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"It All Depends on What You're Listening For"
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“It All Depends On What You’re Listening For” June 24, 2007 Rev. Victoria Ney
Text: I Kings 19:1-15a
Introduction to the Scripture reading:
Our lesson this morning is again from I Kings, and it is a continuation of the stories about the great prophet Elijah. We also met the protagonists last week
—King Ahab and Queen Jezebel—in that passage about Naboth’s vineyard.
Just to set the context of today’s reading, I want to remind you that by this time in Israel’s history, the kingdom of Israel under David and Solomon had been broken up into two kingdoms. The smaller southern one, Judah, was still ruled by King David’s family.
The much larger northern kingdom, Israel, is governed by wicked kings, and it’s clear that the writers of Old Testament scripture don’t like them! Ahab was the 6th king of this monarchy and he rules from 869-850 BC.
It’s very interesting to me that he is one of the few kings of Israel that show us in other historical documents outside of the Bible. It seems that during Ahab’s reign, he was busy making business alliances and treaties with other nations. And he was successful; this was a time of stability and economic growth for Israel.
Unfortunately, all of these outside influences brought other religions into Israel and the worship of God was at an all-time low. In fact, Ahab and Jezebel were trying to merge the worship of her god Baal with the worship of God.
And that’s why Ahab and Elijah cross paths in these scripture passages.
Listen for God’s word to you this morning. (Please read the scripture passage.)
Sermon:
A mid-western farmer was visiting his college roommate in New York City. While they were walking near Times Square one day, the farm boy suddenly remarked, “I hear a cricket.” “You’re crazy,” his city friend replied. “It’s the noon rush hour, and in all of this traffic noise you heard a cricket? That’s ridiculous!” “No, I really did hear a cricket,” the visitor insisted. Focusing more intently, he walker to the corned, crossed the busy avenue and looked all around. Finally he approached a shrub in a large cement planter.
Digging beneath the cover mulch, he found his cricket. His friend was absolutely amazed by what he had just seen. But the friend from the farm said, “My ears are no different from yours. It simply depends on what you have learned to listen for. Here, let me show you.” He then reached into his pants pocket, pullet out a handful of change, and dropped the coins on the sidewalk.
At the sound of the money hitting the pavement, every head along the crowded block turned. “You see what I mean?” the visitor said, as he began picking up what was left of his coins. “It all depends what you’re listening for!”
It all depends what you’re listening for. After what happened to Elijah in today’s scripture lesson, that may have been exactly what he said! The story we read today tells of a very upset, depressed, dejected man—the famous prophet Elijah. And to really understand what brought him to this juncture in his life we need to back up a little.
The first verse in our lesson said, “After Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done…” What happened in the preceding chapter that made her so angry? And if something bad had happened to wicked Queen Jezebel, why wasn’t Elijah on a real “high?” Let me tell you what just occurred.
At this point in the stories about Elijah, he is about as successful as any prophet could ever be. First he told King Ahab and Queen Jezebel that because they have been leading the people in idol worship, it won’t rain for 3 years, and it doesn’t.
At the end of those three years, he challenged the king and 450 of the priests of their god Baal to a contest. It’s quite a scene in chapter 18. All of the people came to Mt. Carmel to see this great contest. There must have been thousands of people present.
First, Elijah set up two altars with sacrifices on it and said, “Let’s see which god is the most powerful—Baal or Yahweh. Whichever god sends fire down from heaven for the sacrifice will be the true god.” The priests of Baal went first. They started out early in the morning, trying to get their candidate to set fire to the offering. They danced around the altar till their feet were sore. They made themselves hoarse shouting praying to their god. They jabbed at themselves with knives thinking that the sight of blood would start things moving. Elijah couldn’t resist getting in a few digs.
He said things like, “Maybe Baal has flown to Bermuda for the weekend,” or “Maybe he’s taking a nap.” The priests whipped themselves into a greater and greater frenzy, but by mid-afternoon there was still no sign of fire from above. You have to imagine how embarrassing that was for the priests, because Baal was the god of thunder and fire. It should have been a piece of cake!
Then it was Elijah’s turn to show what God could do. He really played it up. First he dug a trench around the altar and filled it with water. He even dowsed the whole sacrifice until everything was absolutely soaked. Then he stepped back and said a little prayer. And wham! God sent a flash of fire that not only burned up the offering but charred the whole altar. Nothing was left but a pile of ashes. The people were totally amazed, and they all bowed down and worshipped God. It was great!
