The Hidden Whispers
Pant pant pant.
slap slap slap
pant pant pant.
Sandals flapping against the ground, the man ran for his life. He was alone except for his servant. His steps slowed to a stop at the place called Beersheba. "stay here." He told his servant, who sank down to the ground to rest gratefully. Now truly alone, the man continued a days journey into the wilderness. Seeing a broom brush, he sat down under it. From the depths of the heart filled with despair, he cried out; "I have had enough, Lord! Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors."
Exhausted from his long travels, the man fell asleep under the bush. Suddenly, an angel awakened him and told him; "Get up and eat." Turning around, the man saw food lying by his head. Bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate the bread and drank the water, and fell asleep once more.
Once again, an angel woke him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." So he got up and ate and drank. Nourishment from the food flowing through his bodies, he was strengthened and traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached the place called Horeb, the mountain of God. Finding a cave, he spent the night there in shelter.
We don't know what went through this man's head, but what we do know is a much bigger part of the story. The man's name was Elijah, and he was a prophet of God in or around the 9th century BC. Now, you may know well the story of Elijah, but I heard it told a different way last sunday.
Now, when I was little, the story always stopped there. Fast forward to the fiery chariot, and that's Elijah in a nutshell, right?
Well, no.
You see, it's ironic here that Elijah is running from his life because just a short time before, he had called on the name of the Lord with jaw-dropping results. Elijah's people, isreal, had foresaken the name of the Lord and turned to idolatry. Elijah was one cool dude. God worked through Him in mighty ways. Elijah was a taste of what was to come in the day of the Messiah's coming. Elijah performed miracles and brought back the dead, but only Christ could have offered himself on the cross as the payment for all sins. As great as Elijah was, he had no power of His own. All He had, all he was, was the result of God using him to remind Isreal of Who they had turned from.We're probably all fairly acquainted with the story of Elijah's confrontation of the prophets of Baal, right?
Probably, but let's have a quick review. Maybe we'll pick up on something new.
20 "So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.
Here we have Elijah, the last prophet of the Lord, standing before Israel. He gives it to them straight, and basically tells them to make a decision. I think an interesting line here is the last one. But the people said nothing. Maybe they had their heads cocked, interested and yet unsure. Maybe they had furrowed their brows in confusion. Maybe they were afraid. We don't know, all we know is that no one said anything. One more point, and then we can move on. Just bear with me here. If all the people, presumably most of if not all of the nation of Israel is standing before Elijah, and no one says anything, what does that say? in a crowd of at least hundreds, perhaps thousands, not one of them says anything. Doesn't that just illustrate how far they had fallen? They were so deep into following idols that either they didn't believe that God was God anymore, or they didn't have the courage to say so.
Let's continue.
22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the LORD’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”
Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”
Elijah says; "okay, guys, here's the deal. I am one person, the only prophet of the Lord left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty. Let's have a contest. Bring a bull to each of us. Baal's prophets will prepare theirs, and I'll prepare mine, but nobody will light their altar. you call on the name of your god, and I'll call on the Lord. whoever by answers by fire-he is God." And the Israelites were like; "Okay, yeah, sounds good. let's do it." Once again, I think the people's reaction shows how far they had fallen. They apparantly believed that their idol actually had a chance to beat the Lord in a contest of power.
Moving on..
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
Elijah told the false prophets to prepare their bull first, and they did so. Baal's prophets dressed the bull and called on the name of their idol. No response. So they started to dance around the idol. This was early in the morning. At noon Elijah started having a little bit of fun. "Shout louder!" He tells them. "Maybe he's thinking, or busy or traveling. Maybe he's sleeping!" (Another translation says Elijah suggested that Baal was relieving himself. I'm not sure if I believe Elijah said that, I haven't compared enough translations to be sure. But it is an amusing suggestion.) So by this time, Baal's prophets must have been getting a little worried. they started slashing themselves with swords and spears. even by midday, they were still frantically shouting, but no one payed attention. I'd like to note here that God, our God, the Lord, never sleeps. He doesn't need to travel, because he is everywhere. It's mind-boggling, I'll grant you, but as I've stated before, God's power should boggle our minds.
But we're not even to the best part yet.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs[a] of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
Elijah, at some point during the evening, decides enough is enough. He repairs the altar of the Lord and prepared his offering, he digs a trench around the altar. and he tells the people to fill four jars with water and pour it over his altar. They do so. I'd love to know what was going through their heads at that point. Maybe something like, 'What is this guy doing?' If they were confused by that, they must have been dumbstruck when he told them to do it not once, but twice more! This thing was thouroughly, soaking wet. The trench probably resembled a moat at this point.
Oh, but it gets better!
