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1 Kings 19:1-18
19:1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” 3 Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” 5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” 8 And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.
9 There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He said, “I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” 11 And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks 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 the sound of a low whisper.1 13 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He said, “I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” 15 And the LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. 16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. 17 And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. 18 Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
(ESV)
Redeemer exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
If you would open your Bibles to 1st Kings 19. There's also the text in your worship guide. I was gone last week. I was, I got to be in Montana, so I was actually hiking on Sunday. And as fun as that was, I can say with all sincerity and truth that I really missed being with my church family.
Jeffrey Heine:That was one of the things that the Lord just showed me and taught me during that time is how much I treasure this community, and how much the lord has taught me through you guys. And so, I was really excited to get back, in time to be here today. 1st Kings chapter 19. Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with a sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying, so may the gods do to me and more also if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.
Jeffrey Heine:Then he was afraid. And he rose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah and left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die saying, It is enough now, oh Lord, take away my life, for I'm no better than my father's. And he lay down and slept under a broom tree.
Jeffrey Heine:And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, arise and eat. And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones in a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you. And he arose and ate and drank and went in the strength of that food 40 days 40 nights to Horeb, the mount of God.
Jeffrey Heine:Then he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him and he said to him, what are you doing here, Elijah? And I, even I only am left, and they seek my life to take it away. And he said, Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord.
Jeffrey Heine:But the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind and earthquake, And after the fire, the sound of a low whisper, and Elijah heard it. And he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, what are you doing here, Elijah? Go return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus.
Jeffrey Heine:And when you arrive, you shall anoint Heziel to be king over Syria. Of Ebe Melecha, and you anoint to be prophet in your place. And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death. And the one who escapes the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel and the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.
Jeffrey Heine:Pray with me. Lord, our simple prayer is that you would speak and that we would listen. It's a simple prayer, but in order for that to happen, you've got to do things to us. You've got to give us eyes to see, ears to hear what's right before us. Lord, you need to speak through me.
Jeffrey Heine:So in this moment, I pray that my words would fall to the ground and blow away and not be remembered anymore. But Lord, may your words remain and may they change us. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus. Amen. Do you know what the most frustrating words in the Bible are to me?
Jeffrey Heine:It's not some of the names that are in there, which which are hard to say. It's not some of the small blunt sayings of Jesus or the really long run on sentences of Paul. The most frustrating words in the Bible is is the phrase this. The Lord said. The Lord said.
Jeffrey Heine:You find these words over and over. What is the Lord said or God said? And the Lord said to David. The Lord said to Samuel. The Lord said to Moses.
Jeffrey Heine:Genesis 713, it says, and God said to Noah, you know, I'm gonna destroy the earth, build an ark. Well, how did he say that? What exactly did Noah hear? Was it a voice from heaven? Was it just just in his head?
Jeffrey Heine:How did that happen? Genesis 31, it says, Then the Lord said to Jacob, return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you. And Jacob, at this point, had hardly any relationship with the Lord at all. So, so what did that sound like to him? Joshua 5:2 says, At that time, the Lord said to Joshua, make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.
Jeffrey Heine:Now now, would you trust a man coming at you with a knife who said, hey, it's okay. The Lord told me to do this. I mean, you you would think, Hal? Alright. Hal, tell me exactly how did he tell you.
Jeffrey Heine:And I have that question when I'm reading this. How does he speak to these people? The phrase the Lord said is, it's kinda like the trump card in my office too. When I have people for counseling, I'm like, well, the Lord told me to do this. And how can you argue with that?
Jeffrey Heine:I'm like, woah, woah, woah, woah. But what did his voice sound like? When I was in college ministry, I'd have college students coming up to me, and they they would say that they've decided to do some of the most stupid things you can imagine. Like, you know, God's, God's calling me to quit school with 1 semester left and, and to go to Africa. And I really think, you know, he's calling me to do that.
Jeffrey Heine:I'd be like, Oh, okay. He's calling you to do that. Have you ever been to Africa? Well, no. Do you know what language they speak?
Jeffrey Heine:Well, well, no. Not really. Do do you have any skills? Like, do you have any construction skills that would be helpful? Well, no.
