Nowhere to hide

After he was woken the second time, Elijah got up, ate and headed south. For forty days he wandered and eventually he arrived at Horeb. The trip he embarked on was about 200 miles (320 kms) in a straight line and it took Elijah 40 days. Even if he had walked amazingly slowly it would not take 40 days to travel 200 miles so what was he doing on the way? Was he putting off getting to his destination because he thought God would meet him there? Did he just aimlessly wander around, arriving at Horeb by chance? Did he get lost? Or was there some other reason? We can only speculate because the Bible doesn’t reveal any answers, but we do know that 40 is a symbolic number. Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days, the people of Israel wandered for forty years; Moses waited forty years before receiving his commission from God and so on. Whatever the reason for Elijah taking so long to get to his destination, he eventually did and he must have been affected by its significance in Israel’s history.

Horeb, or Mt Sinai is the place where Moses saw the burning bush, where he received the Ten Commandments and was later hidden in the cleft of the rock when the glory of God passed by. It was an immensely significant place and Elijah could not have been ignorant of it. As he climbed to Jebel Musa the peak of Horeb, he must have reflected on all the history of events that took place on this mount, he could not help being reminded of the covenant that God had established with his people and the fact that this was the place that was identified with the dwelling of God. Elijah was running from God and at the end of his journey he found himself in God’s dwelling place, perhaps the most significant geographical location for the people of Israel.

There was no mistake in the directions Elijah took, or the time it took him to get there. The symbolization would not have been lost on him. God orchestrated every step of his way, he reminded him of the wanderings of the people of Israel and he brought him to the place where the covenant was established. Elijah needed to know that God was in control, everything was in his hands – including Elijah’s destiny. Do you need to be reminded that God is in control? Do the events of your life threaten to overwhelm you? Have you walked away from God because you believe that he has let you down or failed you in some way, do you feel that you are wandering aimlessly in the wilderness? Like Elijah you need to be reminded that God is still directing your steps, he knows where you are going and he never leaves your side. He will bring you to the place where you can hear his voice without the distractions of other cares or demands, it may take some time but you will get there. On the way take time to reflect on the power and sovereign grace of God, take note of the memories he brings to your mind and allow them to produce a heart that is open to receive the grace that God has to give.

When Elijah got to the top of the mountain, or at least to the end of his journey, he entered a cave with the intention of lodging there. How long did Elijah intend to stay on the mountain? He had got there after a forty day trip through the desert, he had taken no food with him and there may have not been much available on the mountain top, all he had was what he was carrying. What was he going to do in this cave, it gets cold in the desert, especially at night on top of a mountain, how would he survive? As is often the case the bible is silent about the details and we are left to speculate. What we do know however is that Elijah intended to stay for a while.

As Elijah moved into the cave, perhaps as he wrapped his cloak around him and prepared himself for sleep, or maybe in the middle of some impassioned season of prayer, the word of God came to him. I wonder whether Elijah had thought he would never hear that voice again, did he think that he had run from the sound of God’s voice or that he had offended him so that he would never speak again. Whatever the case Elijah heard God’s voice. Here was Elijah, in a cave miles from where he should have been, feeling sorry for himself, consumed with his own feelings of inadequacy and failure, maybe even blaming God for the unfairness of it all and getting angry at him for allowing things to go so horribly wrong and then the voice of God came to him.

Things never get so bad that God turns his back on his children. No matter what the circumstances or the events that have brought us to the place we are in God still speaks. Elijah might have had good reason for believing that God didn’t want to talk to him anymore. He had run from him, left his post and apparently failed in his ministry. He even hoped for his own death and had complained bitterly to God about the things that had happened to him. He was ministered to by an angel but hadn’t displayed any particular gratitude and had in fact needed to be told twice to get out of bed! Now here he was in a cave, wrapped up in himself with no definite plans in mind. But the voice of God came to him.

You may have got to a place in your life when you have just about given up. You have tried as hard as you know how to do what you think God wants, but now you have had enough, and so you have turned your back on him, run off into your own personal cave and hidden there. You may be tired, worn out, disillusioned, fed up, frustrated or whatever, you might believe your have been let down by your friends, colleagues and God and you have decided enough is enough you are just not going to do it anymore. If this describes you and you are sitting in a cave of your own making somewhere out of sight, then you had better open your ears because God is not done with you yet. Listen because the word of God will surely come to you.