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David Guzik · Citado em PreceptAustin
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Guzik - This was another source of encouragement to Elijah. With this promise he knew that ultimately justice would be done, and God would not allow the institutionalized persecution and promotion of idolatry to go unpunished. Bob
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Guzik - This was a final encouragement to Elijah. He repeatedly bemoaned that he was alone among the true followers of God (1 Kings 18:22, 19:10, and 19:14). This both assured Elijah that he was not alone and that his work as a prophet had indeed been fruitful.
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Guzik: Thankfully, this was a prayer not answered for Elijah. In fact, Elijah was one of the few men in the Bible to never die! We can imagine that as he was caught up into heaven, he smiled and thought of this prayer – and the blessed no that answered his prayer. To receive a no answer from God can be better than receiving a yes answer. Brian Bell on requested...that he might die - "I bet you have also. I know I have. (ED: YOUR WRITER WOULD INCLUDE HIMSELF IN THIS GROUP!) But taking your life isn’t the answer to despair for 2 reasons: 1) it is selfish AND (2) it does not bring glory to the Lord. Let those who long to die, leave God to choose the day; else they may miss the horses and chariots of fire. -- F.B.Meyer For I am not better than my fathers - This may allude to the fact that Elijah's efforts to eradicate idolatry were not better than godly men who had preceded him. Paul Apple page 307 on I am not better than my fathers - My prophetic ministry has proven to be no more effective than those who preceded me. What is the point in continuing on in such futile ministry? The very reason for his living was to serve God. If that made no difference, than what was the point? Donald Wiseman - God will take his servant to himself in his own time and manner (2 Kgs 2:11). It is not up to us to ask for death but for life. (See 1 and 2 Kings: An Introduction and Commentary - Page 184) G. K. Chesterton said “Not only is suicide a sin, it is the sin. It is the ultimate and absolute evil, the refusal to take an interest in existence; the refusal to take the oath of loyalty to life. The man who kills a man, kills a man. The man who kills himself, kills all men; as far as he is concerned he wipes out the world.” J
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Guzik - God knew the answer to this question, but it was good for Elijah to speak to the LORD freely and to unburden his heart. R D Patterson points out that Elijah "may have been in a spot more sacred then he realized. The Hebrew text says, “He came there to the cave,” possibly the very “cleft of the rock” where God had placed Moses as his glory passed by (Ex 33:21–23). (See The Expositor's Bible Commentary - Page 50) Lodged (tarry, abide) (03885) lun is a verb meaning to lodge, to tarry. "It means to rest, to tarry, to stay, often overnight. Persons may spend the night or lodge somewhere (Gen. 19:2; 24:23, 25, 54; 28:11). It is used figuratively of righteousness lodging permanently in Zion (Isa. 1:21); and of evil thoughts taking residence in the city of Jerusalem (Jer. 4:14). It is used of weeping coming to "lodge" in the evening (Ps. 30:5[6]). It describes the secure, peaceful rest of one living close to the Lord (Ps. 91:1). Used with ʿayin (<H5869>, eye) as subject, it has the sense of to set on, to look upon (Job 17:2). Job notes that his error originates and remains in him (Job 19:4). It indicates a wise person's proper existence, abiding among the wise (Prov. 15:31). It takes on the sense of resting or sleeping when one fears the Lord (Prov. 19:23). Something may remain through the night (Ex. 23:18; Lev. 19:13; Jer. 4:14); or stay the night (Job 39:28). It is used of a dead body remaining in a tree overnight (Deut. 21:23). (The Complete Word Study Dictionary – Old Testament) Room for Silence After the fire came a gentle whisper. 1 Kings 19:12 TODAY'S SCRIPTURE 1 Kings 19:9–14 If you like peace and quiet, there’s a room in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that you’ll love. It absorbs 99.99 percent of all sound! The world-famous anechoic (echo-free) chamber of the Orfield Laboratories has been called the “quietest place on earth.” People who want to experience this soundless space are required to sit down to avoid getting disoriented by the lack of noise, and no one has ever been able to spend more than forty-five minutes in the room. Few of us need that much silence. Yet we do sometimes long for a little quiet in a loud and busy world. Even the news we watch and the social media we ingest bring a kind of clamorous “noise” that competes for our attention. So much of it is infused with words and images that stir up negative emotions. Immersing ourselves in it can easily drown out the voice of God. When the prophet Elijah went to meet God on the mountain of Horeb, he didn’t find Him in the loud, destructive wind or in the earthquake or in the fire (1 Kings 19:11–12). It wasn’t until Elijah heard a “gentle whisper” that he covered his face and ventured out of the cave to meet with “the Lord God Almighty” (vv. 12–14). Your spirit may well be craving quiet but—even more so—it may be yearning to hear the voice of God. Find room for silence in your life so you’ll never miss God’s “gentle whisper” (v. 12). What are some ways God communes with His children? Why is it vital to regularly communicate with Him? Loving Father, quiet my heart and mind so I’m ready to meet with You today. Daily Light on the Daily Path - “What are you doing here, Elijah?” “He knows the way that I take.”—O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. . . . Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? . . . If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours.—The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.—Though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.—The righteous falls seven times and rises again.—Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.—“The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”—As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 1 Kings 19:9; Job 23:10; Ps. 139:1–3, 7, 9–10; James 5:17; Prov. 29:25; Ps. 37:24; Prov. 24:16; Gal. 6:9; Matt. 26:41; Ps. 103:13 "What Doest Thou Here?" Vance Havner Jezebel had threatened Elijah, his nerves had gone into a tailspin, and under the juniper he imagined himself to be the surviving saint, the last good man. There are three great chapters in the life of this prophet and they might well be titled, Cherith, Carmel, and the Cave. In the cave the Lord asks him, "What doest thou here?" Not a few of the saints are in a cave today and we would inquire of them, "What doest thou here?" 1. For one thing, Elijah was tired. It is too much for most of us these days. Never have I preached to so many tired people as now. The human race lives in a nervous breakdown. It is a day of stress, strain and tension, and our very speech is the speech of weariness, the language of languor. We are weary and faint in our minds. Fatigue is filling hospitals, asylums, graves. Men cannot drink it away with whiskey nor play it away at card tables nor laugh it off in a theatre nor sleep it away with sedatives. Our remedies treat only the symptoms and not the disease. 2. Elijah was also discouraged and pessimistic. He thought he was the last good man, and needed to learn that God had seven thousand who had not bowed to Baal. When we are too tired we easily grow despondent and imagine that everybody is out of step except ourselves. 3. Furthermore, Elijah was suffering a reaction from a big and noisy day on Carmel. This noise standard shows up in our churches. Some of us think we are not having a good meeting unless there is a lot of hullabaloo. Oh, 1 know that what some call worship is just the device by which some resters at ease in Zion catch up with their sleep. And what some call reverence and dignity is just spiritual rigor mortis, the Sunday coma of religious dopesters getting their eleven o'clock dose of pulpit cocaine. But the counterfeit implies the truth, and most of us are so feverish and nervous that we cannot hear God's whisper. "Be still and know that I am God." The Lord commanded the multitude to sit down before He fed them. 4. [Elijah] was derelict in his duty. He had no business under the juniper. He needed to get back on the job. In God's permissive will He took mercy on the prophet and taught him a lesson, but Elijah should not have run from the threat of Jezebel. A man is first a runaway before he is a castaway. "What doest thou here?" Are you under a juniper? Is the journey too great for you, and are you exhausted, tired on the way, though not tired of the way? Have you grown pessimistic until you imagine yourself the surviving saint? Have you been living on excitement, big days, and big demonstrations, fire and wind and earthquake, until you cannot hear God whisper? Has the threat of Jezebel driven you to the wilderness? Wait on the Lord and renew your strength! As important as it is to be saved and sure and sound and strong, don't forget how much it means to be still! James Smith - ELIJAH REBUKED 1 Kings 19:9–16 “Who can come near to God with a heart not on fire? Souls must tire upon earth who in Heaven would rest. Is it hard to serve God, timid soul? Hast thou found Gloomy forests, dark glens, mountain tops on thy way? All the hard would be easy, the tangled unwound, Would’st Thou only desire as well as obey.” —FABER. On the strength of the Heaven-sent meat, Elijah reached “Horeb, the mount of God.” “They that wait on the Lord shall … walk and not faint” (Isa. 40:31). Horeb was pre-eminently the mount of the revelation of God, because here the unconsumed bush was seen ablaze with a divine fire; here the law was given with its terrible accompaniments, and perhaps it was in this very cave that Moses stood while the glory of God’s goodness passed by (Exod. 33). It must have been with mingled and solemn feelings that Elijah found himself in the midst of surroundings crowded with such striking and holy memories. Will there be any such manifestation of the divine presence to him? Surely he has come here to meet with God! Will those who seek Him not find Him? If men would go to the “house of God” as Elijah went to the “mount of God” what signs and wonders would be wrought! I. A Searching Question. “What doest thou here, Elijah?” (1Ki 19:9). By this question was the Lord sternly demanding of the prophet why he was here, instead of encouraging the nation to stand firm for the God who had answered by fire on Carmel, or was it a question full of grace and tenderness seeking to call out the needs and fears of his heart that He might in mercy satisfy and comfort? In any case, it is always God’s method to go to the root of the matter and deal with the motives of the life. Throughout the