Elijah Sermon
I’ve decided to post the sermon. There’s minimal chance that someone is going to read this then hear me use it in a sermon again. If they do – well, I guess they get to be blessed twice (or something like that)!
We had three sermons on Friday. Each one was based on completely different texts, but had the same basic message. Maybe God was trying to tell us something…
The morning sunlight danced in the Prophet’s face as he lay on his bedding. “Had it really happened?” He wondered to himself. “Was it just a dream?” He looked up at the winter home of the King and Queen, still wondering if it was true. “If it did happen, they’re not having a very pleasant conversation right now,” he said to himself. But did it happen? Could it have happened? His legs were stiff – like he had just sprinted for several miles. Maybe it really did happen.
Then he saw them. Puddles. The ground was soaked. It had rained! For the first time in years, it had rained! It wasn’t a dream at all! It had really happened!
He played yesterday’s events over and over in his mind. He had challenged the leaders of a religious cult to a duel. It was time to fight – mano a mano. Ba-al vs. Yahweh in a no-holds-barred, winner-take-all, fight to the death grudge match. The first deity to consume the offering with fire would be the winner.
Elijah was confident what would happen. But then again, so were the priests of Ba-al. Ba-al’s followers worked themselves into a frenzy: dancing around wildly, screaming at the top of their lungs, and even cutting themselves – all in an attempt to get their god to notice them. And there was nothing. Not even a flicker or a tiny puff of smoke.
Elijah smirked. He knew he was worshiping the one true God. Yahweh would show up. He’d be victorious. Ba-al would soon be defeated. Elijah chuckled as he set up his altar. He laughed as doused his offering in water. Water. Talk about boldness. Talk about courage. The Prophet definitely had confidence in the God that he served.
And why wouldn’t he? He knew first-hand the power of the God who created the universe and everything in it. Elijah was the one who walked right up to Ahab’s throne and told him about the drought that God was sending. It didn’t rain for 3 ½ YEARS! Elijah saw Yahweh’s power over life and death when he brought the son of a widow back to life! Yes, Elijah knew Yahweh could win this battle with both hands tied behind his back.
As the Prophet stepped back from his unusual offering, he prayed that Yahweh would be victorious. And he waited. Then, an amazing thing happened. The skies opened up and a ball of fire shot down from heaven. The sacrifice and even the wood and stone that served as an altar were consumed in the fire. It also “licked up” all of the water in the trench surrounding the altar. Elijah had seen God’s power first-hand. He knew that Yahweh was the God above all other gods.
And finally, after 3 ½ years, the clouds burst open. The Prophet danced as the rain relieved the parched land. A victory dance, to be sure. He couldn’t contain himself any longer, so he ran. And ran. He outran the King and his chariot. Talk about adding insult to injury.
The cramps in his legs still lingered as he prepared his breakfast. It didn’t matter, though. Elijah was still relishing in the amazing events that happened the day before. Chalk up a victory for Yahweh and his messenger. Surely God was with him.
He went through town to find something to eat. As he walked, people kept staring at him. They would point at him, turn to one another, and whisper. Something didn’t seem right. They should be happy, shouldn’t they? They were shown that the One True God was the God of Israel. There should be dancing in the streets! Finally tired of the whispers and the pointing, he asked a passerby what was wrong. “Oh – you don’t know, do you?”
Now, the queen of Israel was an ardent Ba-al worshiper. She’s had enough of Elijah’s meddling in the affairs of her kingdom. She’s tired of playing games. “Kill him,” she demanded.
In the afterglow of witnessing God’s amazing victory over Ba-al, Elijah suffers a terrible blow. His confidence is shattered. Elijah feels completely helpless and alone. Surely he asked, “What is going on? Why is this happening? Where are you, God? Where are you?”
He had heard the death threats. Now he was scared. Just a few moments ago, he was the victor.
And so he ran. He tucked in his tunic, grabbed his best running sandals, and ran. And ran. And ran some more.
Finally tired of running, Elijah and his servant settled down in the town of Beersheba. They were in the land of Judah now. They should be safe. The two found a place to rest for the night. His faithful servant immediately fell into a deep sleep. Why wouldn’t he? They had been on the run for some time now. But now they were 90 miles away from the Queen. 90 miles away from her threats. They were safe now.
Elijah didn’t think so, though. He tossed and turned all night long. He ran over every conceivable scenario of how Jezebel could still get him. There could be spies. What about bounty hunters? Surely there was a price on his head. No. He definitely was not safe here. He knew what he needed to do. All night, he asked, “Where are you, God? Where are you?”
His servant was still asleep when he left. The prophet had no need for a servant anymore. He’d been a good helper – faithful to the end. But it was time to part ways. So he left his servant at Beersheba and began to walk away – into the wilderness.
“That’s it! I quit, God! Do you hear me? I quit! I’m just going to die out here in exile. Where are you, God? Where are you?” He eventually collapsed under a small tree. As he thought about his fate and what he was going to do next, Elijah’s eyes grew heavy. Exhaustion had caught up with him. He lay down and shut his eyes. The thought continued to echo, “Where are you, God? Where are you?”
“Elijah,” a voice called out to him. “Elijah, wake up. It’s time to eat.” When he sat up and wiped the sleep from his eyes, he looked around for the voice. The smell of fresh-baked bread filled his nostrils and his stomach began to grumble. It had been a long time since he had eaten anything. He took the bread that was sitting on some stones by his head. It was still hot. Moments later, he had consumed all of the bread – almost forgetting to chew – and he drank all of the water from a nearby pitcher. He was so happy to finally have food and drink that he had forgotten to find out where it had come from. He was just happy to have a full belly. He leaned back against his tree and fell back to sleep.
