If there’s one thing Christians yearn for, it’s hearing the still, small voice of God. This phrase derives from 1 Kings 19:12. To learn about what it means, let’s start by reviewing the setting of that verse.
In 1 Kings 18, the prophet Elijah had demonstrated the superiority of the God of Israel over Baal and Ashtoreth, which didn’t sit well with Queen Jezebel, a notorious idolater. She warned Elisha that she would kill him, so the prophet ran away, and an angel met him along his journey. He gave Elijah what we might consider magic bread, because it enabled the man of God to travel without food or sleep for forty days until he arrived at God’s mountain (1 King 19:1-8).
Now we get to the passage which mentions the “still small voice” in the King James and New King James Versions of the Bible.
And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10So he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” 11Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 13So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14And he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” 15Then the LORD said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. 16Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. 17It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. 18Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” – 1 Kings 19:9-18 (NKJV)
Stories like this remind me of the value of patience in biblical interpretation. For many Christians, this passage teaches us that God’s voice isn’t loud or dramatic. Instead, it’s subtle.
But that might be jumping to conclusions. Let’s take a step back and see how these verses are structured.
- Vs. 9 – God’s word comes to Elijah and asks him why he’s here
- Vs. 10 – Elijah answers the Lord
- Vs. 11a – God tells Elijah to get up and stand on the mountain
- Vss. 11b-12 – Before Elijah does, he witnesses three remarkable phenomena
- Vs. 13a – Elijah obeys the Lord by exiting the cave and standing on the mountain
- Vs. 13b – God’s word comes to Elijah and asks him why he’s here
- Vs. 14 – Elijah answers the Lord
- Vss. 15-18 – God gives instructions to the prophet
We have a general pattern here. On two occasions, God asks Elijah a question, Elijah answers it, and God replies to the prophet’s response.
Between these two conversations, God gives a partial revelation of Himself to Elijah, which has four signs: strong wind, an earthquake, fire, and a “still small voice.”
Notice that Elijah talked with the Lord before and after the signs. In other words, the “still small voice” wasn’t describing the Lord’s communication, because He’d already spoken to Elijah and was about to do so again.
The Bible doesn’t tell us how God conversed with Elijah; it just reports that He did.
Twice.
The “still small voice” wasn’t part of either dialogue. It wasn’t an inaudible cascade of thoughts that filled Elijah’s mind. The prophet talked with the Lord like he did with anyone else. He heard God and he responded out loud.
What’s the “still small voice,” then?
Well, look at what it’s grouped with.
- Wind so strong it could blast rocks out of their place.
- An earthquake that shook the mountain.
- Fire which may refer to the burning of the surrounding brush from lava or lightning.
A “still small voice” seems out of place!
But we’re not finished. So now, let’s break down the vocabulary of this phrase.
The Hebrew word for “still” is demama and occurs only three times in the Old Testament. Here are the other two verses:
“He calms the storm, so that its waves are still.” – Psalm 107:29 (NKJV)
“It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; there was silence; then I heard a voice” – Job 4:16 (NKJV)
This word has to do with what we would call peace and quiet!
Next, the Hebrew word for “small” (daq) is best translated as “fine” or “thin.” 1 Kings 19:12 is telling us there wasn’t much to this “voice.”
And that brings us to the Hebrew word for “voice” (qol). A common word (occurring over 500 times in the Old Testament), it can mean voice, sound, or noise, depending on who or what’s involved. When the subject is God or a person, the word is usually “voice.” But we’d say we heard the sound of a rock tossed into a lake. We wouldn’t say we heard its voice. Yet the Israelites used the same Hebrew word for both. Context helps you recognize the difference.
A verse in Ezekiel illustrates this:
“And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and His voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with His glory.” – Ezekiel 43:2 (KJV)
The Hebrew word qol gets translated two different ways in this verse. God speaks; He has a voice. But because His voice is powerful, it sounded to Ezekiel like it was a raging river or an awesome waterfall.
(By the way, have you ever listened to a waterfall? How about the crashing of ocean waves? Water can be quite loud!)
Revisiting 1 Kings 19:12, then, should we call what Elijah heard a voice or a sound? Since it’s linked to wind, an earthquake, and fire, a sound seems like the best option.
This means that the “still small voice” didn’t consist of words uttered by a subject, whether God, an angel, or a human being. It was a natural sound that God used, just as He used the other three.
The subject of these four displays was the presence of God, not His voice. The first half of verse 11 says that Elijah was to leave the cave so he could stand before the Lord. The second half says “the Lord passed by.” It would appear that God’s presence was demonstrated by the strong wind, the quake, and the fire, but He wasn’t in any of these. God was there, but these phenomena, which characterized His prior presence on this mountain, didn’t prove anything.
What prior presence?
When He gave Moses the 10 Commandments!
Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. 19And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. 20Then the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. – Exodus 19:16-20 (NKJV)
God showed Elijah wind, shaking, and fire to help him understand that God didn’t change. The awesome One who met with Moses was now meeting with Elijah.
But He ended His demonstrations with a lull. A sense of stillness. Elijah was already in fear of his life from Jezebel; he didn’t need more anxiety. So God gave him peace.
He also gave him a few assignments. Elijah’s ministry wasn’t finished; God had more work for him to do. His time wasn’t up.
We who believe in Jesus Christ can learn from Elijah’s example. Although he was afraid, God supported him and helped him overcome his fears. His hand is upon us, even though we’re not perfect. We can be nervous about how the world wants to punish us for our loyalty to Christ, but He will ease our concerns.
And He will commit to us our next tasks. As long as we’re here, we can be of service to the Lord and His kingdom. We carry out our responsibility when we obey His twofold Word. The written Word, given to Moses, and the spoken Word, communicated to Elijah. These will never conflict with each other because they come from the one Holy Spirit.
So let’s please Jesus by investing ourselves in knowing and doing His Word.
His peaceful presence will back us up all our days.
Amen!
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