Scriptures divine questions are frequently accompanied by marvellous revelations (Gen. 32:27; Exod. 4:2). II. An Honest Answer. “I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts; … I only am left, and they seek my life” (1Ki 19:10). All those who would faithfully serve the Lord will have many heart-searching questions to answer. As a defence, Elijah’s reply was a very poor one, but as a confession it was simple and sincere. He had been very jealous for the Lord, now he was afraid of his own life. All Israel had gone astray, he only was left. Perplexed and despondent he had come here partly through fear and partly to hear what God the Lord would speak to his soul. Any one who truly loves the Lord, but who, through unusual temptation and bodily infirmities, has given way to fear, can easily understand the feelings of this man of God at this particular time. III. A Wonderful Manifestation. There came now the divine call to “Go forth and stand before the Lord” (1Ki 19:11). Is he not reminded by this that through unbelief he had lost his standing (chap. 17:1). Let us keep on the whole armour of God that we may be able to stand (Eph. 6:13). The prophet is now made a witness to the marvellous power of the Lord in a fourfold manner. He sees it in the wind, the earthquake, the fire, and the still small voice. But in the rending wind, the shaking earthquake, or the melting fire there was no message from the Lord for the trembling servant. “The Lord was not in them.” The Lord would teach us as well as Elijah that there is something more needed to bring men to Himself than a mere display of natural powers. The strong wind of words, the earthquake of argument, and the fire of enthusiasm may do mighty and terrible things, yet if the still small voice of the Lord, the Spirit, is not in them there is no message from God to the souls of men. It is “not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord” (Zech. 4:6). The mightiest of all the forces that are at work in this world is that “still small voice” of the Holy Spirit that whispers God’s Word of truth and life into the listening heart. A voice is something more than a sound or an influence, it is an assurance of the presence of a living PERSONALITY (Song of Sol. 2:8). “My sheep hear My voice” (John 10:27). IV. A Powerful Effect. “When Elijah heard it he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out” (1Ki 19:13). The terrific effects of the wind, the earthquake, or the fire had evidently driven him back into the depths of the cave (1Ki 19:11); but the sweet wooing voice lured him from his dismal hiding-place, with his face hid in his mantle because it was burning with shame. Men will be all the more likely to be constrained by the sweet voice of love after they have heard the thunderings and felt the burnings of that law which is holy, just, and good. The terrible trumpet of Sinai made men stand “afar off,” while the voice of Calvary constrains men to draw nigh with a shame-mantled face. Here, but in very altered circumstances, the same question is again put, “What doest thou here, Elijah?” And, alas, the very same answer is given. Has he profited nothing by all those revelations of divine resources that he adds no petition for grace or strength to go on overcoming in the Name of Him who doeth wondrously? It would seem as if this repeated question was his last chance of getting fully restored to the power and authority of the prophetic office, but he failed to take advantage of it. He is not allowed to become a castaway, but it would seem that from this time the purposes of God concerning him are changed, and another is chosen to take his place. Has he now become a marred vessel in the hands of the Great Potter? Let us take heed lest we should come short. How shall we escape the same failure if we neglect the great opportunities that God in His infinite mercy brings within our reach? V. A Humbling Confession. “Go, return, … and Elisha shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room” (1Ki 19:15, 16). When Elijah persisted in saying “I, even I, only am left,” it was an evidence that he had climbed down from his walk of faith and was now walking by sight. Was the Lord not rebuking his unbelief when he said to him, “I have left Me seven thousand in Israel which have not bowed unto Baal” (1Ki 19:18). God could easily have made Elijah sufficient to do the work of the three men whom he was now sent to anoint. Who can tell all that the Lord is able to do through one life that has been entirely and continuously yielded to His will? It was surely a self-humbling work to go and call a man to take his own place so soon after accomplishing such a mighty work for God as was witnessed on Mount Carmel. “Let him that standeth take heed lest he fall.” “Let no man take thy crown” (Rev. 3:11). Escaping the Noise After the fire came a gentle whisper. 1 Kings 19:12 TODAY'S SCRIPTURE 1 Kings 19:9–13 Today's Insights Elijah’s meeting with the Lord on “Horeb, the mountain of God” (1 Kings 19:8) was not the first time the Lord met with one of His servants in that place. Centuries earlier the Lord had met Moses there. “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God” (Exodus 3:1). At Horeb the Lord revealed Himself to Moses and commissioned him to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt (vv. 2–12). The mountain we mostly associate Moses with is Mount Sinai (19:18–20). But passages like Deuteronomy 4:10 help us to see that Horeb and Sinai are used synonymously and interchangeably in Scripture. Two of the Lord’s chosen servants met Him on that mountain and departed to do His will in His strength. Today's Devotional Several years ago, the president of a college suggested that students join her in “powering down” for an evening. Although the students agreed, it was with great reluctance that they laid aside their cell phones and entered the chapel. For the next hour, they sat quietly in a service of music and prayer. Afterward, one participant described the experience as “a wonderful opportunity to calm down . . . a place to just tune out all of the extra noise.” Sometimes, it’s difficult to escape “extra noise.” The clamor of both our external and internal worlds can be deafening. But when we’re willing to “power down,” we begin to understand the psalmist’s reminder of the necessity to be still so we can know God (Psalm 46:10). In 1 Kings 19, we discover as well that when the prophet Elijah looked for the Lord, he didn’t find Him in the pandemonium of the wind or the earthquake or the fire (vv. 9–13). Instead, Elijah heard God’s gentle whisper (v. 12). Reflect & Pray What will help you draw close to God in silence and solitude? How can you regularly “power down” both your devices and your busy mind? It’s in the stillness we’re most likely to hear God’s gentle whisper. Who Needs Me? When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 1 Kings 19:15 TODAY'S SCRIPTURE 1 Kings 19:9–12, 15–18 While on a red-eye flight to Washington, DC, opinion writer Arthur Brooks overheard an elderly woman whisper to her husband, “It’s not true that no one needs you anymore.” The man murmured something about wishing he were dead, and his wife replied, “Oh, stop saying that.” When the flight ended, Brooks turned around and immediately recognized the man. He was a world-famous hero. Other passengers shook his hand, and the pilot thanked him for the courage he displayed decades ago. How had this giant sunk into despair? The prophet Elijah bravely and single-handedly defeated 450 prophets of Baal—or so he thought (1 Kings 18). Yet he hadn’t really done it alone; God was there all along! But later, feeling all alone, he asked God to take his life. God lifted Elijah’s spirits by bringing him into His presence and giving him new people to serve. He must go and “anoint Hazael king over Aram,” Jehu “king over Israel,” and Elisha “to succeed you as prophet” (19:15–16). Invigorated with renewed purpose, Elijah found and mentored his successor. Reflect & Pray Who can you serve today for Christ? Why is it so vital for you to reach out to others with God’s love? Holy Spirit, open my eyes to those I can serve for Jesus’ sake. Today's Insights When God tells Elijah that He’s reserved seven thousand people in Israel who remain loyal to Him (1 Kings 19:18), He corrects Elijah’s misunderstanding that he’s the only one left who truly worships God (18:22; 19:10, 14). Some scholars view seven thousand as symbolizing fullness. In spite of the opposition of the wicked Israelite king Ahab and his wife Jezebel, God had preserved a godly remnant. The notion of a remnant preserved by God is seen with Noah’s family (Genesis 6–9), with the survivors of military sieges (2 Kings 19:4, 30–31), and within the exile (Isaiah 10:20–22; 11:16; 46:3). For the apostle Paul, Jewish believers in Jesus now constitute a faithful remnant that fulfills the claim of 1 Kings 19:18 (Romans 11:2–5). 1 Kings 19:10 He said, “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.” KJV 1 Kings 19:10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. BGT 1 Kings 19:10 καὶ εἶπεν Ηλιου ζηλῶν ἐζήλωκα τῷ κυρίῳ παντοκράτορι ὅτι ἐγκατέλιπόν σε οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ τὰ θυσιαστήριά σου κατέσκαψαν καὶ τοὺς προφήτας σου ἀπέκτειναν ἐν ῥομφαίᾳ καὶ ὑπολέλειμμαι ἐγὼ μονώτατος καὶ ζητοῦσι τὴν ψυχήν μου λαβεῖν αὐτήν LXE 1 Kings 19:10 And Eliu said, I have been very jealous for the Lord Almighty, because the children of Israel have forsaken thee: they have digged down thine altars, and have slain thy prophets with the sword; and I only am left alone, and they seek my life to take it. NET 1 Kings 19:10 He answered, "I have been absolutely loyal to the LORD, the sovereign God, even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life." CSB 1 Kings 19:10 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of Hosts, but the Israelites have abandoned Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are looking for me to take my life." ESV 1 Kings 19:10 He said, "I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away." NIV 1 Kings 19:10 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken 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." NLT 1 Kings 19:10 Elijah replied, "I have zealously served the LORD God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too." very zealous: Ex 20:5 34:14 Nu 25:11,13 Ps 69:9 119:139 Joh 2:17 torn down Your altars: 1Ki 19:14 18:4,30 Jer 2:30 Ho 5:11 Mic 6:16 7:2 And I alone am left: 1Ki 18:4,20,22 20:13,22,35,41,42 22:8 Ro 11:2-4 they seek my life: 1Ki 19:2 18:10,17 1 Kings 19 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: Romans 11:1-5+ I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? 