1 Kings 18: 1 – 46
Make up your mind
18 And it came to pass after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.” 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria. 3 And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly. 4 For so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.) 5 And Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go into the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks; perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive, so that we will not have to kill any livestock.” 6 So they divided the land between them to explore it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. 7 Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, “Is that you, my lord Elijah?” 8 And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’” 9 So he said, “How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? 10 As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you. 11 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here”’! 12 And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you to a place I do not know; so, when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth. 13 Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, how I hid one hundred men of the LORD’s prophets, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water? 14 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here.”’ He will kill me!” 15 Then Elijah said, “As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today.” 16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?” 18 And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals. 19 Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, 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 for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. 23 Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. 24 Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” So all the people answered and said, “It is well spoken.” 25 Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” 26 So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made. 27 And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. 29 And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention. 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” 32 Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four water pots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.” 34 Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35 So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water. 36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.” 38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!” 40 And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there. 41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, 43 and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So, he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.” 44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’ ” 45 Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. 46 Then the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
There are reasons why you may not be able to make up your mind. When there is an emotional storm going on in your mind it is difficult to make a clear choice. Here are some reasons why you may be having difficulty making up your mind.
You must make up your mind and choose yet you do not know which the right choice is.
Having to make a choice between two or more alternatives can be exhausting. If you have two potential jobs which one do you pick? Some of you are saying I would like to have to make that choice. Problem is that once you pick one the other is out.
What people in this situation often do is try to avoid making a choice. That is also a choice. Some of the most life-changing decisions occur when we fail to make a choice and as a result, a whole world of possibilities closes to us.
If you don’t give the company who offered you that job a yes, they may proceed to offer that job to someone else. If you don’t go to a college you may forever wonder what would have happened if you had gone there.
You can only walk down one road at a time and no matter how fast you walk the outcomes change if you picked one thing and not the other.
For Christians we are not hampered by this situation. Let me explain to you how this is so.
Let’s say you want to buy a new car. You want a nice luxury car and your wife wants a SUV. What choice is the right one for the both of you. Here is a sure-fire way to make the right choice. Let our Holy Lord God make the decision for you. You do this by selecting 5 strong Christian believers or couples. You present to them individually what your problem is and ask them to pray to our Lord for you for the right decision. After a week you contact them and ask what message the Lord gave to them.
Let’s say that 3 say yes to the SUV and 2 for the luxury vehicle. What is the right thing to do now? Many will say that since the majority says get the SUV that is the right choice. I say it isn’t. You see our Holy Great Master guides us with three answers; Yes, No, and Wait. Our Holy God Is not the author of any confusion so you have to get a complete consensus about which choice you should make.
If you are not a believer, then you are going to be in the muck and mire. You are the captain of your own ship and sadly you are on your own. I want to encourage you to receive Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. Let Him into your life and you will forever be grateful.
Today, we are going to learn about a whole lot of un-believers in the One and Only True Father God Adoni Yahweh. They are going to have to face a decision. They must make up their minds on who they will worship.
18 And it came to pass after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.” 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria. 3 And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly. 4 For so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.)
As we start off this chapter we are reminded that many days having passed since Elijah had confronted Ahab. In fact three years have gone by without it raining. It was now time for the Lord to act as He spoke again to Elijah. His message this time was that Elijah make himself known to Ahab because YHWH was about to send rain on the earth once again. And Elijah obediently went to do what YHWH had bidden him, to show himself to Ahab who according to Obadiah was desperately looking for him to kill him.
But before YHWH would once again send the rain something else had yet to happen, a final challenge laid down to the phony god Baal that he causes it to rain, and that he prove that he was the god of storm and lightning by setting fire to a sacrifice being offered on his altar. Once he had done that, then they could believe on him.
5 And Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go into the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks; perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive, so that we will not have to kill any livestock.”
King Ahab called on Obadiah to assist him in his search for grazing land. His rather vain hope was to find grass and water to save at least some of the king’s domestic animals.
6 So they divided the land between them to explore it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
Ahab and his search party went one way, and Obadiah with another search party, went another. And the aim would be to find any grass that could be used to keep alive the king’s domestic animals. It was a desperate measure in a desperate situation and indicated how bad things had become. ‘
7 Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, “Is that you, my lord Elijah?”
