What he said we are not told; but, 1. 18During the third year without rain, the Lord spoke his word to Elijah: Go and meet King Ahab, and I will soon send rain. 2So Elijah went to meet Ahab. He mentions this, not in pride or ostentation, but to convince Elijah that though he was Ahab's servant he was not in his interest, and therefore deserved not to be bantered as one of the tools of his persecution. It is an instance of the courage of Elijah that he durst stand alone in the cause of God against such powers and numbers; and the issue encourages all God's witnesses and advocates never to fear the face of man. He tells Elijah what great search Ahab had made for him and how much his heart was upon it to find him out, 1 Kings 18:10; 1 Kings 18:10. Thither all Israel must come, to give Elijah the meeting; and the prophets of Baal who were dispersed all the country over, with those of the groves who were Jezebel's domestic chaplains, must there make their personal appearance. He could not bring them to the altar at Jerusalem unless he could unite the two kingdoms again (which, for correction to both, God designed should not now be done), therefore, by his prophetic authority, he builds an altar on Mount Carmel, and so owns that which had formerly been built there. The God who answered by fire, igniting the sacrifice on the altar, was the true God. [4.] Jesus knew all about gods such as Baal. Elijah first surrendered, or rather discovered, himself to Obadiah. The Baalites are forced to give up their cause, and now it is Elijah's turn to produce his. The service of God and the service of sin, the dominion of Christ and the dominion of our lusts, these are the two thoughts which it is dangerous halting between. He addressed himself to God as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, acting faith on God's ancient covenant, and reminding people too (for prayer may prevail) of their relation both to God and to the patriarchs. Ahab, like himself, basely accused Elijah. Indeed, giving back to God and to his people is part of our DNA, a sign of our family resemblance to our generous Creator. The priests of Baal would pray to their god, and Elijah would pray to his God. 27At noon Elijah began to make fun of them. Twelve barrels of water (probably sea-water, for the sea was near, and so much fresh water in this time of drought was too precious for him to be so prodigal of it), thrice four, he poured upon his sacrifice, to prevent the suspicion of any fire under (for, if there had been any, this would have put it out), and to make the expected miracle the more illustrious. The long drought was over, and it was demonstrated that the prayers of Elijah both withheld the rain and then subsequently brought the rain. They danced around the altar they had built. All rights reserved. It is said that Baal was the son of a god called el. Once we remember that the Jews saw idolatry as the ultimate sin that put one outside the community of faith, we can hear the full force of Pauls words. Observe his character: He feared the Lord greatly (1 Kings 18:3; 1 Kings 18:3), was not only a good man, but zealously and eminently good; his great place put a lustre upon his goodness, and gave him great opportunities of doing good; and he feared the Lord from his youth (1 Kings 18:12; 1 Kings 18:12), he began betimes to be religious and had continued long. 29The afternoon passed, and the prophets continued to act like this until it was time for the evening sacrifice. He ordered abundance of water to be poured upon his altar, which he had prepared a trench for the reception of (1 Kings 18:32; 1 Kings 18:32), and, some think, made the altar hollow. 21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? King Ahab sent for Obadiah, who was in charge of the king's palace. But, since Ahab invites him not to ride with him, he will run before him (1 Kings 18:46; 1 Kings 18:46) as one of his footmen, that he may not seem to be lifted up with the great honour God had put upon him or to abate in his civil respect to his prince, though he reproved him faithfully. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly: 4 For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) He withdrew to a strange place, to the top of Carmel, which was very high and very private. So Elijah issued a challenge. And he said, Go again seven times. 1 Kings 18:40. In the book of Acts, we read a most interesting and revealing number. Go tell your master that I am here., 9Then Obadiah said, What wrong have I done for you to hand me over to Ahab like this? Then he said, Do it a third time, and they did it the third time. His new conquest will be lost if he do not look about him quickly." Click on the different category headings to find out more. 14Now you want me to go and tell my master you are here? Copyright 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. Has the book of Amos been fulfilled or is it a reference to end times? (2.) And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. V. The return of the mercy of rain, at the word of Elijah, 1 Kings . We may request cookies to be set on your device. Deuteronomy 14:1 Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. 4. For less than $5/mo. a. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. 