Word of Encouragement (06/18/2024)

And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke 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. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:11-13)

Elijah presented his grievances to the LORD in response to His question, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” This passage shows God’s response to his grievances. He commanded Elijah to stand on the mount to observe the LORD passing by him. He passed by him four times in three different ways. The first time was accompanied by a great and strong wind, which tore the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces. But we are told that the LORD was not there. The second time was accompanied by an earthquake. We are told again that the LORD was not there. The third time was accompanied by a fire with the same result: the LORD was not there, either. The last time was with the sound of a low whisper. This was notfollowed by the same statement that He was not there. God spoke to Elijah and asked him the same question: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Here, we have many powerful phenomena—a wind strong enough to tear the mountains and break rocks, an earthquake, and a great fire. Yet, we are told that the LORD was not in any of them. Obviously, they were there to serve as a foil to the last one. The contrast between the two sets is obvious: the first three were powerful and spectacular whereas the last one was quiet and humdrum. The only thing remarkable about the last one was that it was so different from the previous ones. Yet, the LORD was not in any of the first three; He was only in the last one.

What did it mean that “the LORD was not in [any of the three]”? From this description, we know that the first three were not theophanies (“appearances of God”). God can perform miraculous signs and supernatural wonders. They manifest the power of God. But theophanies are different from mere signs and wonders. It seems that, when God appears in theophanies, He speaks. The burning bush was a theophany: the LORD spoke to Moses from its midst. The glory cloud that descended on Mount Sinai was a theophany: the LORD spoke to the people of Israel from it. The vision of a ladder reaching from earth to heaven was a theophany: the LORD spoke to Jacob. So, we see that, in this instance, the powerful and spectacular phenomena were not theophanies; they were just signs and wonders. Interestingly, “the sound of a low whisper” was God’s theophany, for He spoke to Elijah immediately following it.

Why did God appear to Elijah in this way? Maybe it was to highlight the priority of God’s word over signs and wonders. Elijah took part in a great miracle at Mount Carmel, which led to the slaughter of 450 prophets of Baal. Yet, it could not stop him from growing fearful and fleeing like a coward. But in this instance, God speaks to Elijah amid “the sound of a low whisper” after the three spectacular signs. It was His speech, which raised him from the depths of fear and depression and put him into action (with the instruction that followed).

We are easily enamored by what we see, but we are to walk by faith, not by sight. Sight caters to our flesh; God’s word feeds our faith, anchoring it in the invisible and spiritual reality. What is of the flesh and earth is temporary; what is of the Spirit and heaven is eternal: “...we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18). Let us cherish the Word of God, which is all-sufficient for our faith and living, and strive to grow in it.

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