Jehovah Reveals His Power To His Servants

On several occasions, Jehovah manifested his might to his servants. One of such occasions was at Mount Sinai in 1513 B.C.E. During that year the Israelites had already seen impressive evidence of God's power. Ten devastating plagues had revealed the strong hands of Jehovah and the impotence of Egyptian gods. Soon thereafter, the miraculous crossing of he Red Sea and the destruction of Pharaoh's army gave further proof of divine strength. Three months later, at the foot of Mount Sinai, Jehovah invited the Israelites to become his "special property out of all other peoples." For their part, they promised: "All that Jehovah has spoken we are willing to do." (Exodus 19:5, 8) Then, Jehovah provided a vivid demonstration of his power. Amid thunder and lightning and the loud sound of a horn, Mount Sinai smoked and trembled. The people, standing at a distance, were terrified. But Moses told them that this experience should teach them godly fear, a fear that would move them to obey their all-powerful and only true God, Jehovah.- Exodus 19:16-19; 20:18-20.

Several centuries later, during the time of Elijah, Mount Sinai witnessed another display of divine power. The prophet had already seen God's power at work. For three and a half years, God "shut up the heavens" because of the apostasy of the Israelite nation. (2 Chronicles 7:13) During the resulting drought, ravens fed Elijah in the torrent valley of Cherith, and later a widow's meager supply of flour and oil was miraculously extended to provide him with food. Jehovah even empowered Elijah to resurrect this widow's son. Finally, in a dramatic test of Godship on Mount Carmel, fire came down from heaven and consumed Elijah's sacrifice. (1 Kings 17:4-24; 18:36-40) Nevertheless, soon thereafter, Elijah became afraid and discouraged when Jezebel threatened to kill him. (1 Kings 19:1-4) He fled the country, thinking that his work as a prophet was over. To reassure and strengthen him, Jehovah kindly gave him a personal demonstration of divine power.

While Elijah hid in a cave, he saw an awe-inspiring exhibition of three of the forces that Jehovah controls: a strong wind, an earthquake and finally a fire. However, when Jehovah spoke to Elijah, he did so in "a calm, low voice." He assigned him more work to do and informed him that there were still 7,000 faithful worshipers of Jehovah in the land. (1 Kings 19:9-18) If, like Elijah, we ever feel discouraged at the lack of results in our ministry, we can petition Jehovah for "power beyond what is normal" -a power that can strengthen us to continue preaching the good news, without letup. -2 Corinthians 4:7.

Next time: Jehovah's Power Guarantees The Fulfillment Of His Promises

Awake! 2000