3 “Lord, THEY HAVE KILLED YOUR PROPHETS, THEY HAVE TORN DOWN YOUR ALTARS, AND I ALONE AM LEFT, AND THEY ARE SEEKING MY LIFE.” 4 But what is the divine response to him? “I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL.” ELIJAH'S LAMENT FORSAKEN AND HUNTED He said, “I have been very zealous (qanah; Lxx - zeloo) for the LORD, the God of hosts (see Jehovah Sabaoth) - Elijah is not exaggerating nor boasting (in my opinion), because he had single-handedly taken on and defeated Satan's army of false prophets! Elijah is explaining to the LORD why he is in a cave on Mount Horeb. It is because he was zealous or jealous for the LORD's name. NET NOTE on very zealous - The infinitive absolute preceding the finite verb emphasizes the degree of his zeal and allegiance. David Guzik - Elijah protested to God, “I have faithfully served You and now look at the danger I am in.” To Elijah – and many servants of God since – it seemed unfair that a faithful servant of God should be made to suffer. For (term of explanation) - explaining why he was so zealous. The sons of Israel have forsaken ('azab - abandoned; Lxx - egkataleipo) Your covenant (beriyth), torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword - Sons of Israel refers primarily to the Northern 10 Tribes. Do you see the natural "declension"? Forsake covenant > tear down altars > kill prophets (when they threw off the restrains of God's covenant, the eventually became murderers of His mouthpieces! cf what happens when there is no king = Jdg 21:25+) They forsook the covenant which would refer to the "Mosaic Covenant" where they (their ancestors) had vowed "All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!" (Ex 24:7+). Note the fact that they had torn down God's altars must refer to altars at sites such as Mount Carmel (1Ki 18:30+) (? altars at other "high places"). Killed your prophets refers to Jezebel's murderous purge of as many of God's prophets she could get her hands on. It is worth noting that where God and His Word had been jettisoned in the Northern Kingdom, God still had His prophets dispersed to mercifully tell the people His truth. But Jezebel puts an end to that, which is another reason she is one of the most evil women to ever live! Notice that Elijah chooses not to remember (or simply forgets) God's provision of food from the ravens and the woman of Zarephath, not to mention Yahweh's victory over the 450 prophets of Baal. Apparently this failure to "accentuate the positive" is still the "Jezebel effect" which seems to have given Elijah "recent memory loss." And I alone am left - Again we see the recent memory loss, for Elijah forgets the prophet Obadiah (and his mention of 100 more faithful prophets of Yahweh in Israel 1Ki 18:3-15+), but now he "feels" like he is the only one. In short, he chooses to believe an untruth. God will correct him in 1Ki 19:18! THOUGHT - Have you ever been there beloved - feeling all alone? Believing things that are not true? As we've all heard, "Feelings can be deceiving!" Open the Word and listen for His still small voice to speak truth to your heart and soul. And they seek my life, to take it away - They refers primarily to Jezebel's threats. Elijah's words recall Paul's words in Acts 20:24+ "But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that (PAUL'S LIFE PURPOSE) I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God." Bob Utley Elijah is having a terrible "woe is me!" party. He does not understand why YHWH has allowed all of this to occur. He feels alone and ineffective! Donald Wiseman - The reasons for Elijah’s depression include sadness at Israel’s apostasy (cf. 1Ki 18:18), desecration of sacred places and martyrdom of the Lord’s prophets (cf. 1Ki 18:13) despite Elijah being zealous. This word (av ‘jealous’, ‘ardent’, Heb. qānā’ meaning ‘to be enthusiastically and exclusively devoted’) is used both of God (Ex 20:5) and of man in his disruptive passions (envy, jealousy, 2 Kgs 10:16). (1 and 2 Kings: An Introduction and Commentary) Zealous (jealous)(07065) qanah from qin'ah = zeal, ardor - from color produced in face by deep emotion) means to be jealous, to be envious, to be zealous. The picture is that of intense fervor, passion, and emotion. Zeal is an eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something and implies energetic and unflagging pursuit of an aim or devotion to a cause. Jealousy can be righteous or unrighteous - e.g., Genesis 37:11 records that Joseph's "brothers were jealous of him" and here we see the mindset and emotion of their fleshly jealousy led to unrighteous deeds! Contrast Phinehas godly jealousy that motivated righteous deeds! The Greek verb is zeloo from zelos = zeal in turn from zeo = boil; source of our English word "zeal") means to be fervent, to "boil" with envy, to be jealous. It can be used in a positive way to refer to a striving for something or showing zeal as in the case of Elijah. Charles Swindoll - COME OUT Read 1 Kings 19:10–18 Great Days with the Great Lives: Daily Insight from Great ... - Page 182 God met his servant Elijah in his desperate moment of discouragement and despair. This is mercy at its best, beautifully portrayed by the Master Himself. First, God allowed Elijah a time of rest and refreshment. No sermon. No rebuke. No blame. No shame. No lightning bolt from heaven, saying, “Look at you! Get up, you worthless ingrate! Get on your feet! Quickly, back on the job!” Instead, God said, “Take it easy, my son. Relax. You haven’t had a good meal in a long time.” Then He catered a meal of freshly baked bread and cool, refreshing water. That must have brought back sweet memories of those simple days by the brook at Cherith. How gracious of God! Fatigue can lead to all sorts of strange imaginations. It’ll make you believe a lie. Elijah was believing a lie, partly because he was exhausted. So God gave him rest and refreshment, and afterward Elijah went on for forty days and nights in the strength of it. Second, God communicated wisely with Elijah. God said, “Elijah! Get up and walk out of this cave. Man, it’s dark in here. Go out there and stand in the light. Stand on the mountain before Me. That’s the place to be encouraged. Forget Jezebel. I want you to get your eyes on Me. Come on, I’m here for you. I always will be.” God’s presence was not in wind or earthquake or fire. His voice came in the gentle breeze. Those sweet zephyrs were like windswept, invisible magnets, drawing Elijah out of the cave. Do you see what God did? He drew Elijah out of the cave of self-pity and depression. And once Elijah was out of that cave, God asked him again, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” God showed Elijah that he still had a job to do—that there was still a place for him. Disillusioned and exhausted though he was, he was still God’s man and God’s choice for “such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). And as far as this I’m-all-alone stuff went, “Elijah, let Me set the record straight,” said God. “There are seven thousand faithful out there who have not bowed to Baal. You’re really not alone. At any given moment, with the snap of My divine fingers, I can bring to the forefront a whole fresh battalion of My troops.” What reassurance that brought. John Blanchard - The man who had defied hundreds of prophets now ran away from one devil-inspired woman, escaped into the wilderness, lay down under a juniper tree and cried out to God, ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors’ (1 Kings 19:4). Yet it is precisely this element of weakness in Elijah that makes his story such an encouragement to us. The story of Elijah on the mountain, opposing the prophets of Baal, may make us feel that that is something right outside our kind of experience. If so, then we fail to grasp the point James is making. His concern is not to show Elijah as an extraordinary miracle-worker, but as an ordinary man who knew the humiliation of defeat and who could put his head between his knees and wish himself dead. But why should that encourage us? Because it is this man—this dejected prophet on the brink of suicidal depression—who had such power with God that, in Thomas Manton’s words, he ‘seemed to have the key to heaven, to open and shut it at pleasure’! There is a great danger in reading in the Bible of outstanding incidents linked with certain men and women to think that the people involved lived as it were in a different world, breathing different air. But that is not so! They lived in our world. They were ordinary people with all of our human weaknesses, all of our propensity to sin. They were fallen and fallible. It is crucially important that we grasp this. Vance Havner - SURVIVING SAINTS I only, am left.... I have left me seven thousand.... 1 Kings 19:10, 18. Elijah in the cave thought he was the surviving saint, the only good man left. God corrected him for his statistics were all wrong. Seven thousand remained who had not bowed to Baal. The old Straight and Narrow is not crowded, few there be who travel it, but you are not the only pilgrim. Let no Elijah bemoan his solitary state as a lone survivor. God has more faithful left than we think. J R Miller - 1 Kings 19:10 There is something very pathetic in this verse. Elijah really thought he was alone. He did not know of one other man in all the land, who was loyal to God. This made it all the harder for him. Companionshipstrengthens us. It is comparatively easy in battle for one to march and fight in the ranks, with others all around him; but to move out alone, old soldiers say, is a sore test of courage. It is easy to be good, faithful, and loyal in duty, diligent in Christian service—when one has companionship. But it tests one's life to have to stand alone, the only Christian in the family, the workshop, the store, the school. But many have to stand just in this way. They are really the only one who is in their place to stand for God. If they fail, God's work there will suffer greatly. But we see also the value of a single life. For years Elijah was the only one who confessed the Lord and was faithful to him. Yet though utterly alone, and not knowing of any others who even secretly were true, he yet stood firm, and bravely maintained the honor of Jehovah in the face of a whole nation. As we read the story through to the end—we see the outcome of his faithfulness. He alone wrought a great reformation. We sometimes find ourselves alone—the only one to witness for Christ in the place where we stand. If we simply stand and falter not, we shall by and by see the triumph of that for which we stand. D A Carson - Borrow For the Love of God, Volume 1 page 315 (Or For the Love of God, Combined Edition) DOUBTLESS ELIJAH EXPECTED THAT, after the triumphant confrontation on Mount Carmel, Israel would turn back to the living God (1 Kings 19). As he had executed the false prophets, so Queen Jezebel herself would be eliminated—by the popular demand of an outraged populace determined to be faithful and loyal to the covenant. Perhaps even King Ahab would repent and come on board. It doesn’t work out that way. King Ahab reports everything that has happened to Jezebel, and Jezebel lets Elijah know that he is as good as dead (1 Kings 19:2). The people are nowhere to be seen. “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life” (1 