Introduction
We were introduced to Elijah in chapter 17, which we studied last week. However, it wasn’t much of an introduction, because Elijah appeared suddenly, unexpectedly, out of the blue. We weren’t told very much at all about his background and we don’t have an origin story for him, the way we do for other major characters in the Bible. He just appeared, out of the blue.
But what an impact he made when he first appeared, because he announced to King Ahab that there would be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at his word. The Lord was sending a drought on the land to humble his people and to cause them to repent, because they had turned away from the Lord to worship Baal. And having delivered his message, Elijah left and he didn’t appear before the king again for over three years.
It’s clear from what we read that what he announced happened and there was no dew nor rain in the land for the next few years; and a famine came on the land, because of the drought. And the Lord sent Elijah, first to the Cherith Ravine, where the Lord sent ravens to feed him by bringing him bread and meat every morning and evening. And then the Lord sent him to Zarephath in Sidon, which was to the north of Israel and which was really the land of Baal. And there the Lord fed him by means of a widow. Do you remember? The Lord miraculously kept the widow’s jar of flour from running out and he kept her jug of oil from running dry, so that there was always enough flour and oil to make bread for Elijah and the widow and for her son. And when tragedy struck and the widow’s son died, Elijah prayed to the Lord and the boy’s life returned to him.
And through these events the Lord was making clear that he is God and not Baal and that he has power and authority over the rain and over death. Baal-worshippers believed that Baal made the rain. And they also believed that, when it did not rain, it was because Baal had been overcome by the god of death. But Baal is not the god of the rain, because the Lord is the God of rain. He made the rain; and he’s the one with the power to send the rain and he’s the one with the power to withhold the rain. And the Lord is the God of life and death and he’s able to give life back to the dead, as he did with the widow’s son and as he will do for you, if you believe in his Son, because though you die, Christ will raise you from your grave when he comes again so that you will live with him forever and forever.
All over the world, men and women and boys and girls are still trusting in idols, because an idol is anything which is more important to us than God. But whatever idols people have and trust in, those idols cannot save them from death and they cannot give them everlasting life in the new heavens and earth. Only the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ can save us from death and give us everlasting life. And he saves us by his Son, Jesus Christ.
Verses 1 and 2
Today’s chapter begins a long time after the end of the last chapter. We’re told in verse 1 that it’s now in the third year. That probably means it was now in the third year of Elijah’s stay in Zarephath. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah, telling him to show himself to Ahab.
The Lord said to him to present himself to Ahab and God will send rain on the land. So, the Lord is ready to bring the drought to an end. And I think we’re to take it that there’s a causal connection between the first part of what the Lord says and the second part of what the Lord says. The Lord is telling Elijah to go and present himself to Ahab so that the Lord will send rain on the land. The Lord wants Elijah to go to Ahab and set up the trial between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, so that it will become clear to the people that Baal is nothing and that the Lord is the true and living God. And once they realise that, then they will turn from Baal and turn back to the Lord. In other words, they will repent. And once they repent, God will send the rain.
Repentance, you see, is the key to open the heavens. And isn’t this what Solomon anticipated in his prayer in chapter 8? Do you remember? Solomon had built the temple for the Lord; and, as part of the dedication service, Solomon prayed to the Lord. And in his prayer he anticipated that the time will come when the heavens are shut up and there is no rain, because the people sinned against God. But when the people pray towards the temple and when they confess God’s name and when they turn from their sin, then — Solomon prayed to God — hear from heaven and forgive their sin and send rain on the land.
Solomon anticipated that the people will sin; and God will afflict them with a drought because of their sin; and then the people will confess their sin and turn from it; and when that happens, God will send the rain again. That’s what Solomon anticipated. And now the Lord is telling Elijah to go and present himself to the king and set up this trial so that the people will realise that Baal is nothing and that the Lord is God. Then they will repent and return to the Lord. And when that happens, when they repent, he will open up the heavens and send the rain again.
God was sending Elijah to Ahab so that the people will repent. And that tells us that the Lord wanted to be gracious to them. He wanted to end the drought and send the rain. He wanted to save them from their misery. All they needed to do was repent and return to him. And the Lord is so gracious and so merciful, so slow to anger and so abounding in steadfast love, that not only was he willing to send the rain as soon as they repented, but he was even willing to enable them to repent. That’s how good our God is. As Isaiah says, ‘The Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion’. He wants his people to repent, so that he can bless them. But he doesn’t just wait for us to repent, because he also enables us to repent.
And those of us who are believers can testify that this is true, because not only did God send his Only-Begotten Son into the world as one of us to give up his life on the cross to pay for our sins, but the Lord also sent someone into our lives to tell us the good news about Christ and about forgiveness. And he not only sent someone to tell us the good news, but he also sent his Spirit into our lives to enable us to believe the good news and to turn from our sin and to trust in the Saviour.
