Please turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 11 for our New Testament reading. Romans 11. We’ll read verses one through six. Romans 11, one through six. Let’s give Careful attention to this, because this is the very word of God. I ask them, has God rejected his people?
By no means. For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life. But what is God’s reply to him? I have kept for myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to Baal. So too, at the present time, there is a remnant chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.
Then we turn to 1 Kings for our Old Testament reading in the text of tonight’s message. We find the words that Paul in that passage from Romans cited those words spoken not once but twice by the prophet Elijah. Our text is chapter 19 verses 9 through 18. First Kings 19. 9 through 18. And you remember this is when.
Elijah had been traveling in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights, and the strength of that food which the Lord provided for him, and he came to Mount Horeb, the Mount of God. 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?
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.”
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. And after the earthquake, a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, the sound of a low whisper. 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?
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.
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. And Yehu, 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. And the one who escapes from the sword of Haziel shall Yehu put to death. And the one who escapes from the sword of Yehu shall Elisha put to death. Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
That’s the reading of God’s word. Let’s ask him once again to bless it to us. Father in heaven, even as we sang a moment ago, our prayer is that you, O Lord, would speak through your word as it is read and even as it is preached, that we would hear the voice of our Lord Jesus Christ. And you’d build us up in our faith through him that you would bring to us from your word comfort and reassurance and motivation for service. We pray all this in Jesus name. Amen.
When James writes in chapter 5 of his letter that Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, whatever James may have particularly had in mind, I think the fact that Elijah had a nature like ours includes the fact that he was susceptible to discouragement, just as you and I are. We all face that, we’re all prone to it, some more than others.
But Elijah, this great prophet of the Lord, who had done great things, who’d been used of God to do great things, he’d become discouraged. That’s why he is where he is. And as we come to this passage in God’s word, he was God’s prophet. the premier prophet of his day and the quintessential prophet, in a sense, of the Old Testament. But God’s prophet was tired. He was discouraged. He was frustrated.
And so God calls him to this special meeting. And God, in this passage, tenderly ministers one-on-one to his servant Elijah in his time of discouragement, in his time of weariness. And this contains a message not just for Elijah, but also for us. It teaches us that God comforts, reassures, and motivates his people to persevere in his service. That’s the message that I want us to take away from this text tonight. God comforts, reassures, and motivates his people to persevere in his service.
Not just Elijah, but you and me. My three points are these. Number one, counseling. Number two, demonstration. And number three, prospectus. These are all things that God provided for Elijah. And through his word, through his spirit, even through His Son, our Lord Jesus. provides those same things for us. Counseling, demonstration, and prospectus. So first of all, counseling. Elijah is at Mount Horeb. It’s called in Scripture itself the Mountain of God. And as I mentioned last week, Horeb is just another name for Sinai.
This is the same place that Moses first encountered the Lord when he’s out shepherding his father-in-law’s sheep. And he saw the burning bush. It was on this mountain, you remember, because God gave him a sign. At the time, he might not have thought it was much of a sign, but he says, this is the sign that I’m going to do what I’m saying I’ll do for you and through you, that after you’ve brought my people out of the land of Egypt, you’re going to worship right here on this very mountain. So that’s where Moses first encountered the Lord.
That is also the mountain upon which the Lord descended in this thick, dark cloud with lightning and the sound of a trumpet. The very mountain from the top of which God spoke all those words that we read together this morning. The people heard the voice of God speaking from heaven, speaking out of the mountain, speaking out of the thick cloud, proclaiming his law, proclaiming the 10 commandments. And that’s the mountain where Elijah is now. The Lord led him there.
And depending on what commentary or what Bible study you read, you’re going to get some degree of criticism of Elijah for the fact that he ran away in fear from Jezebel, for the fact that he went to the wilderness. And it’s probably fair to fault him just a little bit for his fearfulness. And it may have been unbelief that propelled him into the wilderness in the first place. But you remember, he just went a day’s journey into the wilderness at first.
