God Speaks in a whisper
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Elijah deals directly with God!
Elijah deals directly with God!
From the last chapter, Ahab is defeated all of the prophets of Baal have been killed. Ahab returns to one of the safe places left for him
1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
This so incensed Jezebel
2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”
Jezebel and Ahab had decided that Elijah was responsible for everything — Baal’s defeat, Slaughter of Baal’s prophets.
Just after Elijah had “won” some sort of battle with Ahab, Jezebel and their prophets. She releases a torrent of hate and discontent in the direction of Elijah.
Jezebel’s actions are not unexpected, and they are not really actions. They are reactions. Elijah is the aggressor, and so is the church, if we do not forget ourselves. The church does mean to do harm to unbelief, injustice, and wickedness. We mean to cast down every vain imagination and every thought that exalts itself against Christ Jesus (),
1 & 2 Kings 1 Kings 19:1–21
Jezebel’s actions are not unexpected, and they are not really actions. They are reactions. Elijah is the aggressor, and so is the church, if we do not forget ourselves. The church does mean to do harm to unbelief, injustice, and wickedness. We mean to cast down every vain imagination and every thought that exalts itself against Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 10:1–5), to proclaim the gospel until all knees bow and every tongue confesses Jesus is the Christ.
3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
1 By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” toward you when away!
2 I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world.
3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2cor 10
It is this same boldness that Paul approached the Church at Corinth that Elijah approached the kingdom of Ahab and Jezebel.
to proclaim the gospel until all knees bow and every tongue confesses Jesus is the Christ.
Nevertheless...
3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
Until Elijah had come to the end!!
Until Elijah had come to the end!!
9 There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Why was he in the cave?
He was the last of the prophets. Ahab and Jezebel had pursued him until he had to go and hide in a cave.
1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
He was tired, hungry, out of options, had no friends.
He was tired, hungry, out of options, had no friends.
I’ve never been in the situation that Elijah is in here…but I’ve been desperate. You too have been in many difficult situations.
Often times at the intersection of the Cross and Grace, we know that God loves us, we know he cares, we know he has a plan.
But we know that we are in an impossible situation.
Your latest business deal is going sour
Your car breaks down… you don’t have a spare.
The money has run out before the month has.
Like Elijah we know at our core that God is bigger than any of these situations. But still we are in a tough spot.
God asks him question...
“What are you doing here, Elijah?”
For Elijah this has everything to do with where he is…in the cave, hiding
In our world… God is asking us, why are thinking like this. Where has our trust went? Where is our boldness for God, has it disappeared that quickly?
29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.
Has God ever left you hang’in???? He has gotten you this far why would he forget about you now???
Has God ever left you hang’in???? He has gotten you this far why would he forget about you now???
Yes there is definitely discouragement that God hears in Elijah. There is also some self pity...
I think Elijah wants to go eat worms...
10 As surely as the Lord your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you.
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
1Kings 19
Elijah makes his case with God (Yahweh)…God does NOT rebuke him, he doesn’t call him out but he also does not let him off the hook.
God wants something else...
God wants something else... God wants action!
God wants something else...
He does not want defeat, he does not want surrender. Instead he sends himself...
11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
God said…I will demonstrate my power, I will demonstrate my power with the wind that can tear apart mountains.
This is wind that is demonstrated at over 250 mph. This is a W-I-N-D!
The parallels with Moses in highlight another dimension of this incident. Moses speaks to God after a first covenant is breached, symbolized by the shattered tablets, and he persuades Yahweh to show mercy and renew the covenant.
Yahweh does, issuing a second set of tablets along with a promise to accompany Israel to the promised land.
As a new Moses, Elijah is also the mediator of a new covenant. Yahweh no longer intends to call the house of Ahab back from the brink, but to take down the house of Ahab.
Ahab’s house has a chance for renewal at Carmel, but loses that chance when Jezebel turns against Elijah. Now the renewal of Israel will begin with the community within Israel, centered not on the king or the temple but on the prophet.
Yet, even while Yahweh turns his particular attention to the Israel within Israel, he remains the God of all Israel, showing mercy and judging.
Likewise, Jesus comes healing the sick, casting out demons, stilling storms, doing many wonderful works, but those wonders have no appreciable effect on first-century Israel.
But in the midst of that judgment, the Lord does not forget his people.
Signs do not convince Ahab and Jezebel either, and the sign given to them is a sign of death and resurrection, Elijah’s own symbolic death and resurrection under the broom tree in the wilderness.
But in the midst of that judgment, the Lord does not forget his people.
God is ready to reset the Kingdom of Israel for now the umpteeth time and he will again and again until they get it right.
Until they
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
God says I can speak through the horrible wind that I have sent…but I won’t
I can speak through the rain, earthquakes, disasters, I can speak in any way I choose.
12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
1Kings
a whisper…how powerful a whisper
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.
Ps
14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
How do we hear this whisper
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
In some special way… at a special time, in a special fashion you will realize that you have heard from the Lord.
The may be in the form of a roar of Lion but more likely in the voice of a lamb.
Some of the best advice I ever received was when I was a fairly new Christian and I was going a million miles an hour, looking for God here and there and everywhere. In the midst of that I was all to eager to find sin and point it out.
I was a 25-26 year old kid who pointed out to my married boss that he should not be chasing around the customer service rep from our company. He fired me...
I was trying to understand what God was doing. It was pointed out to me that my message was right, my method was wrong.
I didn’t hear from God…I was almost speaking from my Pride. Here is what I was told
7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
OK…I’m silent, Elijah was silent, now what?
God says your work here is not done, Elijah. This is not the final chapter in my work with Israel.
Elijah this is not my final work with you.
I want you to go and find Elisha that is who will come behind you and carry on your work and be your servant.
21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.
There is one loose end to mop up here
What is this passage asking of us?
Listen carefully, God may be whispering to you.
When he whispers he is speaking as if he is using a roaring wind, rain or earthquake.
Hunker down and wait
And I’ll repeat it again...
7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.