It was the prophet Elijah who was in the wilderness, on the run from the wicked Queen Jezebel when he heard God speaking to him. His encounter is very helpful to us as we consider hearing God’s voice today, some 2,900 years later.
Let’s take a look at 1 Kings 19 – the context of this passage is as follows.
Elijah is a great prophet – one through whom the Lord performs the greatest miracles. Though he speaks to both the Southern Kingdom of Judah on God’s behalf, most of his time is focused on bringing messages to the Northern Kingdom of Israel that was ruled by the wicked King Ahab and Queen Jezebel.
After three years without rain, Elijah challenges the priests of a god named Baal to a contest to see whether Yahweh (God) or Baal was a more powerful god. This showdown happens on Mount Carmel – it was a “high place,” where gods were known to live and were worshipped. God vindicates Elijah and shows everyone that He is El Elyon, the highest and all-powerful God.
After this showdown, the prophets of Baal were killed, and Queen Jezebel sent a messenger to tell Elijah, “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.”
1 Kings 19
3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, 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.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.
Elijah has just experienced his greatest victory, and the highest of highs … and now he is fearful, hiding and depressed. He is asking God to just take his life – and like so many of us who have experienced depression – he retreats to sleep.
All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”
6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
7 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.” 8 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. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.
God Comes to Meet Us
God doesn’t abandon us during seasons of the dark night of the soul. He comes to strengthen us and love us back to a place of health. I love the fact that God sends the angel of the Lord, one who many consider to be the pre-incarnate Jesus to encourage and physically feed Elijah food. It’s the practical side of how God cares for us – God isn’t just interested in what we can do for Him, we aren’t His employees. We aren’t called his servants, but we are considered sons and daughters who He cares for in every way. All ministry with others flows out of being loved by God and being with Him.
So, the Lord takes Elijah from the Judean wilderness to Horeb (which is Mt. Sinai) – a 200-mile journey. The 40 days and 40 nights parallels the time that the people were in the desert, and I believe that God was using that time to prepare Elijah to experience God in a powerful way on His mountain. Mt. Sinai is where God meets with Moses and gives the 10 commandments – it is a high place, and a holy place where God dwells in a very powerful way.
Sometimes when we need to experience God and receive direction, encouragement and hope, it makes sense to go where God has met us or others before. While God won’t be put in a box and seems to rarely do things the same way twice, there is something about certain environments where it feels like God is closer to us and we can hear His voice more clearly.
I call these places “thin places.” I believe that the high places of worship were marked by a nearness to the supernatural unseen realm. Whether it was in the worship of Yahweh or lesser gods, these geographical locations attract those who are seeking to hear from the spirit world.
Thin places in the Bible include places like the tabernacle, the temple and Mt. Sinai. Certainly, the Spirit of God met people in other places besides mountains, too.
This past week I was at a Christian camp at Lake Tahoe that has been operating for 99 years. It is a place where it seems easier to hear God’s voice. The quietness and stillness of nature help me hear God more clearly, and it is the absence of the clutter of my normal responsibilities and long to-do list, that also bring focus to my listening ear. There was a peace in that place as I walked along the path in the falling snow looking at one of the most beautiful lakes in the world.
Elijah arrives at his “mountain retreat” on Mt. Sinai where he takes shelter in a cave. It is in this still, quiet, remote place that Elijah hears from God. Though the Lord led Elijah to that holy place, the Lord asks Elijah a question. God doesn’t ask a question because He doesn’t know the answer. He’s allowing Elijah to hear himself giving voice to his self-pity, fear, isolation and most importantly, the subtle thought that Yahweh is not able to protect, help, save or turn the tide in the land he is living in.
The Lord Appears to Elijah
9 And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn 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.”
Do you ever feel like no one else is standing up for God, and that you are the only one going through your present circumstances? We have all felt like that.
So God tells Elijah that He is going to allow him to experience His presence. This is God’s instructional moment to Elijah in a dynamic display of power and contrast.
11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
In the ancient Near East, when a god revealed himself, it was connected with battle; gods were known as warrior gods, who would fight on behalf of their people using thunder bolts, with lightening and fire. Sometimes the power of a deity would stir up a stormy wind or earthquake to show the power it held.
While our God, Yahweh, has the most power - He is all-powerful - other lesser spirit beings wield very real power, and will use their power to convince humans to serve them. (Baal was said to have a handful of thunderbolts that he would throw.) God is revealing His power to Elijah, showing Him that He is still working, still fighting and still in control of the world. All the noise of the wind, fire and earthquake represented God the warrior God’s willingness to fight for His people.
Then God Whispered in a Still Small Voice.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn 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.”
Elijah tells God the same thing as before. I believe he is asking God, what do I do next? It is quite possible that the first time Elijah gives this monologue to God, he did so with a complaining, defeated tone. This time, I imagine that that tone is more confident, but still poses a question to God, "What do I do next?”
God does answer Elijah’s question about what is next in verse 15:
15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. (this is the King) 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. 18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
Elijah gets his marching orders and he obeys God by making two men kings. He also recruits Elisha to be his prophet successor.
We, too, Listen to God's Voice for His Direction.
His voice to me is seldom loud and audible, but it is more like the whisper of God in 1 Kings 19.
As followers of Jesus, we are all on a journey to learn how to hear the voice of God and be led by Him. If we take time to quiet ourselves and step into “thin places” of stillness – the Holy Spirit will speak to us, spirit to spirit, and give us encouragement, direction and hope.
For the next few months we will be teaching, writing and podcasting about hearing the still small voice of God – come along on this journey of learning and awareness of what Jesus is saying and doing.
We invite you to come worship with us at Neighborhood Church in Chico.
Our Sunday Morning Worship Service at 10:00 a.m. is in the Dome.
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Need encouragement? Text the word Encourage to 530.296.3689 to receive an encouraging scripture or quote from me several times a week that is sent right to your phone.
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