Why did Elijah cover his face with his robe when God was talking to him?
1 Kings 19:13
ESV - 13 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?
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Asked February 11 2017
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Tracey Harvey
Supporter
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Tim Maas
Supporter
In my opinion, this action on the part of Elijah was done as a gesture of both respect and fear as a result of being in God's presence (in the form of the "still, small voice" that Elijah heard), similar to Moses in Exodus 3:6, when he hid his face after God had identified Himself when appearing to him in the burning bush, because Moses was afraid to look upon God (an incident of which Elijah would have been aware). (As God had also told Moses, "You cannot see My face, for man shall not see Me and live."(Exodus 33:20).)
Also, Elijah may have been afraid to face God after having fled from Jezebel (the wife of Ahab, king of Israel) when she threatened to kill him, after Elijah had killed all the false prophets of Baal following the contest between God and Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:19-19:3). (God's words to Elijah in 1 Kings 19:13 ("What are you doing here, Elijah?") seem to have been a form of reproof for this.)
tom TOm
Supporter
Elijah covered his face when he heard the still small voice because he felt the presence of God in that still small voice. The covering of the cloak is a demonstration of one's acknowledgement of the presence of God. He did not cover his face in the earlier phenomena even when they were visually impactful because God was not there. The presence of God was not in those visually impactful shows. God was in that still small voice. Elijah felt the presence of God when he heard that.
John McCain
Supporter
My opinion is that He was fully aware of the presence of the Father and the example of Moses whom God covered with His hand to avoid viewing the glory that would have put him to death.
Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
Good question, Tracey! Keep them coming! "...Yahweh declared that viewing His face would result in death (Exod 33:20–23 → 20 But,” he said, 'you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." 21 Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back, but my face must not be seen.”. --Faithlife Study Bible
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