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.
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. 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.
15 And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:
Elijah lived during one of the most evil times in Israel’s history, when the worst administration was in power. The wicked King Ahab ruled over Israel together with his evil wife Jezebel (1Kings 16:30). But Elijah stood for God steadfastly and unmoveable. We do not know much about his ancestry. Some have even suggested that he was like Melchizedek (Gen 14:18; Hebrews 7:1-3). But James tells us that Elijah was “a man with a nature like ours” (James 5:17).
Elijah prophesied that it would not rain in Israel because of all the evil which king Ahab did. However, when Ahab met Elijah he accused him of being the “troubler of Israel.” But Elijah answered the king (1Kings 18:18), “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals.” Then he instructed Ahab to gather together all the prophets of Baal to mount Carmel, and Ahab did so. There God answered Elijah by fire in the sight of all Israel and the fire consumed the offering, the water in the trench around the altar and even the stones of the altar. And Elijah said to the children of Israel to seize the prophets of Baal. So they seized them and he executed them at the Brook Kishon.
It was customary in those days that there would be runners before the king’s chariot (1Sam 8:11). When Ahab returned to his city from mount Carmel, Elijah honoured his king and ran before him (1Kings 18:46). This is a lesson for us. Even though Ahab was such an evil king, yet Elijah showed him the respect as king because God had allowed him to rule over Israel. This is the sign of a true Christian. A Christian shows honour and respect to those God has allowed to govern, even if they are evil.
King Ahab told his wife Jezebel everything that had happened at mount Carmel. She was furious and wanted to kill Elijah, but he fled and went to Beersheba. There the angel of the Lord met him as he slept under a tree and twice gave him food to eat. He went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.
There God taught Elijah an invaluable lesson – a lesson every Christian must learn, otherwise your whole life will be vain. This is God’s school and university.
First God sent a terrible wind, like no other wind (1Kings 19:11). It “tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces.” But the Lord was not in the wind. The wind only went before the Lord. After the wind there was a terrible earthquake and after the earthquake a fire. But the Lord was also not in the earthquake and the fire. We can only imagine how terrible the earthquake and fire were too; like none before or after them. God protected Elijah, so that he only beheld these things but they did not harm him.
After the fire there was a “still small voice.” Then Elijah covered his face in his mantle. Why? Because he realised that it was the Voice of God. And he drew near to the cave entrance to draw near to God.
When someone speaks in a whisper, you cannot hear him unless you are very close to him and everything else is very quiet. You cannot hear God’s Whisper unless your heart is quiet and you draw near to God. You may experience storms in life; your child might get sick or die. But you must listen to God’s still small Voice.
After Elijah learned this vital lesson, God sent him on an important mission and he fulfilled it. He became mature spiritually through meeting with God and learning the vital lesson – listen to God’s Whisper.
Some children of God speak about great things but all sorts of satanic things (like grudges, hatred, anger and irritability) are found in them, because they don’t know the still small Voice which says: “No, not like that, but like this.”
Don’t allow anything that will disturb it. Live a pure life so that you will hear it always because it is that Voice that will make your ministry fruitful and that will lead you in the Everlasting Way.