Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.” So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.
Now the famine was severe in Samaria, and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his palace administrator. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the Lord. While Jezebel was killing off the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.) Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals.” So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another.
As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, “Is it really you, my lord Elijah?”
“Yes,” he replied. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”
“What have I done wrong,” asked Obadiah, “that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death? As surely as the Lord your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you. But now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ I don’t know where the Spirit of the Lord may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the Lord since my youth. Haven’t you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord? I hid a hundred of the Lord’s prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water. And now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ He will kill me!”
Elijah said, “As the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today.”
So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
“I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.
Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”
Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”
Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
“Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”
Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.
And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.
“Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.
“There is nothing there,” he said.
Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”
The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”
So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”
Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

• 1 Kings 18:1-46

Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”
Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.
All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night.
And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.”
“Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?”
So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.

• 1 Kings 19:1-21

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

1 Kings 18:3-4 ‘God’s witnesses in inhospitable places’: “God will never leave himself without witnesses in this world, even in the worst places of the world. What a horrible abode Ahab’s court must have been for a believer! If there had been no sinner there but that woman, Jezebel, she was enough to make the palace a sinkhole of iniquity. Yet in that court where Jezebel was mistress, the chamberlain was a man who greatly feared God. We should never be surprised to meet with a believer anywhere. Grace can live where we would never expect to see it survive for an hour. Joseph feared God in the court of Pharaoh. Daniel was a trusted counselor of Nebuchadnezzar. Mordecai waited at the gate of Ahasuerus, and there were saints in Caesar’s household. Think of finding diamonds on such a dunghill as Nero’s palace. Those who feared God in Rome were not only Christians, but they were examples to all other Christians for their brotherly love and generosity. Surely there is no place without some light of God-the darkest cavern of iniquity has its torch. “

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

1 Kings 18:3 ‘Obadiah’: ”His name means ‘servant of the LORD.’ He was the manager of Ahab’s royal palace and a devout worshiper of the Lord, who had demonstrated his devotion to the Lord by protecting 100 of the Lord’s prophets from death by Jezebel (vv. 4, 13) which had put him on tenuous ground with Ahab.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

1 Kings 18:19 ‘Carmel’: “The Carmel range of mountains, rising to 1,800 ft. at its highest point, extends about 30 mi. to the SE from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea into the S of the Jezreel Valley. A series of rounded peaks and valleys, it became a symbol of beauty and fruitfulness because of its lush tree cover (Song 7:5; Is. 35:2). It is not known at exactly what point along this ridge the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal took place. The queen cared for 850 false prophets who were associated with her.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

1 Kings 18:21 ‘God and no other’: “It was a day to be remembered when the multitudes of Israel were assembled at the foot of Carmel and when the solitary prophet of the Lord came forth to defy the 450 priests of the false god. We have on that hill of Carmel and along the plain three kinds of persons. We have first the devoted servant of Jehovah, a solitary prophet. We have, on the other hand, the decided servants of the evil one, the 450 prophets of Baal. But the vast mass of that day belonged to a third class­ those who had not determined whether to fully worship Jehovah, the God of their fathers, or Baal, the god of Jezebel. Their ancient traditions led them to fear Jehovah, but their interest at court led them to bow before Baal. Many of them were secret and halfhearted followers of Jehovah while they were the public worshipers of Baal. Elijah’s discourse was directed to this third group. Most of the people who were before him thought Jehovah was God and Baal was God, too. For this reason the worship of both was consistent. ‘I will build in my house,’ said one of them, ‘an altar for Jehovah here and an altar for Baal there. I am of one opinion; I believe them both to be God.’ ‘No, no,’ said Elijah, ‘it cannot be so! They are two and must be two.’ Many today say, ‘I am worldly but I am religious, too!’ It can’t be done; they are distinct and separate. If God is God, serve him and do it thoroughly. But if this world is god, serve it and make no profession of religion. ‘No one can serve two masters’ (Mt 6:24). How many respectable churchgoers think they can be covetous and grasping in business and grind the faces of the poor and yet be saints. How many women received into church fellowship are found to be full of wrath and bitterness-slaves of mischief and of sin-slanderers and busybodies. If we make a profession to be a Christian, we must be one! But if we are not Christian, we must not pretend to be. If we love the world, then let’s love it, but let’s cast off the mask and not be hypocrites. The double-minded person, who wears two faces, is the most despicable because he is not honest enough to go through with what he professes.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