And even now, when we sin, he comes to us in the reading and preaching of his word to convict us of our sin, so that we might confess it and turn from it. And in our daily lives, he brings to mind what we have read in his word; and he thereby reminds us of his will so that we will confess our sin and turn from it. And when we ignore his word, he disciplines us so that, once again, we will confess our sin and turn from it. The Lord longs to be gracious to us and he does what is necessary so that we will turn from our sin and turn to him and rediscover all over again that he is gracious and merciful and slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and he’s willing to pardon all who come to him, confessing their sin and asking for forgiveness.
So, the Lord was sending Elijah to lead the people to repentance. And Elijah, who is God’s obedient servant, obeyed the Lord and he went to present himself to Ahab.
Verses 3 to 15
But before he met Ahab, Elijah meets this man named Obadiah. There’s a book of the Bible named after someone called Obadiah, but the two Obadiahs are not the same. That one was a prophet, whereas this one served in Ahab’s palace.
We’re told in verse 3 that he was a devout believer in the Lord. So, not everyone had turned away from the Lord. There was still a godly remnant of believers who did not worship Baal. And I think the purpose of Elijah’s encounter with Obadiah is to make clear to us how difficult things had become in Israel for those who remained faithful to the Lord. And things were especially difficult for the Lord’s prophets, because verse 4 tells us that Queen Jezebel had been killing them off. It appears she wanted to wipe them out. But Obadiah had hidden a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves and had kept them alive by supplying them with food and water. Just as the Lord had preserved Elijah’s life, so he had preserved the life of these one hundred prophets.
We learn from verse 5 that Ahab and Obadiah were out, looking for grass to feed Ahab’s horses and mules. Ahab went in one direction and Obadiah in another direction. And that’s when Obadiah met Elijah. Obadiah can’t quite believe his eyes, but it really is Elijah, who hasn’t been seen for over three years. And Elijah instructed Obadiah to go and tell Ahab that he’s here. And then we have this long speech by Obadiah which reveals to us that Ahab has conducted a great search in order to find Elijah. He’s not only looked for him at home in Israel, but he’s sent his people to other nations and kingdoms to find Elijah. And presumably he wanted to find Elijah to force him to say the word which will bring the drought to an end. And Obadiah is now afraid. After all, who knows what might happen? If he goes to tell Ahab that he’s found Elijah, Elijah might disappear. The Spirit of the Lord might take him away. And then the king will be angry with Obadiah and will kill him.
As I say, I think the purpose of this encounter is to make clear to us how difficult things had become in Israel for those who remained faithful to the Lord. Jezebel had killed many of the Lord’s prophets. Others were in hiding. Elijah had become a wanted man. And Obadiah was afraid for his own life. Nevertheless, Elijah reassured Obadiah that he will surely present himself before the king that very day.
Verses 16 to 40
And that brings us to the main part of the chapter. In verse 16, Obadiah went to Ahab; and Ahab went to Elijah. And Ahab’s first words to Elijah make clear to us just what he thinks of the Lord’s prophet. He blames Elijah for all the trouble that has come on the land. But Elijah insists that he is not the one who has brought trouble on Israel. Ahab and his father’s family are the real troublemakers, because they abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed Baal. If they had walked in the ways of the Lord, they would have known God’s blessing. But since they turned from the Lord, they are responsible for the trouble which God has sent on the land.
And then Elijah tells the king to summon the people from all Israel as well as the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah. Summon them all the Mount Carmel. Mount Carmel was by the sea at the north of Israel, near the border with Sidon. And when the people and prophets had gathered there, Elijah challenged them to make up their minds whom they will serve. If the Lord is God, then follow him. If Baal is God, then follow him. And though the people did not reply, the Lord was about to make clear that he is the true and living God, whom they were to serve.
Elijah set up the trial. There were to take a bull and prepare it for sacrifice. Elijah would do the same. Then they were to call on Baal and he will call on the Lord to send fire on their offering. The one who answers by fire — he is the true God.
The people agree and the prophets of Baal went first. And we know what happened, don’t we? What happened? Nothing happened. When they called to Baal, there was no response and no-one answered. In fact, there was no response because there was no-one to answer, because Baal is not real. The prophets danced around the altar, but it made no difference. When Elijah began to mock them, they shouted louder. And they even cut themselves. Presumably they believed this would please Baal. But it made no difference. Though they continued into the evening, there was no response; no-one answered; no-one paid attention. No-one paid attention, because there was no-one to pay attention. Baal was not real.
And then it was Elijah’s turn. We’re told he repaired the altar. That presumably means that there had once been an altar to the Lord on Mount Carmel. You might remember that before the temple was built, there were several high places to the Lord throughout the land. And Elijah repaired this one by using 12 stones to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. Although the one kingdom of Israel had been divided into two, God still regarded the two kingdoms as his one people. And then Elijah dug a trench around the altar and arranged the wood and the bull for the sacrifice. And then he told the people to fill four large jars with water and to soak the altar and the wood and the offering three times. And the narrator tells us that the water ran down the altar and filled the trench. How will the offering and wood ever burn when it has been soaked like this?
