THE STILL SMALL VOICE (I Kings 19:11-15a)

Transcription

1 THE STILL SMALL VOICE (I Kings 19:11-15a) The Lord hadn t given up on Elijah. A day s journey south of Beersheba, He had met the needs of His weary servant by sending the angel with food and drink on two separate occasions. When you belong to the Lord, there is not a place you can go where He cannot find you. The psalmist wrote, 139:2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. Matthew Henry, God takes notice of every step we take, every right step and every by-step. He is acquainted with all our ways, intimately acquainted with them; He knows what rule we walk by, what end we walk towards, what company we walk with. The vast extent of His presence is unlimitable for even after a forty-days journey further south to Mount Horeb, God came again while he was taking refuge in a cave, What doest thou here, Elijah? (v.9). Seeking to explain himself, the man of God replied, - I m sure he spoke the words in an extremely deflated tone, v.10 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. He didn t really answer the Lord s question though, which explains why God asked it a second time in v.13 and Elijah gave the exact same reply in v. 14. It reminds us of the question the Lord Jesus asked Peter on the shore of Galilee, Jn. 21:15 Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? v.16 v.17 And the reply Peter gave in v.15, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee was repeated in verses sixteen and seventeen. Sometimes we are hard to get through to, but here in both these situations we see the persistence of God. Why does God persevere with His people? Why does He follow them when they travel along paths of disobedience? God perseveres with His people because He loves them, because they are the people of His sovereign choice. If you and I were to spend from now until He comes or calls, we could never understand why His constant faithfulness towards us. He keeps returning to us and speaking to us even when we do not merit His attention. Such is His wonderful grace! How many times has the Lord spoken to you about a particular issue, and you have given him answers, - like Elijah, - good answers respectable answers, but answers that don t really address the question? Yes, beyond any shadow of a doubt Elijah had been faithful in previous days, and the Lord had taken account of it but Elijah, - the faithful servant of Jehovah, - in a lonely cave, in a barren wilderness What doest thou here, Elijah?

2 2 Hundreds of miles from where he should have been! Lord, You know how jealous I have been for Your Name. I ve defended You when all around me has been forsaking You. In fact, Lord, I m the only one left and my enemies, - they, - are working hard to kill me. Such a dose of self-pity mixed in with a degree or two of selfish pride. He said, they seek my life, to take it away Actually, that was a bit of an exaggeration, - in distress, he hyped up the size of the opposition. He made it look as if every last Jew in the northern kingdom had turned against him and the Lord. But that wasn t the case, - it was Jezebel who wanted to kill him. And he wasn t the only one left! Nevertheless, the Lord persisted with Elijah. While it seems he had well-nigh given up, here is an example of how our God defends His people and how He works so that His purposes are carried out to His glory through them. DEMONSTRATION v.11 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: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. Here is the demonstration of God s almighty power. From inside a cave in a desolate wilderness, He made His presence known. Elijah had been drained from head to toe, and it had also affected his confidence in the Lord. He was so absolutely shattered, - as we say, - with all that had gone on around him in recent times and he had taken his eyes off Jehovah. He had allowed himself to become preoccupied with Queen Jezebel and her threats to kill him. Surely, the same Lord Who had looked after him at Cherith and in Zarephath, and met his every need for a period of three-and-a-half years... the same Lord Who was with him on Mount Carmel and rained down the fire upon Elijah s altar the same Lord Who had given him the extra speed to run and reach the entrance of Jezreel (18:46) ahead of King Ahab as he raced in his chariot from the mountain to the city because of the threat of the oncoming downpour, surely, this same God ought to have been his Confidence in those dark and apostate days! And yet the servant of the Lord had lost his assurance in his Master s work. He no longer had the determination he had previously. Now, we mustn t judge Elijah harshly As we look into the mirror of God s Word we can see our own reflection, and therefore, we must not judge because how many times has the Lord proved Himself to us for us to forget so easily!

3 3 He has answered prayer regarding a family member as they went through serious illness, or He has provided for us when we thought our resources were down to their last penny. He has proved Himself to us time and again. We recoiled into ourselves only to discover the Lord demonstrating His goodness to us. We look back and see how we were exhausted spiritually, - all the pressures that come from living in this world was draining us, - but in tender mercy and grace He came along at the right time and provided the cake and the water, - the very means of sustenance we particularly needed at that time. Yes, and even when we headed the wrong way He followed us again meeting up with us and providing our needs. And then, when we sought refuge deep in the cave of desperation, He found us. He never gave up on us, - yes, we might have almost given up on ourselves, but He didn t. How hurtful it must have been to the Lord for Elijah to seek solace in an empty cave when the angel had already proved the provisions of God were at his disposal! Ps. 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. Indeed, how precious we are to Him. Elijah in that cave As the burdens press, and the cares distress And the way grows weary and long As the daylight fades into deep night shades, Does He care enough to be near? Does [He] care when I ve tried and failed To resist some temptation strong; When for my deep grief there is no relief, Though my tears flow all the night long? The chorus of the hymn says, Oh yes, He cares, I know He cares, His heart is touched with my grief; When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Saviour cares. On that day on Mount Horeb God demonstrated to His beloved servant how much He cared. Elijah needed a fresh vision of the glory of God and yes, he experienced the great wind as it passed by, - and while the Lord wasn t in the wind, - the prophet knew it was the Lord Who caused that great wind. It was so mighty it broke the rocks and tore the mountain. He then experienced a great earthquake that caused the mountain to shudder and tremble after which the Lord brought the fire. The last time the Lord brought the fire was on another mountain, - on Mount Carmel, - when the flames from Heaven fell upon Elijah s offering What a day that was! Yes, once again, - in different circumstances, - but nonetheless, a mighty demonstration of the power of almighty God Elijah s God!