1 Kings 18:27 ‘Judgment against Baal’: “In chapter 18, we come to the judgment against Baal as the two opposing religious philosophies in Israel come to a climactic clash on Mount Carmel. Here Elijah challenges four hundred priests of Baal to a contest to determine which deity has the power to send down fire from heaven. In a remarkable scene, Elijah taunts the idolatrous priests as they slash their flesh and cry out to their god. ‘ “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened”’ (1 Kings 18:27).
“When the pagan priests have exhausted themselves to no avail, Elijah rolls up his sleeves and goes to work. He repairs the altar of the Lord, which has fallen into disrepair. Then he orders four large jars of water to be poured over the bull and the wood upon the altar. He intends to make sure that the demonstration of God’s power is not just spectacular but nothing less than astonishing. Then he calls upon God, and God sends down a fire so intense that it not only consumes the sacrifice but the water and the stones of the altar! Once judgment is exercised, the heavens open again and rain pours down upon the land.
“This is a picture of what happens in the life of anyone who resists God’s rightful rule. In what has been termed God’s ‘severe mercy,’ He brings us under His chastening until our stubbornness is broken and we are humbled at last before Him. Then the rain of God’s grace can pour once again upon our hearts, bringing good fruit and sweet blessing once more.”

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

1 Kings 18:28 ‘the blood gushed out’: ”Self-laceration was practiced to rouse a god’s pity and response in the ancient world, but was prohibited by the OT law (Lev. 19:28; Deut. 14:1).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

1 Kings 18:31 ‘twelve stones’: “The 12 stones represented the 12 tribes, since this contest had significance for both Judah and Israel. Although the tribes had been divided into two nations, they were still one people in the Lord’s plans, with the same covenants and a single destiny.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

1 Kings 18:36 ‘Elijah knew what he was doing’: “We might question what right the prophet had to restrain the clouds or to put God’s honor to the test. Suppose the Lord had not willed to answer him by fire? Had he any right to make the God’s glory hang on such terms as he proposed? The answer is that he had done all these things according to God’s word. It was no whim of his to chastise the nation with a drought. It was no scheme of his, concocted in his own brain, that he should put the Godhead of Jehovah or of Baal to the test by a sacrifice to be consumed by miraculous fire. Whenever he takes a step, it is preceded by the Lord’s word. He never acts by himself; God is at his back. He moves according to the divine will and speaks according to the divine teaching. Elijah’s character stands out not as an example of reckless daring but as the example of a man of sound mind. Faith in God is true wisdom, the highest form of common sense. To believe the one who cannot lie and trust the one who cannot fail is a kind of wisdom that only fools laugh at. An ambassador never dreams that his authorized acts will be repudiated by his king. If someone acts as our agent and does our bidding, the responsibility for his acts lies with us, and we must back him up. If we will only trust the Lord so as to do what he says, he will never fail us, and he will see us through, though earth and hell should stand in the way. “