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The LORD—he is God! The LORD—he is God!”(1 Kings 18:20-39)
Okay, let's review. It took Baal's prophets hours and they didnt even get so much as spark. Elijah didn't have to do any long winded speeches or self-mutilation, he simply asked God to act. And God did. The whole altar just went WHOOOOSH. That must have been something else! the bible says the fire even burned up the stones.
I love this story, because it showcases God's immutability, omnipotence, and omniscience. God didn't have to be awakened! he didn't need his attention gotten with a showy display, he was always there! He's always paying attention!
Now that you have the backstory, let's go back to the cave, where Elijah is sleeping.
And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
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.”
Yourdictionary.com defines zealous as having passionate energy for a belief or purpose.
Yup. That's Elijah alright. passionate follower of a passionate God.
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. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Okay, so Elijah is standing on this mountain waiting for God, and suddenly there comes a powerful wind. This is no spring zephur. This is like gale force-batten down the hatches-we're all gonna blow away kinda wind. But the Lord was not in the wind. Not in the earthquake or fire, either. But after the fire came a gentle whisper. At this point, Elijah's probably pretty freaked out. He covers his face and stands before God.
a gentle whisper. God could have used the earthquake or the wind. He had used fire to send a message before, but not this time. God spoke through a gentle whisper.
Now, I'd be lying if I said God didn't still perform miracles. But I think sometimes we look so hard for miraculous signs that we miss the hidden whispers. From Scripture, it seems to me that what Elijah heard as an audible voice. After Jesus ascended back into heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit to guide us in our lives until the second coming. I believe this is how God speaks to us through whispers now. He could choose to speak in an audible voice if he wished, but instead, he whispers to us through the Holy Spirit.
"Yeah, sure." you might say to me. "But I don't hear those whispers.
Ahh....that's what you think.
If you've ever had something occur to you or arouse righteous anger and you feel like you have to do something about it, then you've heard God whisper. If you've seen a wrong and want to make it right with all the fiber in your being, then you've heard God whisper. If you've used the phrases "I feel called" or "God placed on my heart..." or "I feel like God wants me to do this." Then you've heard God whisper. His whisper is that quiet calming voice halfway through a missions trip when you wonder why you're there. His whisper is the barrage of good memories that flow through your head during the funeral of a believing loved one. His whisper is that little voice that says; "It's going to be ok."
Where have you heart quiet whispers?
slap slap slap
pant pant pant.
Sandals flapping against the ground, the man ran for his life. He was alone except for his servant. His steps slowed to a stop at the place called Beersheba. "stay here." He told his servant, who sank down to the ground to rest gratefully. Now truly alone, the man continued a days journey into the wilderness. Seeing a broom brush, he sat down under it. From the depths of the heart filled with despair, he cried out; "I have had enough, Lord! Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors."
Exhausted from his long travels, the man fell asleep under the bush. Suddenly, an angel awakened him and told him; "Get up and eat." Turning around, the man saw food lying by his head. Bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate the bread and drank the water, and fell asleep once more.
Once again, an angel woke him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." So he got up and ate and drank. Nourishment from the food flowing through his bodies, he was strengthened and traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached the place called Horeb, the mountain of God. Finding a cave, he spent the night there in shelter.
We don't know what went through this man's head, but what we do know is a much bigger part of the story. The man's name was Elijah, and he was a prophet of God in or around the 9th century BC. Now, you may know well the story of Elijah, but I heard it told a different way last sunday.
Now, when I was little, the story always stopped there. Fast forward to the fiery chariot, and that's Elijah in a nutshell, right?
Well, no.
You see, it's ironic here that Elijah is running from his life because just a short time before, he had called on the name of the Lord with jaw-dropping results. Elijah's people, isreal, had foresaken the name of the Lord and turned to idolatry. Elijah was one cool dude. God worked through Him in mighty ways. Elijah was a taste of what was to come in the day of the Messiah's coming. Elijah performed miracles and brought back the dead, but only Christ could have offered himself on the cross as the payment for all sins. As great as Elijah was, he had no power of His own. All He had, all he was, was the result of God using him to remind Isreal of Who they had turned from.We're probably all fairly acquainted with the story of Elijah's confrontation of the prophets of Baal, right?
Probably, but let's have a quick review. Maybe we'll pick up on something new.
20 "So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.
Here we have Elijah, the last prophet of the Lord, standing before Israel. He gives it to them straight, and basically tells them to make a decision. I think an interesting line here is the last one. But the people said nothing. Maybe they had their heads cocked, interested and yet unsure. Maybe they had furrowed their brows in confusion. Maybe they were afraid. We don't know, all we know is that no one said anything. One more point, and then we can move on. Just bear with me here. If all the people, presumably most of if not all of the nation of Israel is standing before Elijah, and no one says anything, what does that say? in a crowd of at least hundreds, perhaps thousands, not one of them says anything. Doesn't that just illustrate how far they had fallen? They were so deep into following idols that either they didn't believe that God was God anymore, or they didn't have the courage to say so.
