“‘Go out and stand before me on the mountain’ the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 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.”
1 Kings 19:11-12 (NLT)
ELIJAH’S PLAN
It was a great plan…it seemed.
In I Kings 18, Ahab and Jezebel, King and Queen of Israel, had established idolatry—the worship of Baal, as the official religion of Israel. Elijah the prophet of God says: Let’s have a contest on Mt. Carmel between me and the prophets of Baal in front of the King. It’s basically: My God can whup your god. Meet me on the mountain and we’ll settle this once and for all.
Elijah’s plan is like let’s meet at the Horseshoe, or the Bush Center. Let’s do this! This is like a prophet smackdown. So, Elijah sets up 2 altars and says to the prophets of Baal, come on, pray to your God and see if fire will come down from heaven on your altar. They pray—nothing happens. And then Elijah prays, and down comes fire from heaven, and first it burns up the sacrifice, but then it comes down even more and burns up the wood, and then the rocks and stones of the altar, even though water has been poured on it. And finally, everybody falls down—from the heat as well as in amazement—and Elijah says: The Lord He is God.
Great victory, right?
That’s the kind of thing you and I would do to prove the reality of God. Rent the Horseshoe, and on cue produce the most spectacular actions and a miracle. But look at what happens next.
“Then the Lord gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel. 1 Kings 18:46 (NLT). Why did he run? Jezreel was the capital of the country at the time and Elijah was now a marked man. Jezebel is going to try to kill him. So, why would he run right to the capital of the nation where he was a marked man, someone who had a price on his head. Why? The only reason would be because he expected either Ahab or Jezebel to repent and turn to God, or that the people would depose and get rid of them as King and Queen as they turned back to God. Either way, Jehovah God would again become the faith of Israel. He had to be convinced those would be the results or he wouldn’t have gone to the capital.
None of that happens though. No one repents, there was no spiritual revival in the country of turning back to God because of Elijah’s dramatic victory. Instead Jezebel sends him a message and she basically says: May I be struck dead if by tomorrow night I haven’t killed you. What did Elijah do? He changed directions and ran into the desert.
What went wrong?
It was a classic example of a mistake we can make, and have made. Don’t overthink it. We come up with our own great plans, even plans we are doing for God. But along the way, we put God in a box. We want God to bless our plans, instead of asking God what our plans should be.
In 1 Kings 19, God gently helps and restores Elijah. Elijah is told to rest, eat, rest and eat. Then God said this: ‘Go out and stand before me on the mountain’ the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 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.” 1 Kings 19:11-12 (NLT). The wind, the earthquake, the fire were all ways God had shown His presence in the past. They were examples of judgment, power, dramatic strength–all of which are true of God.
But unexpectedly, God shows up not in the ways Elijah (or we) would have expected–He came in a gentle whisper. The still, small voice. WHY?
TAKEAWAYS:
The dramatic miracle doesn’t necessarily mean people will turn to God. There is that famous parable in Luke 16 where Jesus tells a story about a rich man who went to hell. It’s just a story, but Jesus tells how the rich man looks in heaven and sees Abraham and asks him to send somebody from the dead to go talk to his brothers who are still alive, so their hearts would be changed. Send somebody back from the dead. A miracle. That’ll do it. Abraham says: They have known the prophets, if they won’t listen to the scriptures, they won’t listen if someone is risen from the dead.
If you want to know God and have your life changed, instead of looking for mystical signs–go to scripture. Hear the voice of God in scripture. Hear the gentle whisper.
The gentle whisper of God shows God wants to have a relationship with you that is personal. Not a relationship of the earthquake, wind and fire, but a personal one.
Don’t put God in a box.“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.’” 1 Kings 19:10 (NLT) Elijah is saying: I had a good plan. I’m the only one left. Elijah has put God in a box. He thinks he knows exactly how God should be. He thinks he knows exactly who God is. And then God shows up in all these ways to show Elijah–you can’t put Me in a box. God had not let Elijah down–his plan had let him down.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
“‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 (NLT). Let your plans be God’s plans. Hear God’s whisper. Be in the Word of God.
Listen for God’s still, small voice. It is such a gentle way of describing the voice of God in search of a listening and obedient heart. Elijah’s life was forever changed after his encounter with the still, small voice of God. Elijah then knew what direction he was to take. Seek to have an open ear, a humble heart, and a willing spirit–you will make a difference because you do!