Jeffrey Heine:Do you know anything about irrigation or farming? No. Like, you you realize that social networking and being good at Facebook are no good to people in Africa. Okay? You gotta think this through.
Jeffrey Heine:And they're like, I know, but I just really want to go. I mean I mean I mean, I really feel like God's calling me to go. Like, you just wanna drop out of school, don't you? A lot of times, God's voice sounds to us exactly what we want it to sound like. He says exactly what we want him to say, and and he's kind of the excuse we give to do things.
Jeffrey Heine:But God doesn't always say what we want him to say. He doesn't always move the way we want him to move. I guess he could frame all of this into a bigger question. And how do we know what God is doing in our lives? How do we know?
Jeffrey Heine:I'm sure for some of you, there were times, perhaps, in college or or in youth group, you felt God doing extraordinary things. You had certain feelings. Your your worship was a certain way, and now you're wondering as as you're an adult, is it supposed to be the same way? Does God still communicate the same way? Am I supposed to feel the same way?
Jeffrey Heine:How do I really know what God's doing in my life? Let me tell you. These are questions that Elijah is struggling with. It's why he came to Mount Horeb. Let's take a brief look back to see what brought Elijah here.
Jeffrey Heine:It's one of the most famous stories in the Bible. It's when Elijah takes on the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel. Most of you are probably familiar with the story. Elijah challenges 450 prophets of Baal to a duel essentially. He says, hey.
Jeffrey Heine:Let's see who's god answers by fire. Know, maybe your God's on a walk. Maybe your God's using the bathroom. You know, he is just he's trash talking. He's enjoying every minute of it as he mocks them.
Jeffrey Heine:And then when they're done, he sets up his altar. He puts on his sacrifice. He's like, Ah, it's too easy. And so, he dumps water on it 3 times to where it's saturated and water is spilling all out. Then, he just says this simple prayer.
Jeffrey Heine:God, that they might know your God. Boom. And fire comes and it not only consumes the sacrifice, it consumes the wood, the stones, even the dirt all around. Now I would say that this is the pinnacle of Elijah's career. This will be like me going to, to Madison Square Garden, you know, taking on maybe Richard Dawkins or something.
Jeffrey Heine:Some leading atheist of the day, you know, in front of a huge group of people, and I just laid it down. And there was nothing he could say. I mean, I totally just humiliated him. He's like, I mean, all like, what can I say? You have the right God, you know.
Jeffrey Heine:Yes. It will be the pinnacle of my career in front of everybody, such a public demonstration of god's power. That's where Elijah is at this point. Immediately after this though, Elijah and King Ahab, they go running back to their home city of Jezreel. They're really excited about what happened, and so they're running back.
Jeffrey Heine:And I I can guarantee you, I I know what he's expecting at this point. After you do something huge like that, you're you're running back to the main city, the capital, and you're thinking, revival's about to happen. Do you see what God did? Did it in front of the king, on a get there. People are gonna all confess the Lord.
Jeffrey Heine:They're all gonna trust him. We're gonna have massive revival. Then he gets there, and he meets Jezebel. Jezebel doesn't repent. It's not what Elijah thought was going to happen.
Jeffrey Heine:I mean, he was thinking after all of these years of kinda being scorned and and left alone in the desert, finally, he was validated. Finally, god was moving, and he could see the trajectory that god was taking him, and now it was time for revival. And it didn't happen. God didn't do what he thought he was supposed to do. When Jezebel hears what Elijah does, she just gets angry.
Jeffrey Heine:Angry. Now, let me just let you women in on a little secret. There is nothing more scary to a man than an irrational angry woman. Nothing. We we don't we don't know how to handle that.
Jeffrey Heine:There there's we're defenseless before that. I have chased after people who have shot guns in our neighborhood, run after them. I have gone to Montana. When I've seen bears, I've run after them to try to get a closer look. And, and I have not been really that scared.
Jeffrey Heine:The most terrified I've ever been in my life was 10 years ago when I came home and I just opened up the fridge, and there was a pizza from the night before, leftovers there, and I ate it. Not a big deal. It's not a big deal if your wife isn't pregnant and she's been going on errands, and in her mind the entire time, all she is thinking about is I got to get home and have that pizza. That's all she is thinking about. And so she walks in.
