CSSA 1-3-08 - ELIJAH AND THE STILL SMALL VOICE

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58. ELIJAH AND THE STILL SMALL VOICE

"There came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?''

Aim

To show how Elijah learned from the still small voice that God still had a work to be done in Israel

At Mt Carmel, God had shown the Israelites in a wonderful way that He was the true God and that there is no other. Surely now they would serve God and keep His commandments. However, when Ahab told Jezebel all that had happened on Mt Carmel, she was very angry. Her heart was filled with hatred, to think that Elijah would dare to kill her prophets of Baal. She sent a terrible message to Elijah, saying, "By tomorrow about this time I will make thy life as the life of one of them " (v 2).

1 Kings 19

ELIJAH IN DESPAIR: 1 Kings 19:1-4

Elijah was a great prophet, faithful and full of courage. Yet when he heard the terrible threatening words of Jezebel, it was more than he could bear. He became very downcast., for it seemed that so many were against him. How could he possibly turn the hearts of the people away from idols to serve the living God, whom he loved? It had seemed like a great victory on Mount Carmel, but still that wicked Jezebel reigned in Samaria. Feeling lonely, and despairing for his life, he fled south to Beersheba with his servant. From there he travelled alone a day's jour ney into the wilderness, and came and sat down under the shade of a juniper tree. Weary and worn out with worry, he wished that he might die. "// is enough, " he prayed to God, "take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers" (v 4). Then he lay down and slept.

GOD STRENGTHENS ELIJAH: 1 Kings 19:5-8

While he slept, an angel touched him and said, "Arise and eat " (v 5). He woke up and looked and found to his surprise a meal prepared before him € a freshly-baked loaf still hot on the coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down to sleep again. He was woken again by the angel touching him and saying, "Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee" (v 7). Elijah obeyed and found that the food he received from the angel gave him strength to continue his journey. He traveled for forty days and forty nights, until he came to Horeb, "the mount of God" (v 8).

It was at Horeb many years before that Moses had seen the burning bush. There God revealed to Moses His wonderful Name (Exodus 3). It was here at Horeb that the tribes of Israel had gathered to receive the Law, "and there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount" (Exodus 19:16). It was also at Horeb that God showed Moses His glory (Exodus 34). So now, many years later, the prophet Elijah came and climbed Mount Horeb and sheltered in a cave.

ELIJAH HEARS THE STILL SMALL VOICE: 1 Kings 19:9-21

Then the voice of God came to Elijah and He said, " What doest thou here, Elijah?" (v 9). And Elijah said, "1 have been very jealous for Yahweh, 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 " (v 10). God understood just how Elijah was feeling, but while he felt lonely and depressed he was not in the right frame of mind to continue God's work with Israel. So God told Elijah to go and stand upon the mountain that he might see God's glory and power pass before him.

As he stood there the quietness was suddenly shattered as a fierce wind tore the mountains, breaking off huge pieces of rock and sending them crashing down into the valley below € "but Yahweh was not in the wind" (v 11).

The wind was followed by an earthquake € "but Yahweh was not in the earthquake ".

After the earthquake, was a fire € "but Yahweh was not in the fire".

Then after the fire came a "still small voice " (v 12). It was a gen tle whisper that came to Elijah's ears as he wrapped his face in his cloak and went to the entrance of the cave where he had sheltered from the terror of God's mighty power. "What doest thou here, Elijah? " the voice said. Elijah gave the same answer as before: "1 have been very jealous for Yahweh of hosts... and I, I only, am left; and they seek my life. "

Elijah had been able to show Israel God's mighty power in stop ping the rain and in sending fire from heaven on Mount Carmel. What Israel needed now was the "still, small voice" to teach them God's ways. So Elijah must go back to Israel, for he was not the only one left who worshipped God. "Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal" (v 18). These faithful men and women needed encouraging, for many of them would have to hide from Jezebel's anger, too (18:4).

So God* sent Elijah on his way again, back to Israel.

LESSON FOR US

We may sometimes find ourselves lonely because we have tried to please God rather than please ourselves. The Lord Jesus Christ tells us to count ourselves happy when this happens, "for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you" (Matthew 5:10-12). God is still with us. He will never forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). There are other brethren and sisters and their children, so we never stand alone. Elijah himself found that there were thousands more in Israel who took courage from his example, and he needed their faithful example to encourage him, too.

The "still small voice" of God still speaks to us from the Bible. We can always turn to it for guidance and strength, for we must not give up when things get difficult, but keep on with the work of God until Christ comes (Mark 13:13).

ADDITIONAL NOTES

There were three special things that God wanted Elijah to do:

First, he must go to Damascus and anoint Hazael to be the next king of Syria.
Second, he must return to Israel and look for a man called Jehu. He was to anoint Jehu to be king of Israel, for God would destroy the house of wicked Ahab, his evil wife Jezebel, and his sons, by the hand of Jehu.
Third, Elijah must anoint a man to take his place as a prophet in Israel. The young man God chose to succeed Elijah was Elisha. These were important tasks that Elijah must do for God before his work was finished.

In fact, God has also reserved a special work for Elijah to do aft Christ returns. It will be Elijah who will go to the Jews still scattered all the countries of the world to tell them that Christ has returned, and lead them back to the land of Israel.

What a wonderful prophet Elijah was! He loved God's ways and hated everything that was evil. God is like that, and we must be like that, too. As the Psalmist said, "/ love thy commandments above gold; yea above fine gold. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts... I hate every false way" (Psalm 119:127-128). Let us make sure that we have the same attitude to the world and all its evil ways, and love the things of God.

QUESTIONS

Short Answers

What did Jezebel plan to do when she heard what happened on Mount Carmel?
What did Elijah do when he heard Jezebel's message?
What did Elijah pray for as he sat under the juniper tree?
Who woke Elijah?
What did Elijah see when he awoke?
How long did Elijah's journey take to Mount Horeb?
God showed His mighty power to Elijah in three terrifying ways. What were they?
What did Elijah hear after the fire?
What did God say to Elijah on Mount Horeb?
How many faithful were still left in Israel?
What did God want Elijah to do after He had spoken to him on Mount Horeb?