The 7,000 Times Answer
(1 Kings 19:9ampsim21)
In response to Elijah, who cried out that he was left alone, God informed him of the 7,000 Israelites who didnt bow down to Baal. What about you? Are you standing alone on the edge of a precipice today? Heres the secret of receiving the 7000 times answer of God.
1. Find out your own place. God had guided Elijah up to Mount Horeb through his angel, who touched him and fed him. Notice the specific spot on Mount Horeb, the cave, which reminds us of the cleft in the rock, where Moses was covered by God when His glory passed by (Ex 33:22). Elijah is staying there, not knowing where he should be, thinking he is in the sacred place of Moses glory. However, God asks him a pointed question 'What are you doing here?' Elijah answers 'I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty.' This implies LORD Almighty, please see my special zeal for you. Ive killed all the idol worshippers, the spiritual adulterers. Why should I be reduced to nothing but a fugitive? We need to find out our own place as a sinner first of all. A king also needs to see his public place as the special seat of sinners in order to find the ways of loving his people. We need to find our place as a sinner whether a husband or a wife, a parent or a child. Yet we cant find it by our zeal. Without Gods grace, no one can find it. It is the place for the one who desperately needs God.
2. Listen to Gods gentle whisper rather than the roaring of miracles. When Elijah came out of the cave, a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks. This can be compared to the heavy rain that poured after Elijah killed 850 Baal prophets, which stands for Elijahs zeal for his mission. However, we cannot see the heavenly kingdom only through miracles. To Elijah, the post-Carmel period is crucial because the dramatic miracles he had seen could have blunted his spiritual sensitivity to Gods message. Likewise, we can be zealous in attending our faith community for a while after experiencing a miracle. Yet the miracle cannot change us thoroughly. So God trains Elijah intensively through his command, using the word, 'the Lord' six times as in verse 11, A mature Christian pays attention to Gods gentle whisper under all circumstances. However, we still anxiously compare ourselves with others because we are not filled with the Word, not because weve lived a wrong life. We can hear the 7000 times answer when we listen to Gods gentle whisper. Thats why we need to do our QT.
3. Set up your life goal for salvation. Verses 9 through 10 are repeated in verses 13 and 14. In verse 9, God asked a question to Elijah in his gentle whisper as a strong wind passed him by. Then in verse 13, he did it again in order to train Elijah. God asked the same question after Elijahs faith and spirit had changed. By doing this, God emphasized that sins cannot be resolved by human zeal. In the process of Elijahs spiritual maturity, there was a time when God fed him under a juniper tree and a time when Elijah hid in a cave on Mount Horeb, not knowing what to do. Likewise, we often face times when we are totally at a loss after killing our Baal prophets instead of ministering to those who repented of their idolatry. Thats why we need a community. No matter how small he or she looks, one of our members helps us stand firm in faith.
4. Dive into the place of your mission. Elijah might have expected God to encourage him when he was greatly depressed and to kill Ahab and Jezebel for him. However, God didnt do that. Instead, God gave Elijah a practical mission. The greatest consolation for a wounded person is to give him or her a proper work. God commanded Elijah to anoint Hazael king of the gentiles as Gods tool to judge the Israelite idol worshippers, Jehu king of Israel, and Elisha a prophet. Thus God told Elijah to anoint the last people Elijah can be united with. Later, as God had said, Hazael killed Ben-Hadad and attacked Jehu. Salvation, our firmly established life goal constantly gives us practical missions every day. Despite Elijahs groaning I have no one around me!, God had spared 7,000 people, the 7,000 times answer for Elijah! Even with his insight, Elijah couldnt see this. So God trained Elijah through an intimate relationship. An intimate relationship with God is the only key to resolve our life problems.
5. Live out your daily life well. Elisha, a rich man was called by God as a prophet while he was plowing. Thus God uses a sincere person who works hard in his place. Elisha replied that he needed to kiss his parents good-by, which Elijah allowed him to. Thus godly parents like Elishas help their child to accept Gods calling obediently and grow as Gods heir. For this purpose, we need to stick to our daily work as usual under all circumstances. May God bless us all to live our daily life well in our own places, listening to his gentle whisper till we enjoy His 7,000 times answer!
Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel--all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.' (1Kgs. 19:18)
