The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 87, King Ahab And King Jehoshaphat Plan To Go To War Together

In Thursday's study we learned that Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, married Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab the king of Israel, as a political alliance between the two nations. This makes Jehoshaphat and Ahab in-laws to each other, which is why the two men decide to join forces to retake the city of Ramoth Gilead from the nation of Aram (Syria).

You'll recall that King Ahab of Israel made a treaty with King Ben-Hadad of Aram, against the Lord's will, and as the terms of that treaty Ben-Hadad promised to return all the cities his father had taken from the tribes of Israel. But Ben-Hadad evidently went back on his word, at least where the city of Ramoth Gilead was concerned. In today's text we'll find Ahab asking Jehoshaphat to help him take Ramoth Gilead by force.

Ramoth Gilead lay about forty miles from Jehoshaphat's capital city of Jerusalem. We were told yesterday that Jehoshaphat had called up and trained over 1,000,000 soldiers to serve him in the area of Jerusalem. These soldiers were in addition to all those he conscripted to man the garrisons situated all around the kingdom of Judah. Ahab knows Jehoshaphat has amassed an impressive army during the first three years of his reign and Jehoshaphat's troops are in a good position to make a move against the enemy soldiers who are occupying Ramoth Gilead. In today's study Jehoshaphat will visit King Ahab and in my opinion he was invited there for the express purpose of gaining his help against the king of Aram. Ahab will throw a large feast for Jehoshaphat and then he will bring up the subject of Ramoth Gilead.

"For three years there was no war between Israel and Aram." (1 Kings 22:1a) For the first three years after Ahab foolishly made a treaty with Ben-Hadad, there were no military conflicts between the two nations. But during that time Ben-Hadad failed to keep all the terms of the treaty and apparently Ahab demanded the return of Ramoth Gilead---a demand that was refused. Ahab has a right to expect the terms of the treaty to be fulfilled but I suspect there's more to it than that. He probably feels like he's been duped. He probably feels humiliated and wonders if he looks weak to the people of his kingdom if he does not enforce the terms of the treaty. I think his pride is wounded. In two earlier battles his outnumbered forces defeated Ben-Hadad's forces but that's because the Lord fought on Israel's side to prove that He is God and to encourage the people to turn away from idolatry. But Ahab didn't kill the enemy king when he had the chance, which he knew the Lord wanted him to do in order to remove this foe from the lives of the people of Israel. If the Lord is not on Ahab's side, Ahab's outnumbered forces can't possibly win against the forces of Ben-Hadad, so Ahab needs an ally in this fight. This is where Jehoshaphat comes into his plan.

"But in the third year Jehoshaphat king of Judah went down to see the king of Israel. The king of Israel had said to his officials, 'Don't you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us and yet we are doing nothing to retake it from the king of Aram?'" (1 Kings 22:2-3) We see that Ahab had already discussed this problem with his officials before Jehoshaphat's visit. When Jehoshaphat arrives, Ahab shows him great honor before he asks him to be his ally against Aram. "Ahab slaughtered many sheep and cattle for him and the people with him and urged him to attack Ramoth Gilead." (2 Chronicles 18:2b) "So he asked Jehoshaphat, 'Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth Gilead?'" (1 Kings 22:4a, 2 Chronicles 18:3a)

Jehoshaphat is willing to go to battle but first he wants to consult a prophet of the Lord about this endeavor. "Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, 'I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.' But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, 'First seek the counsel of the Lord.'" (1 Kings 22:4b-5, 2 Chronicles 18:3b-4)

In yesterday's study we were told that Jehoshaphat followed the ways of the Lord as David his forefather had done. Jehoshaphat served only the Lord, not idols, and tore down all the idolatrous altars and images in the land of Judah. Jehoshaphat is not in the habit of making big decisions without consulting the Lord so he insists that Ahab call for some prophets to find out whether or not it's the Lord's will to attack Ramoth Gilead. 

"So the king of Israel brought together the prophets---about four hundred men---and asked them, 'Shall I go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?' 'Go,' they answered, 'for the Lord will give it into the king's hand.'" (1 Kings 22:6, 2 Chronicles 18:5) These are not prophets of the Lord, as we'll see momentarily; they are probably prophets of Baal or Asherah. Earlier in the book of 1 Kings we found the 450 prophets of Baal being put to death but there's no reason to assume these haven't been replaced. Jezebel has been supporting the prophets of her pagan religion out of the royal treasury and it's doubtful she would have allowed these offices to remain vacant. I feel certain she replaced the men who were lost. In addition to the government-supported prophets of Baal, Jezebel also maintained 400 prophets of Asherah, who was the chief goddess of her religion. I think the 400 prophets Ahab calls to the palace are called from among those who are being supported by himself and his wife. Naturally these prophets are going to tell him exactly what he wants to hear.

Jehoshaphat recognizes these men as heathen prophets, possibly because they immediately give Ahab the go-ahead without making any pretense of prayer or else because they employ some sort of pagan divination rituals to obtain their answer for the king. Ahab may be convinced by these men's words but Jehoshaphat isn't. "But Jehoshaphat asked, 'Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?'" (1 Kings 22:7, 2 Chronicles 18:6)

Previously in our study of the kings we learned that Jezebel went on a rampage against the prophets of the Lord and had many of them slaughtered. But there are still quite a few true prophets left in Israel, for we have seen several of them advising and reprimanding Ahab. There is a prophet of the Lord living nearby but Ahab doesn't want to call him because he won't tell him what he wants to hear. "The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, 'There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.'" (1 Kings 22:8a, 2 Chronicles 18:7a)

I can't help picturing the king of Israel frowning ill-humoredly, crossing his arms stubbornly, and pouting like a petulant child as he says the words above. Jehoshaphat answers him as one might answer a whiny child. "'The king should not say such a thing,' Jehoshaphat replied." (1 Kings 22:8b- 2 Chronicles 18:7b) 

Having been scolded by the man whose help he needs, Ahab sends for the prophet of the Lord. "So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, 'Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.'" (1 Kings 22, 2 Chronicles 18:8) In our next study session the prophet will have a message of bad tidings for the kings but in the end the kings will decide to go ahead and make war anyway. 

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 86, Jehoshaphat King Of Judah

We've been studying the deeds of King Ahab of Israel and now we must back up a bit to learn some things about the king of Judah, for these two kings will go to war together in 1 Kings 22 against their common enemy, Aram (Syria). 

Ahab inherited the throne of Israel from his father Omri during the thirty-eighth year of the reign of King Asa of Judah. Asa reigned for forty-one years and was succeeded by his son Jehoshaphat, who assumed the throne during the fourth year of King Asa of Israel. At first we will find Jehoshaphat fortifying the kingdom of Judah against any attacks from the kingdom of Israel but at some point early in his reign he made an alliance with King Ahab with marriage between his son Jehoram and Ahab's daughter Athaliah. This alliance explains why we will find both these kings fighting together against Aram in 1 Kings 22.

After the death of King Asa of Judah, the author of 2 Chronicles tells us, "Jehoshaphat his son succeeded him as king and strengthened himself against Israel. He stationed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah and put garrisons in Judah and in the towns of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured." (2 Chronicles 17:1-2)

Jehoshaphat is faithful to the Lord. As a result, the Lord blesses him. "The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the ways of his father David before him. He did not consult the Baals but sought the God of his father and followed His commands rather than the practices of Israel. The Lord established the kingdom under his control; and all Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so that he had great wealth and honor. His heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah." (2 Chronicles 17:3-6) In 1 Kings 22:43 we'll see it stated that Jehoshaphat did not remove the high places but this is not a contradiction. In one passage of the Bible it was said that Jehoshaphat's father, Asa, did not remove the high places but in another passage it says that he removed the foreign high places. I think the same thing occurred during Jehoshaphat's reign: he removed the foreign (idolatrous) high places but left the high places where offerings had been made to the Lord. 

"In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nathanel and Micaiah to teach in the towns of Judah. With them were certain Levites---Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah and Tob-Adonijah---and the priests Elishama and Jehoram. They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the Lord; they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people." (2 Chronicles 17:7-9) Not only did Jehoshaphat study the word of God and strive to live by it, but he made the word of God available to all the people so they could live by it too. The word of God is very effective. Not everyone who hears it will accept it but many who hear it do. That's what happens in Judah during the reign of Jehoshaphat.

"The fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah, so that they did not go to war against Jehoshaphat. Some Philistines brought Jehoshaphat gifts of silver as tribute, and the Arabs brought him flocks; seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred goats." (2 Chronicles 17:10-11) The surrounding nations saw how the Lord was bestowing great prosperity upon Judah and it caused them to be afraid of tangling with Judah's God. A God who can prosper His people mightily can also defend His people mightily.