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

1 Kings 18:40 ‘Jezebel had ordered the killing of prophets’: “Elijah may be called the Iron Prophet; he was a stern and brave man who did not flinch to deliver his Master’s message at all hazards. The Sidonian queen, Jezebel, had issued her mandate that the prophets of Jehovah should be slain, a mandate which was all too well obeyed. No one could stand before this tigress until Elijah came and dared her malice to do its worst. That lone man, of heroic soul, stemmed the fearful torrent of idolatry and, like a rock in midcurrent, firmly stood his ground. He was more than a match for all the priests of the palace and the groves, even as one lion scatters a flock of sheep. He had proved the prophets of Baal to be liars and pretenders and then went on to the natural conclusion. The law of Israel was, ‘That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has urged rebellion against the LORD your God … to turn you from the way the LORD your God has commanded you to walk’ (Dt 13:5).Therefore, the case being proven before all men, Elijah commanded the people to seize the impostors, and he himself purpled the Wadi Kishon with their blood. The man did his Master’s will thoroughly, never dreaming qt compromise. Perhaps for this reason he, with but one other born of woman, ascend­ ed to heaven by an unusual road. The God who made him so grandly faithful had determined that he who passed through the world differently from others should pass out of it differently, and he who had in life flamed like a seraph should in a chariot of fire be carried to his reward.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon illustrations

1 Kings 18:42 ‘bowed down’: “Elijah’s actions expressed his and Israel’s humble submission to God. Elijah prayed for rain this time (cf. 17:1; James 5:17), and God again answered (cf. James 5:18). Since the Lord’s curse was lifted, the rains would be coming.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

1 Kings 18:46 ‘ran ahead’: “It was customary in the ancient Near East for kings to have runners before their chariots. The prophet showed Ahab his loyalty by rendering to him that service. Empowered by God, Elijah ran on foot ahead of Ahab’s chariot the 15 to 25 mi. from Mt. Carmel to Jezreel.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

1 Kings 19:4 ‘How could Elijah be depressed?’: “When we read the Scriptures in our youth, we are often astonished at the peculiar conditions in which we find even good people. It is difficult for us to understand why David could be in such distress and why such a man as Elijah could be so dreadfully depressed. As we get older, and as trials multiply around us, we can better understand why God allowed his ancient servants to be put into such peculiar situations, for we find ourselves in similar places. We might wonder why Elijah should get under a broom tree. We can understand his attitude on Mount Carmel and comprehend his slaughtering the prophets of Baal, but we ask in perplexity, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah, under a broom tree, or away there in a cave on the hillside?’(see 19:9). But when we get under the broom tree ourselves, we are glad to recall the fact that Elijah once sat there. And when we are hiding away in the cave, it is a source of comfort to us to remember that such a man as this great prophet of Israel was there before us. He, too, could grow weary of his appointed service and ask to be allowed to die. The best of people are but people at the best. He was one whose spirit could be depressed even to the uttermost, just as the spirit of any one or’ us might be. He failed, as all God’s people have done. I scarcely know of any exception in all the biographies of the Old or New Testament. It is some comfort to us when we see that we are not the only persons who have failed through the infirmity of the flesh. I do not hold up Elijah’s passions as any excuse for us to indulge them, but if any are almost driven to despair because such passions have overcome them, let them shake off that despair. Nobody doubts that Elijah was a child of God. God loved him even when he sat trembling under the broom tree.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

1 Kings 19:8 ‘forty days’: “Elijah’s trip took over double the time it should have taken. Therefore, the period had symbolic meaning as well as showing literal time. As the people of Israel had a notable spiritual failure and so wandered 40 years in the wilderness (Num. 14:26–35), so a discouraged Elijah was to spend 40 days in the desert. As Moses had spent 40 days on the mountain without bread and water, sustained only by God as he awaited a new phase of service (Ex. 34:28), so Elijah was to spend 40 days depending on God’s enablement as he prepared for a new commission from the Lord. As Moses had seen the presence of God (Ex. 33:12–23), so Elijah experienced a manifestation of God. Horeb. An alternate name for Mt. Sinai, located about 200 mi. S of Beersheba.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

