The chiastic features are most obvious in sections C (19:9b-10) and C’ (19:13b-14) where God asks the same question, “What are you d… 1 Kings 17 – The Early Ministry of Elijah A. Elijah prays for drought and experiences God’s provision. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. Elijah’s prayers pointed the world back to God. 1 Kings 17:9 Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. 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[ a] of seed. Moreover Elijah is just one against 450 prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:22). He Suffered With Depression. This outcome is taken as decisive by the Israelites, who slay the priests and prophets of Baal under Elijah’s direction. He is commemorated by Christians on July 20 and is recognized as a prophet in Islam. 1 Kings 18:1–46 Elijah Confronts Ahab 18 d After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.” 2 So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. It is startling to think of someone so strong as Elijah frightened away by the threat of Jezebel. Bible > 1 Kings > Chapter 19 > Verse 9 Library • Free Downloads • eBibles In th… It does not appear that the 400 prophets of Asherah answered the challenge (compare verse 19). The Latin Vulgate appears to qualify and amplify the ambiguous meaning of the Masoretic Text. First God miraculously fed him by the Brook Cherith. The drought thereupon ends with the falling of rain. 5 So he did what the Lord had told him. Elijah’s name means “Yahweh is my God” and is spelled Elias in some versions of the Bible. Elijah’s deepest prophetic experience takes place on his pilgrimage to Horeb, where he learns that God is not in the storm, the earthquake, or the lightning. Leviticus 26:4 Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens(E) to supply you with food there.”. Later Ahab’s son, King Ahaziah, appeals to Baal to heal him of an injury, and Elijah once more upholds the exclusive rights of Yahweh by bringing down “fire from heaven.” After bestowing his mantle on his successor, Elisha, the prophet Elijah is taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain(K) on the land.’”. In our first lesson on Elijah, we looked at the historical setting that formed the spiritual and moral environment into which Elijah was called of God to minister. Elijah’s words proclaim that there is no reality except the God of Israel, there are no other beings entitled to the name of divinity. Do. Following this event, the Lord finally ended the drought and sent rain upon the land (1 Kings 18:45). And there was a sore famine in Samaria… I will send rain. Elijah prayed, and rain fell on Israel. God called him to go to Zarephath which is in Sidon. A very human hero (19:1-5) 1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. * [19:19–21] Elijah’s act of throwing his mantle over the shoulders of Elisha associates him with Elijah as a servant (v. 21). 1 Kings 19v1-18. Then God sent Elijah into hiding as the drought dried up the streams and withered the crops of the nation (1 Kings 17:7-15; 1 Kings 18:1). So the brook dried up and Elijah sat still until the word of the Lord came to him. Dennis Bratcher. 1 Kings 17:1-7 Unwavering Tenacity Elijah is an Old Testament prophet who is unique in many ways: • Elijah appears on the scene with little to no knowledge of his background. -1 Kings 19:3-9. Elijah, also spelled Elias or Elia, Hebrew Eliyyahu, (flourished 9th century bce), Hebrew prophet who ranks with Moses in saving the religion of Yahweh from being corrupted by the nature worship of Baal. God is now calling Elijah to the very place that Jezebel was brought up in! The narrative in 1 Kings relates how he suddenly appears during Ahab’s reign to proclaim a drought in punishment of the cult of Baal that Jezebel was promoting in Israel at Yahweh’s expense. Updates? Jezebel was furious at the loss of her prophets, however, and swore to kill him. (9-10) God allows Elijah to vent his frustrations. Elijah had just been victorious in the showdown with the 450 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. Jezebel, with her Tyrian courtiers and a large contingent of pagan priests and prophets, propagated her native religion in a sanctuary built for Baal in the royal city of Samaria. 1. the third year--In the New Testament, it is said there was no rain "for the space of three years and six months" [ James 5:17].The early rain fell in our March, the latter rain in our October. He listened for Yahweh’s voice, and he walked in obedience (1 … Afraid, Elijah ran to the wilderness, sat under a broom tree, and in his despair, asked God to take his life. One of the most important moments in the history of monotheism is the climax of Elijah’s struggle with Baalism. And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.” a. The narrative in 1 Kings relates how he suddenly appears during Ahab’s reign to proclaim a drought in punishment of the cult of Baal that Jezebel was promoting in Israel at Yahweh’s expense. Ahab and Jezebel are gunning for him from then on, but he still just walks right into Ahab's backyard to tell him that the Lord's going to kill him and feed his blood to dogs. 2 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: 3 “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. It was a great performance – free flowing football, great skill and finishing esp. The true question is whether Yahweh or Baal is God, simply and universally. Elijah actually knew there were at least 100 other prophets of God who were safe and ready to preach the truth (1 Kings 18:13). Go home and do as you have said. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). When the people witnessed the validity of the Lord, they fell on their faces and proclaimed, “he is the God: the Lord, he is the God” (1 Kings 18:39).