That’s when he slept under that broom tree, and God provided that food for him. And he ate, and he went back to sleep, and the messenger awakened him again and said, eat and drink, because the journey is too great for you. The journey to Horeb was ordained by God. Elijah may have gone into the wilderness to begin with out of unbelief, but God brought him to Horeb. He’s the one that empowered Elijah to travel those 40 days and 40 nights, because he is bringing his prophet to that same place where he’d met with his other prophet, Moses. And I don’t mean to sound irreverent at all, but as I was reflecting on what happened in this text and how God is dealing with Elijah, how gently and how pastorally he’s dealing with Elijah, Couldn’t help thinking of this as God brings Elijah to Horeb, brings him up on the mountain, and they have a little one-on-one. It’s like God is saying, Elijah, come into my office. Let’s talk. So this is Elijah’s come into my office moment with the Lord.
Now the text says, right where we started the reading, verse nine, it says, he came to a cave. That’s what the ESV says. In fact, almost every single English version says exactly that. He came to a cave. But in the Hebrew, the word for cave has the definite article. What does that mean? It means he didn’t come to a cave. The text actually says he came to the cave.
And more than one scholar have opined that because it refers to it as the cave, it’s a special known cave, this may be the very cleft in the rock where God hid Moses and covered him with his hand and passed by and declared his name to him. And people with varying degrees of conviction make that opinion, make that claim, that perhaps this was the same spot where Moses heard the name of the Lord.
God passed by and proclaimed his glory. Well, in this place, the word of the Lord comes to Elijah, and he says these words, and we see them twice. You’ve noticed some repetition in these verses. Repetition like that is nice when you have to translate the passage.
It saves you a little bit of work. But for the first time, God said, what are you doing here, Elijah? And I don’t know how that question comes across to you, but this was not a rebuke. This is not a hands on their hips, what are you doing here kind of question. This is not a reproof. By asking his prophet, what are you doing here? It’s like he’s invited him to his office and saying, how’s it going? Why are you here?
God is inviting him, leading him even to bear his heart to his God. And there’s a, I think a very worthwhile point of application to be found in that. Because that’s what God invites you to do as well. He calls us to to make our requests known to him, not be anxious for anything, but by prayer and supplication, make our requests known to him. He wants us to do that. And again, because we’re like Elijah and prone to the same things to which he was prone, our nature, our tendency is to just keep it all bound up inside, to stew over things, to fret, to muse and to brood. But God wants us to pour out our hearts before him. I love that language from the Psalms, Psalm 62, pour out your heart before the Lord.
We baptize here by sprinkling. Sometimes I think pouring is, we can’t really do it. It’s not practical, I don’t think. But when you pour the water, You see the bounty, the profuseness of God’s grace poured out. And if you imagine a pitcher or something that you might use to pour water in a baptism, think of that as your heart. And all the cares and concerns that are in your heart are the contents of that pitcher. And God says, pour it out. I want all of it. You can lay it on me. I can take it. unburden yourself to the Lord. So Elijah pours out his heart to the Lord.
See that in verse 10. We’ll read it again, but that’s the same exact content as verse 14. Also, as you know, I’ve been very jealous. We could, we could interpret that word there as zealous. He’s had great zeal for the Lord. I’ve been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts for the people of Israel, forsaken your covenant. You hear the indignation in his voice. He’s zealous for God’s glory, for his covenant. They’ve forsaken your covenant, they’ve thrown down your altars, they’ve killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only am left. So God hears his complaint. He lets his prophet bear his heart to him.