Jeffrey Heine:She opens up the fridge, and I don't know who that woman was. It was not my wife. There was a there's a transformation that that happened there. I got permission beforehand. But but I I couldn't I was like, well, you you didn't label it.
Jeffrey Heine:You didn't say it was yours. I I did none none of that. Irrational. It was just anger. And so whatever she said, I jumped.
Jeffrey Heine:She's like, you'll make me eggs. I was like, that's right. I want eggs. I'm stirring. I was like, whatever she said I was doing, I was terrified.
Jeffrey Heine:Elijah's having the same reaction. He just killed 450 men, 450 prophets of woman of Baal. 1 woman. Terrified, he runs. Look at verse 3.
Jeffrey Heine:Then he was afraid, and he rose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and he left his servant there. Now notice that he left his servant behind. There's a lot that's going on there as a prophet or as a minister. Your, your servant was your ministerial staff. It's your, it's your help.
Jeffrey Heine:What he's doing is he's letting go of his staff and he's saying, I'm done with ministry. I'm done being a prophet. Not if this happens after my greatest success. Verse 4 says, I I even want to die. And so why this reaction?
Jeffrey Heine:It's because god isn't working the way Elijah thought god was supposed to work. I mean, he just took a huge risk of faith. And god just proved himself in a powerful way, and so God's supposed to build on that. God's supposed to use that to really change hearts, and it doesn't happen. God doesn't work the way he wants them to work.
Jeffrey Heine:God doesn't meet his expectations. Now, I'm sure there are many of you who have felt this way throughout your life. Somebody shared with me how they, in their home group one time, they really took a risk and they opened up. I just really felt like I was supposed to open up, and so I just I confessed things. I I I just shared I just shared everything in my heart.
Jeffrey Heine:I mean, I put it all out there. Like, and when I put it all out there, I was expecting reciprocation. I was expecting, okay, now the dam has burst. Now the floodgates of revival are gonna come into my group, and nothing happens. So I'm just so tempted never to share again.
Jeffrey Heine:I mean, why? I take this huge step of faith. I do all this and nothing how I'm forget it. I'm never gonna do do that again. That's that's what Elijah is doing here.
Jeffrey Heine:Perhaps, some of you have taken a huge step of faith, and you've shared with your coworkers, and you've gotten nothing. You're like, well, I'm never doing that again. Or or maybe you see the whole trajectory that you believe God is taking you in your life and you're going that direction, then God curves it. You're like, Woah. Woah.
Jeffrey Heine:Woah. Wait. You can't do that. I'm building my life on what I believe is the next step. And the problem is you have already authored the the next chapter of your life, but you're forgetting God's the author of your life.
Jeffrey Heine:You don't get to write it in. He does. And so you don't know what the next chapter is. Elijah here is so frustrated. He is confused.
Jeffrey Heine:It's like, god, who are you? How do you work? Am I am I really hearing you? Am I really doing what you want me to do? Let's look how God responds.
Jeffrey Heine:Verse 5. Says he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, the angel touched him and said to him, arise and eat. And he looked and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again.
Jeffrey Heine:And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you. This is This is how god responds, and I I love this. He gives Elijah a very tangible grace. He doesn't smite him. He doesn't lecture to him.
Jeffrey Heine:He doesn't treat him like Jonah. You know, when Jonah did something very similar, I'm quoting the ministry. I'm running away. You know, he he doesn't destroy Elijah here, punish him. He just gives him some bread, gives him something to drink.
Jeffrey Heine:I don't know about you, but that that sounds just a little odd to me when I read that. And I think Christians can learn so much about this because around us are a lot of broken and hurting people, and small physical graces to them can mean the world. And sometimes the best thing we could do for somebody who we know is hurting, somebody who we know is broken and tired is simply to go and cook a meal for them. Go and say, Hey, can I, can I babysit your kids? So you could just get out, be by yourself or go on a date with your husband?
