seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
1 Kings 18: 16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
18 “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. 19 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.”
18 “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. 19 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.”
Now let me set this up for myself. The Promised Land is split in two. There's Judah to the south, with the Temple located in Jerusalem. Israel was in the north. In Israel, the king built two temples and installed golden calves for the people to worship. The convenience of having a temple nearby would keep his people from defecting to Judah.
In Israel, king Ahab married Jezebel. I got these notes from Biographies.com.
At the beginning of the 9th century, a Phoenician princess named Jezebel was born, the daughter of King Ethball. The Bible does not describe her childhood, but from deductive reasoning, it is assumed that she lived in a fine home and was educated by the best tutors. Her family worshipped many gods, the most important being Baal, a nature god. While Jezebel was growing into a woman, Israel crowned a new king. To create an alliance with Israel, the king arranged for his son Ahab to wed Jezebel. Their marriage cemented a political alliance, but it was a dramatic event for the young woman. After enjoying a life of luxury, she was suddenly taken into a conservative society and made to oversee it.
Jezebel eventually became Israel's Queen. She continued to worship the god Baal, and in doing so, earned many enemies. Her citizens' displeasure came to a critical point when, at their expense, she brought 800 Baal prophets to Israel and ordered the murder of several Yahweh prophets. At this major moment, Elijah, a Jewish prophet, appeared. According to the biblical book of Kings, Elijah gave a prophecy: That terrible draught would come upon Israel. Amazingly, famine and draught spread across Jezebel's land, according to the story.
Jezebel eventually became Israel's Queen. She continued to worship the god Baal, and in doing so, earned many enemies. Her citizens' displeasure came to a critical point when, at their expense, she brought 800 Baal prophets to Israel and ordered the murder of several Yahweh prophets. At this major moment, Elijah, a Jewish prophet, appeared. According to the biblical book of Kings, Elijah gave a prophecy: That terrible draught would come upon Israel. Amazingly, famine and draught spread across Jezebel's land, according to the story.
Now back to Elijah.... he's turning himself? According to what I'm reading... he agreed to visit the king... he didn't agree to turn himself in.
This is from the easy English site.
Ahab greeted Elijah in an unpleasant manner. People who serve God often have suffered such insults. In Acts 17:6 the crowd called Paul a maker of trouble. Paul did not deserve that insult, and Elijah did not deserve Ahab’s insult. Elijah said that Ahab had made trouble. Rain had stopped because he worshipped Baal gods. People thought that these gods would send rain for their crops. But really, the Lord is the only God. Only he can send rain. And soon Elijah would prove that this is true.
Elijah challenged Ahab to a meeting on Mount Carmel. This mountain was one of the places where people gave honour to the Baal gods. People from all the tribes of Israel came. So did the prophets who led the worship of the Baal gods. Perhaps Ahab was afraid not to obey Elijah. Perhaps Ahab thought that he would do anything to get rain. So, on this occasion, Ahab obeyed Elijah. But Ahab still did not want to obey God.
Elijah challenged Ahab to a meeting on Mount Carmel. This mountain was one of the places where people gave honour to the Baal gods. People from all the tribes of Israel came. So did the prophets who led the worship of the Baal gods. Perhaps Ahab was afraid not to obey Elijah. Perhaps Ahab thought that he would do anything to get rain. So, on this occasion, Ahab obeyed Elijah. But Ahab still did not want to obey God.
This is from GotQuestions.org.
The Phoenicians were a loosely gathered group of people who inhabited Canaan (modern-day Lebanon, Syria, and Israel) between 1550 BC and 300 BC. In addition to sexual rituals, Moloch worship included child sacrifice, or “passing children through the fire.” It is believed that idols of Moloch were giant metal statues of a man with a bull’s head. Each image had a hole in the abdomen and possibly outstretched forearms that made a kind of ramp to the hole. A fire was lit in or around the statue. Babies were placed in the statue’s arms or in the hole. When a couple sacrificed their firstborn, they believed that Moloch would ensure financial prosperity for the family and future children.
Now... does the drought make sense? It helps to know this before going into the next story.