1 Kings 19:10 ‘Leaving the Party Behind’: “There Elijah sat. The poor prophet felt oppressed. Things were on a definite downturn for him. He was wallowing in self-pity. We’ve all been there. Maybe several times, maybe recently.
“No?
“Weren’t you walking around recently in a daze with an expression on your face revealing a definite lack of joy in your heart? Someone you love had said something to you that broke your heart. Or perhaps you were the one who felt that because of a misfortune or a rotten childhood, the world owed you something. Elijah would have taken a break if the Lord had offered one. Well, you’d both be waiting for a long time for that to happen.
“Or perhaps a member of your family who followed her heart has found that the grass is not as green as she expected and you are getting an earful. Tough luck or wrong choice, huh? Maybe neither. Have you or those you love considered that God may have you planted exactly where He intended for you to be, but the rain and wind are blowing so hard you can’t see His bigger picture at the moment? Yet you haven’t turned on the wipers or decided to pick yourself up and throw yourself back into the fray. Instead you’ve quit and created your own little pity party while the opportunity He has given you passes from the scene and is forever wasted.
“My suggestion is that you take the advice others have given me through the years-get over it and be the person God intended for you to be. Step out of the self-centered focus that Elijah was swirling in, to one that perhaps, just perhaps, can help change the world around you.”

• Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker, Uncommon Life – Daily Challenge (excerpt from devotion for 11 December)

1 Kings 19:11-12 ‘Sound Advice in a Noisy World’: ” No matter how many friends you have, you probably only turn to a few when you need advice. Number one on my list of confidants is my bride, Lauren. She has been a voice of encouragement, love, character, and godly wisdom as long as I’ve known her. And I have a few other voices of wisdom in my life as well-friends I can count on to give me honest feedback and sound advice when I need it. …
“Learn to tune in to the quiet voices that consistently speak truth to you. First and foremost, that’s God. Practice hearing His gentle whisper. But also listen to the counsel of those you trust: your spouse, your parents and other family members, your close friends. These people know you well, they have been with you in the valleys and on the mountaintops, and unlike many other voices, they want what’s best for you. “

• Tony Dungy, Uncommon Life – Daily Challenge (excerpt from devotion for 13 June)

1 Kings 19:11 ‘The Lord passed by’: “The 3 phenomena, wind, earthquake, and fire, announced the imminent arrival of the Lord (cf. Ex. 19:16–19; Ps. 18:7–15; Hab. 3:3–6). The Lord’s self-revelation to Elijah came in a faint, whispering voice (v. 12). The lesson for Elijah was that Almighty God was quietly, sometimes imperceptibly, doing His work in Israel (v. 18).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

1 Kings 19:12 ‘’: “God here teaches Elijah that although he does use the wind, the earthquake, and the fire when he pleases, these are not his most effective instruments. He does not do his mightiest works by them but in another way-by a soft voice. Thus the Lord practically said to Elijah, ‘Gentler means must be tried with these rebellious people. My glory will be promoted among them by other methods than you have as yet used, or than I have used by you as my servant. I have let them see that I am Lord and Master of the terrible forces of nature. I have convinced them that I am a great God who can strike them as much as I please, but I have not thereby won their hearts-other methods must be used. The soft voice must be tried. ‘To all of us who preach the Word, or who try to teach it in any way, God seems to say; ‘Do not trust in great displays of force, in tremendous demonstrations of power; trust rather in the soft influences of the distilling dew of God’s Spirit and the gentle rain of the gospel. Preach the Word to the sons and daughters of Adam.” A temptation assails all of us who preach to want to do some great thing. We fancy that if we could preach such a famous sermon as Jonathan Edwards delivered when he spoke of sinners in the hands of an angry God, then we should have lived to some purpose. But the preaching of Jesus Christ and him crucified never loses its power. The telling over and over again of ‘the old, old story of Jesus and his Jove’ never becomes a mere repetition if with warm heart and loving spirit we still cry to our hearers, ‘Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ (Jn 1:29). There may be no excitement in our congregation; no sensation may be created by our preaching. But the Lord will be in it. He always has been in such preaching as that, and he always will be.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

