1 Kings 19:12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. I. This vision ought to teach us that GOD IS OFTEN MORE REALLY PRESENT IN LITTLE THINGS AND IN QUIET AND UNOSTENTATIOUS AGENCIES THAN IN THINGS THAT SEEM TO US GREAT, AND AGENCIES THAT WE THINK THE MOST IMPRESSIVE. We are apt to look for God in the storm, the earthquake, and the fire, and to overlook God in the still small voices of nature. But God is not more in the forked lightning that rends the rock than in the sunbeam that plays with the rippling wave; He is not more in the roaring cataract than in the silent dewdrop; He is not more in the spangled heavens, whose clustered stars attract our gaze, than in the tiny flower whose unprotected beauty we trample beneath our feet. God is not more in the great events of nations than in the smallest incidents in the lives of individuals. He who counts the stars also numbers the hairs of our heads. Indeed, the most powerful agencies in nature are generally the most silent in their operation, and often work in the deepest obscurity. But this is especially true in relation to God Himself. He is the greatest agent, and yet He works in the deepest obscurity. There is a sense in which He does everything, and yet He does it so silently and secretly that there are those who say He does nothing, that in fact there is no God. As in the natural, so in the spiritual world, the strongest forces are the least seen. "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." There is not always the most good being done where there is the most noise. "Verily Thou art a God that hidest Thyself, O God, the God of Israel." He does not come out and sound a trumpet before Him when He is about to do a great and good work. The agencies that are even now doing the most good in society are not the most ostentatious and self-asserting. It is not by parliaments and armies and police that the commonwealth is maintained and peace preserved. A stronger force than all these is the leaven of religious life which quietly operates in families. II. THIS VISION IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE WAY IN WHICH GOD VERY GENERALLY REVEALS HIMSELF TO MEN. He sends messengers to prepare His way. These messengers are fitted to arrest and arouse our attention, and then He Himself comes and speaks to us in "a still small voice." He said, "Go forth," etc. (vers. 11, 12). These things are an allegory and example of God's dealings. He sent the law and the prophets with all their thunderings and earthquakes to prepare the way for the Gospel. 1. He often sends to us the whirlwind of adversity. 2. God sent an earthquake. This may represent events in providence still more severe, such as bereavement, which swallowed up out of sight objects dearer to you than property, the desire of the eyes and the living treasures of the loving heart. 3. God sent a fire. That fire may aptly represent persona] affliction. This is often likened to a furnace: it consumes the health, and often brings eternity nearer to us than does even the death of a friend. 4. Then comes the "still small voice." This is pre-eminently the Voice of God. The other dispensations are only intended to prepare the way for this Voice. God does not inflict or grieve us because He takes pleasure in doing it, but because He wishes to speak to us, and we will not listen till we are thus arrested. The silvery tones of God's voice are constantly heard by those whose ears are inclined to hear. III. THIS VISION CONTAINS AN EXAMPLE OF THE MESSAGE WHICH GOD IS CONSTANTLY ADDRESSING TO MEN. 1. It is a word of rebuke for forsaking Him. "What doest thou here, Elijah?" This is the question which you address to a man who is out of his proper place — What are you doing here? 2. This word of rebuke is also addressed to the backslider. God says to him, What are you doing here? — in sin, among husks and swine, after having eaten of the hidden manna, and been in fellowship with God and Christ and the excellent of the earth, and the powers of the world to come. 3. This word of rebuke is also addressed to the Christian who has forsaken the post of duty. 4. The message also contains a word of exhortation: "Go, return." This is what God says to the sinner: "Return — return unto Me, and I will return unto you." (A. Clark.) Parallel Verses KJV: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. |
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