A Quiet Moment with Elijah

...and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 

 - From 1 Kings 9

And so we have what could possible have been Elijah's experience with God, that intersected with the Transfiguration. 

We have a scene that is similar to the Transfiguration of Christ. A great wind, an earthquake, and then a fire. Elements of the end of time and the Return of Christ. But the Lord was in none of it. Immediately following all of it, everything got quiet. And finally the Lord spoke to Elijah, and gave him some answers. 

Elijah was in an intense encounter with the Lord. He was on a mountain . . . he was hiding out, but God sought him. 

Elijah's role was similar to that of Moses. Moses handed the Law down to the people. Elijah represented the prophets: he was the great prophet pronouncing judgment upon Israel and Judah.

The closing scene of the Transfiguration was Jesus sitting, quietly, when a voice comes from out of the clouds: "This is my Son." And the closing scene here, was "the sound of sheer silence." Or, the sound of no sound at all. A lot of people have a ringing in their ears: tinnitus. Most people cannot sit still in the silence. They have to fidget, or make some little stir, to break up the silence. And even then, there is often something in the distance - a breeze, an animal, a far-off brook. But here with Elijah . . . there was nothing. 

Maybe it was like the silence before God created. God shows His splendor and power to Elijah (to Moses, to Peter, John and James) . . . but finishes with silence. Because it's not about the show. It's not about the pageantry. We don't have to have our senses constantly stimulated. 

God brings it down to silence, to nothing . . . so that all that is left is Him and me,  or you. And then He can do something. Then, He tells us what we've really been needing to hear. 

Just like the Transfiguration.