Sermon Snippet – Closing the Circle
INTRODUCTION – For almost three months, we have been considering, directly or indirectly, the life of the prophet Elijah and his sense of failure and loneliness as a man of faith. Today, I would like to return to I Kings 19:1-18 and, in the language of creative writers, close the circle and conclude this extended study.
1. A STILL SMALL VOICE BROKE THROUGH THE BLACKNESS
We would have expected that the magnificent majesty on display in verses 11-12a would have been how God was going to get hold of Elijah and move him out of his deep discouragement. Instead, “a still small voice” (verse 12b – literally, “the sound of gentle stillness”) was God’s means of reaching this forlorn forthteller. The great sound of God’s gentle stillness finds its greatest expression at the Cross. When Jesus, God the Son, cried out, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46c), God the Father remained silent. This silence was unexpected but essential, for Jesus was bearing the full punishment for all of our sins. The stillness of the Father speaks eloquently, for it tells us that the Cross of Christ was the only way that our eternal salvation could be secured. If you know Jesus as your Savior, God’s still small voice has spoken to you. If He is not your Savior, that voice of gentle stillness is speaking to you today, right now.
2. LITTLE THINGS MADE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS
Even before the sound of gentle stillness, even before the thundering theophany of verses 11-12a, God was shining His light into Elijah’s darkness. Elijah was in a state of depression; he was also in a state of rebellion, and God could have judged him severely. Instead, He provided necessary provision for Elijah (verses 5-7), “touches” him tenderly, and spoke kindly. Later, in verse 13, God gives Elijah the opportunity to pour out his heart; we might as well do the same, for our God already knows what is there. As we have considered in previous messages, He also gave Elijah work to do (verses 15-16), promised to deal with evil people like Jezebel (verse 17 – and Elijah would not be doing the fighting; that sad and necessary task would belong to others), and provided the assurance that there were others of faith (verse 18).
3. ONE LIFE OF FAITH MATTERS
God’s personal care for Elijah and His commissioning of others through Elijah point us to how crucial even one person of faith is. The 7,000 faithful in this vicious pagan culture would hear of Elijah (and then Elisha) and would be encouraged to continue in the truth. Certainly their lives were in constant peril, but God was protecting them as well. May we find joy in the faith of other believers, for each life of faith matters deeply to our Lord God.
CONCLUSION – James 5:17a tells us that “Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are.” If not for this passage in I Kings 19, we might wonder how Elijah was like us. However, at his lowest point, he was strengthened in his faith by the gentle greatness of God. Almost nine centuries later, Elijah was privileged to partake of the full glory of God the Son, Jesus Christ, on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8). This man who had prayed to die (verse 4) never did die. His life reveals that all can live eternally. Without Jesus, we are at the lowest possible point: we are sinners in desperate need of a Savior. From there, we can be lifted to the highest point possible, to certainty for all eternity. Today, right now, please trust in Jesus for eternal life. He will welcome you into His everlasting family.