Dr Paul Allen

Elijah’s flight to Mount Horeb begins in desperation—threatened by Jezebel, he abandons his servant and ventures into the wilderness, eventually collapsing beneath a broom bush where he begs God to end his life. (1 Kings 19:1–21) An angel sustains him with food and water twice, strengthening him for a forty-day journey to the mountain of God. (1 Kings 19:1–21) At Horeb, God confronts Elijah with a question about his presence there, and Elijah responds with a litany of grievances—the covenant abandoned, altars destroyed, prophets murdered, and himself alone and hunted. (1 Kings 19:9–13)  Rather than dismissing these complaints, God instructs Elijah to stand on the mountain as the divine presence passes by, beginning with a violent wind that tears mountains and shatters rocks. (1 Kings 19:9–13) Yet the Lord inhabits none of these displays—not the earthquake that follows, not the fire, but instead a gentle whisper. (1 Kings 19:9–13) The sequence carries profound theological weight. El...

English: Moses striking the rock (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb ; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink . And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.” ( Exodus 17:6 ) This amazing provision of drinking water for the Israelites in the midst of a barren wilderness is surely one of the most remarkable miracles of creation recorded in Scripture. Furthermore, it was not a one-time event but somehow continued to provide water for them during the entire 40 years they spent in the desert. God provided daily water just as He provided their daily bread. “Our fathers . . . did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ ” ( 1 Corinthians 10:1 , 3-4). The provision was an act of pure grace on God’s part, for even after God created the manna for them,...

Matthew 17:1–8 “He was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light” (v. 2). The Holy Spirit enabled Peter to confess Jesus as the Messiah , but this is not the only revelation the apostle received while he and the other disciples traveled with Christ in and around Caesarea Philippi . As this passage indicates, Peter, along with James and John, was privileged to witness our Lord’s transfigured glory only days after Peter’s great confession (Matt. 16:13– 17:8). As background to the transfiguration, we must consider the many theophanies recorded in sacred Scripture. Our English term theophany finds its roots in the Greek word for “God” (theos) and the Greek verb “to appear” (phainein); thus, we can see that theophany basically means “an appearance of God.” Theophanies were visible manifestations of the Creator and were usually granted to central figures in the Almighty’s redemptive plan. We can think, for example, of God’s appearan...

"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; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice."   1 Kings 19:11-12 After the great victory against the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel , Elijah cowered before Jezebel 's threat and fled to Mt. Horeb , hiding in a cave . God came to him and asked, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" Elijah then boasted about himself, how bad the people were, bemoaned that he was Image via Wikipedia  the only one left, and they were seeking his life. God told Elijah to go outside the cave where he was given a real show: a tornado-like wind ripping up the mountain, an earthquake, a fire.  But after each, a strange comment was made: "but the Lord was not in the wind... o...