Now, keep in mind, again, he’s, Elijah is speaking these words on Mount Horeb. Mount Horeb is the place where God first entered into covenant with Israel. And so by meeting with Elijah the prophet there on that mountain, that mountain so full of covenant history, so full of Israelite history, and so significant in their history as a nation and as the people of God, by meeting with Elijah there on that sacred ground, The Lord is comforting Elijah with reminders of his covenant faithfulness. That although the people had forsaken him and had done so time and time again, although he had rebelled against God and murmured against God, even in all those years in the wilderness, God was faithful. He’s a God who keeps his promise. And that’s what God is assuring Elijah of. He’s giving him reassurance. He’s saying, I am a promise keeping God. God comforts and reassures his people.
And that’s the content of this counseling session that God has with Elijah when he calls him into his office. Well, then he makes a demonstration because God asks, what are you doing here, Elijah? Elijah makes his complaint. He pours out his heart to the Lord. And then the Lord God calls Elijah outside. come out of the cave, come stand before me on the mount.
And so whereas that that counseling sessions, Elijah’s come into my office moment, this is God’s, let me show you something moment. I know you’re despondent, Elijah, I know you’re discouraged. I know you feel like you’re alone, or you’re the only one who’s left. But watch this.
And the text says, then the Lord passed by. That’s exactly what he did in this exact same phrase as we read in Exodus 34. I love how Moses desired to see the glory of God. And you hear that tender, almost childlike request, oh, Lord, show me your glory.
And God says, you can’t see my face and live. But I’m gonna hide you in the cleft of the rock. I’ll cover you with my hand and I’ll pass by and I’ll declare my name to you. And so God passes by Moses. And he does that here with Elijah too. He says the Lord passed by. It’s the same thing.
And the Lord God puts on this mighty display of forces of nature. Wind, to begin with. The Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord. You’ve got to think there, I think, in terms of the power of a tornado or of a hurricane, that kind of force. And then an earthquake. And I don’t have to tell you Californians anything about earthquakes. You know much more about them than I do. But the power, the sheer power of an earthquake, God causes that, and then fire.
And there are some of these same kinds of awesome manifestations in Exodus 20, when the Lord came down and gave the law at Sinai. There’s this thick cloud, as I mentioned before. There was lightning, perhaps fire. There was thunder. There was an earthquake.
All these things manifesting the power and the awesomeness and the glory of God. And by bringing these displays one after another, wind and then earthquake and then fire, God is speaking to his prophet and giving him a reminder that all power belongs to God and all power is always readily at his disposal. But what’s so remarkable about this passage, of course, is that you see these powerful forces on display, and yet in each case it says, the Lord was not in them. The Lord was not in them.
But then, the phrase that I suspect is most familiar, would most readily roll off your tongues if you were to try to quote this passage, would be the phrase, a still small voice. That’s the traditional language in the older versions. I titled the sermon, The Still Small Voice. Your ESV Bible translates the same expression, the sound of a low whisper. The effect’s the same.
The great Hebrew scholars and commentators, Kyle and Delitzsch, in their commentary, in their effort to translate it as literally as possible, they said, you could say it’s a tone of gentle blowing. And there are various other suggestions. It’s interesting what the variety of ideas about how this might be translated into English, or how in English you could capture the meaning, the essence of what’s communicated here. Another suggestion was a brief sound of silence.
Driving into church this morning, Hillary and I had classical radio on, and I heard something I hadn’t heard in a long, long time, and it’s the finale. to Mahler’s Symphony No. 2. And if you know anything about Gustav Mahler and his symphonic orchestral writings, it’s almost like First Kings 19, you’ve got this wind that breaks the rock.
And so Mahler puts his trombone section on display. So here’s the power and the force of the trombones. And then he overarches that with horns and the brilliance and the power of those blending with and ascending over the trombones. And then trumpets making a descant. And you see all this orchestral force with strings all up in the highest register possible, swirling around, and then Silence. And it makes the audience member listening to the symphony think, what’s coming now?
After all that? And what came was still small voice. I’m by no means a Hebrew expert. I was told by my Hebrew professor that once you finish the full Hebrew course in seminary, you’re going to have an understanding of Hebrew about the equivalent of a kindergartner. It’s very, very encouraging. But best I can tell, still small voice is still just as good a translation as any. But it doesn’t really matter. However low, however thin, however quiet this sound was, Elijah knew that the Lord was in it.
