And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak 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?”
Elijah has fled from Jezebel to a cave at Mount Horeb, and God has just passed by in wind, earthquake and fire without being in any of them. Then comes a gentle voice — older translations call it a still small voice — and it does what the shaking could not: it draws the prophet out, face covered, back to the question he had been avoiding.
Why the quiet voice moved him when power did not
Elijah stood unmoved through three displays of overwhelming force. The reason lay in his own mood.
The Christian's FriendThe displays of God's mighty power did not move him, because they matched his own mood. But the grace shown in the tender and gentle voice touched him and took hold of him. So the question presses on his inmost soul again: "What are you doing here, Elijah?" It invites him once more to face the cause of his flight, and to find the root of why he left his field of service.
The question also points back to the place Elijah had left.
J. N. DarbyPeople sometimes come before God because they have forgotten Him in the place where they should have stood and given testimony for Him. And so God asks Elijah, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" Wind, fire and earthquake announce the power of God to man. They would have suited the angry heart of Elijah as instruments of divine power against Israel. But these displays of His power were not God Himself. The still small voice reveals His presence to Elijah. What would have satisfied his will, and what might have been just towards others, did not awaken his own conscience. But the still small voice pierces Elijah's heart. Through it God reveals Himself, and Elijah hides his face before the presence of the LORD.
The covered face
The covered face comes from knowing whose presence he is in.
A J PollockAfter the wind, earthquake and fire came "a still small voice." This impressed the prophet's soul far more than the terrifying violence of nature. He was in God's presence. In fear and reverence he wrapped his face in his cloak and stood at the entrance of the cave. We must not measure God's power by what He does, but by what He is. He is beyond all His acts.
What nearness exposes
The voice that draws him out brings back the question Elijah had already been asked.
Hamilton SmithElijah is in the presence of the Lord, and the immediate result is that "he wrapped his face in his cloak." Away from the Lord he talks about himself. In the presence of the Lord he hides himself. But there is still pride, bitterness and anger in his heart. So again the Lord searches him with the question, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" God will have everything laid bare in His presence.
The change in him was real, but it was not complete.
The Bible TreasuryHe was both subdued and attracted, but not yet in the secret of the Lord, for he repeats his complaint. It takes a long time to bring us to understand the patience of God. And yet are we not ourselves the subjects of it all the time?
Grace before judgment
Elijah expected mighty displays to do the work. He has to learn otherwise.
Hamilton SmithElijah has to learn that wind, earthquake and fire may indeed be God's servants to wake men up. But unless people hear the "still small voice", no one is truly won for God. To reach and win the heart of man, the still small voice of grace must follow the thunder of Sinai.
This is also why the first three signs pass by without God in them.
The Bible TreasuryThis does not mean He will never deal in judgment. He has fixed a day for that. Sadly, we are prone to take that work out of His hands and do it too soon, and so we spoil it all. Besides, before the day of judgment there was to be a day of grace; and it is grace that speaks in the fourth and last sign.
What the voice produced
The voice also gave him strength to obey.
J. N. DarbyWhen Elijah had heard the still small voice, he wrapped his face in his cloak and stood ready to obey the Lord. By the power and strength he had found in this voice he was once again able to obey the commandment of the Lord.
What reached Elijah still reaches people now.
W. W. FeredayAgain we say, it was the still small voice which made Elijah feel that he was dealing with God. It is the same today. God speaks now to consciences and hearts in the written Word.
Summary
- Voice over noise. Wind, earthquake and fire were God's servants, but God was not in them. He made His presence known in the still small voice.
- Voice as grace. Elijah wanted judgment on Israel. The fourth sign speaks grace, because God has fixed the day of judgment and it has not yet come.
- Voice that covers the face. Away from the Lord, Elijah talked about himself. In His presence he hid himself. Reverence measures God by what He is, not by what He does.
- Voice that searches. The voice that drew him out asked again what he was doing there. God will have everything laid bare in His presence.
- Voice that sends. That voice gave Elijah strength to obey again. God still reaches consciences the same way, through His written Word.