- Eliyahu (Elijah) and the cave -
What are you doing here Brandon?
1Ki 19:9 And there he went into a cave and spent the night there. And see, the word of יהוה came to him, and said to him, “What are you doing here, Ěliyahu?”
1Ki 19:10 And he said, “I have been very jealous for יהוה Elohim of hosts, for the children of Yisra’ĕl have forsaken Your covenant. They have thrown down Your altars, and they have slain Your prophets with the sword, and I am left, I alone, and they seek my life, to take it.”
1Ki 19:11 And He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before יהוה.” And see, יהוה passed by, and a great and strong wind tearing the mountains and breaking the rocks in pieces before יהוה – יהוה was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake – יהוה was not in the earthquake,
1Ki 19:12 and after the earthquake a fire – יהוה was not in the fire, and after the fire a still small voice.
1Ki 19:13 And it came to be, when Ěliyahu heard it, that he wrapped his face in his robe and went out and stood at the cave opening. And see, a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Ěliyahu?”
1. Yahuah passed by with such a strong and mighty wind, that it tore into the mountains and broke the rocks apart.
a. Yahuah allows the winds (storms) of life to surround us in order to break down the walls surrounding our hearts of stone.
Eze 36:25 “And I shall sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean – from all your filthiness and from all your idols I cleanse you.
Eze 36:26 “And I shall give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. And I shall take the heart of stone out of your flesh, and I shall give you a heart of flesh,
Eze 36:27 and put My Spirit within you1. And I shall cause you to walk in My laws and guard My right-rulings and shall do them. Footnote: 1See 11:19-20, 37:6-14, 39:29.
Eze 36:28 “And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. And you shall be My people, and I shall be your Elohim.
2. After the walls of Jericho fall around our hearts (strongholds) then He sends earthquakes to shake (sift) everything that can be shaken so that which remains is UNSHAKABLE!
a. Yahuah will allow the earth to open up all around us and swallow up EVERYTHING that hinders our relationship with Him.
This includes areas of sin, whether they are obvious or concealed.
Heb 12:25 Take heed not to refuse the One speaking. For if those did not escape who refused the warning on earth, much less we who turn away from Him from heaven,
Heb 12:26 whose voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.”
Heb 12:27 And this, “Yet once more,” makes clear the removal of what is shaken – as having been made – so that the unshaken matters might remain.
Heb 12:28 Therefore, receiving an unshakeable reign, let us hold the favor, through which we serve Elohim pleasingly with reverence and awe,
Heb 12:29 for indeed, our Elohim is a consuming fire.
3. After we have weathered the storms (winds) and made our stand upon the Rock of our Salvation *Matthew 7:24-27* then He sends the Fire to refine us, purify us, and burn away all of our dross that remains.
Heb 12:18 For you have not drawn near to a mountain touched and scorched with fire, and to blackness, and darkness and storm,
Heb 12:19 and a sound of a trumpet, and a voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that no further Word should be spoken to them
Heb 12:29 for indeed, our Elohim is a consuming fire.
Do Not Grow Weary
Heb 12:3 For consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and faint in your lives.
Heb 12:4 You have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
Heb 12:5 And you have forgotten the appeal which speaks to you as to sons, “My son, do not despise the discipline of יהוה, nor faint when you are reproved by Him,
Heb 12:6 for whom יהוה loves, He disciplines, and flogs every son whom He receives.”1 Footnote: 1Prov. 3:11-12.
Heb 12:7 If you endure discipline, Elohim is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom a father does not discipline?
Heb 12:8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become sharers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.
Heb 12:9 Moreover, we indeed had fathers of our flesh disciplining us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?
Heb 12:10 For they indeed disciplined us for a few days as seemed best to them, but He does it for our profit, so that we might share His apartness.
Heb 12:11 And indeed, no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but grievous, but afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.1 Footnote: 1Dt. 8:2.
4. After the storms, earthquakes, and fire comes to break down our walls, shake the very foundation of our lives, and burn away our dross, then and only then are we ready to hear His Still Small Voice.
It is my personal opinion that Elijah was replaced because he failed to learn from the lessons that Yahuah was trying to teach him.
What are you doing here?
Was it someone else who put you in this cave?
Or was it your OWN behavior that brought you to this cave?
As a watchman, I have fallen into Elijah's snare of pride and self-righteousness before, where you get caught up in the snare of thinking that YOU are the only one who is truly doing Yahuah's work and everyone else has bowed the knee to Ba'al in some way form, shape, or fashion.
1Ki 19:9 And there he went into a cave and spent the night there. And see, the word of יהוה came to him, and said to him, “What are you doing here, Ěliyahu?”
1Ki 19:10 And he said, “I have been very jealous for יהוה Elohim of hosts, for the children of Yisra’ĕl have forsaken Your covenant. They have thrown down Your altars, and they have slain Your prophets with the sword, and I am left, I alone, and they seek my life, to take it.”
The three I's
I have been very jealous for Yahuah Elohim
I am left
I alone
But was Elijah really the only one left? No
Elijah in my opinion did not approach the storms (wind), earthquake, or the fiery furnace with the right attitude and that's why he responded with the exact same excuse as before.
What are you doing here Elijah?
1Ki 19:14 And he said, “I have been very jealous for יהוה Elohim of hosts, for the children of Yisra’ĕl have forsaken Your covenant. They have thrown down Your altars, and they have slain Your prophets with the sword, and I am left, I alone, and they seek my life, to take it.”
What are you doing here Elijah?