And just as Moses hid his face when he first saw that burning bush, and God declared, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Moses covered his face because he was afraid to look at God. So Elijah did, in verse 13. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. So he didn’t want to look at God. He’s afraid to look at God. But he wants to hear what God has to say. So he moves forward to hear the word of the Lord after this awesome demonstration that God gave to him.
But then that brings us to point number three, and that’s what I’ve described as a prospectus. If you’re an investor, You have mutual funds. Every year or so, you’ll get a prospectus about the fund. Tells how the fund has been performing. It’ll tell what the fund managers plan to do based on the market outlook.
God gives a prospectus, provides a prospectus for Elijah here in our text, because Elijah needed a fresh perspective on things. He needed a fresh perspective on the kingdom of God. He needed a fresh perspective on ministry. And so God lays out plans for his prophet. Prophets for him to move forward. And in doing that, he gives him motivation.
If we’ve seen a come into my office moment, and then a let me show you something moment, this is the everything’s going to be fine. So get back to work moment. Everything’s going to be fine, is what the Lord is telling Elijah. He reveals that there will be a reckoning for the apostate Israelites. That gives him reassurance. That’s what verse 17 is all about. The one who escapes from the sword of Haziel shall Yehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Yehu shall Elisha put to death. This wicked king, Ahab, God was going to deal with him. These apostate Israelites, God is going to bring judgment on them.
He’s going to use the Syrian king to do it. But God’s revealing to his prophet, I know that they’ve forsaken my covenant, Elijah, and I’m going to deal with that. I’m going to reckon with them. But then he has those wonderful words in verse 18. by which he informs Elijah that he has a faithful remnant. And that would have been such wonderful comfort.
Elijah was mistaken to think that he was the only one left. But his discouragement had blinded his eyes. His discouragement had clouded his memory. It’s like there was no recollection of this man Obadiah, who was faithful to the Lord and who was serving in the very household of the king. This man by whom 100 prophets had been saved, had been spared, had been hidden and protected and provided for.
In his discouragement is almost as if Elijah had forgotten that all of Baal’s prophets had been slain. Or if he hadn’t forgotten it, functionally, he seems to have decided that didn’t really make much difference. Elijah had forgotten what he knew. But then the Lord reveals something to Elijah that he didn’t know.
Verse 18, yet I will leave, or it could be read, I have left 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed them. These people who haven’t worshipped Baal, they haven’t entered into that idolatrous religion, and 7,000 is intended to convey to us.
It’s the perfect number. It’s to convey to us the fact that there are many. God has a remnant. The Lord always has a faithful remnant. That’s just a takeaway point of application just for your own knowledge, for your own encouragement. The Lord always has a faithful remnant. Be sure of it. take comfort from it.
You’re not alone. You don’t feel alone when we’re here together to worship the Lord on the Lord’s Day evening or Lord’s Day morning. But when you go back home, you might. You might feel alone in your neighborhood. I alone am left. You might feel alone in the workplace. Like you’re the only one who’s walking with the Lord. The only one who’s serving him.
When I was driving home this afternoon, I was sitting in a traffic light, I looked over at the vehicle in the next lane over the vehicle slightly up ahead of me. And I noticed a sticker on it. Because remember, this morning, we talked about Jesus being our friend. And They had a sticker on this vehicle. The sticker said Jesus friend, Jesus equals friend or something like that. And then I noticed the frame on the license plate and it said alumnus, Biola University. I thought it was probably a Christian in that car. Now, if they didn’t have the sticker and the license plate frame, I wouldn’t know that. So we don’t see the 7,000 in Israel that are all around us, but they’re there. God always has a faithful remnant. So take comfort.