Is this why King Ahab gave his daughter in marriage to Jehoshaphat's son? Was he afraid that Judah's king would become so powerful that he would attack Israel and prevail? The way the marriage alliance is described in 2 Chronicles 18:1 makes it sound as if Jehoshaphat initiated this arrangement: "Now Jehoshaphat had great wealth and honor, and he allied himself with Ahab by marriage." However, it could be that Ahab proposed the alliance because Jehoshaphat had great wealth and honor---in other words, because Ahab felt threatened by the prosperity of the king of Judah. Whatever the reason for making an alliance between the son of a godly king and the daughter of an idolatrous king, it won't be a good thing for Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat. Jehoram will be an idolater, perhaps due to the influence of his wicked wife, and he will have his own brothers put to death due to a fear that they will conspire together to usurp the throne. I couldn't find any indication in the Bible that there was any evidence of such a conspiracy but evil people often suffer from paranoid fears that others are out to get them. You'll recall King Saul's paranoid fears that David would lie in wait for him somewhere to kill him, although David never had any intention of doing such a thing.

"Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful; he built forts and store cities in Judah and had large supplies in the towns of Judah. He also kept experienced fighting men in Jerusalem. Their enrollment by families was as follows: 'From Judah, commanders of units of 1,000: Adnah, the commander, with 300,000 fighting men; next, Jehohanan the commander, with 280,000; next, Amasiah son of Zikri, who volunteered himself for the service of the Lord, with 200,000. From Benjamin: Eliada, a valiant soldier, with 200,000 men armed with bows and shields; next, Jehozabad, with 180,000 men armed for battle. These were the men who served the king, besides those he stationed in the fortified cities throughout Judah." (2 Chronicles 17:12-19) This is an impressive army and the numbers given here do not include the soldiers stationed all over the nation. 

No wonder King Ahab gives his daughter in marriage to the king of Judah! Because of this alliance he will request the military help of King Jehoshaphat in our next study session. 

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 85, Elijah Confronts King Ahab Over The Death Of Naboth

As we closed our study yesterday we found Ahab taking possession of the vineyard that had belonged to Naboth. Ahab wanted Naboth's land for himself, Naboth refused to sell it to him, Ahab went home pouting and unhappy, then Ahab's wife Jezebel had Naboth falsely accused and executed. Today the prophet Elijah confronts Ahab over Naboth's death.

"Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 'Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth's vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. Say to him, 'This is what the Lord says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?'" (1 Kings 21:17-19a) Ahab didn't kill Naboth with his own hands but he's just as guilty as if he did. He knows how violent Jezebel is; when she stated she would get the property for him from Naboth, Ahab knew what she was capable of. She had his permission to do anything she pleased in regard to Naboth, just as she had his permission to do anything she pleased when she had many of the Lord's prophets executed. I am certain Ahab knew Naboth would end up dead and I am certain Ahab wanted Naboth dead. When Jezebel promised to get him the vineyard, he may not have known exactly what her plan was, but he knew it involved the death of Naboth.

The Lord continues His instructions to Elijah. "Then say to him, 'This is what the Lord says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth's blood, dogs will lick up your blood---yes, yours!'" (1 Kings 21:19b) An unnamed prophet had already spoken a deadly prophecy against Ahab for sinfully making a treaty with the king of Syria and letting him go. Now Ahab has added to his sins so another deadly prophecy is spoken against him. 

Ahab is angry and offended by Elijah's words. "Ahab said to Elijah, 'So you have found me, my enemy!'" (1 Kings 21:20a) Ahab considers Elijah his enemy because Elijah always confronts him with his sins. Elijah keeps speaking words that Ahab doesn't want to hear, which reminds me of something the Apostle Paul said in his letter to the church at Galatia. Paul pointed out areas of sin to them that they needed to deal with and they took offense, so he asked them, "Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?" (Galatians 4:16)

Elijah answers the king. "'I have found you,' he answered, 'because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord. He says, 'I am going to bring disaster on you. I will wipe out your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel---slave or free. I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have aroused My anger and caused Israel to sin.' And also concerning Jezebel the Lord says: 'Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.' Dogs will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds will feed on those who die in the country.'" (1 Kings 21:20b-24) 

The author of 1 Kings adds this comment: "(There was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the Lord drove out before Israel.)" (1 Kings 21:25-26) The author says Ahab "sold himself" because he gave himself willingly over to sin, making himself the slave of sin, for the Lord Jesus said that anyone who gives their life over to sin is "a slave to sin". (John 8:34)

Ahab has ignored previous warnings about his sinful life but something about the words Elijah speaks in Chapter 21 strike fear in his heart. I don't believe Ahab repents of idolatry, denounces pagan religion, and turns to the Lord. (In our next chapter he will still be a scheming scoundrel.) But I think he is overwhelmed by a sense of impending doom when he hears Elijah's words. The innocent Naboth's blood is on his hands. The thought of losing his own life and having his body displayed in the open and eaten by dogs is something he can't bear to think about. He knows he deserves such a fate and he begins to behave (at least outwardly) as if he is sorry for his part in Naboth's death. "When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly." (1 Kings 21:27) 

Ahab will still die soon but because he has shown some sorrow for his actions he is going to be spared having his blood spilled in the same spot as Naboth's and having his body ravaged by the dogs that scavenged on the street. The Lord also will not wipe out Ahab's descendants during Ahab's lifetime but will cut off his dynasty during the reign of his successor. "Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 'Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.'" (1 Kings 21:28-29) 

Perhaps Ahab's humbling of himself influenced some of the people in his kingdom to change their ways when they saw that he feared God. His fear of God is not the type that leads to repentance and salvation but he does at least acknowledge that he has done something wrong. However, his wife Jezebel will not follow his example. The fate predicted by Elijah will befall her.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 84, Queen Jezebel Has A Man Killed Because King Ahab Wants His Vineyard

Today's passage provides us with yet another example of Queen Jezebel's wickedness. We already know she ordered many of the Lord's prophets killed because they opposed the state-sponsored religion of Baal worship that she introduced when she married King Ahab of Israel. Now she has a man killed for a very petty reason: he has displeased her husband by not selling him a particular parcel of land.

"Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite." (1 Kings 21:1a) When the author says "some time later" he's referring to the things that happened in the previous chapter in which King Ahab made a treaty with the king of Syria (against the Lord's command) and a prophet pronounced a coming judgment upon Ahab. 

"The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. Ahab said to Naboth, 'Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.'" (1 Kings 21:1b-2) We will sometimes find the northern kingdom of Israel referred to as "Samaria" since that was its capital city after Ahab's father, King Omri, relocated it from Tirzah. 

Ahab is proposing a real estate transaction; he is not demanding that Naboth hand his vineyard over to him. But there is still something wrong with his request, which we'll discuss shortly, and Naboth refuses his offer. "But Naboth replied, 'The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.'" (1 Kings 21:3) The Lord allowed the Israelites to sell parcels of land to each other but since the Lord allotted certain territories to each tribe when they entered the promised land, they were not to sell any of their land to people outside of their own tribe. The selling was only to be done in cases of financial hardship and to their nearest relative who was able to purchase it. The selling was temporary as well; it was to be returned to the original owner in the year of Jubilee. Leviticus 25 discusses these types of transactions in detail. 

In addition, in Numbers 36 the Lord issues commands regarding inheritances in which a man has daughters but no sons. The daughters who inherit his land must marry men within their own tribe so that no land allotted to one tribe ends up belonging to another tribe. King Ahab and Naboth are evidently from two different tribes and they are not kinsmen and Naboth has no financial need to sell his vineyard. Naboth is right to refuse to sell his vineyard to the king. Many scholars propose that Naboth is of the tribe of Issachar, since his hometown of Jezreel lay within that territory, and that Ahab is of the tribe of Manasseh. 

"So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, 'I will not give you the inheritance of my ancestors.' He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat. His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, 'Why are you so sullen? Why won't you eat?' He answered her, 'Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, 'Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.' But he said, 'I will not give you my vineyard.'" (1 Kings 21:4-6) Ahab is lying in bed pouting like a spoiled child. Jezebel finds his behavior exasperating. "Jezebel his wife said, 'Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I'll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.'" (1 Kings 21:7) 

If you have ever seen a marriage where the husband is weak and the wife is strong, you'll have noted a weird mother/son dynamic going on. That's what we see in today's portion of Scripture in regard to the marriage between Ahab and Jezebel. Ahab is a weak man. Jezebel is a strong woman. As a a result, Ahab behaves like a man-child and Jezebel takes control of situations he doesn't want to deal with, talking down to him like a mother scolding a petulant little boy. She promises to take charge of Ahab's problem and he skips happily away without any concern as to how she intends to take charge of it.

Jezebel does more than "wear the pants" in this family; she figuratively wears the crown even though it's literally on her husband's head. Next we find her being bold enough to write letters in her husband's name. She knows he will not mind (indeed he is glad to have her handling his business) and she has probably been in the habit of signing his name to letters and orders before now, either at his request or on her own volition. "So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth's city with him. In those letters she wrote: 'Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.'" (1 Kings 21:8-10)

"So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth's city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them. They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people. Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, 'Naboth has cursed both God and the king.' So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. Then they sent word to Jezebel: 'Naboth has been stoned to death.'" (1 Kings 21:11-14) It was important that there be two accusers, for the law stated that capital punishment could not be carried out on the word of only one witness. (Deuteronomy 17:6) The law also stated that anyone who cursed the Lord was to be stoned to death by the people. (Leviticus 24:15-16) Two witnesses claim they heard Naboth cursing the Lord. They claim he cursed the king as well, which I assume indicates a threat against him. Plotting against the king's life would constitute treason, a capital offense. The people seize Naboth and stone him to death. 