Kings 19:3), we are told. In fact, a textual variant (which may be original) reads “Elijah saw, and ran for his life”—i.e., he now saw the dimensions of the whole problem, and ran. He heads south to Beersheba on the southern edge of the kingdom of Judah, drops off his servant, and keeps on going. Eventually he arrives at Mount Horeb, the site of the giving of the Law. He is so deeply depressed he wants to die (1 Kings 19:4). Worse, he succumbs to not a little self-pity: everybody else has rejected God, all the Israelites have broken the covenant, all the prophets except Elijah have been put to death—”I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too” (1 Kings 19:10). One can sympathize with Elijah’s despair. In part, it is grounded in unfulfilled expectations. He thought that all that had taken place would trigger massive renewal. Now he feels not only isolated, but betrayed. And yet: (1) He has his facts wrong. He knows that at least a hundred of the Lord’s prophets are still alive, even if they are in hiding (1 Kings 18:13). (2) He is not in a fit state to judge the hearts of all the Israelites. Some may be loyal to Yahweh, but terrified of Jezebel, and therefore keeping their heads down. After all, isn’t that what he himself is doing? (3) God himself assures Elijah that he has “reserved” for himself seven thousand people who have never bowed to Baal and never kissed him (1 Kings 19:18). Here is the beginning of a major biblical theme—the doctrine of the remnant. The covenant community as a whole may become apostate, but God Almighty still “reserves” for himself a faithful remnant—which in the fullness of time will become the nucleus of the fledgling New Testament church. (4) God sometimes works and speaks in quiet ways, not in massive confrontation (1 Kings 19:11–13). (5) Sooner or later even the strongest leaders, especially the strongest leaders, need a younger apprentice and helper to come alongside, shoulder part of the burden, and finally take over the work (1 Kings 19:19–21). Tim LaHaye - SPIRITUAL REVIVAL Go out and stand before me on the mountain. 1 Kings 19:11 Embracing Eternity: Living Each Day with a Heart Toward Heaven ELIJAH WAS one of God’s greatest prophets, but he was still human. He still suffered from discouragement and spiritual fatigue. When the pressure built up, he struggled to maintain his strength before God. It was on the heels of his greatest spiritual victories that he found himself in the pit of despair and confusion. Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal and then summoned a mighty rain from the sea to show God’s power to the evil King Ahab. Jezebel swore to have him killed when she learned what he had done, so he fled. He ended up under a tree in the desert, praying that God would take his life. God’s prophet learned the price of obedience to the Lord. People don’t always like what God has to say, and those who speak for him take the brunt of the world’s wrath. God understood Elijah’s confusion. He put him into a deep sleep and then sent angels to minister to him. He brought food and water and physical restoration to his prophet. Then he had Elijah travel to Mount Sinai, where he could meet with him face-to-face. “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord tells Elijah (1 Kings 19:11). Have you ever been so beaten and discouraged that all you want to do is lie down and die? Have you ever found yourself saying with the prophet Elijah, “I have had enough, Lord.… Take my life” (1 Kings 19:4)? Have you ever felt so persecuted and weary that you didn’t think you could go on? If so, then maybe you need to meet God on the mountain. It is often on the heels of our greatest spiritual highs that we find ourselves in the depths of discouragement. Most mountaintops feed directly into valleys, and that’s usually where we find ourselves when we come down. The higher we go, the farther we can fall. The Lord understands this truth, and he is there to prop us up when we need him most. He will refresh our heart and spirit. And he will meet with us to renew our vision. All he needs is for us to go to him. If you don’t have a mountain, a prayer closet will do just as well. God met with Elijah on the peaks of Sinai, but he’ll meet with you in the depths of your heart. Go to him today, and allow him to revive your body and spirit. REFLECTION How do you normally deal with spiritual discouragement? How would God have you handle these times in the future 1 Kings 19:11 So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. stand upon the mount: Ex 19:20 24:12,18 34:2 Mt 17:1-3 2Pe 1:17,18 the LORD was passing by: Ex 33:21-23 Ex 34:6 Hab 3:3-5 great and strong wind Ex 19:16 Ex 20:18 Job 38:1 Ps 50:3 Isa 30:30 Eze 1:4 37:7 Na 1:3,6 Heb 12:18-21 Rev 20:11 but the Lord was not in the wind: Zec 4:6 an earthquake: 1Sa 14:15 Ps 68:8 Na 1:5 Zec 14:5 Mt 24:7 27:51-54 28:2 Heb 12:26 Rev 11:19 16:18 1 Kings 19 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: Exodus 33:21-23+ Then the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; 22 and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. 23 “Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.” Exodus 34:6+ Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; YAHWEH BECKONS ELIJAH TO STAND BEFORE HIM So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD (Jehovah).” And behold, (pay attention! - hinneh; Lxx - idou) the LORD (Jehovah) was passing by! - Elijah is on Mount Horeb where Moses centuries before had encountered Yahweh the burning bush (Ex 3:1-2+). Elijah is in need of a fresh vision of how Yahweh works in His world. However note that Elijah does not obey immediately this time! Why do I say that? Look at 1Ki 19:13 where it says "he wrapped his face in the mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave." And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks (Heb “tearing away the mountains and breaking the cliffs”) before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake - The LORD caused these rock breaking, earth shaking events but was not in them. Put yourself for a moment in Elijah's sandals and imagine his feelings of awe and wonder and a bit of trepidation for he was a man just like us (Jas 5:17). Henry Blackaby - A Gentle Whisper 1 Kings 19:11–13 The Experience - Page 55 Sometimes we look for God in the wrong places. We assume there has to be a hundred-voice choir singing before we can hear from God. We look for God in thunder and lightning, trumpets and billowing smoke. That’s not always God’s way. God can speak through fire or earthquakes or any way he chooses, but he knows we’re really listening when we hear him whisper. The hardest thing to do sometimes is to be quiet and listen. We don’t like silence. We’d rather be doing something than sitting still, so we immerse ourselves in noise and activity, then we wonder why we don’t hear from God. God should not have to shout in order to be heard. He is God; he shouldn’t have to compete with the other noises in our lives. King David, who’s known as a man after God’s own heart, knew the secret of silence. As a boy, he spent many hours in solitude, listening to God’s voice while the sheep grazed in the meadows. His advice? “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:7). We mistakenly assume God is not pleased with us unless we’re active, so we’re always looking for things we can do for God. We confuse stillness with idleness. Idleness is doing nothing; spending quiet time with God is doing something. If we want to hear from God, we need to stop making so much noise. We must stop our activity long enough to listen for his whisper. If we’re quiet, we’ll hear it. Listening to His Voice I’m hard of hearing—“deaf in one ear and can’t hear out of the other,” as my father used to say. So I wear a set of hearing aids. Most of the time the devices work well, except in environments where there’s a lot of surrounding noise. In those settings, my hearing aids pick up every voice in the room and I cannot hear the person in front of me. So it is with our culture: a cacophony of sounds can drown out God’s quiet voice. “Where shall the Word be found, where will the Word resound?” poet T.S. Eliot asks. “Not here, there is not enough silence.” Fortunately, my hearing aids have a setting that cuts out the surrounding sounds and enables me to hear only the voices I want to hear. In the same way, despite the voices around us, if we quiet our souls and listen, we will hear God’s “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:11–12 nkjv). He speaks to us every day, summoning us in our restlessness and our longing. He calls to us in our deepest sorrow and in the incompleteness and dissatisfaction of our greatest joys. But primarily God speaks to us in His Word (1 Thessalonians 2:13). As you pick up His book and read it, you too will hear His voice. He loves you more than you can ever know, and He wants you to hear what He has to say. Adrian Rogers - People Think That God Reveals His Will in a Cataclysmic Experience And don’t make this mistake: to think that when God reveals His will to you, He’s going to do it in some great cataclysmic experience, some great dramatic happening is going to show the will of God for your life. You remember Elijah the prophet? He got perplexed and frustrated, and got out of the will of God, and got upset a little bit. And so God had to take him to a vacation retreat up in the mountains. And God spoke to him there. In 1 Kings chapter 19, beginning in verse 11, here’s what happened. God said to Elijah, “Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” (1 Kings 19:11–12) And God was in that still small voice. Don’t think that if God speaks to you, it’s going to be something radical and dramatic, and that you have to be an earthquaker. You can just be a quaker. You can just let God speak. Don’t make the mistake of looking for something radical, something dramatic. “THE LORD IS NOT IN IT” - Os Hillman TGIF: Today God Is First: Daily Workplace Inspiration The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” 1 KINGS 19:11 Elijah was in a crisis in his ministry. God had just corrected his perspective of his situation. If any man needed a touch from God, it was Elijah. He was in such distress that he wanted to die. The Lord intervened and told Elijah that He was coming to talk to him. But God did not tell Elijah how He was going to reveal Himself. It was up to Elijah to tell whether God was in the situations about to take place: 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. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave (1 Kings 19:11-13). We often think that God is in our grand projects only to discover that He is not. We may also assume that because of the success or visibility of a situation God is in it. And He may actually be in the project. However, God's ways are not always highly visible. In fact, He often shows Himself in subtle ways. Sometimes He chooses to come in a soft, gentle whisper. We need to be able to discern God's involvement in our situations. Ask Him today for wisdom to know when He is involved. Springs in the Valley - Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. (1 Kings 19:11) Springs in the Valley: 365 Daily Devotional Readings - Page 38 A rebuke is often a blessing in disguise. Elijah needed this form of address in order to arouse him to an understanding of his causeless fear. Such a one as he has no right to be fitful and repining. If he will go forth and stand upon the mount before the Lord, instead of hiding away in a cave, he will find new inspiration in a new vision of His power! When we are living on earth’s low levels we fail to catch the inspiring visions of God which are the true support of the prophetic life. We must come out into the sunshine and make the ascent of the mountain if we would discern those evidences of God’s power which are always available for the re-creation of faith and courage. The golden-crested wren is one of the tiniest of birds; it is said to weigh only the fifth part of an ounce; and yet, on frailest pinions, it braves hurricanes and crosses northern seas. It often seems in nature as though Omnipotence works but through frailest organisms; certainly the Omnipotence of grace is seen to the greatest advantage in the trembling but resolute saint. On the American prairies the butterflies start westward in their migrations and make steady progress though the wind is against them and the sea in front. The delicate butterflies rebuke me. Step out on the waves That would crush you! Step out in the storm That would hush you! And you will find, As you touch the crest You feared so much, And walk on its breast, There was One walking there, The whole night through, Walking, watching, Waiting—FOR YOU! Tim LaHaye - WHEN GOD SPEAKS IN THE EARTHQUAKE -Embracing Eternity: Living Each Day with a Heart Toward Heaven After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 1 Kings 19:11 “An earthquake is coming, and it is not symbolic. This passage indicates that everyone, great or small, would rather be crushed to death than to face the one who sits on the throne.” Nicolae, 327 “AFTER THE WIND there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake” (1 Kings 19:11). When Elijah went to meet with God on the mountain, a mighty whirlwind passed by, but that’s not how God chose to speak to him. Elijah had done nothing to incur God’s anger and wrath, so he saw no need. After the wind, God sent an earthquake. But again, that’s not how he chose to address his faithful prophet. The mountains shook, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. That doesn’t mean that God won’t speak through an earthquake. And when he does, you don’t want to be standing idly by. “For in my jealousy and blazing anger, I promise a mighty shaking in the land of Israel on that day,” the Lord says through his prophet Ezekiel. “All living things … will quake in terror at my presence. Mountains will be thrown down; cliffs will crumble; walls will fall to the earth.… Thus I will show my greatness and holiness, and I will make myself known to all the nations of the world. Then they will know that I am the Lord!” (38:19–23). Just as the earthquake followed the whirlwind in front of Elijah, God’s judgment always comes on the heels of his anger. God’s wrath usually leads to discipline. And discipline always comes for the purpose of redemption. When God comes to you in the earthquake, you can be sure that what you are feeling is his hand of discipline on your life. And you can be just as sure that he is doing so in order to restore you to himself. It is more than a little significant that history’s greatest moment of redemption was accompanied by an earthquake. Jesus had been in the grave for three days, and with the guards standing outside the tomb, God orchestrated his most powerful and final act of restoration. All of creation had been waiting for this moment—the moment when Jesus would rise from the grave and redeem his people once and for all time. “Suddenly there was a great earthquake, because an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat on it” (Matthew 28:2). God shook the very foundations of the earth in judgment in order to usher in a new age of redemption. And with that act, brought ultimate restoration to his people. REFLECTION How do you respond when God’s hand of discipline comes upon you? Does it help to know that his purpose is restoration? 1 Kings 19:12 After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. KJV 1 Kings 19:12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. BGT 1 Kings 19:12 καὶ μετὰ τὸν συσσεισμὸν πῦρ οὐκ ἐν τῷ πυρὶ κύριος καὶ μετὰ τὸ πῦρ φωνὴ αὔρας λεπτῆς κἀκεῖ κύριος LXE 1 Kings 19:12 and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire the voice of a gentle breeze. NET 1 Kings 19:12 After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a soft whisper. CSB 1 Kings 19:12 After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper. ESV 1 Kings 19:12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. NIV 1 Kings 19:12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. NLT 1 Kings 19:12 And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. a fire: 1Ki 18:38 Ge 15:17 Ex 3:2 De 4:11,12,33 2Ki 1:10 2:11 Heb 12:29 a gentle blowing: Ex 34:6 Job 4:16 33:7 Zec 4:6 Ac 2:2,36,37 1 Kings 19 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries A STILL SMALL VOICE After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD (Jehovah) was not in the fire - While God may choose to speak in these dramatic ways, such was not the case for Elijah. The text does not tell us how the fire was manifest -- lightning? burning bush? etc. The three physical phenomena remind me of an old singing group (in my rocker days) called "Earth, Wind and Fire." These physical phenomena were like inanimate "announcers" of Yahweh's imminent arrival. and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing - The gentle blowing was the fourth manifestation Yahweh had caused. Literally the Hebrew reads "the sound of gentle stillness," "a sound, a thin silence," or “a voice, calm, soft.” While the Almighty can shake the earth, he can also move quietly, even imperceptibly in accomplishing His goals. This picture of God in a gentle whisper speaks of His moving behind the scenes, ever controlling the scenes He is behind as the God of providence. THOUGHT - What a good reminder to all of us in Christ. We love incredible, even "miraculous" answers to our prayers, but it is so good to be reminded that the ever moving omnipotent, omnipresent God is also continually moving quietly in the background circumstances of our lives. What a mighty God we serve! NKJV, Peshitta "a still small voice" NRSV, Josephus, Antiq. 8.13.7 "a sound of sheer silence" TEV "the soft whisper of a voice" NJB, REB, JPSOA "a light murmuring sound" LXX "a sound of a light breeze" Play Hymn Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side; Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain; Leave to thy God to order and provide; In every change He faithful will remain. —von Schlegel Donald Wiseman: God does not always speak so clearly through these manifestations as he does through his individual word to his prophet. The ‘still small voice’ (av) was a gentle whisper (cf. Heb. ‘a thin [fine] subdued sound’), rather than ‘a low murmuring sound’ (neb); ‘stillness’ is not incompatible with the words for ‘sound, voice’ (‘a sound of sheer silence’, nrsv) and the word ‘thin’ (dāqqâ). The soft voice of God speaking to the conscience, illuminating the mind and stirring resolve in individual and nation may follow and is often preferable to the loud roaring and thunder of cosmic events at Sinai and Carmel. (1 and 2 Kings: An Introduction and Commentary)
1 Reis 19
Guzik: Elijah perhaps thought that the dramatic display of power at Mount Carmel would turn the nation around. Or perhaps he thought that the radical display of God’s judgment against the priests of Baal following the vindication at Mount Carmel would change the hearts of the nation. Neither of these worked. This example is important for Christian ministers today, especially preachers. It shows that displays of power and preaching God’s anger don’t necessarily change hearts. Instead, the still small voice of God speaking to the human heart is actually more powerful than outward displays of power or displays of God’s judgment. Brian Bell - God appears to Elijah in a still small voice - (lit. the sound of thinnest silence) a delicate whispering voice. Literally, the tone of a gentle blowing (K&D). The sound....of silence! Huh, that sounds like an old Simon & Garfunkel song...Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again, Because a vision softly creeping, Left its seeds while I was sleeping, And the vision that was planted in my brain. Still remains. Within the sound of silence. When you’re trying to hear God’s voice/will for your life...what are you listening for? Thinnest silence? Delicate whisper?[not always big/noisy] God shows He’s not only more powerful than Baal, but more importantly, in His essence He was a being who was totally other (transcendent) than the deity worshipped on Mount Carmel. Nature is often times in Scripture the vehicle of God’s voice. But here the reminder, not the storm of Sinai, but the whisper of Calvary is what touches & opens hearts. We all need to get alone with God; are Carmels must be followed by our Horebs. Then we receive fresh commissions; and there God teaches us to inspire others purposes with which He has filled our own hearts. Meyers Adrian Rogers - After the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper. - Another misunderstanding about God's will is the "Miracle Myth"—implying that you must have something dramatic happen in order for you to obtain His guidance and direction. Many people want to be "earthquakers" when it comes to discerning God's will. They want a cyclone, a forest fire, an inferno. But if you want to find out generally the will of God for your life, there's a still, small voice. There's a path "like the light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday" (Prov. 4:18). First it's dark, then it's gray dawn, then you see colors and shadows, then high noon. Be Still and Listen In Directions, James Hamilton writes: Before refrigerators, people used ice houses to preserve their food. Ice houses had thick walls, no windows, and a tightly fitted door. In winter, when streams and lakes were frozen, large blocks of ice were cut, hauled to the ice houses, and covered with sawdust. Often the ice would last well into the summer. One man lost a valuable watch while working in an ice house. He searched diligently for it, carefully raking through the sawdust, but didn’t find it. His fellow workers also looked, but their efforts, too, proved futile. A small boy who heard about the fruitless search slipped into the ice house during the noon hour and soon emerged with the watch. Amazed, the men asked him how he found it. “I closed the door,” the boy replied, “lay down in the sawdust, and kept very still. Soon I heard the watch ticking.” Often the question is not whether God is speaking, but whether we are being still enough, and quiet enough, to hear. —Phillip Gunter in Fresh Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching (Baker), from the editors of Leadership. Vance Havner - The Lesson of the Cave: God's Presence Day by Day - Page 5 And after the fire a still small voice. I Kings 19:12. It was the day after Carmel. The day after the big day can be a very bad day. From His baptism our Lord went to meet the devil. After the third heaven, Paul came to his thorn in the flesh. But Elijah learned at the cave what he never learned on Carmel. We make so much these days of wind, fire, and earthquake, of the sensational and spectacular, of the dramatic demonstration on Carmel. We measure everything by "How big?" and "How loud?" God's voice in the cave was still and small. He does indeed speak in wind, fire, and quake, but those are occasional. Woe unto us if we are so deafened by the whirlwind that we cannot hear the whisper! We are in great danger of going from one Carmel to another, living on excitement, mass meetings, and amazing demonstrations, that we need a session in the cave. Let us not deafen our ears to the quiet moving of God's Spirit in hundreds of humble hearts whose work of faith and labor of love will outlast anything on Carmel. Tim LaHaye - WHEN GOD SPEAKS IN THE FIRE Embracing Eternity: Living Each Day with a Heart Toward Heaven After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. 