Let's continue.
22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the LORD’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”
Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”
Elijah says; "okay, guys, here's the deal. I am one person, the only prophet of the Lord left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty. Let's have a contest. Bring a bull to each of us. Baal's prophets will prepare theirs, and I'll prepare mine, but nobody will light their altar. you call on the name of your god, and I'll call on the Lord. whoever by answers by fire-he is God." And the Israelites were like; "Okay, yeah, sounds good. let's do it." Once again, I think the people's reaction shows how far they had fallen. They apparantly believed that their idol actually had a chance to beat the Lord in a contest of power.
Moving on..
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
Elijah told the false prophets to prepare their bull first, and they did so. Baal's prophets dressed the bull and called on the name of their idol. No response. So they started to dance around the idol. This was early in the morning. At noon Elijah started having a little bit of fun. "Shout louder!" He tells them. "Maybe he's thinking, or busy or traveling. Maybe he's sleeping!" (Another translation says Elijah suggested that Baal was relieving himself. I'm not sure if I believe Elijah said that, I haven't compared enough translations to be sure. But it is an amusing suggestion.) So by this time, Baal's prophets must have been getting a little worried. they started slashing themselves with swords and spears. even by midday, they were still frantically shouting, but no one payed attention. I'd like to note here that God, our God, the Lord, never sleeps. He doesn't need to travel, because he is everywhere. It's mind-boggling, I'll grant you, but as I've stated before, God's power should boggle our minds.
But we're not even to the best part yet.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs[a] of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
Elijah, at some point during the evening, decides enough is enough. He repairs the altar of the Lord and prepared his offering, he digs a trench around the altar. and he tells the people to fill four jars with water and pour it over his altar. They do so. I'd love to know what was going through their heads at that point. Maybe something like, 'What is this guy doing?' If they were confused by that, they must have been dumbstruck when he told them to do it not once, but twice more! This thing was thouroughly, soaking wet. The trench probably resembled a moat at this point.
Oh, but it gets better!
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The LORD—he is God! The LORD—he is God!”(1 Kings 18:20-39)
Okay, let's review. It took Baal's prophets hours and they didnt even get so much as spark. Elijah didn't have to do any long winded speeches or self-mutilation, he simply asked God to act. And God did. The whole altar just went WHOOOOSH. That must have been something else! the bible says the fire even burned up the stones.
I love this story, because it showcases God's immutability, omnipotence, and omniscience. God didn't have to be awakened! he didn't need his attention gotten with a showy display, he was always there! He's always paying attention!
Now that you have the backstory, let's go back to the cave, where Elijah is sleeping.
And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
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.”
Yourdictionary.com defines zealous as having passionate energy for a belief or purpose.
Yup. That's Elijah alright. passionate follower of a passionate God.
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. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Okay, so Elijah is standing on this mountain waiting for God, and suddenly there comes a powerful wind. This is no spring zephur. This is like gale force-batten down the hatches-we're all gonna blow away kinda wind. But the Lord was not in the wind. Not in the earthquake or fire, either. But after the fire came a gentle whisper. At this point, Elijah's probably pretty freaked out. He covers his face and stands before God.
a gentle whisper. God could have used the earthquake or the wind. He had used fire to send a message before, but not this time. God spoke through a gentle whisper.
Now, I'd be lying if I said God didn't still perform miracles. But I think sometimes we look so hard for miraculous signs that we miss the hidden whispers. From Scripture, it seems to me that what Elijah heard as an audible voice. After Jesus ascended back into heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit to guide us in our lives until the second coming. I believe this is how God speaks to us through whispers now. He could choose to speak in an audible voice if he wished, but instead, he whispers to us through the Holy Spirit.
"Yeah, sure." you might say to me. "But I don't hear those whispers.
Ahh....that's what you think.
If you've ever had something occur to you or arouse righteous anger and you feel like you have to do something about it, then you've heard God whisper. If you've seen a wrong and want to make it right with all the fiber in your being, then you've heard God whisper. If you've used the phrases "I feel called" or "God placed on my heart..." or "I feel like God wants me to do this." Then you've heard God whisper. His whisper is that quiet calming voice halfway through a missions trip when you wonder why you're there. His whisper is the barrage of good memories that flow through your head during the funeral of a believing loved one. His whisper is that little voice that says; "It's going to be ok."
Where have you heart quiet whispers?
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