The prophets of Baal went first. Though he expected an answer by fire, yet he came near to the altar with boldness, and feared not that fire. 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. Those few that escaped the sword were forced to abscond, and hide themselves in caves, where they were buried alive and cut off, though not from life, yet from usefulness, which is the end and comfort of life; and, when the prophets were persecuted and driven into corners, no doubt their friends, those few good people that were in the land, were treated in like manner. V. Elijah soon obtains from his God an answer by fire. 35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. Even Christ and his apostles were thus misrepresented, Acts 17:6. You and your fathers family have made all this trouble by not obeying the Lords commands. I see nothing, he said. But this was not all; to complete the miracle, the fire consumed the stones of the altar, and the very dust, to show that it was no ordinary fire, and perhaps to intimate that, though God accepted this occasional sacrifice from this altar, yet for the future they ought to demolish all the altars on their high places, and, for their constant sacrifices, make use of that at Jerusalem only. Indeed, giving back to God and to his people is part of our DNA, a sign of our family resemblance to our generous Creator. For less than $5/mo. Has the book of Amos been fulfilled or is it a reference to end times? So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. 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. 5:3). Did they tithe to themselves? Click to enable/disable Google reCaptcha. Christianos ad leones--Away with Christians to the lions. Through Elijah, God declared that Baal couldnt deliver the goods and his people couldnt have it both ways. 34Then he said, Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the meat and on the wood. Then Elijah said, Do it again, and they did it again. They got their sacrifices ready; and we may well imagine what a noise 450 men made, when they cried as one man, and with all their might, O Baal! Let but Obadiah know that he spoke seriously and really intended it, and he will make no scruple to carry the message to Ahab. As for why the worship of Baal and Asherah specifically was such a problem for Israel, there are several reasons we can cite: first, the worship of Baal and Asherah held the allure of illicit sex, since the religion involved ritual prostitution. 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Then the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. God and Elijah were honoured, 1 Kings 18:21-39. After all, if youre a farmer, its only practical to invest in getting the rider of the clouds to like you. To demonstrate that he was neither ashamed of, nor afraid for, what he had done, though he knew how Jezebel would resent it, but durst venture himself in the midst of his enemies, as being confident of the Divine power and protection. (Poole), ii. To this fair proposal of the case, which Elijah here makes, the people knew not what to say: They answered him not a word. 15 And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself unto him to day. Like madmen they cut themselves in pieces with knives and lancets (1 Kings 18:28; 1 Kings 18:28) for vexation that they were not . Israel being thus far reformed that they had acknowledged the Lord to be God, and had consented to the execution of Baal's prophets, that they might not seduce them any more, though this was far short of a thorough reformation, yet it was so far accepted that God thereupon opened the bottles of heaven, and poured out blessings upon his land, that very evening (as it should seem) on which they did this good work, which should have confirmed them in their reformation; see Haggai 2:18; Haggai 2:19. Then he dug a ditch around the altar that was big enough to hold about thirteen quarts of seed. Click to enable/disable _gat_* - Google Analytics Cookie. There was one very good man, who was a great man at court, Obadiah, who answered his name--a servant of the Lord, one who feared God and was faithful to him, and yet was steward of the household to Ahab. 7While Obadiah was on his way, Elijah met him. It is said that Baal was the son of a god called el. He does not insist upon their relation to Jehovah--"Is he not yours, and the God of your fathers, while Baal is the god of the Sidonians? Mention is made of God's calling their father Jacob by the name of Israel, a prince with God (1 Kings 18:31; 1 Kings 18:31), to shame his degenerate seed, who worshipped a god which they saw could not hear nor answer them, and to encourage the prophet who was now to wrestle with God as Jacob did; he also shall be a prince with God. 44The seventh time, the servant said, I see a small cloud, the size of a human fist, coming from the sea., Elijah told the servant, Go to Ahab and tell him to get his chariot ready and go home now. