AFTER THE FIRE (Part 2)

 Dr. DeVata Davis

Let’s continue examining the story.  Notice that Elijah didn’t stay under the broom tree.  After he ate and drank as the angel directed him, he went in the strength of the two meals for 40 days and nights.  Sounds a little like Jesus, doesn’t it? (Luke 4:1-13).  But unlike Jesus, Elijah was still afraid.  He kept running until he reached Horeb, which the bible called the Mountain of God.  Elijah had enough faith to run to God, even as he was running away from the enemy.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary notes that Horeb was called the Mountain of God because it was on it that God manifested His Glory when God hid Moses in the cleft of a rock when His Glory passed before him.

At Horeb, Elijah went into a cave – a place of hiding, as well as protection from the elements, animals, and Jezebel.  It was there in the cave, while he slept, that the word of the Lord came and asked him what he was doing there.  (Who’s the word of the Lord?  I would say it was Jesus).  Elijah answered by blaming the children of Israel for forsaking their covenant with God, tearing down altars, and killing prophets.  Elijah lamented and complained that he was the only prophet of God left and they were seeking to kill him.  Notice that he didn’t mention that he had prayed to God to kill him, but instead he placed the blame for what he saw as his expected end on the children of Israel.

The word of the Lord told Elijah to “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.”  When  the Lord passed by, a strong, great wind tore into the mountain, then there was an earthquake, and a fire.  But the Lord was not in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire.  After all those harsh natural occurrences, there was a still small voice.  That still small voice was what Elijah heard. The bible doesn’t record what the still small voice said.  But it moved Elijah to action.  He wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

Why was Elijah still in the cave during the wind, earthquake, and fire when the word of the Lord told him to “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.”?  Interestingly, Matthew Henry’s Commentary notes that God put Moses into the cave when He passed by him, but he called Elijah out of the cave.  Notice that Elijah wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave.  Perhaps Elijah knew the significance of where he was and he recognized who was speaking to him in the still small voice so he covered his face so that he would not see the face of God and die.

Once again, the Lord asked Elijah, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  Elijah didn’t say, “I was afraid to stand on the mountain like you told me, so I hid in this cave.”  Instead, he stated the exact same response he had earlier in which he touted his zealousness for the Lord and blamed the children of Israel and accused them of trying to kill him.  Could it be that Elijah misunderstood the question?  Is it possible that the Lord was asking him why he was standing at the entrance of the cave wrapped in his mantle instead of standing on the mountain as he had been instructed to do? 

We’re not much different from Elijah.  We may misunderstand what God says to us and also fail to follow his instructions completely because we are still in a fearful state.  Notice that the Lord didn’t chastise Elijah or comment regarding his response.  Instead, He lovingly instructed Elijah to go back to the Wilderness of Damascus and anoint kings over Syria and Israel (Hazael and Jehu) and to appoint Elisha as prophet in his place.  God would use these men to chastise the Israelites.  Elisha would kill those who escaped Hazael’s sword of war and Jehu’s sword of justice (Matthew Henry’s Commentary).  

Finally, the Lord lovingly informed Elijah that he was not alone.  He was not the only prophet left in Israel.  God always has a remnant who remain faithful to him and that he preserves.  According to Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, “the survival of a righteous remnant rests solely on God’s providential care for His chosen people and His faithfulness to keep His covenant promises.”  Other relevant scriptures regarding the remnant of God’s people include Isaiah 10:21 and Isaiah 11.

Consider these questions:  What or where is God instructing you to go back to?  What is He telling you to do when you get there?  If you’re not sure, now is a good time to seek the Lord regarding that thing or person you have been running from or are still fearful of.

Shortly after Elijah received the instructions from the Lord he departed from the cave and soon found Elisha plowing in a field and placed his mantle upon him.  Who is the Lord telling you to pass your mantle to?

The natural elements in this story - the wind (storms), earthquakes (shaking), and fire (burning away) – remove everything that is familiar, distractions, hindrances, etc., that prevent us from hearing clearly the voice of the Lord.  Often our lives requires drastic disruptions that God initiates in order to get us to focus on Him and to HEAR and LISTEN to His voice.

Let me encourage you with this small stanza from a song that Pastors Chris and Carol Green wrote many years ago:

In the stillness of the night, listen to His voice hear His call

In the break of morning light, listen to His voice hear His call

For it’s beauty for the ashes His will brings into our life

Listen to His voice, Hear His call, Hear His call

AFTER THE FIRE . . . HEAR HIS CALL