The elders and nobles send a message to Jezebel---not to Ahab---that the deed is done. This demonstrates their awareness that she is the power behind the throne. She does not have the legal authority to issue orders in her own name, which is why she signed Ahab's name, but it seems clear that the officials know the orders actually came from her. She receives the message and takes the news to her husband. "As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, 'Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead.' When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth's vineyard." (1 Kings 21:15-16) 

Ahab is lounging about the palace while Jezebel does the dirty work. Like an obedient little boy, at her command he goes and lays claim to the land she procured for him at the expense of another man's life. When we arrive at 2 Kings 9:26 we will learn that more than one man's life was lost in 1 Kings 21, for that verse makes a statement about Ahab being responsible for "the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons". This has led many scholars to conclude that Naboth and all of his heirs were put to death so no one could challenge Ahab's claim to the vineyard.

At the end of Chapter 21 we found a prophet warning Ahab that his life would soon be required of him. Ahab is a weak man and he is a wicked man. He was too weak to kill an enemy king while that man was in his custody, although he knew the Lord wanted this enemy eradicated and the enemy army defeated too soundly to come back against Israel. Ahab is also too weak to personally carry out many of his wicked desires, so he allows Jezebel to do wicked things in his name, which makes them co-conspirators. I don't know whether he knew the precise details of how Jezebel went about getting Naboth killed but there is no doubt he knew she was behind the killing. She promised to get him Naboth's vineyard and suddenly the godly man Naboth ends up stoned to death for blaspheming the Lord. A person wouldn't have to be very bright at all to put two and two together in this case. Ahab already knew Jezebel was capable of violence due to her treatment of the Lord's prophets; when she said she'd take care of Naboth I believe Ahab knew blood would be spilled. He knew it but he didn't care. Jezebel had his approval to handle the matter however she wished.

Both King Ahab and Queen Jezebel will come to a bad end as the judgment of the Lord for their sinful deeds.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 83, A Prophet Pronounces Judgment Against King Ahab

When King Ben-Hadad of Aram (Syria) and his troops laid siege to Israel's capital city, a prophet came to King Ahab of Israel and told him the Lord was going to grant victory in battle to Israel. Israel's troops were vastly outnumbered but the Lord gave them victory in two battles, the second of which ended with King Ahab having King Ben-Hadad in his custody. Instead of ridding Israel of this enemy for good and defeating the Syrian nation so badly that it could never be a threat to Israel again, King Ahab foolishly made a treaty with Ben-Hadad. Today an unnamed prophet will come to him and pronounce a judgment against him for not fully carrying out the Lord's will to protect the people of Israel of this powerful threat.

The prophet intends to carry out a ruse to get the king's attention and to set a scene to illustrate the pronouncement he's going to make against him. Before going out to find the king, the prophet asks a man to wound him so he will appear to have been involved in the battle. "By the word of the Lord one of the company of the prophets said to his companion, 'Strike me with your weapon,' but he refused. So the prophet said, 'Because you have not obeyed the Lord, as soon as you leave me a lion will kill you.' And after the man went away, a lion found him and killed him." (1 Kings 20:35-36) 

This seems like a very strange event but the author of 1 Kings makes it clear to us that the prophet was given a message from the Lord and that the Lord directed him to set a particular scene for the king of Israel. This prophet asked "his companion" (another prophet) to strike him and the other prophet refused. If the man who refused did not realize this was a command of the Lord, then he was not a true prophet or else he lacked enough faith to ever be an effective prophet. If he cannot obey the Lord's word spoken through a prophet he knows and trusts, how will he ever be able to stand up and proclaim the Lord's message to unbelievers? Prophets in the Bible must be so full of faith that they can stand face to face with wicked kings to deliver the Lord's word. The man who ends up eaten by a lion might have become a liability to the whole company of prophets at some later date, perhaps betraying them somehow due to his lack of faith.

The first prophet asks another man to strike him and he obeys. "The prophet found another man and said, 'Strike me, please.' So the man struck him and wounded him. Then the prophet went and stood by the road waiting for the king. He disguised himself with his headband down over his eyes." (1 Kings 20:37-38) This man may be a known prophet in Israel since he has to disguise himself in order to approach the king. If the king realizes he's a prophet standing by the roadway waiting to speak with him, he might pass him by, not interested in hearing anything he might have to say. Worse yet, he could order him killed if he's in the mood to do so, since Queen Jezebel would like to see all the prophets of the Lord killed.

"As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, 'Your servant went into the thick of the battle, and someone came to me with a captive and said, 'Guard this man. If he is missing, it will be your life for his life, or you must pay a talent of silver.' While your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared.'" (1 Kings 20:39-40a) This isn't the first time we've seen a prophet present a fictional story to get a king's attention. Remember when the prophet Nathan presented a fictional legal case to King David in order to get him to face up to his sins of adultery and murder? (This occurred in 2 Samuel 12 if you're interested in rereading it.) The prophet in today's passage tells Ahab, "An enemy soldier was captured and placed in my custody but I lost him. I was warned that if I lost him I'd be executed if I could not pay a talent of silver." This is approximately seventy-five pounds of silver and at today's prices would be worth $28,416! There's no way a soldier of King Ahab's day would have had that kind of money at his disposal; even in our own day that's more than a lot of people make in a year working full-time. So if the man telling this story had really been a soldier and if he had really lost a prisoner in his custody, losing the prisoner meant certain death because he could not have paid a talent of silver.

King Ahab assumes the man is bringing his case before him hoping to be granted a pardon. But the king feels the man brought his own trouble upon himself. If the man knew he could not pay a talent of silver, he should never have let the prisoner out of his sight. "'That is your sentence,' the king of Israel said. 'You have pronounced it yourself.'" (1 Kings 20:40b)

"Then the prophet quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. He said to the king, 'This is what the Lord says: 'You have set free a man I had determined should die. Therefore it is your life for his life, your people for his people.'" (1 Kings 20:41-42) The prophet exposes King Ahab's hypocrisy. Ahab believes the fictional soldier in the story deserved to die because he lost an enemy prisoner who had been condemned to death. But Ahab was well aware that the Lord wanted the Syrian army defeated and its king executed, yet he failed to complete the mission and he made a peace treaty with the king. Ahab is no different than the fictional soldier who allowed a prisoner to escape. If the soldier was duty-bound to obey the orders of a military superior, how much more was Ahab duty-bound to obey the orders of God? 

As we noted earlier, this is not the first time we've found a prophet presenting a fictional case to a king. But unlike King David, King Ahab doesn't repent of his sin. "Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went to his palace in Samaria." (1 Kings 20:43) The prophecy against King Ahab will be fulfilled in Chapter 22 in a military conflict with the very nation with which Ahab made a treaty in Chapter 20.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 82, The Lord Gives Israel Victory Over Syria, Part Three

The vastly outnumbered army of Israel won their first battle against the army of Syria in yesterday's study. But a prophet warned King Ahab that the enemy would attack again in the spring. The prophet said, "Strengthen your position and see what must be done."

While King Ahab is equipping and training his army, the Syrians (referred to as Arameans in the Bible and in other ancient texts) are devising a strategy based on their pagan religious beliefs. The officials of the king of Aram advise him how to attack Israel: "Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they. Do this: remove all the kings from their commands and replace them with other officers. You must also raise an army like the one you lost---horse for horse and chariot for chariot---so we can fight Israel on the plains. Then surely we will be stronger than they.' He agreed with them and acted accordingly." (1 Kings 20:23-25) 

Samaria was located on high ground, which made it more easily defensible, though not immune to the effects of a long siege. The Arameans believe the reason the Israelites were successful in the battle of Samaria was because their "gods" were gods of the high country. So the next time they propose to attack a region of Israel in the low country, believing the "gods" won't protect the Israelites there. 

But Israel's God---the only God---is God in the mountains, in the valleys, in the plains, in the rivers, in the oceans, in the skies above, in the ground below, and in the highest of heavens. There is no place where He is not God! 

"The next spring Ben-Hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. When the Israelites were also mustered and given provisions, they marched out to meet them. The Israelites camped opposite them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans covered the countryside. The man of God came up and told the king of Israel, 'This is what the Lord says: Because the Arameans think the Lord is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the Lord.'" (1 Kings 20:28) The Lord is proving Himself to Israel. King Ahab is serving the false god Baal, as are many other people of the nation. By achieving victory for them even though they are pitiful in number compared to the enemy army, the Lord is testifying to the fact that He is the only God and that He fights for His people. If the people will accept this in their hearts and turn back to Him, no one will ever be able to defeat them, for He promised if they remained faithful to Him, "No one will be able to stand up against you; you will destroy them." (Deuteronomy 7:24) 

"For seven days they camped opposite each other, and on the seventh day the battle was joined. The Israelites inflicted a hundred thousand casualties on the Aramean foot soldiers in one day. The rest of them escaped to the city of Aphek, where the wall collapsed on twenty-seven thousand of them. And Ben-Hadad fled to the city and hid in an inner room." (1 Kings 20:29-30) These two verses are where scholars get their estimate of 130,000 for the size of Ben-Hadad's army. 100,000 are killed in battle and 27,000 are killed by the falling wall. But there were more than 127,000 in all because the Bible doesn't say the wall collapsed on all the remaining soldiers. Ben-Hadad and his officials are still alive, plus possibly quite a few of the army soldiers and perhaps Ben-Hadad's own personal retinue of royal guards. We'll find his officials advising him what to do next.