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Elijah sought not his own glory but in subserviency to God's, and for his own necessary vindication. But when we worship the idol of money, when our lives are oriented primarily toward earning, getting, and keeping, we become deformed, reflecting not the image of Yahweh, Lord of heaven and earth, but money, the god of me and mine. Elijah's God was neither talking nor pursuing, needed not to be either awakened or quickened; while he was yet speaking, the fire of the Lord fell, and not only, as at other times (Leviticus 9:24; 1 Chronicles 21:26; 2 Chronicles 7:1) consumed the sacrifice and the wood, in token of God's acceptance of the offering, but licked up all the water in the trench, exhaling that, and drawing it up as a vapour, in order to the intended rain, which was to be the fruit of this sacrifice and prayer, more than the product of natural causes. Deserters must not look for God's favour till they return to their allegiance. 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And he said, Do it the third time. And nothing can't answer you when you call out to it! How sharp Elijah was upon them, 1 Kings 18:27; 1 Kings 18:27. Rain is the river of God,Psalms 65:9. 4. By this time there was no food in Samaria. Why did Herod like to listen to John the Baptist, who criticized Herods lifestyle? Jack Gutknecht. Answer The account of Elijah and the prophets of Baal is recorded in 1 Kings 18. 4. Their perishing thus is the using, as the apostle speaks of them (Colossians 3:22), was to intimate the utter abolition of them after a little while, Hebrews 8:13. Note, Though the answer of our fervent and believing supplications may not come quickly, yet we must continue instant in prayer, and not faint nor desist; for at the end it shall speak and not lie. Paul goes even further. 3King Ahab sent for Obadiah, who was in charge of the kings palace. Jesus knew all about gods such as Baal. We need 2 cookies to store this setting. If we can find one that has more right to us, or will be a better master to us, than God, we may take him at our peril. 19Now tell all Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel. Three years and a half's famine would not bring them back to God. It also dried up the water in the ditch. April 28 2020 It was strange that so wicked a man as Ahab would prefer him to it and continue him in it; certainly it was because he was a man of celebrated honesty, industry, and ingenuity, and one in whom he could repose a confidence, whose eyes he could trust as much as his own, as appears here, 1 Kings 18:5; 1 Kings 18:5. 6:9). His interview with Obadiah, one of Ahab's servants, by whom he sends notice to Ahab of his coming, 1 Kings 18:2-16. Pursuant to this order we have here, I. The servant went and looked. The prophets of Baal try first, but in vain, with their god. Being an idolater, she was a persecutor, and made Ahab one. 13 Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid a hundred men of the LORD's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? To Christians this is a. [1.] Obadiah saluted him with great respect, fell on his face, and humbly asked, Art thou that my lord Elijah?1 Kings 18:7; 1 Kings 18:7. Then he said, Do it a third time, and they did it the third time. Idols could do neither good nor evil. Share Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. Please ensure your answer MEETS all our guidelines. Had he, by his spies, surprised Elijah, he would have triumphed over him; but, now that he was thus surprised by him, we may suppose he even trembled to look him in the face, hated him, and yet feared him, as Herod did John. And all the people came near unto him. Leviticus 19:28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD. Each would take a bull and place it on their own altar. Probably on that mountain they had an eminent high place, where formerly the pure worship of God had been kept up as well as it could be any where but at Jerusalem. 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. 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. Ahab had made diligent search for him (1 Kings 18:10; 1 Kings 18:10), had offered rewards to any one that would discover him, sent spies into every tribe and lordship of his own dominions, as some understand it, or, as others, into all the neighbouring nations and kingdoms that were in alliance with him; and, when they denied that they knew any thing of him, he would not believe them unless they swore it, and, as should seem, promised likewise upon oath that, if ever they found him among them, they would discover him and deliver him up. Why didnt Abraham bargain with God when it came to Isaac being offered as a burnt offering like he did when it came to Sodom and Gomorrah? In the end, Those who make [idols] will end up like them, as will everyone who trusts in them (Ps. Click to enable/disable _ga - Google Analytics Cookie. A fight to the finish. Providence ordered it so, that Ahab might, with his own eyes, see how bad the consequences of this judgment were, that so he might be the better inclined to hearken to Elijah, who would direct him into the only way to put an end to it. Jeremiah 2:11. Because our material possessions so often seduce us into worshiping them like gods, they pose possibly the preeminent threat to worshiping Jesus. ly. By proceeding, you consent to our cookie usage. 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. Was a heavy rain or is it a reference to end times ditch around the altar with boldness, pour. Their allegiance and to drink and on the meat and on the meat and on the meat and the. 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