1 Kings 19:19 ‘Elisha’: “This name means ‘my God is salvation’ and belonged to Elisha, the successor to Elijah (see 2 Kin. 2:9–15). Shaphat. Elisha’s father, whose name meant ‘he judges.’ twelve yoke of oxen. It was a common practice for several teams of oxen, each with his own plow and driver, to work together in a row. After letting the others pass, Elijah threw his mantle around the last man, Elisha, thus designating him as his successor.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

1 Kings 19:21 ‘slaughtered’: “The slaughter of the oxen was a farewell feast for family and friends, indicating that Elisha was making a decisive break. He followed Elijah and became his servant (lit. ‘aide,’ the same term used for Joshua’s relationship with Moses in Ex. 24:13; 33:11). Just as Elijah resembled Moses, so Elisha resembled Joshua.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

My Thoughts

Elijah was told by the Lord to go to Ahab.  Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, wanted Elijah dead.  Meanwhile, Ahab sent Obadiah, head of the palace, to find water anywhere in Samaria.  Otherwise, the horses may need to be killed for lack of grass to feed the animals.  Obadiah was a believer.  He had spared one hundred prophets of the Lord hiding them in two different caves, fifty in each.  Then Obadiah bumped into Elijah while on a quest for a few blades of grass.  Obadiah thought that he was as good as dead for even meeting Elijah.  Elijah wanted Obadiah to tell Ahab that he might not have found water, but he found Elijah.  Obadiah did not want to do that, but Elijah was insistent.  Elijah followed Obadiah into the kings presence.  Ahab called him a troubler of Israel.  Elijah put the record straight.  Ahab had troubled Israel by worshipping Baal.  Elijah set up a wager of sorts: Elijah versus 450 prophets of Baal.

This meeting of Elijah and Obadiah reminds me of when I worked for a tyrannical boss.  We discussed with each other each morning as to who would go to the boss to see what the day would be like.  The boss might be in a decent mood, not friendly, but not hostile.  He might get in a minor snit and tell the person to get lost.  Or he might start throwing things, screaming, threatening to fire the entire group, etc.  Usually, the programmer on the team got the short straw, but that was not fair in that the boss never got horribly violent with him.  It was not a good test.  For the times that I drew the short straw, I can identify with Obadiah.  This was the boss that put his hands around my throat and started choking me, asking me questions, and a big boss told him to loosen the grip.  I needed to breathe to be able to answer the questions.  I was nearly murdered because I made a sale, but $5,000 less than what the boss wanted.  We were still going to make a profit and the company needed cashflow.  Yes, we sent in a sacrificial lamb every morning to see if we might need to take a road trip until the boss settled down.  But Obadiah had a real fear of dying.

The confrontation on Mount Carmel was set up.  They each set up an altar.  They each presented a sacrifice.  And who could bring down fire from heaven won the competition.  In some of the commentaries, this seems foolhardy, but Elijah is filled with the Holy Spirit.  He knows what he is doing.

The Baal prophets are allowed to go first.  They shouted to Baal and they danced.  Elijah taunted them.  Maybe Baal was asleep.  Maybe Baal is busy or traveling.  I have written before that this might be the first recorded instance of trash talking.  But Elijah says here what other prophets wrote in their books that a carved image cannot breathe, so how can a carved image bring fire down from heaven?  They cannot do such a thing.  The Baal priests even cut themselves to have Baal feel sorry for them.

This reminds me of people that I know and love who came to the Lord from a very dark place.  They did cuttings until the blood flowed, but not deep enough to commit suicide.  This is common these days as a cry for help.  Help is available in the person of Jesus Christ, and a few people that I know who used cuttings in their deepest depression have been made whole by accepting Jesus.  But the act of cuttings was used in idol worship as far back as Elijah and beyond.

The Baal priests went all day without any fire from heaven.  It was time for the evening sacrifice.