Well, the Lord gives Elijah new marching orders, gives him a new assignment in verses 15 and 16. Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria, and Yehu, 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. So he’s going to go from the far southern reaches of the Arabian Desert all the way up past the covenant land into Syria into the wilderness of Damascus. That’s where the Lord is sending him now. And he’s given command to anoint three leaders, each of which has a lesson for Elijah and a lesson for us. Anoint Haziel to be king of Syria.
It’s God’s way of saying, I’m the one who directs the politics of the nations. I’m the one who sets up kings and removes them. And then when he says, anoint Yehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel, God reminds Elijah, teaches him this lesson. I’m still ordering the affairs of my covenant people. I still care. I’m still directing the affairs of that nation too. And then when he says anoint Elisha as prophet in your place, God is teaching Elijah, I’m providing for and I’m overseeing the ministry of my word. You’re not going to be around forever Elijah, but I have a successor for you already. Anoint him as prophet in your place. And all those things are still true. And they’re all things from which we can take encouragement.
God is directing this war in Iran. God is overseeing and sovereignly guiding all the events taking place in Ukraine right now. We have brothers and sisters being persecuted in African nations, in Muslim nations, in North Korea, in China. God is watching over them.
He’s in control. We don’t always understand what he’s doing or why. but he’s in sovereign control of the politics of all the nations. And he’s taking care of his church as well. Not only the church itself, per se, and the governance of it, but he’s also providing for and overseeing the ministry of his word. He’s raising up ministers. He’s raising up officers. He’s raising up elders and deacons.
So pray confidently when you pray for the church in Yuma, and the church in Corona, and the church in San Marcos, the church in Santa Maria, and Grace Carson, and any other church you know in our Presbytery or elsewhere that needs a pastor, and they’ve been waiting and searching and praying. Pray confidently because God is providing for and overseeing the ministry of his word. God’s providence is upholding and governing the nations of the world, and in a special way, confessional documents, teach. In a special way, he cares for his church, and he will provide ministers for his churches. And all along, he comforts and reassures and motivates his people to persevere in his service.
Turn with me to Psalm 62. That’s where I mentioned you find that That little phrase, pour out your heart to the Lord. I want you to see what else that verse says. Psalm 62, verse 8. Look at where pour out your heart before him is sandwiched in there. Psalm 62, 8. Trust in him at all times, O people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us.
Elijah felt alone, but he wasn’t alone. That trial, the trial of really being alone, that was reserved for our Lord Jesus. After everyone forsook Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, he could invoke Elijah’s words and speak them in truth, I alone am left. And they seek my life to take it away. You know, those who were seeking to take Elijah’s life not only failed, but Elijah, interestingly, never even got to experience death.
He was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. The experience of death. too, was in store for our Lord Jesus. Jesus far surpassed Elijah in his zeal for the Lord God of hosts. He came and he ministered among covenant breakers. He came to die bearing the sins of all of his elect. But he also came to comfort us and to reassure us and to motivate us for continued service to him. Just as the Lord God counseled Elijah, Christ our Savior counsels us. He says, come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy laden. I’ll give you rest. Come into my office.
Just as God demonstrated his power to Elijah, Jesus demonstrates his power. He declared it when he said, all authority in heaven on earth has been given to me. He demonstrated his authority and power by a sign greater than a Category 5 hurricane, or the worst wildfire that California has ever seen, or the strongest earthquake that California has ever seen. He demonstrated his power by his resurrection from the dead. And he gives us a joyful prospectus too. He says, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. And I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
Let’s pray. Father in heaven, we thank you that you’re such a tender father, that you are such a tender father to our brother Elijah, and that you’re a tender father to us. We pray that by your grace, through your spirit, and through your word, and all the means of grace, that you’d continue to comfort and reassure and motivate us. that day after day, as long as it is called today, we might continue to present ourselves, our bodies, as living sacrifices to you. For that is our spiritual service. Strengthen us for it, we pray. In Jesus’ name, amen.