As Obadiah went on his way Elijah appeared before him, and Obadiah immediately recognized him and fell on his face, and cried, ‘Is it you, my lord Elijah?’ This deference from the second person in the land is a reminder of the high esteem in which Elijah was held by many in the land as a true prophet of God, and especially so to a man like Obadiah who was himself a true servant of YHWH.
8 And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”
Elijah replied that it was indeed Elijah. Please notice the three statements of Elijah’s firm intention to meet with Ahab. It also draws attention to his divine authority in that he could summon a king in such a way.
9 So he said, “How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me?
However, Elijah’s remarks were easier said than done for Obadiah was quite concerned. He did not want to go to Ahab with the news that Elijah was there, only for Ahab to discover when he came that Elijah had vanished. He asked Elijah why he was treating him like this. What sin had he committed that Elijah should put him in such a dangerous position? His fear reflected the despotism that had developed in Israel’s kingship so that even the highest servant in the land was not immune from the insane wrath of a king.
10 As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you.
Obadiah pointed out that King Ahab had been searching everywhere for him with the intention of doing him harm, and that he had done it with an all-out man hunt. Thus, he would not treat kindly anyone who told him where to find Elijah, only for him to discover that Elijah was not there.
11 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here”’! 12 And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you to a place I do not know; so, when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth. 13 Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, how I hid one hundred men of the LORD’s prophets, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water? 14 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here.”’ He will kill me!”
For such was Elijah’s reputation that he feared that as soon as he had left Elijah the Spirit of YHWH would whisk him off somewhere, so that when Ahab came to seek him, Elijah would have gone, and the messenger who had brought the news would suffer accordingly. It may well be that Obadiah knew of cases where this had happened.
He asked Elijah to consider the fact that he himself was a true worshipper of YHWH and had been from his youth, and reminded him of how he had saved a hundred prophets of YHWH by hiding them in a number of caves. And now Elijah was asking him to take a message which could put him in jeopardy of his life.
15 Then Elijah said, “As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today.”
Elijah assured him that he need not fear, for as truly as YHWH was the living God, and he was His servant who stood before Him he would show himself to Ahab that very day.
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
The bible story jumps to Ahab being informed and goes to where Elijah was staying. When Ahab saw Elijah he cried out, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” Ahab knew that it really was Elijah and YHWH who were responsible for the famine. Otherwise why be so concerned about them? But it is an indication of the folly and hardness of men’s hearts that he did not repent or consider changing his ways. Sinful man is always illogical in his dealings with God. This was in total contrast with David who always responded to such things by seeking God (2 Samuel 21.1)
18 And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals.
For as Elijah then pointed out, it was not he who was troubling Israel but Ahab. It was because Ahab and his father’s house had forsaken the commandments of YHWH and were following ‘the baalim’ that this disaster had come on Israel. There was no one apart from Ahab and the people themselves to blame.
19 Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
He then called on Ahab to bring to Elijah on Mount Carmel ‘all Israel’ (the assembly of Israel), together with the numerous prophets of Baal and Asherah who were being fed at Jezebel’s table.
20 So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel.
It is an indication of the awe in which King Ahab held Elijah that he did as he had bid him. The summons went out to all Israel to gather at the sanctuary on Mount Carmel, and all the prophets of Baal were commanded to be there. It was a further indication that in his heart he knew that Elijah could do something about the drought.
In this vivid description of the contest on Mount Carmel Ahab is deliberately not mentioned. This was because it was not a contest between Elijah and Ahab, but between YHWH, represented by Elijah, and Baal, represented by his four hundred and fifty prophets. All eyes were to be on the combatants. And it was carried out before all the people so that they could come to their own conclusions. It would end in a complete victory for YHWH by a knockout.