In the aftermath of the contest, those hard-working priests of Baal were all killed for leading the people astray. But best of all, right after that God sent rain. The three-year drought was over. You can’t help but think that Elijah was absolutely elated. He was vindicated—what he said came true. How could he not just gloat a little? He may have been what we consider a Bible hero—but he was also human. It seemed as though everything he prayed for, God answered. That’s very “heady” stuff!
Unfortunately, Elijah’s troubles were not over—they were just beginning. Our lesson began at the point when Jezebel hears that her spiritual advisors had all been killed because of Elijah. She swears to kill Elijah before nightfall. Poor Elijah! He thought he was a hero. Then he finds out that he’s on the “most wanted” list.
He says something like “Feet do your stuff!” and runs for his life. He stops finally, exhausted, under a broom tree—more like a scraggly, scratchy bush. Sitting there he feels like his whole life was a waste. God himself had called him to be the defender of the true religion; he had worked hard to convince the people; he had performed miracles, he had even successfully challenged the king and queen and priests of Baal, and….nothing. Thanks to the queen, the cult of Baal was actually still alive and powerful, but most of God’s prophets were dead. And Elijah was on the run, thinking he would be next, fearing for his life.
So many questions must have filled his mind. Maybe he questioned his calling; maybe he had misunderstood God; maybe he had just failed; worst of all, maybe he had disappointed God.
Have you ever faced such doubts and questions about your life? Have you ever wondered if your efforts have all been wasted? Have you wondered whether you were really living into what God was calling you to do—or whether you missed your true calling in life? Perhaps you look back over your life and say: “I had all these dreams and aspirations, I wanted to accomplish so much, I wanted to make a difference in this place, but it didn’t happen. Or maybe you’re still in the process of choosing, and you are not sure if you’re making the right decisions.
Elijah thought he’d keep hearing the applause—keep hearing “good job”—keep seeing fireworks from heaven. When it didn’t work that way, he wanted to die. I think today we would say he was suicidal. He says, “I’ve had enough.” He was depressed and tired and beaten. I would venture to guess that most of us have been in that place at least once in our lives. “I’ve had enough.”
I think Elijah felt as though God had abandoned him. But God showed him otherwise. God proved faithful. God provided for him as he traveled through a wilderness. Even in that desperately hard time, Elijah is able to go on with the strength God gives him.
Elijah ends up in a cave on Mt. Horeb. He returns to the sacred place where God met Moses and gave him the tablets of the 10 Commandments. God says, “What are you doing here?” It sounds a little critical, don’t you think? “What are you doing here?” Sort of like, “What were you expecting?”
It’s almost as though God reads Elijah’s mind. Elijah is used to seeing and hearing God doing powerful things—sending pyrotechnic displays. So God sends violent wind and earthquakes and fire, but God is not in those things. The resultant eerie silence— the Hebrew is translated as “a sound of sheer silence”—is where God is. Elijah must have known because we’re told that he covers his face and comes out of the cave to encounter God. All he hears is that same question whispered to him, “What are you doing here? Go back.”
I suppose we could all find different meanings in this. But I’ll tell you what I think. I believe Elijah realized that God isn’t in just the “fireworks”—the fantastic—in life. In that moment, Elijah realized that God had been with him all along. He was doing what was right. He was being obedient to God. And it isn’t always easy, or fun. God doesn’t promise us mountain top highs all the time.
In fact, we all know there will be deep valleys—valleys of the shadow of death sometimes—but God is there with us. God doesn’t always reveal Godself to us in powerful, miraculous ways. To look for God only in something big may be to miss God altogether; because God is often found gently whispering in the quietness of a humbled heart.
Notice, too, that God didn't just say, “Snap out of it and get going.” God gently took care of Elijah. God knew Elijah needed to remember that God was still with him. Elijah needed a new view of God.
You see, we humans often bring our own preconceived notions about what God does and how that happens. A writer name Warren Wiersbe wrote: “Elijah wanted something accomplished that was loud and big, but sometimes God prefers that which is still and small. It is not for us to dictate to God what methods He should use. It is our duty to trust and obey.
When you feel discouraged because you’re working hard, and nothing big happens, remember that God works in both the big and the small. Don’t limit God to the fires, the winds, or the earthquakes. Look for God everywhere. Keep listening for God’s voice.
In Isaiah 55, God said, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts your thoughts.” This week, take a step back from the noise and activity of your busy life and listen humbly and quietly. The sound of God’s voice may come when you least expect it. It all depends what you’re listening for.
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i Frederick Buechner, "Peculiar Treasures", Elijah |
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