how do you interpret this passage? from 1 kings.?

Question

9 ... and He said unto him: 'What doest thou here, Elijah?'
10 And he said: 'I have been very jealous for HaShem, the G-d of hosts; for the children of
Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets with
the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.'
11 And He said: 'Go forth, and stand upon the mount before HaShem.' And, behold, HaShem
passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks
before HaShem; but HaShem was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake; but
HaShem was not in the earthquake;
12 and after the earthquake a fire; but HaShem was not in the fire; and after the fire a still
small voice.

what do you think the message is when it says that G-d is not in the wind, fire, and earthquake, and what do you think the thin small voice was, and what did it symbolize?

i am just wondering because i have this biblical verse being sung in hebrew on a cd and i was wondering what everybody else thought it might meant because i think its a beautiful passage. on the cd the song continues all the way to verse 16 but i only took the most important part. the explanation that comes on the cd is:

"Eliyahu had tried for so long to change the ways of Klal Yisroel. After running away from Ezevel and Achov, who had threatened him, Eliyahu came to Har Sinai, and intimated that Hashem should take vengeance against the Yidden because of their severe Avairos. Hashem responded by teaching Eliyahu that he does not administer indiscriminate, harsh justice to sinners. Rather, with silent restraint and patience, he awaits their repentance, their tshuvah. Additonally the command to anoint Elisha as his successor was an implied rebuke to Eliyahu for his demand that the Yidden be punished.

Answer 1

God does not send the winds of destruction, and God does not cause the earthquakes, and God does not inhabit the fires of destruction, and I have heard that still small voice.

Answer 2

Clearly, G-d is telling Elijah not to expect something obvious, scary and powerful-looking, like what the Israelites came to expect on Horeb in the days of Moses. Sometimes, G-d whispers, becauses that's the way to truly get one's attention. G-d had an important message for Elijah that would change the course of Israel's leadership and didn't want him to be distracted by meaningless sights and sounds. Read on and you'll see Elijah knew exactly that the still, small voice was.

Answer 3

Elijah perhaps thought that the dramatic display of power at Mount Carmel would turn the nation around. Or perhaps he thought that the radical display of God's judgment against the priests of Baal following the vindication at Mount Carmel would change the hearts of the nation. Neither of these worked. This example is important for Christian ministers, especially preachers, today. It shows that displays of power and preaching God's anger don't necessarily change hearts. Instead, the still small voice of God speaking to the human heart is actually more powerful than outward displays of power or displays of God's judgment.

Answer 4

the verse right after the ones you quote tell us that Elijah went out to the mouth of he cave and again heard the message: "what are you doing here?"

I believe that the still small voice in vs. 12 was giving that same message, "what are you doing here?"

thus, three times Elijah heard the same question from the Lord. ( vs. 9, 12, & 13)

it can be compared to the three times Jesus asked Peter, "Peter, do you love me?" in John 21.

god bless!!!

Answer 5

God wanted Elijah (and us) to know that even though He controls the wind, and earthquakes and fire...that He speaks to us in the still small voice of His Word.. He also told us to "be still" and know that He is God. He speaks to us by the Holy Spirit in our hearts when we are still enough to listen.

Answer 6

In my religion we believe that the: still small voice is the holy ghost. Connected to our Heavenly Father, and his son, Jesus Christ. and the holy ghost. The holy ghost is a spirit that reaches in our soul or minds. To witness the truth of all things.

Answer 7

1 Kings 7 also clearly shows that Solomon's pad was a perfect circle with a ratio of circumference to diameter of exactly three, implying that pi has a value of three! So I think you can safely dismiss this book as nonsense!

Answer 8

It means what its says, he was looking for Him in "things", instead of listening for a still, small voice. Remember, the bible also says, "be still". That's so we can listen, so we can hear that still, small voice.

Answer 9

It tells us that when God speaks to us it is often in a still quiet voice. And to hear Him, we need to be intent on hearing Him.

Answer 10

Who knows? Who cares?