“And He said [to Elijah], ‘Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD.’” – 1 Kings 19:11

“We need to talk!” These are words that almost every man is all too familiar with. Personally, I never know what to expect.

What she’s basically saying is that the subject matter is a serious one and so it has to be discussed with minimum interruptions.

Our meditation verse today comes after Elijah had called down fire from heaven and finished off hundreds of the prophets of Baal.

Then a messenger came from the king’s palace with the news: “Sir, the queen has said she is personally going to do to you exactly what he had done to prophets of Baal.

On hearing that, Elijah fled as fast as his aging legs could carry him. Oh come on now Prophet Elijah, really?

Depressed, scared, despondent and lonely, Elijah prays that God would call him home.

Instead, God tells him to go to Mount Horeb (also known as Mt Sinai) where He would talk to him.

This holy mountain, located in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, was the mountain on which Moses had met God to receive the Ten Commandments.

It is located some 900 kms from Beersheba, a journey that took Elijah 40 days to cover. The story is in 1 Kings 19.

I was awestruck to learn that the man of God had to travel all that distance in order to hear a special word from God.

But God surely, couldn’t you speak to your servant as you had always done in Beersheba?  

Of course God previously did speak to Elijah in various forms.

First, an angel (a messenger) had touched him telling him to rise and eat (see verse 5).

Secondly, while inside the cave, “the word of the LORD came to him” (see verse 9).

Thirdly, God told him; “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD” (see verse 11).

However, what God really wanted to tell Elijah was yet to come.

What is the farthest distance you have gone to hear God speak? The rhema word is what changes destinies and histories!

Then fourth, came the noise of the wind, the earthquake, and the fire but God was not in any of those.

From a human perspective, each of the phenomena mentioned did signal God’s presence.

However, Elijah had to learn that God is not a God that manifests in the spectacular only.

Then finally, the rhema word came in a “still small voice” – ‘a delicate whispering voice’ that gave him history-changing instructions. 

Romans 10:17 says; “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

The Greek term used here for “the word of God” is rhema (spoken word), the opposite of logos (the written word).

The rhema word of God told Elijah to anoint Elisha as his successor. Then Elisha would anoint Hazael as King of Syria (2 Kings 8:7–15), while Jehu would be anointed by Elisha’s servant as King of Israel (2 Kings 9:1–10).

These three individuals – Elisha, Jehu, and Hazael – would later become very important tools in God’s hands for shaping the spiritual and geopolitical history of the whole region.

Finally, God encouraged His servant by assuring him that there were still 7,000 men who were faithful and loyal worshippers of God and had not stooped to worship Baal.

Against that background, the long journey to Mt. Horeb was all worth it.

What is the farthest distance you have covered to hear God speak?

The Bible says; “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4, NKJV).

The patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – as well as the prophets and the apostles, did not have the Bible, which is indispensable to Christians today, yet God did speak to them in unmistakable ways.

That same God has not changed! He longs to speak to you through His rhema word, which is Christ Jesus.

So, are you ready to go the full distance beyond the din and noise of religion that are all around us in order to hear that ‘still small voice’?

The rhema word is what changes destinies and histories!

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you because you are always ready to speak to me. Speak Lord, your servant is listening! Your sheep hear Your Voice. May I never stop hearing your rhema word for the rest of my days, Amen!