Wordless Speech: Exhales

Wordless Speech: Exhales.

“And Yahweh said to Elijah, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’ And behold, Yahweh passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountain, and broke in pieces the rocks 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; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire, a sound of gentle stillness and a still, small voice.” (1 Kings 19:11-12, AMP). 

Elijah is on the run, fleeing from evil Queen Jezebel, and he finds himself on the holy mountain, Mt. Sinai, also known as Horeb. After his 40-day fast and journey to the mountain, he is convinced he is alone in his battles against the pagan rulers of Israel. So he decided to retreat to the mountain of God, and he obeys God’s instructions and goes to Sinai. He came to a cave there, and he begins to engage in a conversation with Yahweh. The Lord tells him to go out of the cave and stand at its entrance. The Lord passed by the cave with a devastating hurricane, then an earthquake, then a consuming fire. Those were all natural manifestations of Yahweh’s presence with Moses on the very same mountain a long time ago, but this time was different and unexpected. The Lord did not speak through any of those manifestations. After the fire, Yahweh spoke to Elijah intimately, quietly, with a hush. There are many descriptions of the Lord’s presence and voice in that delicate moment, depending on the translation… a still, small voice; a gentle whisper; a light murmuring sound; the sound of a gentle breeze; a gentle blowing; the sound of gentle stillness. It seems that God is breathing on Elijah, exhaling His breath of life and encouragement into Elijah’s desperate condition. This is God’s exhale that gave Adam life, that brought life to Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones. This is the breath of the Holy Spirit that Jesus breathed onto His disciples after His resurrection (John 20:22). This was the nonverbal breath of love, a breeze from heaven blowing into Elijah’s life at a critical time. God’s whisper coming out of that exhale did indeed encourage this mighty prophet and give him new life and purpose. The Lord told him to return to Israel and anoint three people: an enemy king who will punish Israel, a new king of Israel, and his replacement prophet Elisha. And you are not alone, Elijah, Yahweh tells him. There are 7,000 faithful believers who will never bow down to Baal. So Elijah did as the Lord instructed. And it all started with a divine exhale, a wordless message on the mountain of God.