"His officials said to him, 'Look, we have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. Let us go to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.' Wearing sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, 'Your servant Ben-Hadad says: Please let me live.'" (1 Kings 20:31-32a) The sackcloth and ropes are symbols of humility and submission. 

The king of Israel is awfully quick to accept Ben-Hadad's apology. "The king answered, 'Is he still alive? He is my brother.'" (1 Kings 20:32b) Of course Ben-Hadad is not literally his brother but King Ahab's words reveal his intense desire to put an end to the conflict between Israel and Syria. He wants a peace treaty with this heathen king. Ahab has become a heathen himself and thinks nothing of violating the Lord's command not to make alliances with idolatrous nations. 

"The men took this as a good sign and were quick to pick up his word. 'Yes, your brother Ben-Hadad!' they said. 'Go and get him,' the king said. When Ben-Hadad came out, Ahab had him come up into his chariot. 'I will return the cities my father took from your father,' Ben-Hadad offered. 'You may set up your own market areas in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.' Ahab said, 'On the basis of a treaty I will set you free.' So he made a treaty with him, and let him go." (1 Kings 20:33-34) Ahab fears man more than he fears God. The Lord promised him through a prophet that Israel would defeat the enemy nation and I don't believe the Lord was speaking only of the two battles Israel won here in Chapter 20. Ben-Hadad is now in Ahab's hands and he could have put him to death. He could have continued pressing the attack against the Syrians until he had made their entire nation subject to Israel. But he puts more faith in a peace treaty (with a man as wicked as himself) than in the living God. The Syrians are not people the Israelites can trust.

The Lord wants to give us full victory over the enemy, not partial victory! If only Ahab had trusted the Lord to give him full victory over Syria, Israel would have been forever ridden of this powerful enemy. I don't know about you, but I'm aware of incidences in my own life where I could have had full victory over this or that problem, only I allowed myself to become too overwhelmed by fear or doubt or discouragement. Instead I "made peace" with the problem, so to speak, and lived in an uneasy alliance with it for far too long. 

The Lord doesn't do anything halfway. When we achieve only a partial victory over the enemy, it's because we've only trusted the Lord halfway. I'm as guilty of that as anybody---and more guilty than some, I'm sure. We're about to enter a new year, and although I believe we can make resolutions at any time of year, the best way we can greet this new year is with the determination that we are going to take the Lord at His word. I'm going to try to do that myself because I'm tired of seeing partial victories. I'm tired of living in a season of discouragement and fear. It was never the Lord's intention for His children to live in a spirit of defeat. The God of all power wants to see us living victorious lives!

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 81, The Lord Gives Israel Victory Over Syria, Part Two

Ben-Hadad, who is the king of Aram (Syria), has been laying siege to Samaria, which is the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel by this point in the Bible. He demanded that King Ahab of Israel relinquish all his silver and gold along with many of his wives and children. (I presume Ben-Hadad intended to take some of the women of the royal harem for himself; others he may have intended to sell into slavery along with the children.) He also demanded that his officers be allowed to enter Samaria to loot the palace and the houses of Ahab's officials in order to select what they would consider the best valuables and people. 

Ahab consulted the elders of Israel who advised him not to agree to Ben-Hadad's terms so he sent a message to the Syrian king stating that the men could not enter the city. In response, Ben-Hadad ordered his soldiers to prepare to attack the city. Ben-Hadad and his men have been drunkenly celebrating because they believed the city of Samaria was about to surrender to them without a fight. While they've been occupied in this foolish manner, King Ahab has been mustering an army. An unnamed prophet of the Lord came to him and told him to muster the men and lead the charge against the Syrian forces, for the Lord is going to give Israel the victory even though Israel will be sending 7,000 men (not including the 232 officers) against an army of 130,000. 

"They set out at noon while Ben-Hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk. The junior officers under the provincial commanders went out first. Now Ben-Hadad had dispatched scouts, who reported, 'Men are advancing from Samaria.'" (1 Kings 20:16-17) Scholars believe the 32 "kings" allied with Ben-Hadad were tribal chieftains, not kings over large nations like Ben-Hadad himself or like King Ahab. These chieftains and their small bands of troops may have allied themselves willingly with Ben-Hadad in exchange for protection against enemy tribes or they may have had no choice about going to war with him because he has annexed their territories by force and made them his subjects.

"He said, 'If they have come out for peace, take them alive; if they have come out for war, take them alive.'" (1 Kings 20:18) Ben-Hadad's army is camped outside the city of Samaria. All of a sudden the 232 junior officers step outside the city gates, maybe with their hands raised. The men who have been put on guard to watch the city come to Ben-Hadad's tents with the news that men from Israel are approaching. The drunken Ben-Hadad thinks this may be a delegation King Ahab is sending to negotiate terms of surrender, so he tells the scouts if that's the case he doesn't want the men harmed. But why does he say to leave them unharmed if they are coming out for war? Some scholars think he intends to capture the men to compel them (by torture if necessary) to reveal the layout of the city of Samaria and to describe its weak points so he can carry out a quick and effective attack. Others think that he drunkenly misspoke and meant to say, "If they have come out for war, kill them." 

I think Ben-Hadad and his men began drinking the night before. It's doubtful they suddenly began at noon. I think they held a celebratory feast and drinking party the night before and that the celebration is still going on at noon the next day. All sorts of debauchery has probably taken place in the army camp. Ben-Hadad and his men are not in good condition to fight. The king is not able to put together a wise strategy. If he were sober he might have been on high alert and sensed the approaching danger but his senses are dulled by alcohol. 

The intoxicated Ben-Hadad and his men are focusing their attention on the 232 junior officers. They don't realize that the appearance of these men in their army uniforms is intended as a distraction from the 7,000 armed soldiers who are preparing to attack. As Ben-Hadad's men approach the officers, the officers pull swords that may have been concealed and surge forward with the rest of the army pouring out of the gates behind them. "The junior officers under the provincial commanders marched out of the city with the army behind them and each one struck down his opponent. At that, the Arameans fled, with the Israelites in pursuit. But Ben-Hadad king of Aram escaped on horseback with some of his horsemen. The king of Israel advanced and overpowered the horses and chariots and inflicted heavy losses on the Arameans." (1 Kings 20:21)

The surprise attack throws the intoxicated Syrian army into confusion and panic. The ones who are not struck down in front of the city gates attempt to flee and many of them are struck down while they are in retreat. Ben-Hadad, who must have stayed at the back of his army, is able to jump on his horse and ride away. He suffers a stunning defeat in this battle but will recoup and come back, which is something the prophet warns King Ahab about. "Afterward, the prophet came to the king of Israel and said, 'Strengthen your position and see what must be done, because next spring the king of Aram will attack you again.'" (1 Kings 20:22) 

The battle is over but the war isn't. The enemy isn't ready to give up. But Ahab has time to prepare because it will take Ben-Hadad some time to conscript and train additional soldiers, plus I think the rainy season is approaching. You may recall that the author of 2 Samuel told us that the springtime was the time kings go out to war (2 Samuel 11:1) and this is because it was too rainy and cold in fall and winter to effectively make war. The rains turned the ground mushy and caused chariot wheels to get mired in mud. Horses could not run as well in mud and soldiers could not fight well on slippery ground. Ahab has time to prepare to defend his nation again. His troops will still be outnumbered in the spring but the Lord is still fighting on Israel's side. 

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 80, The Lord Gives Israel Victory Over Syria, Part One

King Ben-Hadad of Aram (Syria) has been laying siege to Samaria, the capital of Israel. In yesterday's study we found Ben-Hadad demanding certain things of King Ahab of Israel in order to end the siege: Ahab's silver and gold along with some of his wives and children. Ahab agreed to these demands until Ben-Hadad stated he was going to send his men into the city to search the palace and the homes of all of Ahab's officials. It appears he did not trust Ahab to give his very best and was going to send his men in to select the very best of everything. At that point Ahab consulted the elders of Israel who advised him to refuse to give in.

Ahab sent a message to Ben-Hadad that he would not surrender to his demands. Ben-Hadad and his army were drunkenly carousing and celebrating what they thought would be an easy victory. Upon hearing that Ahab would not give in, Ben-Hadad ordered his men to be ready to attack Samaria to take the city and everyone and everything in it by force. 

"Meanwhile a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and announced, 'This is what the Lord says: Do you see this vast army? I will give it into your hand today, and then you will know that I am the Lord.'" (1 Kings 20:13) The Lord isn't going to give victory because King Ahab is a good man; King Ahab isn't a good man. The Lord isn't going to give victory because the people have forsaken idolatry and turned back to Him; most of the people haven't repented of idolatry and given their allegiance to the Lord. The Lord is going to give victory as a testimony of His existence, as a display of His awesome power, and as proof of His love. The Lord is going to show mercy to King Ahab and the citizens of the nation. He's going to provide them with a wonderful opportunity to turn from darkness back to the light. 