The contest was dramatic. Each side would prepare an offering for sacrifice, but no fire would be lit under it. Then each side would call on their respective deity to consume the offering by fire from Heaven. Elijah gave the false prophets every opportunity. They had the choice of which bullock they would sacrifice, and as they had the largest number of prophets, they were given as much time as they wanted. They could hardly complain that they had had a raw deal. Then the God Who answered by fire (that is, by lightning that consumed the sacrifice, which was the supposed forte of Baal as the god of storm and lightning) would be established as the true God. The idea of fire coming down from Heaven to consume the sacrifice was taken by Elijah from Leviticus 9.24, where again it was before an assembled crowd. It was thus seen by him as a sign typical of the God of Israel.
It should be noted that Elijah linked the sacrifice that he was about to offer with the period of drought by drenching the sacrifice with water so that the offering would also be a plea for rain, in order that the crowds may know where the coming rain came from. Such a pouring out of water, especially at the feast of Tabernacles represented a plea for rain. In addition, have you ever had a cook out after it had rained. It is kind of hard to start the charcoals isn’t it. Here Elijah is going to put everything in water, now that has to be a miracle to burn.
21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.
Elijah commenced the contest by a direct challenge to the people, vividly depicting them as limping along spiritually as they looked in indecision first to one side and then to the other. Now, he proclaimed, it was time for them to make up their minds and make a final choice between YHWH and Baal. “If YHWH Is God, follow him, but if Baal, then follow him.” The people hung their heads and had nothing to say.
22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
Elijah then summed up the two sets of contestants. On one side stood Elijah, alone. On the other side were four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal. It appeared to be no contest. But that is to forget that one with God is a majority.
23 Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. 24 Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” So all the people answered and said, “It is well spoken.”
He then laid down the terms of the contest. Each side would have a bullock, and the prophets of Baal could even choose which bullock they had. Then they were to cut it in pieces and lay the pieces on the wood which was on their altar. But no fire was to come near it. And he would do the same. After that they were to call on the name of ‘their god’ and he would call on the Name of YHWH. And the God Who answered by fire would be the true God. In the eyes of the people it would appear that all the odds were on the side of the prophets of Baal, for Baal was the god of storm and lightning. If YHWH won therefore it would be conclusive. It would prove that the God of Sinai and of Moses was truly among them (Leviticus 9.24). The people heartily agreed with the idea and said that it was well spoken.
25 Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god but put no fire under it.”
Elijah then turned to the prophets of Baal and called on them to go first because they were many. He wanted them to have as much time as they wanted. He knew perfectly well that what he was asking of them was impossible, for there was no one who would hear their cries. Then they were to prepare their sacrifice, but without putting fire under it, and pray as much as they liked. The more they prayed, the more futile their prayers would appear.
26 So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made.
So, the prophets of Baal took the bullock that had been given to them and dressed it and called on Baal from morning until noon. Hour by hour they called, but despite the hot sun there was no response. And they performed ceremonial dances around the altar as they waited for Baal to answer.
27 And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.”
When noon came with no response Elijah began to jeer. He wanted the crowds to recognize how helpless these prophets were. So, he called on them, if they really thought that Baal was a god, to shout louder. Perhaps he was musing, or relieving himself, or on a journey, or sleeping. The crowds would be aware that these things were never true of YHWH. He neither slumbered nor slept.
28 So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them.
To Elijah’s mocking the prophets of Baal got even more worked up. They were getting desperate. They cried out aloud, and they gashed themselves so that the blood would run out and because of their obvious suffering on his behalf to stir Baal into. But none of it worked. There was no response. The fallen angel behind the phony gods were not allowed to do anything.
29 And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.
Having reached midday, they ‘prophesied’ on until the time of the evening sacrifice, hoping to stir Baal into action. That was the time when, as the people were aware, the second daily offering would be made in the Temple of YHWH at Jerusalem. But no voice came, no answer came, and no fire came.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.”
Then, feeling that he had waited long enough Elijah called on the people to gather round him, and they did so, eager to see what would happen. Elijah wanted it to be quite clear Whom they were dealing with, and the serious nature of what he was doing. He was involving the twelve tribes of Jacob/Israel as the people whom YHWH had chosen and named and he was about to offer a sacrifice on the altar to the only real and true God YHWH.