1 Kings 19:12 ELIJAH STOOD on Mount Sinai waiting for the Lord to come and speak to him. As he waited, a whirlwind passed by, but God was not in the whirlwind. When the winds died down, God sent an earthquake, but he was not in the earthquake. “After the earthquake there was a fire,” Scripture records, “but the Lord was not in the fire” (1 Kings 19:12). God had spoken before from a fire. When Moses stood on this same mountain many years earlier, he saw a bush engulfed in flames. When he went to see what was happening, the Lord spoke to him from the fire. “ ‘Do not come any closer,’ God told him. ‘Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground’ ” (Exodus 3:5). Fire represents the holiness of God. It symbolizes his power and purity among an impure people. When God speaks to us from his holy fire, he is showing us the very essence of his character and glory. Like the fire, God is intense and dynamic and powerful. His holiness cannot be touched or approached without fear and trepidation. “Be very careful never to forget what you have seen the Lord do for you,” Moses says to the Israelites. “Do not let these things escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren. Tell them especially about the day when you stood before the Lord your God at Mount Sinai.… You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain … and the Lord spoke to you from the fire” (Deuteronomy 4:9–12). God’s holiness is not something to take lightly. When you’ve seen God in all his glory, you don’t easily forget the encounter. God didn’t speak to Elijah in the fire, but Elijah may have expected him to. This is how he spoke to Moses and to the Israelites. God led Elijah to the same mountain, maybe even to the same spot. Yet as the fire passed, God’s voice didn’t come. He had something greater in mind for Elijah. Something that was perhaps a foreshadowing of what was to come. Something that you and I can readily relate to. God spoke to Elijah in a gentle whisper. Some translations call it a “still, small voice.” He spoke to Elijah as one friend to another. REFLECTION Have you ever felt the holiness of God around you during times of worship or prayer? How do you react when in the presence of God’s glory? How should we react? Listening for the Big Noise The Zondervan 2017 Pastor's Annual: An Idea and Resource Book Text: “And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12). Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 19:1–18 Introduction Discouragement is one of the most sinister and damaging states into which a Christian can fall. It carries its own kind of paralysis; it lays us low and takes away the song in our hearts and the joy from our souls. At least momentarily it takes us out of the race and puts us on the sidelines. What do we do when the crisis of discouragement arises? Does God provide resources and strength whereby we can overcome this spiritual malady? The biblical event we will study to illustrate this crisis involves a man whose personality and record of achievement as a prophet of God leads one to say, “Discouraged? Surely not this man!” His very name is synonymous with strength and victory. Elijah! He was the prophet-giant of the Old Testament, the fiery and relentless voice of God’s judgment, the hero of the Hebrews! Yet James describes him as a man “subject to like passions as we are” (James 5:17). I. In Our Text Story We Discover Elijah Riding Perhaps the Highest Crest of Victory in His Life Elijah had stood fearlessly before King Ahab, confronting him with the idolatry of God’s people. He called for a showdown, and the king ordered all the people and the prophets of Baal to assemble on Mount Carmel. Elijah’s call to the people was, “How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). The contest was begun, the Baal prophets prepared their sacrifice, and all day they called on their god to send fire and consume it, but no fire came. Elijah’s turn came, and following a quiet, simple prayer to God, the fire fell and consumed the sacrifice. A national revival broke out in Israel, and the story of this victory closes with this declaration: “And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah” (1 Kings 18:46). II. Then We Find Our Prophet Walking the Dark Valley of Discouragement “But [Elijah] … requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life” (1 Kings 19:4). Why did this giant of God come to this point of exasperation while the taste of Carmel’s victory was still in his mouth and the people’s cries of repentance were still ringing in his ears? How could Jezebel, a mere woman, strike such fear in Elijah’s heart? Perhaps Elijah forgot that in the aftermath of victory there comes the moment when we are most vulnerable to temptation. While we celebrate our victories, we must not forget to keep in touch with the God who made them possible. Elijah, in his own mind, did not allow God to keep his rightful place in this situation. He decided that the victory was a farce, and he gave way to fear. Cowardice whiplashed him down to the wilderness, where he dropped, physically and spiritually spent, under a juniper tree. Elijah not only lost faith in himself, but in others as well. He decided that there was not a God-fearing person left in Israel. So, with his faith in God shaken, his faith in himself and in his people gone, what was left for him but to ask to die? III. The Story Doesn’t End on That Sad Note: Elijah Was Yet to Find the Solid Rock of Faith How did God cure Elijah’s discouragement? First, he put him to sleep; he taught him how to “be still.” God has many ways of making us “stop,” causing us to be still and know that we are his sheep and he is our God. David said, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures” (Ps. 23:2). Second, God showed Elijah his sin and brought him to repentance. He instructed the prophet to go into the mountain, where a strong wind came that split the mountain and broke the rocks. There followed an earthquake and a blinding fire—and Elijah was awed by this fantastic display of power! But after all the noise and bluster were gone, there was “a still small voice,” with which God spoke clearly and plainly to Elijah. Elijah listened, and the discouragement drained out of him. He was ready to be God’s man again. Conclusion Are you discouraged? Do you feel like giving up? Are you waiting for some “big noise,” some spectacular thing to happen to catapult you into some mountain-peak experience? Perhaps God wants you to be still and let him speak. Stop waiting for the big noise. When God speaks, “the sound of his voice is so sweet, the birds hush their singing.” God will sustain his people through the valleys as well as on the mountaintops. STILL, SMALL NUDGES Charles Swindoll - Wisdom for the Way: Wise Words for Busy People - Page 173 For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. PROVERBS 3:12 What brings wisdom into our lives? Accepting God’s reproofs. Reproof is from a Hebrew term that means “to correct . . . to convince.” I often think of reproofs as God’s proddings, those unmistakable nudges, His “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12 KJV). They are inner promptings designed to correct our ways. They alert us to the fact that we are off course. They communicate, in effect, “My child, that’s wrong; change direction!” These God-given reproofs sometimes appear in Scripture. . . . On other occasions the reproofs come verbally from those who love us. All of us have sagging character qualities that need attention. To ignore them is to open the gate that leads to disobedience. - Living Beyond the Daily Grind Charles Stanley - Are You Ready to Listen? On Holy Ground: A Daily Devotional - Page 320 SCRIPTURE READING: 1 Kings 19:1–18 KEY VERSE: 1 Kings 19:12 After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. The prophet Elijah was exhausted physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Is this what happens to a man who obeys God? Elijah must have wondered. He was depressed to the point of desiring death, on the run, and desperately wanted to hear from God. Where should he go? What hope was there for a future? Through an angel, God fed him to restore his physical strength, but Elijah still wasn’t ready to hear what God had to say. For forty days and nights, Elijah traveled to Mount Horeb (Sinai), moving slowly in his despair. He cried out to God once more: “I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away” (1 Kings 19:10 NASB). How did God answer his plea? Not in the way that Elijah expected. Elijah stood on the mountain waiting. The sudden, violent wind did not bring God’s answer. God was not in the rock-shattering earthquake either. The sudden inferno did not contain His answer. After the great commotion, Elijah heard a gentle blowing, and then God spoke to give him direction for his future. God wanted Elijah to have the right heart attitude to receive His words. Elijah needed to be thoroughly emptied of himself, of self-reliance, of the need to control. When Elijah gained a proper perspective of God’s tender sustenance and sovereign power, he was ready to really hear what God had to say. Is your heart ready to listen? Dear Lord, I want to hear Your voice. Empty my reservoir of self-reliance, and give me a proper perspective of Your sovereign power. Make me ready to listen. How God Dealt with a Nervous Breakdown The Zondervan 2017 Pastor's Annual: An Idea and Resource Book Are you discouraged? Do you feel like giving up? Are you waiting for some “big noise,” some spectacular thing to happen to catapult you into some mountain-peak experience? Perhaps God wants you to be still and let him speak. Stop waiting for the big noise. When God speaks, “the sound of his voice is so sweet, the birds hush their singing.” God will sustain his people through the valleys as well as on the mountaintops. At the very apex of his career, the prophet Elijah suffered something akin to a nervous breakdown. It is very instructive to see how God dealt with this malady in 1 Kings 19. The Lord’s treatment program contained the following elements: • God prescribed sleep and nourishment.