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.”
20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 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.
22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 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. 24 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.”
25 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.” 26 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.
27 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.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 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.
30 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. 31 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.” 32 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. 33 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.”
34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 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. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
38 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.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”
40 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.
41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” 42 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.
43 “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.”
44 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.’”
45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46 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.
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Here's the link to the commentary I read.Who eat at Jezebel’s table: This refers to the fact that these prophets of Baal and Asherah were sponsored and supported by the government of Israel, having a special patron in the wicked Queen Jezebel.
“Jezebel was not content with a private chapel, nor with her husband’s readiness to pay lip-service to Baal; she meant to dethrone the God of Israel, and make her Baal the chief deity and her faith in the official state religion.” (Payne)
And gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel: These prophets of Baal hated Elijah. They loved the favor of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, and they enthusiastically promoted the persecution of any true follower of Yahweh. But over the last three years, they had been severely humbled by Elijah and the drought sustained by his prayers. All their cries to the weather-god Baal were ineffective for three years. They hated this prophet of God who humiliated them and their sham priesthood so thoroughly.
They leaped about the altar which they had made: The prophets of Baal had an energetic prayer life. Their worship was filled with enthusiasm and activity. Yet because it was not directed to the real God, their prayer meant nothing.
Elijah mocked them: Elijah could not resist the opportunity to mock the prophets of Baal for their evidently foolish faith.
“Elijah’s irony bordered on sarcasm” (Patterson and Austel). The words meditating and busy can be translated “to be engaged in business” and may be a euphemism for bodily elimination.
“Rabbi S. Jarchi gives this the most degrading meaning; I will give it in Latin, because it is too coarse to be put in English; Fortassis ad locum secretum abiit, ut ventrem ibi exoneret; ‘Perhaps he has gone to the -------------.’ This certainly reduces Baal to the lowest degree of contempt, and with it the ridicule and sarcasm are complete.” (Clarke)
And that I have done all these things at Your word: This also was essential, and helps us to understand the whole event. Elijah did this according to the word of God. It wasn’t prompted because of his own cleverness, because of presumption or because of vainglory. God led Elijah to this showdown with the prophets of Baal.
There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea: Elijah prayed, asking in faith for God to send the rain. Elijah obviously sensed this was the will of God, yet it was his fervent prayer that brought the rain. The evidence of the rain came slowly and in a small way, but out of this small evidence God brought a mighty work.
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So, Jezebel and Ahab wanted the people to revolt against Elijah.
Jezebel and Ahab wanted the people to blame Elijah for the draught.
Obidiah did indeed take Elijah to meet with Ahab. I bet Obidiah was relieved when Ahab didn't murder him for the introduction he arranged.
Ahab went along with the plan Elijah presented for the "God Off".
Jezebel must have been so happy. Ahab was going to put Baal up against the God of Abraham, and when Baal beat God's butt in the "God Off", she would make a fortune off of the sales of little golden calves in every home.... for the low, low, price of whatever you have in your piggy bank.
Elijah made it easy for Jezebel and Ahab. They picked the altar and the bull. They had 450 prophets, priests, preachers, teachers, whatever, prancing and dancing and praying and breying and slicing and dicing and slinging blood.
Elijah got the leftovers, watered down the wood and built a mote around the altar, and he was all by himself [they thought].
When fire devoured his bull, the people knew he won the "God Off".
Elijah got them to take all the idols to Baal and Asherah and burn them up in the town dump.
Then Elijah prayed for rain. The draught made it so dry in the region; it took a while enough water droplets to gather for a cloud to form.
And then off on the horizon a storm cloud did indeed form.
This is from the close of this chapter in the commentary.
There was a heavy rain: God’s word through Elijah was proved true. The long drought was over, and it was demonstrated that the prayers of Elijah both withheld the rain and then subsequently brought the rain.
Then the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab: This was an obviously supernaturally empowered 14-mile cross-country run. We don’t know exactly why it was important to God for Elijah to reach Jezreel first; perhaps it was so that he would be the first to tell Queen Jezebel.
“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)
“That Elijah could have made such a run is assured in the Arab runners could easily cover one hundred miles in two days.” (Patterson and Austel)
Now is this saying that Elijah got to gloat by telling Jezebel who won the "God Off"?
But then again, last night I saw that you can still purchase your redemption. Why for the low, low, price of just $29.99 you can get your very own book and someone will actually listen to your prayers!!! Yeah right... ah ha ha!
"My God's better than your god! My God's better than yours! My God's better 'cause He created everything! My God's better than yours!"
Elijah won the "God Off".