An important fact here is that to Elijah Israel/Judah was still seen as one, for he chose twelve stones symbolizing the twelve tribes of Jacob, for it was they who had originally been chosen by YHWH. And all were involved in this contest against Baal. So, what was about to happen was happening in the name of Israel, for and by a people who had been named by YHWH as His treasured possession (Exodus 19.5-6).
Whenever we recognize that we have fallen away from God the first step back is again to set up the altar of God which has fallen down, in other words recognize our sanctification through the blood of Jesus and seek forgiveness through Him – (Hebrews 13.10-14).
32 Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four water pots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.”
So, with the twelve stones he built an altar ‘in the Name of YHWH’. This was clearly in Elijah’s eyes a place where His Name was recorded. And then he made a large trench about the altar because he intended to make an appeal to YHWH for rain by pouring water on the offering and on the altar (compare 1 Samuel 7.6, 10). Then he put the wood in order, cut up the bullock and put the pieces on the wood on the altar. Then he called for four jars filled with water to be poured on the offering and the altar. He was wanting a good deal of rain.
34 Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time.
Then he called for them to do it twice more. He wanted the whole of Israel/Judah to benefit from the rain.
35 So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.
Inevitably there was so much water that it ran around the altar and filled the trench with water. Elijah really appeared to be making it difficult for himself. But he had no doubt about what God could do.
36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word.
Then Elijah approached God ‘at the time of the evening offering’. The people would know that this was the accepted time for prayer to YHWH. His prayer emphasized Israel’s roots. It was to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel (Jacob), and he called on Him to make it known that day that it was He alone Who was God in Israel, and that Elijah was his servant, and had done all these things at YHWH’s word.
37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”
Then he prayed that through what was about to happen as a result of his prayer, the people might know indeed that YHWH alone was God and would know that by this means He it was His intention to turn their hearts back to Him again.
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.
Then at his prayer, ‘the fire of YHWH fell’, and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and ‘licked up the water that was in the trench’. The significance of it was that YHWH had accepted the offering, including the water offering, and had rededicated His people to Himself.
39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”
As we might have expected, when the people who had been waiting disappointedly all day for Baal to act, saw this amazing event, they were astounded and ‘fell on their faces’ (Leviticus 9.24). They knew now that they were on holy ground. And now they could be in no doubt of the truth and cried out, ‘YHWH, He is God, YHWH, He is God. They would never see things in quite the same way again. YHWH had been vindicated before their very eyes.
40 And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!” So, they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there.
The amazing scene continues in that Elijah commanded the ecstatic people to seize the prophets of Baal who had proved themselves to be false prophets and let not one escape. And the crowd seized them and marched them down to the brook Kishon at the foot of Carmel where Elijah had them put to death. They had proved themselves to be false prophets, and the Law required that such be put to death. We are not told what happened to the prophets of Asherah.
41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.”
His offering, with its water offering, having been accepted Elijah now knew that the rain must follow. And he called on Ahab, who up to this point had been an unimportant bystander in the contest between YHWH and Baal, to make his way to his tent and eat and drink, because the crisis was now past. It was Elijah’s way of letting him know that the rain which would end the long drought was coming, now that YHWH had been vindicated and the prophets of Baal executed. The command to ‘eat and drink’ was a sign that things were getting back to normal.
42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees,
Elijah then made his way to Carmel’s highest peak, and bowing himself to the ground, put his face between his knees. He was making obeisance towards YHWH.
43 and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So, he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.”
Then he called on his servant to look out to sea and tell him what he observed. But the reply was, ‘nothing’. This happened another five times, and the reply was always the same.
44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’”
But on the seventh time the man cried out, “Behold, there arises a cloud out of the sea, as small as a man’s hand.” Elijah immediately knew that his prayer was answered and sent his servant to tell Ahab to make for home as quickly as possible before the rains came. Chariots do not do well in muddy conditions.
45 Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So, Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. 46 Then the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
While Ahab was setting out the rains came, and the result was that Elijah who had set out at a run for Jezreel, overtook Ahab’s mud-bound chariot, and arrived first at the entrance to Jezreel. Have you ever run in a marathon race? They are usually 26 miles in distance. Here Elijah ran 28 miles to Jezreel. How is that for not even training. Amazing.