Elijah built his altar using twelve stones, one for each tribe of Israel.  He placed the wood on the altar and built a trench around the altar.  He cut up the bull and placed it on the wood.  He then had them take a great quantity of water.  There were four large jugs, of unknown size.  They made three trips to drench the altar in water.  The trench, that was about four gallons according to Rev. MacArthur, was filled after everything on the altar was drenched.

When the time for the evening sacrifice had come, Elijah prayed to God so that the people who had come to see this showdown would know that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel was truly God.

This crowd must have been a huge crowd.

Then the fire came down to consume the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the soil and even the water in the trench.

Elijah dropped to his knees and fell prostrate on the ground.  He then told the people to not let the Baal prophets escape and they were all slaughtered in the Kishon Valley.

So, here Elijah seems to be testing God.  Many biblical “experts” have seen it that way, but Elijah was following the directions that God gave Elijah.  Since those directions are not recorded, people think Elijah was winging it.  Maybe God did not give the details, but Elijah knew that whatever he set up, God had promised to show the people, that crowd of people who, according to the scholars above, were not on the Ahab camp or the God of Elijah camp.  For once and for all, although they quickly forgot, they would know that God was God.

So, this is not one of those “go and do likewise” moments.  And by the way, the comment about “go and do likewise” is at the end of the parable of the Good Samaritan at the end of Luke 10.  The religious leader reluctantly says that the one who showed kindness was acting as a neighbor.  Notice that they hated the Samaritans so much that this religious leader refused to say the word Samaritan.  And where was Ahab’s primary palace?  Samaria.  The Samaritans were the Jews’ distant cousins who rebelled, who were sent into exile, and then they intermarried with the locals.

But then, Elijah tells Ahab to return to his summer palace in Jezreel.  Elijah lies prostrate and prays for rain.  Each time, he has his servant go to the crest of the mountain and look over the Mediterranean Sea.  The text does not define which crest.  Most mountains have multiple crests.  But the military crest, speaking in military terms, is that point where you can look down the mountain and see what is coming and you can look out to see into the distance.  I am thinking the military crest is where the servant went.

Odd, we never hear of the servant before this, and not afterward until the next chapter where Elisha is named as the new assistant and understudy.  This servant may be someone that Elijah trusted for this task of the confrontation.

Six times the servant went to the crest and came back with the report that there was no cloud in the sky.  But after praying seven times, the servant returned with the report that there was the tiniest cloud well out to sea.  Elijah got up and ran toward Jezreel.  He passed Ahab and his men, and he ran all the way to Jezreel.  This distance is thought to be about 15 miles (the actual location is not known exactly, although there is a shrine in one place on Mount Carmel these days).  But 15 miles is more than a half marathon and Elijah was not a young fellow who trained for such things, and Elijah outran chariots that had a head start.  But remember, when Elijah told Ahab that there would be a drought. The drought would continue until Elijah said that it would stop.  Of course, Elijah got the message from God.  God wanted Ahab to know that the other prophets might just be false prophets.  Remember the 100 that Obadiah had saved were still in hiding.

First Kings 19 starts with Jezebel getting angry at Ahab.  She puts a price tag on Elijah’s head, and Elijah runs away.  They had already sent emissaries to the surrounding nations looking for Elijah to kill him, but now with a bounty on his head, Elijah has had too much.  He had just defeated 450 Baal prophets.  He stood before Ahab without being killed, but not Jezebel, who was angry that she no longer had 450 Baal prophets.

We all have our moments, even when we know that our God is bigger than big.  We have those moments when we see the problem and we think God will not or cannot come to the rescue this time.  Let’s not get too upset with Elijah.

He sat under a broom tree and lamented.  He fell asleep and an angel awakened him the next morning and gave him something to eat.  Strengthened, he walked for forty days and forty nights to reach Mount Horeb, according to Rev. MacArthur, about a day’s walk, but this was symbolic.  Elijah went into a cave.

