June 27: 1 Kings 17-19

June 27, 1 Kings 17-19

1 Kings 17 We are now introduced to Elijah, a prophet. Ahab is the 7th King of Israel and did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all the Kings before him. Elijah goes to him and lets him know that there is going to be a sever drought for 3 years. This drought was ordained by God, and we soon will see why. God told Elijah to go into hiding at a brook, where God would provide for him food from ravens that feed him, and water from the brook. Elijah obeyed, and God fed him well. Soon, the brook dried up, so God told him to go to another town, where a widow would take care of him. He obeyed. 

He got to the town and found the widow collecting sticks. He asked her for some bread and water, and she said that she was down to her last little bit of food - she was gathering sticks she and her son could have one last meal together and die from starvation. Elijah told her “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” She did as Elijah said, and God did what He said He would do. 

A little while later, the widow’s son died and she blamed Elijah. Elijah went and prayed over the boy to the Lord, and God supernaturally brought the boy back to life. After this, the widow fully believed that Elijah was a man of God - not sure how the miracle of food never running out wasn't enough to convince her, but I only see in part…

1 Kings 18 Some time later, God told Elijah to go confront Ahab and the rains will soon come. At this time, Israel did not serve God, but Baal and Asherah. The famine was severe throughout the land. Ahab tells Obadiah, his servant who loved God and even secretly took a hundred prophets of God and hid them in a cave and fed them, to go look for grass for the animals. Ahab went one way and Obadiah went the other way to look. On his journey, Obadiah ran into Elijah. Elijah tells Obadiah that he needs to go tell Ahab that Elijah is here and wants to meet with him. Obadiah, rightfully so, thought it was a bad idea and that he may be killed for doing so. Elijah was not real popular to Baal worshippers, because he opposed them. Regardless, Obadiah obeyed and the stage is set for them to meet. 

When Ahab saw Elijah, he called him a ‘troubler of Israel.’ Elijah responded, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father's house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals.” True statement. Elijah wanted all the prophets of Baal and Asherah to gather (850 false prophets total). 

Elijah wanted to prove that God is real and Baal/Asherah are not, so he challenged the false prophets to put their money where their mouth is. Here is the quick summary: You get a bull to sacrifice to your gods, and I get a bull to sacrifice to my God. Whichever God/god answers with fire, is the real God/god. They liked the idea, so they set it up. They made their altar and sacrificed their bull and danced and cried out all day. Around noon, Elijah started mocking them, saying things like, “maybe he is relieving himself…” I think that is funny! When Baal was not answering them, they started cutting themselves (customary in those times) until the blood was gushing. No fire. 

Then Elijah made his altar. He repaired one of the old altars that was for the Lord that was torn down, and he also grabs and uses 12 stones to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. He made a trench around the altar and poured water on the altar and they did it so much that it filled the trench (wet wood does not burn well…). Elijah announced it this way, “let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” Elijah wanted the people to see that the Lord is the only true God. Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” That is our God, Mighty and Powerful. Then Elijah had the men there seize all the false prophets and killed all of them (850). 

Then Elijah instructs Ahab to go home and have some dinner, because the rains are coming! Elijah went to the top of Mount Carmel and told his servant to look for rain, and the heavens opened upland poured down rain. Elijah ran to Ahab’s house…

1 Kings 19 Meanwhile, Ahab told his wife, Jezebel, what Elijah had done. Jezebel sent messengers to Elijah basically saying by tomorrow she would have him killed for killing all of her prophets. Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. He did not seek God in this and we are also not told that the Lord told him to do that. He was sitting under a tree and he wanted to die. An angel touched him and told him to get up and eat. So he did, and the angel did it again, explaining that the journey he was about to go on was long and he needed it. So he ate. Then he arose and spent 40 days and nights on Horeb, the mountain of God, with only the food that he ate. 

He came to a cave and stayed in there. Then the Word of the Lord came to him and asked him what he was doing. God had not told him to do the running or hiding. Yet God provided for him. Elijah seemed to have forgotten all of the amazing things that God had done and was having a pity party. So, God put His power on display for Elijah. God told Elijah to and stand on the mountain and watch. God displayed strong winds, then an earthquake, then a fire - and the Lord was not in any of them. Then came a low whisper, and God asked Elijah what he was doing here. Elijah still missed the point of what God had just displayed for him, and gave God a litany of things that Elijah had done for God (not the other way around). 

God told him to head back down and anoint Jehu as King over Israel and “Elisha… you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” That is a crazy word from the Lord. New King. New prophet. Nonbelievers are to die. 7,000 saved (that is not a lot of people that have not bowed to Baal…).

Elijah found Elisha, as he was plowing a field. Elisha was very excited about the opportunity to mentor under Elijah. All Elisha wanted was to kiss his parents goodbye. So he did, and he sacrificed the oxen that he was plowing the field with and gave it to the people.

To sum it all up:

• Everything is ordained for God’s purpose. Even if you don’t understand what is going on, trust that God is in control and is working on everything behind the scenes to have His purpose fulfilled. 
• When you come to the Lord, when He calls you, you are to leave your former life and follow Him. That may look different for different people, but we are new in Christ, the old has passed and the new has come. If you claim to follow Christ, does your life look any different now than it did before?