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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
1 Kings 19:9–18, “And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake 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 a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.”
Elijah was lonely after his prolonged battle with the evil king Ahab, the evil queen Jezebel and all the forces of the evil one. He thought that he was the only man left in Israel who was true to the Lord and His Law. The Lord told Elijah to go and hide in a cave. While Elijah was in that cave the Lord brought a huge wind storm that broke rocks away from the side of the cliff. Elijah could tell that the Lord wasn’t in the great wind storm. The Lord sent a great earthquake but the Lord wasn’t in the earthquake. The Lord also sent a fire to burn the mountains but the Lord wasn’t in the fire. Lastly the Lord spoke to Elijah in a small quiet voice. If we want to hear the voice of the Lord we should understand that we can hear Him in the quiet place of contemplation rather than in the noise of great activity. The Lord knew that Elijah was exhausted so He sent the prophet on one last mission. Elijah was told to appoint a new king over Israel and another new king in Syria. After that the Lord told Elijah to appoint another prophet to take his place. Finally the Lord told Elijah that he wasn’t the only person who had remained faithful to the Lord in Israel, in fact, there were seven thousand other Israelis who had not worshipped Baal.
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