But then Elijah stepped forward and began to pray. Unlike the shouting and dancing and slashing of the prophets of Baal, Elijah’s prayer is simple and straightforward. He calls on the Lord to make it known that he is God in Israel. And make it known that Elijah is his servant who had set up this trial at God’s command. And make it known that God is turning the hearts of the people back to God. Elijah believed that, by means of this trial, God was working in the hearts of the people to lead the people to repentance, so that they would return to God.
And after Elijah prayed, the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the soil and the water in the trench. And by sending the fire like this, it became obvious to all who were there that Baal is nothing, and the Lord is God. And so, the people fell down on the ground and confessed that the Lord is God, the Lord is God.
And Elijah commanded them to seize the prophets of Baal so that they could be slaughtered. In this he was obeying the will of the Lord for his people in those days, because God said in Deuteronomy 13 that false prophets, who try to lead the Israelites astray, must be put to death. They must be put to death, because it’s such a serious thing to lead God’s people away from the Lord their Saviour. If they’re allowed to live, they’ll just do it again. And so, the Lord was clear: such people must be put to death.
Veres 41 to 46
And in the final part of today’s passage, Elijah climbed to the top of the mountain and bent down to the ground; and put his face between his knees; and, though it doesn’t say so, there’s no doubt that he began to pray for rain. Seven times he prayed and each time he prayed he asked his servant to go and look towards the sea. The first time, there was nothing. The second time, there was nothing. The third time, the fourth time, the fifth time, the sixth time, nothing. But then the seventh time he looked, he saw a small cloud. And that small cloud signified that rain was on its way. And soon the sky grew black with clouds and the wind rose and heavy rain fell. The drought was over.
Elijah instructed Ahab to go home; and Elijah ran ahead of him. And the commentators make the point that by going ahead of the king, Elijah was a kind of herald, announcing the coming of the king. And they also make the point that, by coming behind Elijah, it’s as if Ahab is finally following Elijah. He’s ready perhaps to do the will of the Lord.
Application
What was the point of the trial? I said earlier that the Lord wanted Elijah to go to Ahab and set up the trial, so that it will become clear to the people that Baal is nothing and that the Lord is the true and living God. And once they realise that, then they would turn from Baal and turn back to the Lord in repentance. And once they repent, God will send the rain.
And that’s exactly what happened. Elijah went to Ahab. They had the trial. It became clear that Baal is nothing; and that the Lord is the true God. And afterwards, the people fell down on the ground and confessed that the Lord is God. And when Elijah instructed them to kill the prophets of Baal, they obeyed. They were willing to rid the land of the prophets of Baal, because from that time on they would worship the Lord alone. And because they repented, the Lord was willing to relent and send the rain on the land again.
The Lord longs to be gracious to his people. He wanted to remove the drought. And so, he enabled them to repent so that he could be gracious to them and send the rain. And God is gracious to us, because he comes to us in his word and convicts of us our sin, so that we will turn from it and turn to him. And whoever turns to the Lord discovers that the Lord is gracious and merciful and slow to anger and abounding in steadfast and he doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, but he’s willing to pardon us for the sake of Christ who died for sinners.
But notice this one last thing before we finish. God instructed Elijah to set up the trial. And as part of the trial, Elijah had to prepare an animal for sacrifice. And it was a sacrifice, wasn’t it? Take a look at verse 38 where the NIV says that the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice. But it’s a pity the NIV translated the verse that way, because that translation hides the fact that the sacrifice which was burned up was in fact a burnt offering. The book of Leviticus tells us that there were different kinds of offering which the people could make to the Lord. And the purpose of the burnt offering was to make atonement for the people. That means it was offered to God as a ransom to pay for the sins of the people.
In Old Testament times you could pay a ransom to another person for various reasons. If you were a soldier and were captured in battle, the king might pay a ransom to your captors to pay for your release. If your ox killed someone, you became liable to the death penalty; but you could also pay a ransom so that your life was spared. If a man slept with another man’s wife, both adulterers were liable to the death penalty, unless the guilty man paid a ransom to the woman’s husband. The ransom was the price you paid to be set free from captivity or punishment. And the Lord taught his people to bring him a burnt offering as a ransom to pay for their sins and to free them from the punishment they deserved for all that they had done wrong. And the Lord, who is merciful and who does not treat us as our sins deserve, was willing to accept the animal in place of the people. The animal died and the people lived.
On Mount Carmel, the fire of the Lord should have fallen on the people. They should have died that day, because they had turned from the Lord. But the fire of the Lord fell instead on the sacrificial animal. And the Lord spared the people and let them live. And today we’re receiving the Lord’s Supper to remind us that we deserve to die. We deserve to die, because the wages of sin is death. Your body should have been broken. Your blood should have been shed. The wrath of God should have fallen on you. But Christ died in your place. He suffered the penalty you deserve, so that God would spare you and let you live with him forever.
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