8.13.23 1 Kings 19:9–18 (EHV)
9 He came to a cave and spent the night there. Then the word of the LORD suddenly came to him, saying, “Why are you here, Elijah?” 10 He said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Armies, but the people of Israel have abandoned your covenant. They have torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking to take my life.” 11 Then the LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is passing by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains and shattered rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire there was a soft, whispering voice. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak, and he went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. Then a voice came to him and said, “Why are you here, Elijah?” 14 He said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Armies, but the people of Israel have abandoned your covenant. They have torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking to take my life.” 15 Then the LORD said to him, “Go back the way you came and go to the Wilderness of Damascus. When you get there, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16 You will also anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah as prophet in your place. 17 Whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill, and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. 18 But I have preserved in Israel seven thousand whose knees have not bent to Baal and whose lips have not kissed him.”
Hear God Whisper to Your Fears
Running away seems like something a little child would do. Put the little satchel on a stick and walk out the door. Get two blocks down and realize, “That was a dumb idea.” Go back home with your tail between your legs. But Elijah wasn’t a little kid. He was a grown man. And he was a man’s man. He wasn’t a chicken. Jezebel had been hunting down God’s prophets before this happened. She had a track record of murder. Just previous to this story, Elijah had a showdown with the prophets of Baal, called down fire from heaven, and then ordered the death of 450 prophets of Baal. But once that happened, Queen Jezebel was ticked! Instead of repenting, she vowed to have Elijah dead within 24 hours. So Elijah ran. He ran for a long way, hundreds of miles, to the point of exhaustion. He had good reason to be afraid, facing more danger than any of us have ever faced.
Elijah wasn’t only running FROM Jezebel, he was also running TO the Lord. Elijah went on a mission to go to Mount Horeb, the same mountain range as Mt. Sinai. This is where the Lord had appeared to Moses in the burning bush. It’s where He provided water to the Israelites in the desert. It’s where He gave the Ten Commandments from the fire and smoke on top of the mountain. The LORD had a track record of being present at this mountain range.
And there’s something to be said for what Elijah did. People run from their problems all the time. They have problems at home, so they run to the bar, or they go fishing, or shopping. They try to hide from their responsibilities on the golf course or a thousand other ways. That kind of running doesn’t help one bit. Those things don’t provide any long lasting solutions. When you are worried and troubled, how many of you think, “I need the Lord’s Supper. I need to get to church. I need to pray. I need to read my Bible.” Why not run to the LORD, the One who redeemed you, who knows you better than you know yourself, who loves you? You don’t have to run hundreds of miles and look for a revelation from God on top of a mountain. You can run to your shelf and open up the Word. You can run to church and soak in the sermon and the song. You can run to the sacrament, and receive the body and blood of the Lord. That’s what Elijah was doing.
Notice how gently the Lord approaches Elijah, with a simple question. “Why are you here, Elijah?” It’s not as if God didn’t know why Elijah was there. He saw him run. He fed him on the way. But He wants to give Elijah a chance to express all of his frustrations to the Lord. He lets Elijah do it twice. This is the God who says to us, “Call upon me in the day of trouble.” Express your burdens to the Lord. Lay your heart out to Him. Even though He already knows, He wants you to talk to Him as you would your closest confidant. He is listening intently and eagerly, no matter what it is. Prayer is so important for us, not just because God listens, but also because God ANSWERS. He isn’t like talking to a stone. And He is more than a counselor who just listens and feeds back to you what you said. He is attentive and interactive. He ACTS on our prayers too.
Elijah was sure that his entire ministry was done. Even after that great victory, which the people saw, fire coming out of the sky, putting the Baal prophets to death - it was all over. I am the only one left. What a profound sense of loneliness Elijah felt. Maybe you feel that way too, as you sit at home behind your computer screen. Nobody is reaching out to you. Nobody wants to hang out with you. Nobody has asked to help. Your family isn’t coming to worship any more. You can get to some pretty dark places, tell yourself some pretty dark things. People are very lonely in our world of technology and entertainment.
It’s such an interesting contrast, the way that the LORD responds. When the LORD was on Mt. Sinai giving the Ten Commandments, His voice BOOMED from the sky. Fire and billows of smoke were pouring out on top of the mountain, as the earth shook. The people were absolutely terrified! And that’s what God wanted at the time! Fear me! Respect me! Honor me! Repent! That’s how you would expect the Almighty God to respond, in power. Elijah stood in the cave terrified, thinking the world was coming to an end. God could have yelled at him for running away from Jezebel. “What are you doing here! Get back to work!” But this was not a willful and defiant run as we get with Jonah. What a gentle way the LORD finally approaches His scared child! With a whisper. When do you whisper to someone? When you are trying to soothe them and comfort them, to get them to calm down. “Ssshhhh. It’s ok.” A calm and gentle voice. Assuring Elijah that He is in control. That’s how God chooses to talk to Elijah, and that’s how God speaks to us when we are terrified, and when we have every reason to be afraid. “Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.” It’s exactly what Elijah needed.
