardis who had “a name that [they were] alive, but [they were] dead” (Revelation 3:1). They had a reputation for faithfulness, but they allowed their service to God to become corrupted. Instead of being like this, the Lord’s faithful remnant will obey Him in all things by doing all that He has instructed and only what He has authorized.

Conclusion

Elijah thought he was alone, but there were 7,000 servants of God in Israel – a faithful remnant. Are we part of God’s faithful remnant today? The only way to answer that question is to honestly look at ourselves and humbly study the Scriptures.

“The Lord knows those who are His” (2 Timothy 2:19). We can know if we are His by comparing ourselves – individually and as local congregations – according to the pattern given in the New Testament.