The Lord is merciful to all of us in the same way! How many times did you hear the word of the Lord before you gave Him your heart? I couldn't possibly begin to count how many opportunities the Lord gave me between the day of my birth and the day I gave Him my heart when I was twenty-two years old. Time and time again He made sure I heard the truth. Time and time again He displayed His love for me. The Lord has been doing the same things for King Ahab and for the people of ancient Israel. Some may have repented when He sent fire down from heaven on Mount Carmel but King Ahab certainly didn't and neither did countless others. Yet the Lord is still proving Himself to them. Since He knows all things, He knows who will and who will not give Him their heart, but no one can ever accuse Him of not trying. In the judgment, those who rejected Him over and over all their lives long will have to admit that He gave them many opportunities to repent. 

We don't know the identity of the prophet who assures Ahab of victory but he must be someone who is recognized as giving accurate predictions because Ahab doesn't ignore his message. He does have a question for him though. "'But who will do this?' asked Ahab. The prophet replied, 'This is what the Lord says: The junior officers under the provincial commanders will do it.'" (1 Kings 20:14a) The author of 1 Kings told us at the beginning of the chapter that Ben-Hadad mustered "his entire army" to come against the capital city. Israel's army is desperately outnumbered, for we will learn that Ahab is able to muster only 7,000 troops (not including the junior officers) but later in the chapter this week we'll find out that Ben-Hadad has approximately 130,000 troops. This enormous disparity causes Ahab to ask the prophet, "Who will do this? Who will be able to stand against so many men?" The prophet's answer is surprising. The junior officers are to lead the battle. Battle-hardened generals aren't going to be at the forefront. Israel is going to win the battle with inexperienced commanders and with very few men so the credit will go to the Lord, where it belongs. The intention is for everyone in Israel to have to conclude that victory was given by the Lord and not that it was gained by their own strength.

Now Ahab knows who is going to take the men into battle. But who is going to announce that Israel is at war with Syria? Who is going to make the first move in this war? Who is going to order the army to charge forward? "'And who will start the battle?' he asked. The prophet answered, 'You will.'" (1 Kings 20:14b) If the king himself had not started the battle, I'm not sure anyone would have been willing to go. But just as we found Ahab finally displaying evidence of a backbone in yesterday's study, he displays courage again today by doing what the prophet tells him to do. "So Ahab summoned the 232 junior officers under the provincial commanders. Then he assembled the rest of the Israelites, 7,000 in all." (1 Kings 20:15)

These things have been going on while Ben-Hadad and his men are prematurely and foolishly celebrating a victory that has not yet come to pass. The Syrian army won't be in tip-top fighting shape when it's time to face Ahab's troops. They've been made aware that King Ahab is refusing to surrender and they've been ordered to prepare to attack Samaria but they're all still drinking and under the influence while Ahab prepares to go on the offensive. "They set out at noon while Ben-Hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk." (1 Kings 20:16) 

Ben-Hadad probably has an approximate idea of how many troops Israel can muster against him. He probably thinks that even if Ahab doesn't surrender, he will have no problem defeating Israel's army. And that would have been true if the Lord didn't plan to fight on Israel's side. Ben-Hadad has severely underestimated his opponent, for his opponent is not Israel alone---his opponent is the living God.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 79, The King Of Syria Attacks The Capital Of Israel

The author of 1 Kings switches from telling us about Elijah's life and ministry to describing an attack on Israel that occurred during Elijah's lifetime, during the reign of King Ahab. We previously saw King Ahab not repenting of idolatry even after witnessing a magnificent display of the Lord's power on Mount Carmel. We will still find him not repenting of idolatry after the Lord decisively wins great victories for Israel in Chapter 20. But we will at least find one thing to admire about King Ahab in today's text. 

"Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram mustered his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he went up and besieged Samaria and attacked it. He sent messengers into the city of Ahab king of Israel, saying, 'This is what Ben-Hadad says: Your silver and gold are mine, and the best of your wives and children are mine.'" (1 Kings 20:1-3) We've seen Ben-Hadad on the pages of the Bible before. He made an alliance with King Asa of Judah (these passages are found in 1 Kings 15 and 2 Chronicles 16) when the northern kingdom of Israel under King Baasha captured a major city along the route into Jerusalem to prevent people from coming or going from there. Asa gave Ben-Hadad the gold and silver from the treasuries of the palace and the temple in exchange for attacking cities of Israel so Baasha would retreat to defend his own kingdom. 

Most scholars seem to believe that when the author says Ben-Hadad was "accompanied by thirty-two kings" he means thirty-two tribal chieftains, not kings of large highly-developed nations. "Aram" in the Bible is the same as Syria. 

Ben-Hadad demands the best King Ahab has in exchange for not destroying his capital city or killing him. Ahab meekly agrees! He's willing to hand over a great deal of wealth, not to mention some of his wives and children, to this foreign king to save his own skin and to almost certainly remain as a puppet king over a nation that would be subject to Aram. Ahab has been meekly agreeing to things for a long time, ever since he married the pagan Jezebel of Sidon. She's been telling him what to do ever since their union became legal and he's used to giving in when someone with a stronger personality commands him to do a particular thing. 

Ben-Hadad is pleased with Ahab's meek agreement to his demands. He decides to make more demands to see if he will also be granted those. "The messengers came again and said, 'This is what Ben-Hadad says: 'I sent to demand your silver and gold, your wives and your children. But about this time tomorrow I am going to send my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials. They will seize everything of value and carry it away.'" (1 Kings 20:5-6)

The king of Aram has demanded the best of everything King Ahab has. He doesn't trust Ahab to send out his best to him; he wants his own men to select the items and the people who seem to be the best. While they're at it, they're not only going to ransack the palace but they're going to ransack the houses of Ahab's officials as well, in case they have hidden some of his family members or valuables for him. 

Ahab feels this is going too far. He's insulted that Ben-Hadad doesn't believe he will honor his word. He resents the invasion of privacy that Ben-Hadad is proposing. He complains to the elders that Ben-Hadad isn't satisfied with having women, children, and valuables handed over to him. "The king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said to them, 'See how this man is looking for trouble! When he sent for my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, I did not refuse him.'" (1 Kings 20:7) 

In my background study it's the opinion of some Bible scholars and historians that the siege of Samaria must have been going on for a long time before Ahab agreed to hand over some of his family members and much of his wealth. They say he may have agreed because he felt he had no choice if he wanted the siege to end. Occupants of cities under siege for a long time don't fare very well; they begin to starve and in many cases will even eat their dead. On the one hand I think it's a valid opinion that Ahab agrees to turn people and possessions over to Ben-Hadad because the siege has been going on long enough to cause considerable hardship. On the other hand we know he's a weak man and it's interesting that he balks at the idea of anyone coming to search his palace or the homes of his high officials. If he wants the siege to end, and if he believes cooperating with the enemy will cause it to end, we'd expect him to agree to whatever terms Ben-Hadad lays out. 

The elders advise Ahab to refuse Ben-Hadad's demands. "The elders and the people all answered, 'Don't listen to him or agree to his demands.' So he replied to Ben-Hadad's messengers, 'Tell my lord the king: Your servant will do all you demanded the first time, but this demand I cannot meet.' They left and took the answer back to Ben-Hadad." (1 Kings 20:8-9) It's not clear to me whether the elders are counseling Ahab not to give in to any of Ben-Hadad's demands or whether they are telling him not to give in to the second set of commands. I wouldn't be surprised if they told him to say no to all of it but perhaps he lacked the nerve to follow their advice. He's still willing to hand over valuables, women, and children. He even goes out of his way to display a servile attitude toward the enemy king by referring to the king as "my lord" and by calling himself the king's "servant". 

Ahab's respectful tone doesn't pacify the Syrian king at all. Ben-Hadad becomes so angry that he takes an oath to thoroughly destroy the capital city of Israel. "Then Ben-Hadad sent another message to Ahab: 'May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if enough dust remains in Samaria to give each of my men a handful.'" (1 Kings 20:10) 

Ahab replies to the Syrian king's message with what was probably an ancient military proverb: "The king of Israel answered: 'Tell him: One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off.'" (1 Kings 20:11) Ahab is telling Ben-Hadad that he's boasting of a victory that hasn't yet come to pass and that may not come to pass at all. I'm surprised Ahab is so bold but everyone has their limits. He simply does not intend to allow the enemy king and his army to invade the city to go house to house looting people's possessions and taking citizens captive. I've got to give him some credit for choosing this demand of Ben-Hadad's as his "hill to die on", so to speak. It's good to know there's a point beyond which Ahab cannot be pushed. He's not a likable character of the Bible but at least here in Chapter 20 he summons the courage to stand firm for himself, his family, and the people of his nation. 

"Ben-Hadad heard this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents, and he ordered his men, 'Prepare to attack.' So they prepared to attack the city." (1 Kings 20:12) I have a feeling that Ben-Hadad and his men were celebrating (prematurely) their defeat of the Israelite king. They expect him to agree to all the demands made of him. To their surprise, he refuses. There's nothing the Syrian army can do now except try to sober up enough by morning to take the city by force.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 78, Elisha Called To Be A Prophet

In Sunday's study we found the Lord commissioning the prophet Elijah to go and anoint three men: Hazael as king over Aram, Jehu as king over Israel, and Elisha to succeed Elijah as prophet. Today we will find Elijah meeting up with his successor in a field and performing a symbolic gesture that marks Elisha as the "heir apparent" to Elijah's ministry.