—1 Kings 19:5–8 • Angelic assistance was dispatched.—verses 5–8 • Elijah was allowed to verbalize his frustrations honestly and openly.—verses 9–11 • God reminded Elijah of His power.—verses 11–12 • The Still, Small Voice of God was needed.—verse 12 • There was a recommissioning, a renewal of purpose was given.—verses 15–17 • Where God is concerned, Elijah learned, things are never as bad as they may appear.—verse 18 • A good friend was assigned to provide companionship.—verse 19 Vance Havner - Carmel and Horeb Day by Day - Page 18 Then the fire of the Lord fell... I Kings 18:38. But the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still, small voice. I Kings 19:12. God was in the fire at Carmel; He was not in the fire at Horeb. We are not to gather from the still, small voice that God is never in wind, earthquake, and fire. He often is. He came at Pentecost with a sound as of a rushing mighty wind. He came in an earthquake in the Philippian jail. God works in nature in the cataclysmic, in flood and tornado; and He works in the gradual, quiet process of the seasons. He works in mighty mass movements in revival with a Whitefield or a Moody. But He also moves in quiet gatherings in the day-by-day work of faith and labor of love among the churches. And into our hearts He sometimes breaks in sudden and tempestuous ways, in mountain-top raptures and third-heaven experiences. But He also works in daily growth in the knowledge of Christ, the quiet walk by His sufficient grace. You cannot live at Carmel all the time. Carmel happens only once in a while. God is at Horeb too—if you have ears to hear. LIFELONG FAITH Discovering God's Daily Agenda: 365 Devotions to Live in ... - Page 14 - Henry Blackaby I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth.1 Kings 18 : 12 So declares the faithful prophet Elijah. We find in 1 Kings tips for living a life of faith just as he did. If we don’t diligently follow God’s commands, we— like Ahab—can too easily trivialize sin, become comfortable with it, and no longer see it as offensive to God (1Ki 16:31). A lifetime of following God prepares you for times of crisis and uncertainty. Though you may not always understand your situation, experience tells you God is trustworthy. You can find comfort in a proven relationship with your God even when, like Elijah’s, your faith is shaken (1Ki 19:1–18). The world gives its counsel, and the Bible states its truth. We must choose between the two. We can’t live in two worlds, as the people of Israel tried to do when they worshiped Baal as well as God. If we truly believe Jesus is Lord, our lives will verify our faith. Often we expect God to visit us in spectacular ways. We must learn to also recognize God when He speaks in a still, small voice (1Kin 19:12). God’s word is no less powerful when He whispers. As you walk with your Lord, listen, trust, and obey. Are You Listening? Quiet Reflections of Hope: 120 Devotions to Start Your Day - Page 157 Samuel was asleep in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was kept. Then the LORD called Samuel. “Here I am,” Samuel responded. 1 Samuel 3:3–4 Daytime is often filled with noises and distractions. It is the time to go, accomplish, and check off the to-do list. But nighttime and its coveted hours meant for rest can be hampered with the replaying of these noises and distractions. Sometimes we’re so busy replaying the day that we miss listening for “the quiet, whispering voice” of the Lord (1 Kings 19:12). In 1 Samuel, the importance of an attitude of listening is revealed in an interaction between God and Samuel, a boy given by his mother Hannah to serve God at the tabernacle. One night, Samuel thought he heard someone call his name. Assuming it was Eli, he hurried to the priest’s side. This happened three times. After Eli determined that God was calling Samuel, Eli suggested a humble response: “Speak, Lord. I’m listening” (1 Samuel 3:9). How would you respond if the Lord called your name? Is your life so busy that you wouldn’t be able to hear the Lord if He called you? Or would you recognize His voice like an infant recognizes her mother’s soft inflection and touch? God speaks through His Word, through the Holy Spirit, and through the wise counsel of others. His voice is like the quiet voice of a radio host tuned to the frequency of our hearts. Are you listening? DO YOU NEED A HEARING AID OR DOES GOD NEED A MEGAPHONE? If you’re not listening to God’s Word, don’t be surprised if his “gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:12) becomes loud and painfully clear through some out-of-the-ordinary circumstance. But even then, there’s no guarantee you’ll get the message. As Abraham warned the rich man in Luke 16:31, “They will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” It’s dangerous to grow “hard of hearing” toward the things of God. What does it take for you to hear—and heed—God’s Word? Oswald Chambers - “Do Not Quench the Spirit” “Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19). The voice of the Spirit of God is as gentle as a summer breeze—so gentle that unless you are living in complete fellowship and oneness with God, you will never hear it. The sense of warning and restraint that the Spirit gives comes to us in the most amazingly gentle ways. And if you are not sensitive enough to detect His voice, you will quench it, and your spiritual life will be impaired. This sense of restraint will always come as a “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12), so faint that no one except a saint of God will notice it. Beware if in sharing your personal testimony you continually have to look back, saying, “Once, a number of years ago, I was saved.” If you have put your “hand to the plow” and are walking in the light, there is no “looking back”—the past is instilled into the present wonder of fellowship and oneness with God (Luke 9:62; also see 1 John 1:6–7). If you get out of the light, you become a sentimental Christian, and live only on your memories, and your testimony will have a hard metallic ring to it. Beware of trying to cover up your present refusal to “walk in the light” by recalling your past experiences when you did “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7). Whenever the Spirit gives you that sense of restraint, call a halt and make things right, or else you will go on quenching and grieving Him without even knowing it. Suppose God brings you to a crisis and you almost endure it, but not completely. He will engineer the crisis again, but this time some of the intensity will be lost. You will have less discernment and more humiliation at having disobeyed. If you continue to grieve His Spirit, there will come a time when that crisis cannot be repeated, because you have totally quenched Him. But if you will go on through the crisis, your life will become a hymn of praise to God. Never become attached to anything that continues to hurt God. For you to be free of it, God must be allowed to hurt whatever it may be. Martin Manser - Waiting for the whispers Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him. (Psalm 37:7) One of the things that probably most of us find hard to do is to wait. Waiting is not easy at the best of times; but after a time of great activity or excitement, it can almost be unbearable. That’s how Elijah felt after the exciting demonstrations of God’s power in the contest with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. He was now completely exhausted—so exhausted that when Queen Jezebel merely threatened him, he simply ran. What he needed to experience right now was not God’s power, but God’s presence. In fact, that’s exactly what God brought him. As Elijah stood on the mountain, a great wind came, followed by an earthquake and fire. These were all traditional ways in which God had manifested his power; but, no doubt to his surprise, God appeared in none of them, but rather in ‘the sound of a gentle whisper’ (1 Kings 19:12, NLT). What Elijah needed to do was to simply stop and listen; and as he did so, he heard God’s whisper. The Bible invites all of us to be still before the Lord—not because stillness is somehow more holy than noise (in fact, the Bible has far more to say about vibrant, expressive worship than silent worship!); but because being still gives us the opportunity to experience what we might otherwise miss. Being still allows us to ‘know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10) and to hear God speak, like Elijah did that day. Being still is a challenge to us westerners with our busy lifestyles; but being still and waiting carries a promise with it, that ‘they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint’ (Isaiah 40:31, KJV). If you have been busy recently, running through life at full pelt, God invites you to stop today, to wait for his whispers, and to be ready to hear his voice, just as he promised. But as for me, I will look to the LORD, I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. (Micah 7:7, NRSV) God’s Conscious Presence Revealed Daily With The King - Page 9 W. Glyn Evans God’s tender care for Elijah extended to more than the body, even though ministry to his body was the first necessity. God also ministered to his spirit. The voice of the Lord, that “still small voice,” came to him to assure him of God’s continued presence with him. One of the results of an emotional breakdown in God’s servants is a feeling of isolation from God. It seems as if the spirit is unable to apprehend God’s presence, even though He is just as close as always. The cause is a defect in the spirit’s function, like a clock whose mainspring is broken. The remedy is an extra amount of attention from God, who makes His presence more peculiarly evident to His people in such distressing times. So He came to Elijah several times and made His “word” and His “voice” known to Him (1 Kings 19:9, 12, 13, 15). God knew that Elijah needed more than water and bread; he needed the conscious presence of the One he loved most. So God came, and Elijah was comforted. There was one other aspect of God’s care for Elijah, and that was in reference to his vocation. Was God finished with him? Did his breakdown mean the end of his ministry? Could he ever function again as a prophet? After a period of