Intro
Elijah is running for his life, frightened, trying to hide from the fears that haunt him. Suddenly, in the thick of his escape attempt, “The word of the Lord came to [Elijah]”! Now if that’s not enough to frighten someone, the question the Lord asks him should. God asks Elijah, “What are you doing?”
Then God adds another word to that question, a word that should make Elijah break out into a cold sweat. God asks, “What are you doing HERE?” God asks that because Elijah was running away in fear, trying to escape from King Ahab’s wife, Jezebel.
Elijah rebuts, “I’ve been faithful, but Your people haven’t. I’m the only one left who still worships You. I’m done. I’m through. I quit.”
God says, “You’re not done. I still have more for you to do. Now get moving; your playtime is over.”
Main Body
God’s ways don’t always make much sense to us, do they? His delight in working through weakness usually messes with our minds. For us, that just looks like one divine folly headed for another, one disappointment nipping at the heels of another.
But God does His work in His own way. He delights in creating our salvation through the Word of the cross. God rescues us through the preaching of Christ crucified, which is His power and His wisdom. That’s how God is saving those who believe--through what we would consider weakness and folly.
It’s easy for us to see in hindsight how shortsighted Elijah was. But if we were there, we’d probably be doing the same thing--running in fear for our lives. We are just as shortsighted: Like Elijah, the falleness of this world also frightens us. Like Elijah, we want God to amaze us all the time, like fireworks on the 4th of July. But that’s not our God. He chooses if, when, and where He’s going to have His fireworks. God’s normal way is working through weakness.
If you recall some of Elijah’s life, you know that God did some incredible stuff. First, Elijah saw God miraculously replace oil and flour at an elderly widow’s house. Second, Elijah saw God raise her son from the dead--even using Elijah to do that!
And third, Elijah saw the one, true God put that false-god Baal in his place. He saw the Lord overthrow the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel with a fire that “consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, the dust, and even the water that was in the trench” (18:38). And “when the people saw what had happened, they fell flat on their faces and cried out, ‘The LORD is God! The LORD is God!’” (18:39).
The problem with fireworks and dazzle, however, is if the dazzle doesn’t keep coming, your faith deflates. Look at Elijah. Elijah experienced all that. But what does he do after God puts Baal in his place? Elijah’s gets intimidated. Despite God’s in-your-face demonstration of His power, as soon as that finishes, Elijah runs for his life from Jezebel, the wife of Ahab.
Instead of saying, “Did you see what the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob can do? Who are you to threaten me?” Elijah ran. He flees and then hides out in a cave. It’s then that God abruptly brings him back to reality. It’s then that “the word of the Lord came to him.” God said to Elijah, “What are you doing here?”
After the initial fear of being found out, you’d think that Elijah would be ecstatic that the Lord was still speaking to him and calling him by name. You’d think that Elijah would breathe a sigh of relief and take comfort, knowing that all would be well. But with Elijah, that’s not what happens.
Instead, Elijah’s responds in sniveling self-indulgence. “I’ve been especially zealous for the LORD,” he says. “The Israelites have abandoned your covenant, demolished your altars, executed your prophets with swords, and I--that’s right, just me!--am the only one left. Now they’re seeking my life, to get rid of me” (19:10).
Now some of what Elijah said was technically correct. But since Elijah experienced the Lord’s power firsthand, how could he have such a severe case of spiritual Alzheimer’s?
Yet even more astonishing than Elijah’s spiritual Alzheimer’s is the Lord’s patience with Elijah. The Lord could have justifiably given up on Elijah because of his anemic, near-dead faith--but He doesn’t! Instead, the Lord goes to extraordinary lengths to ‘resurrect’ Elijah and his faith--not by scolding him--but by reminding him that He comes in seemingly weak and powerless ways.
“Not by force or strength, but by My Spirit,” God told the Prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 4:6). And with Elijah, the Lord’s shows him grace flowing on top of grace. He lets Elijah know that what He has given him to do--that is, being a prophet--was no trivial calling.
To let that sink in, the Lord gives Elijah a Moses moment. Like Moses, the Lord has Elijah hide in the cleft of the rock and the Lord parades His glory before Elijah. The Lord tells him, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD” (v 11).
Elijah then experiences God showing Himself in three, powerful ways. “And there was the LORD, passing by! [First,] a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. [Second,] there came an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. [And third,] there came fire, but the LORD was not in the fire” (vs. 11-12).
I don’t know about you, but are you beginning to see the pattern of threes here? Elijah had experienced God in three powerful ways, before he became scared of Jezebel and ran like a scalded cat. And now, God repeats His threefold pattern.
It’s after these three displays of power that God wants Elijah to know how He normally works. And what is God’s normal way of working? He works through what we think is weakness. For it was “after the fire” that God made known His power in weakness through “the sound of a gentle whisper” (vs. 12).
God then repeats his first question to Elijah. Are you still seeing the pattern? God again asks Elijah, “What are you doing here?” And following the pattern, Elijah repeats what he said earlier. But this time around there’s a difference. This time, there’s a different tone to it. Elijah’s attitude is one of confession. Elijah now knows that God will watch over him and protect him from the threats of Jezebel as He sees fit.
It’s then that “Elijah left” (vs. 19). And as if for added confidence, the Lord reminds Elijah, “I will leave 7,000 in Israel, every knee that has not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him” (v 18). This truth became known to Elijah--not in the power of the wind, earthquake, or an all-consuming fire--but God working through weakness, in this case, in a soft, gentle whisper.
Thank God that He also came to us in weakness. God came in the Person of Jesus, not as the supreme Creator to destroy us with “wind, earthquake, or an all-consuming fire.” No, He came to save us. He came as a humble man, veiling His glory just as He did with Moses and Elijah.
Jesus stood silently, not even whispering, before a judge and jury filled with creatures of His own creation. And then--not in power--but in seeming weakness, in seeming helplessness, He let those same sinful creatures kill Him. He did all this to extend His eternal saving grace to us in our helplessness, our weakness, all to forgive our sin, so we could live in His unveiled glory for all eternity.
We have even more for which to thank God. Today, even here and now, He still comes to us in weakness. God hides Himself in the water of holy baptism, forgiving sins and bringing people into his kingdom. God hides Himself in words of forgiveness, words He gives the pastor to speak, words He gives you to speak. Of course, we speak these words differently, in the places where God has put us to serve. God hides Himself in bread and wine, so that you can “taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8).
Conclusion
So when you’re fed up, discouraged, and ready to quit, when you whine and complain to God, “I’m done. I’m through. It’s over,” don’t lose it when God says: “No you’re not. It’s not over until I say it’s over. I will still come to you in my hidden and seemingly weak ways to strengthen you. So keep coming to receive Me. Keep doing what I’ve given you to do--and leave the results to Me!”
God is saying, “Come, live with Me, and I’ll show you. Be not afraid. For I love you and you are mine. Keep doing the work I’ve given you to do, where you are now, where you live, and where you work. Don’t make the mistake of thinking of what you are given to do is weak, useless, insignificant. Your work will do what I want it to do for my kingdom--and even in your life. You’ll see.”
“Now let’s get going. We’ve got work to do.” Amen.