Jeffrey Heine:Maybe, maybe bring them a nice bottle of wine or something. Just say, Hey, just thought you would like to have this this evening. Just a little gift of grace. God knows here that we're physical people, and we have physical needs. And so he ministers to Elijah this way.
Jeffrey Heine:He's gonna address Elijah's spiritual needs later, but right now, this is what he does. I can remember there's times, in Lauren and I's life where where we've been discouraged. We have been very tired, and we might come home and on our doorstep is just a little thing of banana bread that somebody baked and just would put there. I mean, it wasn't, it wasn't a $1,000 You know, it wasn't a new car. We wouldn't reject those things if you gave them.
Jeffrey Heine:It was, it was a loaf of bread. Alright? It meant so much. Just that little physical grace. Isn't it astounding that God does that to Elijah in this moment?
Jeffrey Heine:It's like, you know what you need? You need to sleep. You need to eat. We'll wake up tomorrow and do all this. Alright?
Jeffrey Heine:And that's what the lord does. After waking up and eating the second time, Elijah walks 40 days to Mount Horeb, also known as the Mount of God. Now, Mount Horeb is called by another name in the rest of the scripture. It's Mount Sinai. Same mountain.
Jeffrey Heine:This is where Moses received the 10 Commandments. More importantly, this is where Moses got to meet with god and his glory passed him by. Let me just read to you where this happens in Exodus 33. This is at Mount Sinai. Moses said, please, Lord, show me your glory.
Jeffrey Heine:And the Lord said, I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim before you my name, the Lord. And I'll be gracious to whom I'll be gracious, and I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. Translations. I will do what I want to do. But the Lord said, you cannot see my face for man shall not see my face and live.
Jeffrey Heine:And the Lord said, behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock. And while my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen. Now it is almost certain that this cleft in the rock is the same cave that Elijah is going to here on Mount Sinai. And the reason he is going there is because he wants the same experience.
Jeffrey Heine:He he he he's spiritually dry. He's worn down, and he just wants to meet with God. Be reminded of how great God is, to see his glory. And so he goes there and God tells him to stand before the mountain. And then he hears this wind so strong it's starting to shred the mountain apart.
Jeffrey Heine:He feels an earthquake. He sees this fire, and he recognizes that the Lord was not in any of those. And then he hears this still small voice, this gentle whisper. And he recognizes that the lord's here. Once again, the lord is doing something different.
Jeffrey Heine:He's working and speaking in a way that Elijah did not expect Because that's not how God spoke to Moses. God spoke to Moses through great signs, through fire, but he's not bound to speak to Elijah the same way. He could do what he wants to do, act how he wants to act, speak however he wants to speak. And so you can't put God in a box and pin him down. And here, the Lord chooses to whisper.
Jeffrey Heine:I want you to notice something. I want you to look at verse 9, and we're gonna compare it with verse 13. And I hope this communicates. Verse 9 says, Then he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, what are you doing here, Elijah?
Jeffrey Heine:Okay. Now go to the second half of verse 13. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, what are you doing here, Elijah? So, when Elijah first arrives in verse 9, it says, behold, the word of the Lord came to him and asked him a question. What are you doing here, Elijah?
Jeffrey Heine:And then he has all those signs, all those acts. And then he hears this gentle voice, and the voice says to him, what are you doing here, Elijah? Now how did God I said, you know, those frustrating words, and God said how did God speak? How did God talk to Elijah before all of those things? He heard the question.
Jeffrey Heine:It says, the word of the Lord came to him and said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? There's not a whisper there. There's not fire there. There's not earthquakes there. There's not wind there.
Jeffrey Heine:Yet, he is still hearing from the lord. Then later, he hears the same question in this gentle whisper. I think that the the things that are happening there, the way God is speaking is so similar. And both of those times, whether it was a gentle whisper in the heart or a gentle whisper in the ear, Elijah had to be quiet. He had to be in no rush.
Jeffrey Heine:He had to come hungry, and he needed to listen, to hear that still small voice, whether it was in his heart like before or whether it was in his ear. Why does God whisper to Elijah here? I'm gonna give you just 4 4 reasons. First, he whispers to Elijah because he is near. He whispers because he's near.
