A Still Small Voice - A Question of Exposition

[intricatic]

When Elijah killed all the prophets of Baal at Mt. Carmel, in 1 Kings 18, there is an interesting, single passage that stands out in my mind.

27 And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. 29 And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.
(1 Kings 18)

When God answers, it's in raining fire:

36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”
(1 Kings 18)

Likewise, God answers with an end to the drought:

41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, 43 and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.”
So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.”
44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’”
45 Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. 46 Then the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
(1 Kings 18)

So what does this have to do with "A Still Small Voice"? Let's move on to chapter 19.

We find Elijah running for his life from the threats of Jezebel. He leaves his servant in Beersheba and departed into the wilderness, then begged God to kill him:

4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”
(1 Kings 19)

God answers by sending him food.“Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.”, the angel tells him.

8 So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.
9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 So he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
(1 Kings 19)

At this point, the story reminds me of Jonah - the people in the previous chapter appeared to repent and acknowledged God, and yet here is Elijah saying he is the only one left who is zealous for God. Little does he know that God has 7000 faithful hidden away. It reminds me of Jonah because of the sheer, stubborn insistence at play - Elijah is looking at the thing as a man. He is exhausted, worn to the bone, and afraid that all of God's people have died by the sword, but He does not give credit to God's provision and power. Now on to the still small voice.

11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces 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; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
(1 Kings 19)

Elijah was zealous for God. He loved God, and he was distraught when Israel turned to idols. When Jezebel sought to kill him, it was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. This was his time away from the chaos and confusion, waiting on God. Previously, God had answered with a consuming fire on the altar, where the Baal had no answer of any kind. Then, God answered by sending rain upon the land, where Baal had not answered in any way. Elijah thought he was the only one following after God because he was the only one actively, and apparently working against the apostasy in Israel. God answers in a still small voice.

3 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
14 And he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
15 Then the LORD said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. 16 Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. 17 It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. 18 Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
(1 Kings 19)

God doesn't need to be loud like the world is, He doesn't need clamor and commotion to announce His presence - He is there, despite the noise of the world. Sometimes, He is behind the noise of the world. But He is not that noise - He is not the fire, or the wind, or the earthquakes. Those catastrophic events in life are not God, but God speaks in a still small voice. Can you hear Him? Sometimes, the clamor and commotion can suck the life right out of you. God says “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” I think today, we have too much to listen to, with television, radio, airplanes overhead, cars on the streets, people yelling at one another, elections drawing everyone's emotions along like so many cans dragged behind a noisy car, it can be difficult to stop and listen to what God has to say. Be sure, though, that in those quiet moments when everything slows down and you think you're the only one left following God, when your nerves are frayed to their breaking point and you feel like you can't go another step, a still small voice will answer you and tell you that you're not alone. God is so much bigger than we give Him credit for - He doesn't need to shout to prove it.

18 Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you;
And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
Blessed are all those who wait for Him.
(Isaiah 30)