The Gentle Whisper
One Year Bible (June 19)
I Kings 20:1-21:29
The Gentle Whisper
“Mountaintops are for views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valleys.”-- Billy Graham
Speaking of mountaintops… fire fell, the sacrifice of the altar and the water in the trench were licked up by God’s awesome power, 450 prophets of Baal were wiped out, and rain finally came after three long years! All of this happened by God’s power through one prophet of God, Elijah.
“And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The Lord-He is God! Yes, the Lord is God!” (I Kings 18:39)
What a Mountaintop Miracle!
Speaking of valleys…”When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. So, Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: ‘May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them'.” (I Kings 19:1-21)
What a Vicious Valley!
Good news travels FAST. Bad news travels FASTER!!
The Mountaintop Miracle ended with these words, “Then the Lord gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel”. (I Kings 18:46)
The only problem is that Elijah kept on running and running. This running did not come from FAITH in God’s Power but from Elijah’s FEAR because of Jezebel’s Death Threat!
Yesterday, we looked at how God ministered to Elijah when he was ‘Touched by an Angel” and now 40 days later, Elijah has an encounter at Mt. Sinai, The Mountain of God.
God has a question that he asks Elijah twice, “What are you doing here Elijah?”
Elijah proceeds to say that he has served the Lord Almighty and has torn down the altars and now is all alone, and they are trying to kill him. He is emotionally in “WOE-IS-ME-VILLE”!
But, God wasn’t really saying “What are you DOING here?” He is asking, ‘What are you doing HERE?’ While God had called him to minister to Israel, those “running shoes” have taken him a long way off course! God was about to bring Elijah “full circle” back around.
It’s now time for another “Miraculous Mountaintop” display of God’s awesome power. God instructs Elijah to “go out and stand before me”.
Then, “The Lord passed by and a mighty wind storm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was the sound of a gentle whisper.” (I Kings 19: 11-12)
Elijah needed to stop listening to the loud threats of Wicked Queen Jezebel and start listening again to The GENTLE WHISPER that took him to Mount Carmel to defeat 450 Priests of Baal!
Then the Lord told him to “get those running shoes on again”. He has a few tasks to do: 1) Anoint Hazael to be king of Aram, 2) Anoint Zehuto to be King of Israel, and 3) Anoint Elisha to be his assistant and replace him as a prophet. Yes, Elijah is going to be busy for a while.
As for Jezebel, well her day is coming! And as for “Angry King Ahab”, he is busy dealing with King Ben-hadad and all of his threats in today’s passage.
Perhaps, like me, you are wondering why God turned his situation around and sent prophets to help this evil man? King Ben-hadad starts out threatening King Ahab, “Your silver and gold are mine and so are your wives and the best of your children.” (I Kings 20:3)
Look at the words of the man of God to the King of Israel, The Arameans have said, “The Lord is a god of the hills and not of the plains, ‘So, I will defeat this vast army for you. Then you will know that I am the Lord’.” (20:28)
Before you know it, Benhadad is giving back towns to King Ahab and has signed a treaty with him in blood to spare his own life. By the end of the chapter, Ahab’s “VALLEY LOW” has turned around and he is back on “Mountain High”...
Here is the reason why King Ahab is getting another chance and why other prophets are being sent his way. “This is what the Lord says: Do you see all these enemy forces? Today I will hand them all over to you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ( I Kings 20:13)
You see, when God sends a nation a prophet (or many), He is giving people the chance to Repent and Return to HIM.
For the sake of his beloved nation, Israel, God is calling on King Ahab by showing him Miracle after Miracle.
The question is…Will he see and hear?
Where is God in our valleys you may wonder?
Well, as the prophet pointed out to King Ahab, “He IS the Lord of the HILLS and the VALLEYS!”
He is “the sound of the gentle whisper” …He wants to grow your fruit in the valley too!
Can you hear “The Gentle Whisper”?
”Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)
