1Kings 18:1 ¶ And it
came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah
in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain
upon the earth. 2 And Elijah went to
shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria. 3 And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the
governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly: 4 For it was so, when Jezebel cut off
the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them
by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) 5 And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land,
unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find
grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts.
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. 7 And as Obadiah was in
the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said,
Art thou that my lord Elijah? 8
And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is
here. 9 And he said, What have I
sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay
me? 10 As the LORD thy God
liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek
thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the
kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. 11 And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord,
Behold, Elijah is here. 12 And it
shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of
the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and
tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear
the LORD from my youth. 13 Was it not
told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid
an hundred men of the LORD’S prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with
bread and water? 14 And now thou sayest,
Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay me. 15 And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts
liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day. 16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him:
and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
Elias is Elijah transliterated from the Greek so please
read this passage in James’ letter.
James
5:17 Elias was a man subject to like
passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it
rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave
rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
The
understanding the Jews had gives us a more detailed reference to the length of
the drought God sent and Elijah prophesied. There is clearly a famine here
spoken of as a consequence of not having rain for so long.
The wicked
King Ahab sends the governor of his household, Obadiah, to scrounge up enough
grass to feed his horses and mules lest all perish. Presumably this would
involve seizing the needed food from the common man who would have no power
against such a seizure although the text doesn’t tell us that. Just my
extrapolation from the text and historical conditions.
Ahab and
Obadiah split up and their parties search the land and Obadiah runs into
Elijah. Obadiah doesn’t perceive this as a good thing when Elijah tells him to
go tell Ahab he is there. Obadiah is pretty sure Elijah will be sent or
transported somewhere else by the Spirit of God and since Ahab has probably
killed others who failed to find Elijah he will kill Obadiah. Ahab is a wicked,
wicked king. Elijah promises, though, that he will show himself to Ahab, thus
sparing Obadiah’s probable execution. Obadiah is an honorable man who has saved
God’s prophets from Jezebel’s cruel intentions.
1Kings 18:17 ¶ And it
came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he
that troubleth Israel? 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.
19 Now therefore send, and gather
to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and
fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s
table. 20 So Ahab sent unto all the
children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.
So Ahab
confronts Elijah and blames him for the drought. Elijah throws it right back on
Ahab for his and his family’s idolatry. Then, Elijah issues a challenge and
Ahab complies. 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets who served the groves
where pagan worship was held are called to Mount Carmel.
1Kings 18:21 ¶ And
Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two
opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then
follow him. And the people answered him not a word. 22 Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even
I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are four
hundred and fifty men. 23 Let them
therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves,
and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under:
and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under:
24 And call ye on the name of your gods,
and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire,
let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. 25 And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal,
Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are
many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. 26 And they took the bullock which was given
them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning
even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor
any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. 27 And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah
mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking,
or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth,
and must be awaked. 28 And they cried
aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the
blood gushed out upon them. 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. 30 And Elijah said unto all the people, Come
near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar
of the LORD that was broken down. 31
And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of
the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be
thy name: 32 And with the stones he
built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar,
as great as would contain two measures of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order, and cut the
bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels
with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. 34 And he said, Do it the second time.
And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third
time. And they did it the third time. 35
And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also
with water. 36 And it came to pass at the
time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the
prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it
be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am
thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. 37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people
may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned
their heart back again. 38 Then the fire
of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the
stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 And when all the people saw it,
they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the
LORD, he is the God. 40 And
Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.
And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew
them there.
Here in
one of the most powerful scenes of God’s power intruding into the so-called
natural world miraculously, it would seem, we have Elijah confronting the
prophets of Baal, challenging them, defeating them by showing the power of the
God he served, and then ordering their execution, mercilessly I might add. This
is a war between God and pagan idolatry among His chosen people, the nation of
Israel. God’s control over the “ natural world” is made apparent here and is
certainly worthy of prayer and contemplation. Unlike the spiritual warfare that
Christians fight the ancient Jewish prophets under the Law carried on a
physical fight simultaneously with the spiritual forces of their day.
2Corinthians
10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we
do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the
weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling
down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down
imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge
of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of
Christ;6 And having in a readiness to
revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
Beware of
anyone who wants to declare a crusade against unbelievers and take up arms
against them. This is not what we are called to do. You might do it for
political or social reasons but don’t use God as an excuse to justify your
homicidal fury. There are anti-Christian religio-political forces at odds with
us in our country today but these must be met with opposition at the ballot box
and in the courts, not by murder or civil war. Let it be said, though, when
combatting evil, that you and God are an overwhelming majority when confronting
any number of people steeped in false worship.
1Kings 18:41 ¶ And
Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound
of abundance of rain. 42 So Ahab went up
to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast
himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, 43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look
toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing.
And he said, Go again seven times. 44
And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there
ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up,
say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain
stop thee not. 45 And it came to pass in
the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a
great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. 46 And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and
he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
After this
massacre of the pagan prophets Elijah lets a probably shocked Ahab know that
rain is coming. Here is an example of the power of the Spirit of God and how it
can physically alter a person’s physical nature and capabilities. This could be
one of those hints at what a resurrected body will be like in eternity.
Elijah
outruns a chariot and horses. What about Samson’s great strength?
Judges 16:3
And Samson lay till midnight, and arose
at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and
went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried
them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.
What about
Jesus appearing in a closed room after His resurrection?
John 20:26
¶ And after eight days again his
disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being
shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
Or Philip
being transported miles away from where he stood with the Ethiopian eunuch?
Acts 8:39 And when they were come up out of the water,
the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and
he went on his way rejoicing. 40 But
Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities,
till he came to Caesarea.
I’m not saying I know something for sure here but
just raising the question based on these Bible passages and others. Are these
hints about what we will be able to do?
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