In the next passage from 1 Kings 19, we find Elijah the prophet, on the run from a vengeful queen (named Jezebel), at Mount Horeb. After “venting” to God about his situation, God told him to stand on the mountain, because He was about to pass by.
Before reading the next few verses, though, I’d like you to pause for a moment and consider something: If God told you that He was going to pass by where you were, what would you expect? Intensely bright light? Loud thundering? Fire? Be honest now, even if you know what’s coming next in this chapter from 1 Kings. Once you have that in mind, let’s keep going.
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. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
1 Kings 19:11b-12 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1ki.19.11-12.NIV
Whoa! Or, as another teacher at my church would say, “Wow!” Some pretty intense events are going on here. If Elijah was looking for a demonstration of power, here are three examples.
However, in each case, God isn’t in the “dramatic” manifestations of His power: whether wind, earthquake, or fire. Having said that, I wonder if Elijah was indeed looking for more examples of God’s power (like the fire he had witnessed on Mount Carmel – see 1 Kings 18:38), since Elijah was personally feeling alone and overwhelmed.
After a literal earth-shattering example of force, though, there’s this “gentle whisper”. Apparently, that’s when Elijah realized that he could approach what was happening outside of the cave.
When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
1 Kings 19:13 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1ki.19.13.NIV
I’m not sure how Elijah knew that it was the right time to come to the mouth of the cave, but maybe he was understandably reluctant to go out during the wind, earthquake, and fire that came before. Waiting seems like a wise choice during those events, if only for his own self-preservation.
When the whisper arrived, though, Elijah stepped forward. Do you suppose that he peeked out from behind his cloak and saw broken rocks and fractured earth and burned trees, resulting from what had come through just before? I’m speculating a bit, but I wonder if Elijah thought, “That’s kind of how I feel: broken and destroyed”.
God asked Elijah the same question as before (see 1 Kings 19:9). Like the first time He asked the question, God knew the answer, but He gave Elijah a chance to speak. As human beings, we sometimes think that we know what someone is going to say and, because we think that we already have the answer, we interrupt them before they finish. I suppose that we want to look smart by showing them how quickly we understood the situation and how we already know what they need to do. (I don’t know how many times I’ve done that, only to learn that the person was going to say something else!)
God is a good listener, though, even though He literally knows exactly what we’re going to say. I think that this must be something God does on purpose, including when He has us share with Him in prayer what is on our hearts. We may not understand why prayer works the way that it does, but when God asks us to talk with Him, we should do so.
Let’s see how this conversation continues in the next article.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for May 18, 2025
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – 1 & 2 Kings, by Jesse C. Long, Jr. © 2002 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 