I used to have a lot of trouble keeping Elijah and Elisha distinguished from each other in my mind. I'd get them confused and have trouble remembering which one of them did what. But a good way to keep them straight in our minds is to remember that they appear in the Bible in alphabetical order: Elijah before Elisha. If we were filing their names by alphabetical order, Elijah would come before Elisha.

Elijah, who was so depressed he was ready to die earlier in Chapter 19, has been encouraged by the Lord. He thought his ministry had been a failure and that there was nothing left for him to do on earth. But the Lord has given him things to do so he leaves the cave on Mount Horeb and gets on with those things. 

"So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair." (1 Kings 19:19a) This information tells us that Elisha is from a wealthy family. The family owns twelve yoke of oxen and so much land that it takes twelve yoke of oxen to plow it. The family also has a number of servants, for eleven other people have to be operating the other eleven yoke of oxen and the plows. It's possible that there are twelve sons in this family and that they are all driving plows but the Bible only mentions Elisha and skips over the identities of the other men in the field, which leads me to think Elisha is the only family member present and that the others are servants. Either way, I think we can safely conclude that he is the eldest son of the family since he is in charge and that means he's the heir to his father's estate.

But the Lord has placed a different calling on his life if he will accept it. The Lord wants him to be heir of Elijah's ministry. When Elijah does what he does next, there is no doubt in Elisha's mind what it signifies. He understands immediately what he's being asked to do. "Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. 'Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,' he said, 'and then I will come with you.'" (1 Kings 19:19b-20a) 

We don't know whether Elisha had ever seen Elijah in person before but he knows what a prophet's cloak (often called a "mantle") looks like. In Zechariah 13:4 we find the prophet's mantle referred to as "a prophet's garment of hair" and in 2 Kings 1:8 the prophet's mantle is called "a garment of hair". As soon as Elijah walks by and throws his cloak around Elisha, Elisha completely understands who the man is and that the man is declaring him his successor. I wonder whether Elisha had been feeling the call of the Lord for some time. I wonder if he had been expecting something to happen. The Lord usually provides us with some preparation for a great calling on our lives and I wouldn't be at all surprised to know that He had alerted Elisha to be prepared for something big. Elisha is ready in his heart to step out in faith and serve the Lord; he just wants to say goodbye to his parents and tell them where he's going. He's a good son who loves his parents and he doesn't want them to think harm befell him or that he simply deserted his family.

When Elisha asks Elijah if he can run back to the house to say goodbye to his parents, Elijah answers in an odd way. "'Go back,' Elijah replied. 'What have I done to you?'" (1 Kings 19:20b) Many scholars interpret this enigmatic answer to mean, "Do what you will. You don't owe an explanation to me---only to God. The Lord is the one calling you, not me. Return home to say goodbye or return home to stay and go on with your life. The choice is up to you." Other scholars think verse 20b should be rendered as, "Go back but remember what I have done to you." In other words, Elisha has permission to say goodbye to his parents but that he shouldn't allow his resolve to waver while he is back at his house.

Elisha has a farewell dinner with the people of his household before he leaves to follow Elijah. "So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant." (1 Kings 19:21) The oxen that were in his yoke may have been offered to the Lord as a sacrifice before he and his family and the servants ate the meal together. In most sacrifices other than in the burnt offering, a portion was offered first to the Lord and then the bringer of the offering could share the remainder with his family. Whether or not he offered any of the meal to the Lord, I think there is something symbolic about his slaughtering of the one yoke of oxen and the burning up of his plow: he's saying goodbye to his old way of living. He's saying yes to the calling the Lord has placed upon his life. 

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 77, The Lord Appears To Elijah

In our last study session we found Elijah experiencing the lowest point of his life. He was ready to give up and even prayed for the Lord to take him on to heaven. But today Elijah is going to experience the highest point of his life, spiritually speaking, when the Lord makes an appearance.

When we left off last, Elijah was spending the night in a cave at Mount Horeb. Queen Jezebel has issued an execution warrant for him and he's in fear for his life. He doesn't feel safe going about the countryside or in any of the cities openly. There's probably a great reward in store for anyone who brings him in to Jezebel, dead or alive. I don't know what Elijah is planning to do next, perhaps flee the country altogether and go and live where nobody knows him. But the Lord has other plans.

"And the word of the Lord came to him: 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' He replied, 'I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and put Your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.'" (1 Kings 19:9b-10) Have you ever felt hurt and angry because trouble came into your life while you were doing the best you could to serve the Lord? I have! Elijah has too! He says something like, "Lord, You know how much I love You and have spoken to the people in Your name, begging them to repent. But no one listened to me. Instead of turning away from idolatry, they've given themselves over to it more and more. They're no longer content with blending pagan religious practices with their worship of You. They've forsaken You altogether, torn down Your altars, and killed many of Your prophets. Now they're about to kill me too! What good did any of my words do? I've accomplished nothing. I've risked my life for nothing."

Elijah's words remind me of the psalmist Asaph who was troubled by the fact that bad things happen to good people in this fallen world. In his distress he said, "Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments." (Psalm 73:13-14) Asaph said something like, "I've tried to live within the will of the Lord. I've loved my neighbor. I've done unto others as I'd have done unto me. And yet it seems like each new day brings more troubles." We live in a world that's been polluted by sin. Bad things happen here like illnesses, accidents, and death. Bad people do things that affect good people. The only way we could avoid trouble entirely is to leave this world entirely, which is what Elijah wants to do. He doesn't want to go out at the hands of Jezebel but he wouldn't mind the Lord just calling him on home to heaven. The Lord has something else for him to do though. 

"The Lord said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.'" (1 Kings 19:11a) Some scholars propose that the cave in which Elijah spent the night is the same cleft in the rock where the Lord appeared to Moses in the book of Exodus. I think that's a valid theory, not because the Lord is limited to making an appearance at any particular place but because Elijah would have been especially encouraged by having the Lord appear to him at the same place he appeared to the great leader Moses.

"Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper." (1 Kings 19:11b-12) Awe-inspiring manifestations of God's glory are sometimes necessary to get someone's attention. Fearsome displays of power are sometimes necessary for the Lord to testify of His existence to unbelievers, such as the fire He sent down from heaven in the sight of the Baal worshipers. But to His own children, a still small voice---a comforting voice like the voice of a good father soothing a worried child---is often what is needed most. Elijah already knows the Lord is capable of performing astonishing displays of His power, but it's hard to feel emotionally close to a God of thunder, fire, wind, and earthquakes. Elijah needs a personal word from God at this time when he feels so desperately alone. The sights and sounds he experiences on the mountain get his attention so that he's ready to hear the gentle whisper in the silence that follows. 

He recognizes the whisper as the voice of the Lord. "When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave." (1 Kings 19:13a) Elijah knows that the Lord told Moses on the day He passed by Moses in the cleft of the rock, "You cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live." (Exodus 33:20) The Lord's holiness is so great that it would consume us in our human frailness if we looked upon Him. Elijah shields his face when he steps outside of the cave. I know that earlier in Chapter 19 Elijah expressed a desire to die but the inbuilt instinct of self-preservation is strong. If the Lord hadn't created us with an instinct for self-preservation we wouldn't survive for very long because we'd fearlessly do foolish things and get ourselves killed. 

"Then a voice said to him, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' He replied, 'I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and put Your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.'" (1 Kings 19:13b-14) The Lord asks the same question He asked earlier and He gets the same answer. Elijah's mind is stuck in a loop and that's something I can relate to. I'm about to turn fifty-three years old next month and I've been dealing with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder since I was twelve, or at least that's the age I was when this condition really began to manifest itself in my life in a major way. When a problem crops up it can take over my every waking thought. I'll turn it around and around in my mind until I can't seem to think about anything else. And you know what happens when we become intently focused on a problem? The problem keeps getting bigger and bigger in our minds. Elijah's problem seems so big to him now that as far as he can tell it's insurmountable. He needs something to interrupt the loop his mind has settled into, so the Lord gives him something constructive to do.

"The Lord said to him, 'Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel---all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.'" (1 Kings 19:15-18) Elijah thinks his ministry has been a failure and that he is the only servant of God left who is faithful to Him. But not everyone has ignored Elijah's preaching. There are people all over the nation who have not given themselves to idolatry. There are men who will see to it that justice is carried out against those who are promoting and enforcing idolatry in the land. God is not finished with Elijah or with Israel. He's just getting started! So the Lord says to Elijah, "Anoint these three men I'm telling you about. They will do what I've called them to do. Your ministry has not been in vain and you are not alone. Take heart, Elijah!" 

