April 22, 2020

And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” So he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces 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 a still small voice.

I Kings 19:9-12 NKJV

As we read of Elijah’s meeting with the Lord in these four verses of I Kings 19, we should be reminded of two other events in history: Moses meeting with the Lord in Exodus 34 and Christ’s transfiguration in Matthew 17.

At Christ’s transfiguration on the mountain, why do you suppose Moses and Elijah stood next to him? God the Father publicly acknowledged His Son. In what way did Moses and Elijah bear witness?

In our text, Elijah was told to go and stand on the mountain (19:11) and he was there on that mountain in a cave (19:14). In Exodus 34, Moses was told to present himself to God at the top of Mount Sinai (34:2) and that God would put him into a cave (cleft) of a rock (33:22).* In Exodus, God passed by and revealed His name. In I Kings, the Lord passed by and spoke to His servant Elijah. Moses was wearied from his labors with a stubborn people. Elijah was wearied from the stubbornness of Israel and the threats of Jezebel. In both instances the Lord would comfort His prophets by speaking to them.

“Why are you here?” Elijah was a long way from Israel. He wasn’t even bordering Israel anymore, but the entire country of Judah was between him and the nation he was called to serve. Elijah’s answer was to defend his work and reasons for leaving Israel. He left because he was jealous for the Lord. The children of Israel forsook God’s covenant, broke apart His altars,** and murdered God’s prophets. So great had been the persecution, Elijah believed himself to be the only prophet left alive, and Jezebel was hunting for him.

With this answer the Lord sent three great perils to Elijah on the mountain: a great wind; an earthquake; and fire. The Lord sent these things, but the Lord was not speaking in any of these signs. Surely this should remind us of the devouring fire, earthquakes, and thunder (Ex. 19:16-18) which the Israelites witnessed upon their arrival to Mount Sinai. But the Lord did not speak to the Israelites through those great events, rather He spoke His words to His servant Moses who spoke them to the people. So with Elijah, the text says “but the Lord was not in the wind… earthquake… and fire.”

These great manifestations of the power and might of the Lord were not the voice of the Lord that Elijah yearned for. The voice was yet to come: after the wind, the earthquake, and fire, “a still small voice” (19:12).

The Lord connected Elijah with Moses for us in a glorious way at Mount Sinai. The law represented by Moses and the prophets represented by Elijah are testifying to the person and work, power and might, glory and majesty of Jesus Christ. The Lord does not forget His people or His promises. He who showed His glory and holiness to Israel in the wilderness with the giving of the law at Mount Sinai was showing it again in Elijah’s day and in these last days has revealed His glory through His Son and our Lord Jesus Christ.

 Is it any wonder then that Moses and Elijah were with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration? The Lord was connecting His covenant people through all ages.*** They who were comforted by Christ on Mount Sinai, stood there as a testimony to the Father’s Word that the promised Messiah is Jesus Christ who is faithful to His people yesterday, today, and forever. “Listen to Him!”

Moses and Elijah were comforted and strengthened by listening to the word of God on Mount Sinai. May we listen to Him as we read and hear God’s word today, and may He comfort and strengthen us as He has done for His people through the ages.

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*Some have speculated that the Lord spoke to Moses and Elijah in the same location on Mount Sinai but the text does not speak to the precise location beyond the top, or near the top, of Mount Sinai.

**Elijah rebuilt one of the Lord’s altars on Mount Carmel that had previously been destroyed, and the Lord consumed it with His fire.

**For many years a great folly has been taught in some churches: The Old Testament is not necessary or particularly helpful for Christians today. Some ministers of the largest churches in my home state teach this folly, and the fruits of it in the lives of their members is spiritual disaster. Along with this teaching comes a diminishing at best or denial at worst of the law of God in the lives of believers. When these teachings come to our attention, may we go back to the Mount of Transfiguration when Moses and Elijah, the law and the prophets, testified to Jesus Christ who God the Father tells us to listen to.

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