46The Lord gave his power to Elijah, who tightened his clothes around him and ran ahead of King Ahab all the way to Jezreel. The prophets may have hoped that their actions would bring rain and end the drought. (4.) But humans cannot serve two kings. When we cannot carry a reformation so far as we would we must do what we can, and rather comply with some corruptions than not do our utmost towards the extirpation of Baal. The sad state of Israel at this time, upon two accounts:--. Idolatry is an economic issue. It also dried up the water in the ditch. 9 And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? 2. 36At the time for the evening sacrifice, the prophet Elijah went near the altar. V. The return of the mercy of rain, at the word of Elijah, 1 Kings 18:41-46. Clarify And now, 1. Wasnt killing too severe a punishment for the prophets of Baal? We left the prophet Elijah wrapt up in obscurity. The Lord preserved Elijah's life for a reason. [2.] (2.) 29 And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. In Pauls opinion, love of money wounds the worshiper, woos them away from the faith, and wells up in all sorts of other evils. It is a chapter in which are many things very observable. Trust ye not in lying words, saying . (Obadiah was a true follower of the Lord. I. It should seem, he made this diligent search for him, not so much that he might punish him for what he had done in denouncing the judgment as that he might oblige him to undo it again, by recalling the sentence, because he had said it should be according to his word, having such an opinion of him as men foolishly conceive of witches (that, if they can but compel them to bless that which they have bewitched, it will be well again), or such as the king of Moab had of Balaam. 18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim. The god who answers by setting fire to his wood is the true God.. He sent his prophet Elijah to tell Israel to stop limping between two different opinions (1 Kings 18:21 ESV). 25Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, There are many of you, so you go first. Log in, Barton W. Stone: The Preachers Are Working While the People Are Gazing, Thoughts on the Asbury Revival (02.23.23), The Serious Sin of Proselytism (02.16.23), Christians Becoming a Minority Group in America (02.02.23), Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. (2.) He thought Elijah was not in good earnest when he bade him tell Ahab where he was, but intended only to expose the impotency of his malice; for he knew Ahab was not worthy to receive any kindness from the prophet and it was not fit that the prophet should receive any mischief from him. Obadiah begs to be excused from carrying this message to Ahab, for it might prove as much as his life was worth. God immediately answered him by fire, 1 Kings 18:38; 1 Kings 18:38. Show these people that you commanded me to do all these things. A fight to the finish. You and your fathers family have made all this trouble by not obeying the Lords commands. God, at length, ordered Elijah to present himself to Ahab, because the time had now come when he would send rain upon the earth (1 Kings 18:1; 1 Kings 18:1), or rather upon the land. Thats why Jesus warned his followers to watch out for all kinds of greed (see Luke 12:15). 3:24). God demands no more from us than he can make out a title to. (1.) ), St. Joseph New Catholic Version New Testament. If we, in sincerity, offer our hearts to God, he will, by his grace, kindle a holy fire in them. 19Now tell all Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel. Even on Baals home turf, people starved while waiting for Baal to bring his promised abundance. So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. All these parables point in the same direction: money wants our worship. When Jezebel was killing the Lords prophets, I hid a hundred of them, fifty in one cave and fifty in another. He that will thrive must rise betimes. 6 So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. to please their deity, as Herodias did Herod, and so to obtain their request. Now Elijah shows them the absurdity of this. 25:3146). Rain is the river of God,Psalms 65:9. There he spoke with us. He bids Obadiah go and tell the king that he is there to speak with him: Tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is forth-coming, 1 Kings 18:8; 1 Kings 18:8. The edification of the people: "That they may know that thou art the Lord, and may experience thy grace, turning their heart, by this miracle, as a means, back again to thee, in order to thy return in a way of mercy to them.". The steps taken towards redressing the grievance, by Elijah's appearing again upon the stage, to act as a Tishbite, a converter or reformer of Israel, for so (some think) that title of his signifies. God never required his worshippers thus to honour him; but the service of the devil, though in some instances it pleases and pampers the body, yet in other things it is really cruel to it, as in envy and drunkenness. You can check these in your browser security settings. No one who was present that day missed the point. 45After a short time the sky was covered with dark clouds. He put himself into a strange posture. Yahweh would have none of it. When they saw the fire consume both the burnt offering and the entire altar, they answered, " The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God " (1 Kings 18:39). Such living falls far short of the life Jesus invites us to experience. Used by permission of Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group. 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