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1 Kings Chapter 18
Elijah Confronts Ahab
- 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.)
There is always one or two who do the
right things and stay faithful to God even in the midst of places
that have cruel people in power. There surely is a reward in Heaven
for people like Obadiah who strived to save the lives of the
innocent.
An evil woman was the first one in
Israel to try to cut off and kill those that stay faithful to the
real God and do not go along with the worship of idols or false
religious systems.
- 1Kings 18:5 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.
Why Obadiah was spared any persecution,
we don't know unless he was some prominent person that was
respected. Then too he may have kept quiet and not said much in
public about his faith perhaps so that he would be free to help the
prophets. There sometimes may be times to be quiet and other times
to speak up.
- 1Kings 18:7 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.
Obadiah wanted to do right but he was afraid
the Spirit of the Lord would catch up Elijah and hide him or take
him someplace else and Ahab would put Obadiah to death for lying or
hiding Elijah.
Obadiah was fearful for his own life
but yet wanted to help the prophets. He was normal in other words.
Most of us would think this way also. He wanted to help and obey God
but he wanted to be safe perhaps so he could continue to feed the
prophets that were hidden or perhaps he was just scared.
- 1Kings 18:15 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.
- 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.
This is getting to where Elijah proves
who the real God is. Will they then believe? I notice many times
that before God brings judgment, He gives people many chances to
know He is real, He is the creator and proves His existence so we
are without excuse when we forsake God to serve idols or in some
cases, become atheists that believe we all evolved from nothing.
The human body alone proves the
existence of God. Digestive systems, heart, lungs, kidneys, two
eyes, one nose and much more. The birth of a baby. Male and female,
with the female carrying a baby to term and another human being is
born. God is an awesome God.
Ahab asked if he were the one that
troubled Israel. He wanted to be the king with no opposition. Evil
leaders try to destroy any that oppose them. They try to blame them
for the trouble they themselves cause to take the public's eyes off
the one in charge and onto an innocent person instead. So to Ahab,
Elijah meant trouble. Ahab had no fear of God and considered Elijah
a threat to him.
Elijah was bold though and said that he
was not the one that troubled Israel but Ahab was the one that
brought all the evil of the drought and famine upon the land by
forsaking God and worshipping Baal. Elijah issues a challenge that
Ahab agrees to go along with at this time.
The Prophets of Baal Defeated
- 1Kings 18:20 So Ahab
sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets
together unto mount Carmel.
- 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.
I've always felt that being between two
opinions and not making up our minds was a miserable place to be in.
Once we've made up our minds, we can walk in it. Hopefully our minds
are made up to follow the true Lord forever. God is the way to go no
matter what. The other way brings destruction. Once we start
following God, we need determination and faith to go the course to
continue in and be steatfast in our decision. Jesus speaks of making
the right decision even if family disagrees with it. There are
religious people that will stop speaking or having fellowship with
their own children if they choose to follow Jesus instead of the
established religion the family is part of. I recently watched a
video of Arnold Fruchtenbaum of Ariel Ministries. He was Jewish who
thought Christians hated Jews until He began to read the New
Testament and found Jesus as Messiah. His father refused to speak to
him and made him leave his home.
- Luke 14:26 If
any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and
wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own
life also, he cannot be my disciple.
- 27 And whosoever
doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my
disciple.
- 28 For which of
you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and
counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
- 29 Lest haply,
after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it,
all that behold it begin to mock him,
- 30 Saying, This
man began to build, and was not able to finish.
The word hate here simply means that we
choose to follow God even if our family opposes us. We have to make
up our minds, He is first. It would be a sin to actually hate or
despise someone. It is love not hate when we choose to follow the
Lord over and above all other things in this life. Then we would
influence others to do the same, thereby possibly causing their
salvation in the long run.
-
1Kings 18:22 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.
Elijah makes sure everyone knows that
God is mightier than a large majority of the prophets of Baal. That
is why we should never follow the crowds but follow what is right.
Though none go with me, still I will follow, should be our motto when
it comes to following our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.
- 1Kings 18:23 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.
As long as they had no one to intervene
and have a way to start a fire without anyone seeing them, an idol
or false deity had no way to start any fire. In this modern age one
could have some sort of remote control device and start fires
electronicly but back then there would be no way to just call down
fire and it just come without the power of the real and living God.
In the latter days there will be one that comes on the scene and
does magic in order to deceive. So the people that are alive then
must go by the fruits of a person and what he or she teaches. Do
they want to control everyone or do they want to see people saved,
healed and do good? There is always a way to discern and know what
is good. We start by reading, praying and seeking the real God.
- 1Kings 18:27 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.
Here is the first clue of a false
deity. Our God would not want us to cut ourselves and harm ourselves
in this way to get His attention. He is a God of holiness and good.
He is out for our good, not our harm. Elijah mocks them as they
continue to try to get Baal to hear them. This is the way deceived
people get when they depart from God. This happens when we refuse to
retain God and His word in our knowledge and ignore His ways, doing
our own things.
This is what is happening today even in
countries that have a history of the knowledge of God but have
fallen away. We must never depart from the knowledge of God. Never.
The Supreme Court in the early 1960s in the United States didn't
know what they were doing.
- Romans 1:28 And
even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God
gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are
not convenient;
- 29 Being filled
with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness,
maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity;
whisperers,
- 30 Backbiters,
haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil
things, disobedient to parents,
- 31 Without
understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection,
implacable, unmerciful:
- 32 Who knowing
the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are
worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them
that do them.
The fall of many nations have come
about by departing from the teaching, exhorting and seeking the
knowledge of the true God, the creator of the Heavens and the earth.
We need Him back so bad in our country.
- 1Kings 18:29 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.
He was making sure that there was no
way a fire could burn the sacrifice without the supernatural power
of God. This was impossible without God intervening by His power.
- 1 Kings 18:36 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.
God did it. God sent the fire. He heard
the prayer of Elijah who alone stood before all these people. They
could have stoned him and killed him if God was not the real God.
God answered and in His mercy showed the people who He was, that He
was the creator, and the God who brought Israel out of Egypt into
the land of promise. God is God. They killed the prophets of Baal
because they deceived the people and caused them to sin against God
thereby losing their very souls for eternity. One man could not have
accomplished this on his own. God revealed to them all who was the
real God.
The Lord Sends Rain
- 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.
Elijah's postion here was a common
position of prayer and meditation. It seems as if Elijah was a man
of prayer constantly in order to be able to hear from the Lord
daily.
-
1 Kings 18:44 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.
Not all our prayers are instant. We
have to wait many times for the Lord's timing. This is like a trial
of faith. God sometimes does answer instantly especially in
emergency settings but sometimes we wait trusting Him and just
waiting. Elijah knew the rain was coming but not exactly when.
- 1 Kings 18:45 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.
Some believe Elijah ran before the king
to honor him but I kind of doubt that. It may be that the Lord
strengthened Elijah and he was able to out run the chariot of the
king to Jezreel or rejoice and honor God because of the rain. That
is my speculation. Whichever it was though the next chapter shows us
that Jezebel was not at all pleased with Elijah and threatened his
life. DC
1 Kings Chapter 19
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