Then God said to leave the cave for God will appear to Elijah.  There was a strong wind that splits the mountain.  God was not in the wind.  There was a great earthquake, but God was not in the earthquake.  As a safety man, I have to note that being in the cave at that point might have been deadly, so God got him out of the cave first.  Then there was a fire, and God was not in the fire either.  Then there was a soft voice.  God was in the soft voice.

The wind, earthquake, and fire were used to get Elijah’s attention, but God spoke softly to him.  Why do we go to a quiet place to pray?  Because God speaks softly, and we need to hear what He has to say to us.

God then gave Elijah orders to anoint three people, Hazael, who at the time was not the king of Aram, but he will see to it that Ahab is dead.  Then Jehu, a chariot commander for Ahab, who will be the next king, and Elisha, to be Elijah’s replacement, understudy at the moment.

But Elijah lamented that he was the only one left in Israel who had not bowed down to Baal.  But God corrected him saying that there were 7,000 who had not bowed a knee to Baal.

Elijah went to the farm of Elisha’s family and Elisha was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen.  Elijah told him to follow him.  Elisha wanted to say goodbye to his family, and then Elijah lamented as to what he had done to Elisha.  But Elisha slaughtered the oxen, burned the plows and yokes to cook the meat and fed everyone.  He then followed Elijah.

Jesus told the one potential follower that turning around while plowing (to say goodbye to family) was not a good thing to do.  Farmers know that the row gets crooked if you look back.  But in this case Elijah gave Elisha time to say goodbye.  He knew what type of sacrifice Elisha was making.  He had lived it for many years by this point.

But after growing up on a farm and watching people in India with teams of oxen, twelve yokes of oxen can do a lot of plowing.

I told my son the day before writing this that these two chapters are among my favorites from the Old Testament, they speak of God’s power and our shortcomings.  God calls us, but not because we are that wonderful.  We simply said, “Yes.  Send me.”

Some Serendipitous Reflections

1 Kings 18:1-15 Elijah and Obadiah 1. Do you tend to take risks or play it safe? What risks are hardest for you to take? When was the last time you really took a chance?
“2. Are you considered reliable? Punctual? Trustworthy? Why or why not? What would you like your reputation to be?
“3. In what situation do you need to move courageously, putting your confidence in the Lord? What past actions of God would encourage you to trust him?
1 Kings 18:16-46 Elijah on Mount Carmel 1. Are you ‘wavering between two opinions’ right now with regard to obeying God’s will? Which one will you follow and why?
“2. Is your devotion to God leading you into any ‘show­downs’? What kind of ‘betting odds’ are you facing?
“3. Are skeptics today more convinced by logical arguments, emotional appeals or miraculous power? Which of these three convinced you of the truth of Christianity?
“4. Does God show power today? Or is Christian witness more one of subtle good deeds and words fitly spoken?
“5. Does God give you extra strength to do his will? What kind of strength do you need right now? Can the group help?
“6. Have you ever wanted to follow Elijah’s example and boldly ask for a public miracle in Jesus’ name? Who will look stupid if God doesn’t produce? Does doubt create a risk that God won’t come through? Or is God out of the flashy miracle business? Have you ever gone ahead and been left in the lurch by God?
1 Kings 19 1. Has your life taken a discouraging turn lately? Does God seem to care at all in your struggle? How can you be helped?
“2. Has God ever asked you ‘What are you doing here’? What was your answer?
“3. What might tempt you to give up in your service of God? What might prompt you to abandon your chosen profession? Have you ‘burned the plow’ In some other way?
“4. Has God ever appeared in some spectacular way to you? In some ‘small’ way? How so?
“5. Have you admired someone else’s spiritual experiences but found they do not happen to you? Do you feel like a failure? Inadequate? Mad at God?
“6. In the midst of all your hard work, are you developing the leadership who will eventually replace you? How so?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

There are two sets of questions for 1 Kings 18 as noted.  First Kings 19 has one set of questions.

Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.

If you like these Thursday morning Bible studies, but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Thursday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.