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mfairlady

1 Kings 17:1-6: God and Elijah

By Mary Fairchild

Clovermap

 1581 Bunting Clover Leaf Map; Israel in the center.

THE DIVIDED KINGDOM:
Israel c. 975-722 B.C.; Judah c. 975-586 B.C.
All of the kings of the Northern Kingdom were evil. The Southern Kingdom had some good kings.

GOD AND ELIJAH: 1 KINGS 17:1-6: Beneath the debris of a Baal temple near Gezer, great numbers of jars were found that contained bones of babies which had been sacrificed. There was also evidence of “foundational sacrifices” in which A NEW HOUSE WAS BUILT CONTAINING A SACRIFICED CHILD’S BODY WHICH WAS BUILT INTO A WALL OF THE HOUSE. This was to ensure good luck for the rest of the family. Excavators also found many plaques of the goddess Ashtaroth.

BAAL WAS THE PRIMARY PHOENICIAN GOD, and his counterpart was the goddess Ashtaroth. BAAL WORSHIP included animal sacrifices, ritualistic feasts to plead with Baal for bountiful harvests, and licentious dances. The places of worship were usually located on hilltops among groves of trees. The worship of Baal broke the commandment of God (Exod. 20:3) and God’s covenant (2 Chron. 7:17-22). God was not ignorant, nor indifferent to this. In chapter 17 a conjunction “and” is used to connect the tragedy of idolatry with the triumph that would follow through Elijah, the man God used to turn Israel back to God.

Through Moses, God had warned His nation Israel that if they sinned, He would shut up heaven that there would be no rain: “And then the Lord’s wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that the be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit” (Deuteronomy 11:17). King Solomon later referred to that warning: “When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee” (1 Kings 8:35).

The northern kingdom of Israel existed for about 70 years and each king was more wicked than the one before—KING AHAB WAS THE MOST WICKED OF ALL. Because continual sin brings God’s judgment, God raised up prophets to call the people (and the kings) back to God and to warn the nation of impending judgment if they did not return to God.

The prophet Elijah knew that God had for years before warned his people regarding withholding the rain if the nation continued in idolatry. Elijah was from Gilead, a rough, hilly country east of the Jordan River. MOST PEOPLE IN ISRAEL LIVED AS IF GOD WERE DEAD, but Elijah did not. ELIJAH PRAYED EARNESTLY (James 5:17); his prayer was most likely prompted by God’s warning in Deuteronomy 11:16, 17:“Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them: And then the Lord’s wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heavens, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord giveth you.”

Ahab, the 7th king of Israel, exceeded all other kings of Israel in wickedness (1 Kings 16:30) and his wife, Jezebel, not only built temples for Baal worship in Israel, but she hired 450 prophets of Baal with her own money. Ahab never opposed Jezebel’s Baal worship; he joined her. Jezebel hunted and killed the prophets of God in Israel. Both Jezebel and Ahab popularized Baal worship and led thousands astray. Ahab’s trouble began with a wrong marriage that resulted from his father Omri’s friendship with the Phoenicians of Sidon. God never condoned friendship ties with heathen nations. OMRI’S DISOBEDIENCE LED TO HIS SON AHAB’S MARRIAGE WITH THE HEATHEN PRINCESS OF TYRE, JEZEBEL (the Phoenician king’s daughter).

ONE OF AHAB’S SINS WAS COVETING, WHICH IS WANTING SOMETHING SO BAD THAT IT DISTURBS ONE’S INNER PEACE. The tenth commandment states, “Thou shalt not covet.” Our happiness and contentment should not depend on things we have, or the friends we have, or a boyfriend or a girlfriend; it should depend only upon God. Coveting is called idolatry in the Bible (Col. 3:5).

COVETING IS OFTEN THE HIDDEN ROOT SIN OF OTHER OUTWARD SINS, SUCH AS STEALING, LYING, MURDER. Most people are not sensitive to the inner sin of coveting, but only to the outward sins which result from it. OUR CONFIDENCE MUST STAND IN GOD ALONE as Elijah exemplifies. Elijah had no royal heritage, no wealth, no backing, no academic degrees, but he knew his purpose—to get Israel’s worship back to the true living God.

Elijah was able to see Israel’s needs through God’s eyes. He prayed that it would not rain; God answered Elijah’s prayer, and it did not rain for three and one-half years. The resulting drought ultimately got the attention of idolatrous Israel. CONFESSING OF SIN AND THEN TURNING FROM THAT SIN MUST ALWAYS TAKE PLACE BEFORE GOD WILL HEAL THE SIN PROBLEM. Too often we pray for a problem to be healed without being willing to face the error, confess it, and turn from it.

Elijah had to finish his work for Israel by earnestly praying for rain. His faith worked as he exhibited a faith that kept praying until the answer came. Recognize your daily needs and depend on God to meet them. Remember, SELF-SUFFICIENCY ROBS US OF GOD’S SUPPLY OF OUR NEEDS. “But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).

Elijah declared his position under God’s authority to Ahab, the king of Israel. His statement carried more authority than his own: “…before whom I stand…” Undoubtedly, Ahab was unable to sense the significance of Elijah’s concise statements, but as the days without dew or rain passed, he soon realized the truth of Elijah’s words: “…there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”

Though the crops would fail, the economy would collapse, and deep famine would set in, Elijah knew that if it took this to bring God’s people back to the Lord, then it would indeed be a blessing to the nation. SOMETIMES OUR PROBLEMS END UP BEING THE BIGGEST BLESSINGS OF OUR LIVES. With great confidence in God and His Word, Elijah boldly walked into the palace of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel to announce judgment upon the nation.

“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him” (1 John 5:14-15).

Elijah’s announcement probably caused laughter and mockery in the royal court when such an ill-clad wilderness character dared to pronounce his power over the rain and the dew. No doubt Elijah’s pronouncement became the palace joke for several weeks—but as the weeks would soon pass without rain, the prophet began to mock the court jesters…. And the order came from King Ahab to find the prophet Elijah and bring him back to the palace. Soldiers were sent to search for him, but to no avail. God had already sent Elijah into hiding.

WORKS CITED

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