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Elijah was a great man of God who lived about 2800 years
ago. He was one of only two men mentioned in the Bible who were taken up
into heaven, never experiencing death (2 Kings 2:11). Shortly before his
ascension into heaven he had fled into the wilderness to escape a death
threat made by Jezebel, the infamous wife of the evil king Ahab. Here is
the story of a conversation he had with God there: |
And there he came to a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the
word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, "What are you doing here,
Elijah?" He said, "I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts;
for the people of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thy 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 broke 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 when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his
mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold,
there came a voice to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
He said, "I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for
the people of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thy altars,
and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and
they seek my life, to take it away" (1 Kings 19:9).
God does not make his presence known in the world by acts of great power.
He is heard in still small voices. The Christians of the first few centuries
after Christ were a small, persecuted minority of mostly humble, ordinary
folk. Yet within three centuries they had conquered the great Roman empire
without lifting a sword. They conquered it by the strength of the truth
they had. Truth may be suppressed and persecuted for a while, but it always
prevails in the end. Godly men seek to conquer evil and promote good by
using (both proclaiming and living) the still small voice of "… the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:17).
Copyright 1997 by Walter
L. Porter may be reproducted for non-commercial purposes at no cost to
others.
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