What does He whisper to Elijah? It’s kind of a terrifying thing. “Don’t worry. I’m going to kill your enemies. They are going to die.” Yes, there’s terror and death in that whisper, but not for Elijah. It’s for the people that were terrorizing Elijah. It’s going to start with oil. Elijah’s going to do some anointing, because that’s how God brought people into their official offices as prophets, priests and kings. These would be God’s agents on earth. He even anointed a king of a foreign country - of Aram, which shows us that God is in charge of all rulers, even the bad ones. Hazael would play the enemy of Israel and end up killing many Israelites in war. Jehu would be the next king of Israel. He would be given a mission from God to eradicate Ahab and Jezebel’s family. Jezebel would be thrown out of a window and her body was eaten by the dogs of the street. Throughout the entire process, Elisha would continue to preach repentance to those who survived, killing them spiritually with the sword of the law. And before you get all misty eyed and sympathetic, they deserved it. They all deserved it. They had ignored God’s warnings. They had killed God’s prophets. They had brought Baal worship to prominence in Israel. They had dug in their heels against the Lord.
So this whisper to Elijah was a powerful whisper. Elijah was worn out. He was ready to retire. But God had chosen His replacement. God had the future in His hands. There would be justice. Elijah would be taken care of, and so would the Israelites. He just needed to anoint a few people, and God’s will would be done.
It reminds me of the comfort we have in baptism. It’s easy to grow despondent as you see people continuing to fall away. Yet God’s power carries on, as the Holy Spirit is given to the next generation through this anointing of water and the Word. Here is where God puts to death in a different way, in a powerful way, that gives life. In baptism He crucifies our sinful natures, puts us to death with Christ, and raises us with Christ. In baptism, He gives LIFE too. Yes, people are falling away. Yes, they are rejecting the gift of salvation. But don’t underestimate this anointing. The Holy Spirit still powerfully works through the washing of water through the word. So I need to keep on baptizing. Keep on trusting that the Lord works in the same way He has always worked, even in spite of the rejection.
And that was God’s final word to Elijah, God’s final whisper. Elijah thought he was the ONLY ONE left. But God was also keeping people alive, people that Elijah didn’t even know about. But I have preserved in Israel seven thousand whose knees have not bent to Baal and whose lips have not kissed him.” If you think about it, seven thousand may not seem like much, compared to the millions of Israelites. It seems like a drop in the bucket. But this probably was a symbolic number. 7 is the number of God - 3, for Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 10 is the number of completion. Take 7 times 10, and you get 70. Times 10, and you get 700. Times 10, and you get 7,000. The number of those who believe was complete, the exact number that God had worked out. It may have been small, but it was strong and faithful.
When the disciples ran from Jesus on the night He was betrayed, and the women left the cross in sorrow, it seemed that all was finished. But little did they realize that three days later Jesus would rise victorious. Those scared disciples would become bold professors of the faith, all at the face of another cave, the empty tomb. There God had another message for the world, and it was a shout. Jesus lives! Jesus would send the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. The sins of the world were paid for. Death was conquered. The Church would grow like never before. No longer would they need to whisper. Now they could shout it from the rooftops. Jesus lives!
It’s easy to get despondent and feel alone in this world. It’s tempting to want to run away and hide in a cave, up to a cabin somewhere up north. But God never said this would be an easy thing, living your faith. Jesus never said that the number of people being saved would be greater than those who would end up damned. Jesus said that the road to hell is wide, while the path to heaven is narrow. But that doesn’t mean that God is weak. It doesn’t mean that He isn’t powerful. Look at what it did with Elijah. Look at what it did with Peter and with Paul. Look at what God can do with you, too. It’s a powerful whisper.
And don’t forget, there are others on this pathway, more than you think. Don’t be afraid to speak up, you might find some allies you never knew you had. You are not the only one being saved. There are more of us out there. It’s easy to get despondent when you see so many pride flags flying on so many churches, seeing so many of our own members fall away, seeing the WELS seem to shrink in numbers. It’s easy to worry about what will happen with us when you hear about hate crime legislation threatening our freedom of speech. But then you see something like the opening of the pastoral training institute in Vietnam, where the church is growing, and you remember, God is not dead. His word is still powerful. Jesus is still ruling over the heavens and the earth. There is no reason to panic. Hear God’s gentle whisper to you. “I’ve got this. You’re forgiven. You’re loved. You’re anointed. You’re forgiven.” Come to worship. Sing to each other. Hear God’s promises to you. He is still powerful and active. He is still in control, even when it seems like the world is falling apart. You’re not the only one left.
As we close out this sermon series on “Define Christian,” what is the final thing we learn? Christians are sinners who get afraid of the opposition. People who have moments of panic. People who want to run away, and sometimes do. But Christians are also those who seek the LORD in their time of panic. They are people who the LORD gently speaks to and comforts. They are those whom the LORD takes in His arms and gives support to in their times of need. He grabs you by the hand and says, “I got this.” They are people who are given faith in their weakness, strength to carry on, by a gracious and loving LORD, as He whispers His love and protection into their ears. Amen.