Jeffrey Heine:I know that some of you might feel that God's not near to you. Feel like he's a long way away. You know, Psalm 139 says, where can I flee from his presence? You can't. He is always near.
Jeffrey Heine:And On the cross, Jesus became an outcast. Jesus became forsaken in order that you might be drawn near, in order that you might be loved. Okay? And let me tell you, whispering is a very intimate thing. If after this service, one of you comes up and you say, you want to talk to me and just kind of come up and whisper in my ear, I'm going to punch you.
Jeffrey Heine:Okay? It's it's it's it's just how it's gonna play out. Unless you're my wife. My wife is allowed to do that. It's it's a very intimate thing.
Jeffrey Heine:Second reason god whispers is to draw us even closer to himself. At a seminary professor, it took us a while to get used to this, but he would start every class like this. There was no warning, anything. He would just go, and he would actually sit down, and he would just say, now page 67. You know, we talk about this.
Jeffrey Heine:If you've read through this, he would just start in a very low voice. It was one of my counseling classes, and everybody be talking and then you realize, woah. He He started. And with every I mean, the hush just everybody became quiet and leaned in, trying to hang on every word. It's what whispering does.
Jeffrey Heine:It draws you in, and that's what God is doing to us. 3rd, I think God wants us to seek an encounter and not an experience. Let's be honest. I bet every one of us wants God to speak in big, huge, explosive ways where where there's no doubt that this is God. You know, like, God, give give me a huge sign.
Jeffrey Heine:You know, a tornado passing by, good sign. If this whole place were to kind of shake, things were to fall down. Good sign, you know, send lightning fire. That's a good sign. Give me a dream.
Jeffrey Heine:Give me a vision. Give me, I don't know. Just do something. It's what we want. And and God had spoken to Elijah in some of those ways in the past, but not now.
Jeffrey Heine:Because I think there's a danger that we begin seeking that experience instead of seeking that encounter. Of just wanting to hear his voice. Of wanting that intimacy with the Lord. Finally, God whispers to us, because he will not compete with the world. He will not compete.
Jeffrey Heine:Now there are countless billboards, endless commercials, constant radio ads, flyers, emails, everybody trying to get your attention. And I just want you to know that god will not compete with those things. He's not trying some to find some, you know, new, louder, more exciting way of communicating with you. You know, he's not going to some ad agency thinking, you know, how how can I, you know, get just the right style with just enough content to where I can really engage with my people? You know, entertain them just enough, but yet slip in somewhat of a good message, so they'll listen to me.
Jeffrey Heine:God's not like that. A lot of his churches are. But god doesn't compete. God doesn't get our attention that way. You want to know how Christ got our attention on the cross?
Jeffrey Heine:That's that's where that is where he demonstrates his love for us. That is where he speaks to us his word. It's where we see him in all of his glory. It's at the cross that he so clearly communicates his love for us. And so god whispers.
Jeffrey Heine:I want to encourage you this time. I I want to just usually, I don't get very practical, but I want to give you something very practical to do this week. It's not gonna be huge. Take an afternoon or an evening and, unplug. Just no phone, no Internet, no movie.
Jeffrey Heine:Maybe if it's even, you know, 15, 30 minutes, an hour, if you could do more, great. Open your bible and just pray, and say, Lord, I want to hear your gentle, soft voice. I'm removing all competition. What's in my mind, I ask that you would remove. Just so I could hear your voice.
Jeffrey Heine:Pray with me. Lord Jesus, I think there's so many times we want you to shout. We want you to scream at us, to yell at us, but that's not how you get our attention. You don't need to do that because you're not far away. You're so close, so intimately close.
Jeffrey Heine:God, I pray for every one of us this week that we would take time to still ourselves before you, to come hungry before you, that our hearts would ache to listen for your still small voice. God, we recognize you're free to move and to work however you want to. Some of us don't hear your voice because we're listening to the wrong things. We think you're supposed to be saying this, that you're supposed to be leading us in this direction, but you're going someplace else, and you're speaking other things. So God, tune us into your voice, and may we be changed to become more like You.
Jeffrey Heine:We pray this in the strong name of Jesus. Amen.