The sound of the still small voice in the sheer silence...
First off, Elijah running from Jezebel is a little surprising. He faced off with all those false prophets. What is there about this woman, even though a queen, that he would run from her?
And then we hear the still small voice, the low whisper of God in the sheer silence... I have not always been happy with where God has called me to go and what He has called me to do. In fact, I have often refused to go for many years. By the age of 12, I had heard that whisper calling me into pastoral ministry, but it took many decades to answer that call. Maybe, that was God's plan all along. As Elijah ran from Jezebel did he not get fed by the angel of the LORD, enough to sustain him 40 days and 40 nights on the journey to Mt. Horeb? Maybe, God intends for it to take a while to prepare for what He would have us to - maybe just to prepare us to hear his low whisper. After all, some of us are afraid to hear, are we not? So afraid that if we hear it, we might have to list and follow, that we fill our days with "stuff" and our lives with "noise." The silence can be scary because in it we just might hear God's call and then what do we do - follow or ignore God?
But, maybe it was also that I was too busy with what I thought I wanted and what my family wanted and so I ignored Him. Many, many people today hear His call. They hear that low whisper in the darkness of the night and in the darkness of their hearts refuse to listen to it. They go off in other directions, most often to their own detriment.
The message to Elijah is that he is to replace the present kings and to annoint his own replacement, Elisha. Note, that when the cloak is placed upon him, Elisha's first response is let me go to my familes - let me kiss them good-by - and then I will follow you - then you can train me to be God's prophet.
There's a similar story in the New Testament (Luke 9:57-62 NIV).
As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”
Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
First off, Elijah running from Jezebel is a little surprising. He faced off with all those false prophets. What is there about this woman, even though a queen, that he would run from her?
And then we hear the still small voice, the low whisper of God in the sheer silence... I have not always been happy with where God has called me to go and what He has called me to do. In fact, I have often refused to go for many years. By the age of 12, I had heard that whisper calling me into pastoral ministry, but it took many decades to answer that call. Maybe, that was God's plan all along. As Elijah ran from Jezebel did he not get fed by the angel of the LORD, enough to sustain him 40 days and 40 nights on the journey to Mt. Horeb? Maybe, God intends for it to take a while to prepare for what He would have us to - maybe just to prepare us to hear his low whisper. After all, some of us are afraid to hear, are we not? So afraid that if we hear it, we might have to list and follow, that we fill our days with "stuff" and our lives with "noise." The silence can be scary because in it we just might hear God's call and then what do we do - follow or ignore God?
But, maybe it was also that I was too busy with what I thought I wanted and what my family wanted and so I ignored Him. Many, many people today hear His call. They hear that low whisper in the darkness of the night and in the darkness of their hearts refuse to listen to it. They go off in other directions, most often to their own detriment.
The message to Elijah is that he is to replace the present kings and to annoint his own replacement, Elisha. Note, that when the cloak is placed upon him, Elisha's first response is let me go to my familes - let me kiss them good-by - and then I will follow you - then you can train me to be God's prophet.
There's a similar story in the New Testament (Luke 9:57-62 NIV).
As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”
Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
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