4 4 We can be so frail spiritually that sometimes we forget the privilege of those former demonstrations of God s power in our lives and that is what I believe was happening to Elijah and the Lord was coming near to remind him. Look closer and you can see something else very important HESITATION v.11 [God] said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord 13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. The Lord told him to get up from where he was and to go out and stand at the opening of the cave. In other words, he was holed up away inside it somewhere somewhere there would have been no light, - he would have been in the darkness. It would have been damp and cold and more lonely than he would have been before even as he travelled those forty days through the wilderness. And nobody else could have found him there but the Lord! Nobody else knew he was there but the Lord. Like the parable of the Lord Jesus describes, the Good Shepherd goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray (Matt 18:12) Elijah, the Lord has found you. Now, you get yourself up out of that cave and go and stand on the mountain where the Lord is about to do a new thing with you! Read the text even closer though, for what you will see is that during the wind, the earthquake, and the fire Elijah had not gone out. You see, he hesitated. Initially, the angel of the Lord was speaking to him when he was inside the cave, and it was only when he heard a still small voice that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. It seems he wasn t yet prepared to face the storm, or the earthquake, or the fire. He felt so inadequate He feared the winds in case they would blow him away, or the earthquake would swallow him up, or the fire would consume him but, - after all the noise and commotion, - God came to His servant in a still small voice. He was saying to Elijah, There is no threat to you for I am in charge! Ps. 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. 24:1 The earth is the Lord s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. 2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. I m in charge, Elijah! At that point he got himself up, v.13 he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him. Even though he hesitated, the Lord still had a purpose for him but before he could go any further Elijah had once again to face an

5 5 EXAMINATION v.13 And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? 14 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because 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. It was the same question as before (v.9), and he responded in exactly the same way. When the prophet heard the gentle whisper, - the still small voice, - his fears were about to disappear. He heard the gentle voice of God he recognised the sound. Yes, there s a time and a place for the wind, the earthquake and the fire but here we see the Lord speaking to His tired and worn out servant by means of the still small voice. Yes, the Lord approached him gently for Elijah still had to answer that question, What doest thou here? Do you notice how the Lord responded to his servant s reply? Isn t it significant God didn t enter into a whole conversation trying to make Elijah understand? No, there is no point arguing with the Lord. He doesn t play games with us, or He s not interested in us trying to make Him see our point of view. It is His instructions that matter. You ll not distract Me from my will Elijah, I ll tell you what you must do! God had yet more for Elijah! The Demonstration of the power of God, the Hesitation of Elijah to come out of the cave, the Examination he needed to undergo, and finally the EXPECTATION v.15 the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus Damascus was a long journey northwards. It would have taken him quite a while getting there You will notice too that it was not actually the city of Damascus God was instructing him to travel to, but yet another wilderness! Surely he had enough of wildernesses! Surely the Lord would call him somewhere more productive! Wouldn t it have been lovely if the Lord had called him back to the hills of Gilead, from which he had originally come! Surely, Lord, Elijah needs a rest He doesn t need to exchange one desert for another What was truly happening? The difference this time was that, just as the Father led His Son the Lord Jesus into the wilderness, and just as He led Saul of Tarsus into the wilderness, and just as one of the seven angels in Revelation 17 carried John into the wilderness (v.3) so Jehovah was leading His servant once again But that was the difference to the previous occasion This time Elijah was entering the wilderness because that was where the Lord was clearly directing him!

6 6 Previously, out in the wilderness, Jehovah had provided his servant water from the brook and bread from the ravens. God was bringing Elijah back to the place where he would depend upon Him fully. Indeed, study the wilderness experience of God s people throughout Scripture and you will find it is the single most blessed place where they have been most refreshed in their faith. Previously, when Elijah had fled to the wilderness from Jezebel, he was in danger of death for the wilderness he had fled into was a wilderness of his own choosing but when the Lord leads His people into a desert place, He blesses them with experiences far beyond their expectations. The Lord was leading Elijah into another wilderness where He would sustain His servant for His own glory s sake. CONCLUSION. We are in a wilderness today. Maybe you have come here this morning and you can identify with Elijah. Your circumstances at home are almost more than you can cope with, but remember the words of the chorus, based on Scripture, My Lord knows the way through the wilderness, All I have to do is follow. Strength for today is mine all the way, And all that I need for tomorrow. As we look in on the religious scene today, don t you see how liberalism and modernism has encroached upon the life of God s people? In our nation, the true Church of Jesus Christ is in dire need of those fountains of living water Ps. 63:1 O God, thou art my God my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; 2 To see thy power and thy glory. Lord, take us from out of the wilderness we have wandered into because of our stubbornness and our lack of looking to You. As the psalmist cried, 106:47 Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise. Yes, there s fast approaching the day when He will enter this miserable world, - and there will not be any Who will hinder His coming Under the title of The Flourishing of Christ s Kingdom, - in great anticipation, shared by all the blood-bought children of God, - the prophet Isaiah was inspired to write, 35:1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. 2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. 3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. 4 Say to them that are of

7 7 a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you. 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. 7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. 8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. 9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: 10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Lord, hasten to those days! Save our loved ones! Teach us to be like Elijah and bring us out of the caves in which we have sought to take refuge And may that glorious day soon arrive for which we pray, Mt. 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven 13 Amen.