He had no idea how much time had passed when he heard the voice again. “Elijah. Get up and eat. You’ll need it for your journey.” He sat up and looked around. No one. But there was food and water. So he ate and drank again.
The prophet thought it was strange how the food had just appeared out of nowhere. It wasn’t the first time something like this had happened, though. He remembered the ravens that brought him bread during the drought. He even had pet names for them. God had taken care of him then. Why wasn’t he doing so now? “Why is all of this happening to me? Where are you, God? Where are you?”
The Prophet decided it was time to get some answers. He remembered the tradition recorded in the Hebrew Torah that the great leader of Israel, Moses, had encountered the Living Yahweh on Mount Sinai, which was also called Mount Horeb. “That’s where I’ll find God. I’ll go there.” So he got up from his tree, finished the remaining water in the jar, and started walking. And he walked. And walked. And walked.
After 40 days and 40 nights he arrived at the Mountain of God. He saw a cave in a rock up towards the top of the mountain. “That must be where Moses saw God. Surely that’s where God is.” So he climbed to the top of that very cave. And waited. If God was going to appear, God was going to do so at this spot. It was time to wait God out. “Where are you, God? Where are you?”
He spent the night waiting. Although he was exhausted, he didn’t sleep very much. He didn’t want to miss Yahweh’s passing by. As the sun rose on another day, Elijah finally heard a voice. “Elijah. What are you doing here, Elijah?”
“What am I doing here? What am I doing here? Don’t you know what’s been going on? The people of Israel have turned away from you. They’re destroying your altars and killing all of your prophets. There’s a death warrant out for me. What do you mean what am I doing here? I’m the only one left. And what have you done? Nothing!! Where are you, God? Where are you?”
“I’ll show you where I am,” the voice said. “Go outside the cave and stand on that cliff. I’m about to pass by.” Elijah stood up and walked to the entrance. He knew how God had shown up on this very mountain to Moses and the children of Israel. He was ready for the big miracles – the sound and light show, if you will. It was finally time for God to show up.
Outside he saw a violent wind swirling around! It split mountains apart, pulverizing any rocks and trees that were in its path, scattering the debris miles and miles away. The windstorm left nothing but destruction in its wake. But Elijah knew God wasn’t there. “Where are you, God? Where are you?”
As soon as the tornado-like winds died down, the ground began to shake. Elijah leaned up against the wall of the cave as the entire mountain began to quake. Canyons suddenly appeared. Rocks tumbled down the mountain. It was an earthquake unlike any he had ever experienced or even heard about. But Elijah knew God wasn’t there. “Where are you, God? Where are you?”
After the ground settled, a wildfire ripped through the valley, consuming whatever vegetation had remained. But God Elijah knew wasn’t there. “Where are you, God? Where are you?”
Finally, tired of waiting for Yahweh to show up, Elijah went back into the cave. “Where are you, God? Where are you?”
Then it happened…
Sheer…
silence…
It was…deafening… The Prophet returned to the mouth of the cave when he heard a still, small voice, similar to a gentle breeze.
The voice asked him again, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Elijah ran through his whole Spiel again: “The people of Israel have turned away from you. They’re destroying your altars and killing all of your prophets. There’s a death warrant out for me. What do you mean what am I doing here? I’m the only one left. And what have you done? Nothing!! Where are you, God? Where are you?”
“I have always been there, Elijah. You haven’t seen me at work, but I have been. You know that bread and water? I provided them for you. You think you’re alone? There are still 7,000 people in Israel who have remained faithful to me. You aren’t alone. You never have been. Now get up. I have a job for you to do.”
* Sometimes God works in ways that we least expect. Many people expect God to work only on a grand scale – with wind and fire and earthquakes. They wait around for God to flash some neon sign in front of them saying, “This is my will.” Or they expect a loud voice from heaven that sounds like James Earl Jones saying, “I am with you.” When in reality, God doesn’t always work like that. It didn’t work with the children of Israel. Shortly after they encountered God like that, they were off worshiping a golden calf. God is just as likely to use the mundane in our lives to speak to us as He is the spectacular. Don’t just look for God to be moving in the loud and the exciting. Sometimes, it’s more important to simply be still. To be…still and listen. God is whispering to you. It might even be happening right now. In the midst of all of the busyness and excitement of work, school, finals, graduation, family situations, don’t run away from the still, quiet moments. We have to remove the clutter and enjoy the silence – and sometimes we have to do that intentionally.
Who knows? God could be trying to talk to us and we don’t even know it because we’re so wrapped up in everything that’s around us. I mean, God is already at work around us and, just like Elijah, we don’t even notice it. God will never leave us or forsake us.
Have you wondered where God is? You might be grieving because someone close to you has died. Maybe you’ve lost your job, or your bills are piling up around you. Maybe you’re worried about how you’re going to pass all of your classes. Maybe – just maybe – when you’re going through all of the stuff that life throws at you, you ask the question, “Where are you God? Where are you?” This story reminds us that God is right there with you. And God is simply waiting for you to listen.
Shhh….
Just listen….
* I debated for a long time about whether to continue going or make it more of an ‘inductive’ sermon by just telling the story. I’m curious what everyone else thinks. Should I have continued, or just ended it here?
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Ending
I wonder if this story would have made a better ending.
The two stories back-to-back would allow the congregation to come to its own conclusion. Kind of inductive…or something like that.