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 76, Elijah Flees From Jezebel's Wrath

Elijah ran ahead of King Ahab back to Jezreel when the rain began to fall again. When Ahab arrives back at his palace, his wife Jezebel wants to know what happened on Mount Carmel. He tells her of the contest Elijah proposed between the God of Israel and the god Baal---the god of Jezebel and her people of Sidon. We studied this showdown over the past two days in which the prophets of Baal called out to him all day and he did not answer. But Elijah made a simple prayer to God and God sent fire down from heaven upon Elijah's sacrifice which had been thoroughly saturated with water. The Lord burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones of the altar, the dirt underneath the altar, and all the water. At that point the people who had assembled to observe the contest fell to their knees and shouted that the Lord is God. The prophets of Baal attempted to flee the scene but Elijah ordered the people to seize them, after which he had the prophets put to death in the valley in accordance with the Lord's command that no prophet who tries to turn the people away from Him should be allowed to live. (Deuteronomy 13:5) 

When Jezebel hears of the slaughter of the prophets she will swear an oath that she will have Elijah put to death. "Now Ahab had told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, 'May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like one of them.'" (1 Kings 19:1-2) As we discussed yesterday, King Ahab has been given a marvelous and merciful opportunity to repent of idolatry and turn back to the living God. Ahab has adopted the religion of his wife and has made it the state religion but on Mount Carmel he witnessed the power and glory of Israel's God. Baal, however, didn't make a peep. This should have persuaded Ahab that if Baal exists at all he doesn't care about him or about the people of Israel. I don't know how the display of the Lord's majesty affected Ahab's heart while he was still away from the palace but his fear of the Lord paled in comparison to his fear of his wife. Any doubts he may have had about continuing to serve Baal must have faded when the weak-willed king gave his wife the bad news about the prophets of Baal. She will take an oath in the names of her gods that she will see to it that Elijah ends up just as dead as those prophets. Ahab will not oppose her. 

We were told in Chapter 18 that Jezebel has been supporting the prophets of Baal and the prophets of Baal's consort, Asherah, out of the royal treasury. The entire religious system of Israel at this time is being financed by the royal household. Controlling the government and the religion of the nation gives the king and queen almost absolute power over the citizens. Jezebel does not want to let that go! I don't know whether she thoroughly believes in her pagan gods or whether she sees her religion primarily as a means of controlling the people. If she can have Elijah put to death, perhaps she can regain the people's trust in the state religion. She could then say, "Why didn't the God of Elijah protect him? This proves that Baal is more powerful than God! Surely God wanted His prophet to live but He could not protect him. Baal could have answered his prophets on Mount Carmel if he had wanted to but he was displeased with them for some reason. That's why he didn't step in when Elijah ordered them put to death. It was Baal's will for those prophets to perish; new and more faithful prophets will be appointed to serve him. But the slaughter of the prophets is no indication that Baal is not the most powerful god of all! The proof that Baal is the most powerful god of all is that the God of Elijah could not stand against Baal and keep Elijah safe."

I think Elijah expected something entirely different to happen at Jezreel. Perhaps he thought King Ahab would repent and change his ways after witnessing the Lord's power on Mount Carmel. He might have believed Ahab would stand up to Jezebel and abolish idolatry in the land. Having the king repent and turn back to the living God would have encouraged a widescale revival all across the nation. I'm not sure exactly what Elijah thought was about to happen next but it wasn't to have his execution orders signed. He runs. "Elijah was afraid and ran for his life." (1 Kings 19:3a)

I've seen a lot of scholars and pastors criticize Elijah for being afraid. They say that after experiencing the power of the Lord on Mount Carmel he should have had the faith to stand firm. I will not be criticizing Elijah and we are not going to find the Lord criticizing him either. I believe Elijah has been pushed beyond the point of human endurance. He likely fasted and prayed before the showdown on the mountain, then he spent the entire day there out in the open without food or water. We don't know whether the weather was hot but we certainly know it was dry since no rain had fallen for three and a half years. After fire came down from heaven and burned up his sacrifice, Elijah ordered the prophets seized and then he went down into the valley with the crowd to oversee the execution, then he climbed back up the mountain to pray for rain. When he saw the first rain cloud appear he ran approximately fourteen to seventeen miles to Jezreel, expecting revival to break out but being met with a very credible death threat instead. Elijah needs time to recover physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. There are times in life when the best thing to do is make a stand and there are times when the best thing to do is go someplace and get alone with God. Elijah needs to go someplace and get alone with God.

"When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. 'I have had enough, Lord,' he said. 'Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.' Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep." (1 Kings 19:3b-5a) Bless his heart! I feel so much compassion for him. He is utterly exhausted in every way, and although he doesn't want to die violently at the hands of Jezebel, he does want to die. He asks the Lord to take him on home to heaven. 

Have you ever been in a place where you felt so low that you wished the Lord would just call you home? You weren't making plans to take your own life and you didn't particularly want to die of a long protracted illness but you wouldn't have objected if the Lord took you home by some sudden event. I've felt that low. I didn't want to commit suicide but if the Lord had said, "Child, would you like Me to bring you on into My presence now?" I would have said, "Yes, Lord, take me out of this cruel world." That's the mood Elijah is in and my heart really goes out to him. 

Elijah feels like he's failed because the king didn't repent and the whole nation didn't repent either. I'm sure some people repented but we aren't going to see a nationwide revival taking place. He feels like he's failed his people, his Lord, and himself. That's why he says, "I am no better than my ancestors." Prophets have come and gone before him and were unable to change the hearts of kings and regular citizens. He has been unable to change hearts too. He doesn't consider himself worthy to be called a man of God and I think our pastors of today often have those feelings when they preach their hearts out and no one gives their life to the Lord. But the Lord isn't disappointed in Elijah and the Lord isn't finished with him either. The Lord is going to give him the recuperation he needs and then He will give him further instructions.

"All at once an angel touched him and said, 'Get up and eat.' He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again." (1 Kings 19:5b-6) How did the hot bread get there? Did the Lord miraculously produce it or did some secret supporter of Elijah's slip quietly onto the scene while he was sleeping and place it there? I don't know exactly how the bread appeared but the Lord is always able through either supernatural means or by human means to provide for His children!

"The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, 'Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.'" (1 Kings 19:7) The Lord doesn't intend to take Elijah's life; He intends to take him on a journey. Elijah will need strength for the journey. "So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night." (1 Kings 19:8-9)

The Lord gives us exactly what we need exactly when we need it. Sometimes He gives just enough of a boost to our strength to make it to the next spiritual meal, so to speak, and sometimes He gives us enough of a boost to go forty days and forty nights on that one experience. When we pick back up at this point in Chapter 19 tomorrow we'll find the Lord providing Elijah with his greatest spiritual experience yet.

I don't know what you may be going through right now or how low you may be feeling. I'm feeling incredibly low myself. But the Lord isn't finished with you or with me! He's going to give us what we need to sustain us. I don't know what He's going to do and I don't know how He's going to do it but our greatest spiritual experiences in this life may still be ahead of us, just like in the story of Elijah. As long as there is breath in our bodies the Lord has things for us to do and He is absolutely going to equip us to do them. I'm having to lean heavily on Him, counting on Him to get me from one "spiritual meal" to the next right now. But when I've recuperated I think He's going to pour out enough strength on me to get me a long way on my journey, just as He did for Elijah. He'll do the same for you. He's the same God today as He was then.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 75, The Rain Comes

In yesterday's study fire fell from heaven and consumed Elijah's sacrifice. Today the long-awaited rain falls from heaven.

The prophets of Baal were defeated on Mount Carmel. They called out to Baal all day to send fire from heaven to consume their sacrifice. I think they shouted until they lost their voices, for at midday they began to dance around their sacrifice, then when that didn't work they started cutting themselves in the hope that Baal would be pleased with their blood. But Baal---who was ironically a weather god---did not answer.

By contrast, Elijah prayed a brief prayer to the Lord and fire came down. He had asked that water be poured all over his sacrifice; the bull, the wood, the stones, and the trench around the altar were completely saturated with water. (There were still some running springs here and there throughout the land in spite of the drought. You'll recall that King Ahab and one of his chief servants had been going about the countryside seeking these springs for the king's livestock. Rain had not been falling on the crops but drinking water could still be found from springs running out of the mountains.) So Elijah's sacrifice and everything around it was soaking wet, yet the fire burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the dirt, and the water! There was absolutely not one molecule of any of it left by the time the holy God demonstrated His power! 

At this astonishing sight, the people assembled to view the contest on Mount Carmel experience a momentary revival. "When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, 'The Lord---He is God! The Lord---He is God!'" (1 Kings 18:39) We won't find this revival to be longlasting, at least not for the majority of the citizens of the nation, but in this moment the people are compelled by what their eyes have seen to fall on the ground in fear and awe and to admit that the Lord is God. While they are in this spirit, Elijah commands them to carry out the penalty of the law upon the prophets of Baal. "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." (1 Kings 18:40)

There is no indication that the prophets of Baal are among those kneeling on the ground proclaiming, "The Lord---He is God!" Elijah speaks to the people assembled on the mountain as if they are a separate group from the prophets of Baal. I think this is because the prophets of Baal did not kneel before the majesty of the Lord. In fact, I think they may be in the process of running away when Elijah issues his order to capture them. Elijah is acting in obedience to the word of God who said in Deuteronomy 13:5: "That prophet or dreamer must be put to death for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you." 