rest and refreshing, God’s word came again to His servant, “Go, return … and … anoint Hazael king over Syria; and Jehu … king over Israel” (vv. 15–16). His ministry was to continue as his strength returned. He was still of great value to the Most High. What a comfort that must have been to Elijah after his bitter bout with nerves! How assuring it is to me to see God’s minute, individual care for one of His tired prophets! I serve a Master who is infinite in heart as in mind, and I rest in the center of both. “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him” (Psalm 28:7). Charles Swindoll - The following excerpt is from the chapter "Silence and Solitude" - So, You Want To Be Like Christ?: Eight Essentials LISTEN In truth, some of you reading this are on the ragged edge because you are continually in motion, constantly in the presence of needs and people and demands, expectations, children pulling at you, spouse needing support, friends wanting help, groups looking for a volunteer, schedules, making plans, attending events. You can’t remember the last time you were absolutely alone, sitting—or better, kneeling—in silence. You’ve lost perspective and you’re going to come apart. Believe me, I know. When I was young and foolish, I used to say along with my equally foolish seminary friends, “I’d rather burn out than rust out!” How incredibly stupid. Either way, you’re “out”! Since then, I’ve read missionary biographies—glowing, sentimental tributes to an all-out, short-lived career in ministry—and wondered, Why didn’t these people take better care of themselves? They pushed themselves beyond exhaustion and frequently died of curable or treatable diseases. Short, brilliant careers that affected a lot fewer people than if they had lived longer. Why would anybody desire either to burn out or rust out? Both options are bad. Not much ministry gets done from a pine box. And since when is burning out so impressive? Fizzling is worse than rusting. Near the end you’re tense, angry, needy, self-absorbed, demanding, resentful, and—big surprise—doing more harm than good in the cause of Christ. If Jesus Himself refused to rush on, if Jesus took time to be alone, if Jesus pulled His men away for times of solitude way back then, why do we think it’s any less important for us to do the same today? Solitude doesn’t require much effort or time. And seclusion with God doesn’t have to be a superspiritual setting, either. Sometime it’s a motorcycle ride for me. Or a drive along the back roads in my pickup. Other times, a long and quiet walk all alone with my thoughts is best. For you, time alone with God can take any form you like, so long as you’re deliberately away from other people. Now, I can almost hear the questions. What do I do once I’m alone? Simple answer: listen. You’ll hear things that you may have been missing. One of my favorite questions to ask people who live up in the mountains is, “Do you hear the wind whistling through the trees?” They’ll typically return a blank look, and then pause for a moment. “Oh, yeah. How about that?” Obviously, though they live in that quasi-pristine setting, they haven’t listened for a long time. Just standing on a mountain slope won’t necessarily help you hear the wind in the trees, though. You have to listen for it. What will I hear? In a word, clarity. Give it some time. Your mind will flood with silly cares and useless observations. Usually the longer it’s been and the busier you are, the longer it will take for your mind to calm down and grow quiet. Don’t fight it. Don’t rush it. And don’t feel guilty. It’s normal. Just let your mind run. Eventually, without trying and before you know it, your mind is still. Not empty; just quiet. And the things you have studied, the lessons you have learned, the Scripture you have read or memorized, the prayers you have begun to pray will start to mingle and finally jell. The silly will be displaced by the significant. Confusion and chaos will be displaced by meaningful thoughts. Shallow will disappear as depth finds its way in. Some like to call what they hear “a still, small voice.” The phrase comes from a story about Elijah in 1 Kings 19. The tough, old prophet had just defeated the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel and on foot had outrun the royal chariot to the palace. Enraged, the evil queen Jezebel threatened to have him killed. Elijah ran for his life, far away. Exhausted and depressed, he fell down under a tree in the wilderness and wept. “O LORD, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers” (1 Kings 19:4). As he rested and ate, he listened for the voice of God. A whirlwind. An earthquake. A raging fire. Elijah trained his ear on each, but he heard no voice. Finally he heard what many translations call a gentle wind; the old King James Version renders it poetically “a still small voice” (v. 12). Wind, earthquake and fire manifested themselves in succession, but God is said not to have been in any of these. Then a different phenomenon followed. The translations a gentle whisper and “a still small voice” (RSV) do not do full justice to the enigmatic Hebrew expression, which may be better rendered “a brief sound of silence.”11 The Hebrew word is usually found in poetic writing. “Several times in the Psalms this verb is used of being still before the Lord in quiet meditation.”12 In other words God spoke audibly to Elijah out of silence as the prophet waited all alone. It was in that place of solitude that God connected with His servant. Elijah heard with his ears, not his spirit. He literally heard God’s message. We will hear from God, though not in the same way. We are not prophets relaying new information from God to His people.We have available to us all the information we need. As I mentioned earlier, it’s all there between the covers of our Bible. And we have the indwelling Holy Spirit to teach us using our experiences, the advice of godly counselors, and the information handed down via the prophets and apostles. Nevertheless, we must listen . . . in quietness. As we find solitude, the still, small voice we hope to hear will be a sense of clarity as we allow the Holy Spirit to transform our thinking. Chris Tiegreen The One Year Experiencing God's Presence Devotional: 365 ... - Page 9 And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. 1 Kings 19:12 Elijah had gone to Mount Sinai, back to the place where Moses had received the law against which all of Israel had recently been rebelling. After a fierce windstorm, a violent earthquake, and a raging fire, God spoke to the prophet in the stillness, as quietly as a whisper. Why? “I speak in the quiet. People want Me to write My words to them in the sky or thunder them from heaven or send an angel with a message, but that doesn’t measure hunger or desire. It dictates My will. I’m not a dictator; I’m a wooer. I draw you, and only those who respond can come. That’s how it works. “Sometimes in history I’ve been more aggressive with My voice. Moses needed to be startled, for example, and so did Gideon. But normally I speak faintly enough that only the hungry and thirsty will risk failure and follow. They are desperate enough. Those who shrug off My voice as a whisper will often miss Me. Those who assume that every voice they think they hear is a whisper from Me will be wrong sometimes, but they won’t miss Me. Sometimes they will be right, and over time I will fine-tune their hearing so they will know the difference between My real whispers and their own inner voices. But their desire to hear Me, even knowing they could be wrong, pleases Me. Moses and Paul expressed My heart when they wished everyone could prophesy. I want My voice to be heard by all who have ears to hear.” Father, I want to hear You at all costs. I’m willing to risk failure to step out on a limb and believe that I’ve heard. Help me discern which whispers are Yours and which are not. But let me never be so “discerning” that I deny Your voice along with others. Please, Lord, give me ears to hear. Charles Stanley - KNOWING THE VOICE OF GOD Pathways to His Presence: A Daily Devotional - Page 13 SCRIPTURE READING: 1 KINGS 19:1–18 KEY VERSE: 1 KINGS 19:12 … and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. The most potent hearing aid known to man is the Holy Bible. It is the standard of truth against which you can test every message that comes your way. Making a decision on an issue important to you can be extremely difficult. Sometimes it may seem as if you are hearing two or more voices, all of which make seemingly good points but also tug you in different directions. It is important that in these times you learn to discern the voice of God. There are several principles you can apply to what you’re hearing to gauge whether it is of God, but the most basic is whether the message conflicts with Scripture. God won’t tell you to do something that counters what He already has recorded for all mankind. Therefore, the best way to know God’s voice is to get to know Him. Spend time in His Word and soak in His truths. You must know God’s Word before you can differentiate God’s instructions from the messages Satan or your flesh is sending you. Do you know how investigators are trained to recognize counterfeit money? They don’t spend all of their time trying to keep up with the latest technological advances in creating false money. Instead, they first and foremost diligently study the original, the real thing. Then, held against the standard, the counterfeit stuff stands out. Help me to discern Your voice, dear Lord. I want to differentiate Your message from all others. A W Tozer - Commotion, Not Devotion Tozer on Christian Leadership: A 366-Day Devotional - Page 7 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. —1 Kings 19:12 The accent in the Church today,” says Leonard Ravenhill, the English evangelist, “is not on devotion, but on commotion.” Religious extroversion has been carried to such an extreme in evangelical circles that hardly anyone has the desire, to say nothing of the courage, to question the soundness of it. Externalism has taken over. God now speaks by the wind and the earthquake only; the still small voice can be heard no more. The whole religious machine has become a noisemaker. The adolescent taste which loves the loud horn and the thundering exhaust has gotten into the activities of modern Christians. The old question, “What is the chief end of man?” is now answered, “To dash about the world and add to the din thereof.”… We must begin the needed reform by challenging the spiritual validity of externalism. What a man is must be shown to be more important than what he does. While the moral quality of any act is imparted by the condition of the heart, there may be a world of religious activity which arises not from within but from without and which would seem to have little or no moral content. Such religious conduct is imitative or reflex. It stems from the current cult of commotion and possesses no sound inner life. C H