And after the earthquake — sheer silence

Some years ago, I published an article in the Scandinavian Journal of Old Testament Theology. My specialty is the New Testament, and I hardly expected my submission to be accepted, but it was. The title of my article was "Revisiting Elijah at Horeb." The most muscular messenger of the spirit in the Old Testament was at the receiving end of divine pedagogy the like of which is rarely seen.

"Fire—but God was not in the fire." "Storm—but God was not in the storm." "Earthquake—but God was not in the earthquake." And then "a still, small voice," or, as one translation puts it, "sheer silence." Low decibel communication puts the hearing apparatus to the test, but this is what happens to Elijah. How does such "silence" communicate in our age of 24/7 noise?