The revival that has taken place on Mount Carmel will not spread throughout the entire nation and turn the hearts of every person back to the Lord. But I believe there must have been some people who witnessed the power of the Lord or who heard about the power of the Lord and repented and never returned to idolatry. On top of that, the idolatrous religious system has taken an enormous hit with the deaths of the prophets of Baal. Because some true repentance and some true justice have taken place, the Lord sends rain on the land. It has not rained for three and a half years because of the people's idolatry. The drought and resulting famine were intended to cause the people to remember that this is what He said would happen if they forsook Him in the promised land. The hardship was intended not to destroy them but to correct their wayward behavior. Now Elijah announces that rain is coming. "And Elijah said to Ahab, 'Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.' 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." (1 Kings 18:41-42)

Elijah assumes a posture of prayer. He told King Ahab three years previously that it would not rain again except at his word. The Apostle James, brother of Jesus, said of the portion of Scripture we've been studying, that Elijah "prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops." (James 5:17-18)

After Elijah gets into a prayerful position and calls out to the Lord, he asks his servant to check the skies. "'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.' 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.'" (1 Kings 18:43-44) After witnessing the slaughter of the government-sponsored prophets of Baal in the Kishon Valley, Ahab was instructed to refresh himself. He, like everyone else who had assembled on the mountain that day, had likely had nothing to eat or drink since daybreak or the day before. Now that rain is on its way, Elijah sends word to Ahab to get out of the valley before torrential rains begin pouring into it and before the rivers and streams rise enough to block the routes home.

Why were the prophets of Baal slaughtered but the wicked king who promoted them and supported them was not? Was Ahab one of the people who fell prostrate on the ground and declared the Lord to be God? If so, his repentance was brief. He did not turn his heart back to the Lord, abolish idolatry in the land, and encourage all the people to worship God only. He has a wonderful opportunity right now to do these things, and if he had done them I believe the Lord would have made a great dynasty out of his descendants, but instead a dire prophecy will be spoken against him later in his reign, just like the dire prophecy spoken against the northern kingdom's first king, Jeroboam. In the judgment Ahab will never be able to say the Lord didn't provide him with all the proof he needed to repent, be saved, and change his ways. Ahab's life was spared by the mercy of the Lord but he won't take advantage of this second chance to become a man of God. 

Ahab ignored Elijah's warning three and a half years earlier that a drought was coming. After seeing fire fall from heaven, on this day he isn't going to ignore the prophet's warning that heavy rain is coming. He sets out for Jezreel, which was situated on higher ground than the valley in which the prophets of Baal were slaughtered. Although the capital city of the northern kingdom was Samaria at this time, scholars believe Ahab's palace must have been in nearby Jezreel. Estimates of the distance from Mount Carmel to Ahab's palace varies among scholars but it's generally believed to have been somewhere between a fourteen and seventeen mile journey. Although Ahab is traveling by chariot, the Lord endows Elijah with so much energy and strength that he reaches Jezreel on foot before Ahab gets there by chariot. "Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 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." (1 Kings 18:45-46)

When he arrives at Jezreel, Ahab will tell Queen Jezebel what happened on Mount Carmel. This is yet another example of a wonderful opportunity afforded to Ahab. He could have stood up for the Lord and for the Lord's prophet Elijah. He could have ordered that anyone who touches a hair on Elijah's head will be put to death. He could have stood up to his wife, for the Bible tells us he allowed her to influence everything he did. (1 Kings 21:25) Ahab's idolatrous foreign wife Jezebel is the true power behind the throne, at least religiously speaking, and Ahab could have taken control of the throne back in our text today. But he doesn't. Elijah expects or hopes to be vindicated when Ahab reports back to Jezebel everything that happened on this day. Instead, when Jezebel issues an order to put Elijah to death in tomorrow's passage, Ahab will not stand against her. Elijah will run from Jezreel as quickly as he ran to it.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 74, Fire From Heaven

In Tuesday's passage we found Elijah trying to reason with King Ahab, the prophets of Baal, and the citizens who have become worshipers of Baal. In reasoning with them he proposed a contest in which the prophets of Baal would prepare a sacrifice to their god and He would prepare a sacrifice to his God. He said if Baal sent fire down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice of his prophets, everyone could declare Baal to be God. But if Elijah's God sent down fire from heaven to consume Elijah's sacrifice, everyone must admit that God is God. The people agreed to Elijah's proposal.

He told the people to choose two bulls for the sacrifices and he stated that the prophets of Baal would be allowed to select which of the two bulls they wanted. This way they couldn't claim Elijah tampered with the sacrifices. Now they lay out their offering to Baal and wait for their god to do something. "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.' 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." (1 Kings 18:25-26)

A great deal of noise thunders from Mount Carmel as the 450 prophets of Baal shout to their god. The 400 prophets of Asherah must have been present as well and must have added their voices to this racket, for Elijah had commanded King Ahab to bring both the prophets of Baal and the prophets of Asherah to the mountain. Imagine 850 people shouting at the top of their voices from early in the morning until noon. By the time noon arrives, they add dancing to their shouting in hopes Baal will be pleased enough with their performance to answer them. But still nothing happens.

I think this scene is desperately sad. They are expending all this energy for nothing. The one true God has His hands outstretched to them---pleading with them to repent of idolatry and turn back to Him---but they are ignoring Him in favor of following a false god who never did anything for anyone. I believe Elijah finds this scene desperately sad too. But it also makes him angry. He's angry that these prophets, who have so much power and influence over the people during the reign of King Ahab, have enticed people into idolatry who might not have fallen into it otherwise. He begins to sarcastically make sport of the foolishness of the prophets. "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.'" (1 Kings 18:27)

Let's take a moment to contrast Elijah's description of Baal with the Bible's description of God. Elijah says something like, "Maybe Baal has his mind on something else and hasn't yet noticed you're calling out to him. Shout louder to get his attention! Or maybe he's busy with somebody else's prayer request and can't get to you right now. Keep shouting and maybe he'll make time for you. Or maybe he's gone on a journey and will call you back when he returns. Leave a message for him. Or maybe he's fallen asleep and you'll have to shout even louder to awaken him." But does the God of Israel ever turn a deaf ear to those who cry out to Him? No, because, "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are attentive to their cry." (Psalm 34:15) Does the God of Israel ever sleep? No, the Bible says, "He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep." (Psalm 121:3b-4) Who wants a god who is just like man---a god who must sleep, a god who gets distracted by other things, a god who takes time off and goes on a journey? Instead they could have a God like this: "The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble." (Psalm 9:9) Has Baal ever been a refuge and a stronghold for his followers? No, and Elijah wants them to face up to that and admit it. 

But they refuse to face up to that and admit it. Instead they add a gruesome element to their appeals to Baal: their own blood. "So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 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." (1 Kings 18:28-29) They think Baal will be pleased if they shed blood for him. This scene ought to break our hearts. These people are cutting themselves, at great risk of infection, anemia, or even loss of life, for a god who does not exist. And at the same time they are rejecting the one true God who created them and loves them and who will someday come to the earth in the form of a man to shed His blood for them.

I think the prophets of Baal have cried out to him for at least six hours to no avail. They began sometime in the morning, perhaps around 9:00 which was the time of the morning sacrifice at the temple of the Lord, and continued until the time of the evening sacrifice which was 3:00. (The new day began at evening for the Israelites, around sundown, which is why the 3:00 sacrifice is known as the "evening sacrifice".) Baal's prophets have accomplished nothing except to exhaust and bloody themselves. I think by 3:00 their energy is completely spent. Now it's Elijah's turn to call on his God.

"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. Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, of whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, 'Your name shall be Israel.' 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. 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.' 'Do it again,' he said, and they did it again. 'Do it a third time,' he ordered, and they did it the third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench." (1 Kings 18:3-35) The trench is deep enough to contain about twenty-four pounds of seed. The people pour so much water on the sacrifice that it and the wood and the stones are dripping and the trench is full. Elijah doesn't pour the water on the sacrifice himself; this way no one can claim he used any flammable liquids or incendiary devices in or around the sacrifice.

"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. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so that these people will know that You, Lord, are God, and that You are turning their hearts back again.'" (1 Kings 18:36-37) In using the names of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (Jacob), Elijah is reminding them that their fathers did not worship Baal. Their fathers served the living God! If they would think back and consider the lives of the patriarchs they would clearly see how far they've gone astray. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob wouldn't recognize these people as their descendants because they are behaving like heathen idolaters. Elijah asks the Lord to prove He is God and, in doing so, to prove that Elijah really is His prophet so the people will heed the words of Elijah and repent.

The Lord answers. "Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the fire in the trench." (1 Kings 18:38) Hallelujah to the one and only God for whom nothing is impossible! He not only burns up the wood and the sacrifice but also burns up the stones, the dirt, and the water! Surely all the people, including King Ahab and the prophets of Baal, will repent at the sight of such power and majesty. Surely they will be ashamed for forsaking their Creator and Redeemer. Surely they will turn back to Him and give Him their hearts fully for the rest of their lives. Right? 

I wish that were so! Tomorrow's passage begins with a statement they make that initially appears to be a statement of faith. But it is not. It's a declaration made almost involuntarily due to their sudden shock and fear. Permanent restoration of every person in the kingdom will not be the result of the showdown on Mount Carmel. Some who witnessed this event probably changed their ways. Some of the people in the land who heard of the event probably changed their ways. But, sadly, we won't find a nationwide revival breaking out. Elijah will soon find himself running for his life due to religious persecution against him as a prophet of the Lord.