The wind began to blow, and soon a heavy rain began to fall. But in this chapter his appearance was as public as before his retirement was close; the days appointed for his concealment (which was part of the judgment upon Israel) being finished, he is not commanded to show himself to Ahab, and to expect rain upon the earth, 1 Kings 18:1. See Luke 1:16; Luke 1:17. (28-29) The prophets of Baal work harder at their prayer. We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. These were the 450 prophets of Baal; the 400 prophets of the groves (who, some think, were Sidonians), though summoned (1 Kings 18:19; 1 Kings 18:19), yet, as it should seem, did not attend, and so escaped this execution, which fair escape perhaps Ahab and Jezebel thought themselves happy in; but it proved they were reserved to be the instruments of Ahab's destruction, some time after, by encouraging him to go up to Ramoth-Gilead, 1 Kings 22:6; 1 Kings 22:6. Showdown on the mount [People] who want to get rich, Paul declares, fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. (1 Tim. 12 And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth. This happened seven times. 27 And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. The king and court were all for Baal; so was the body of the people. Those few that escaped the sword were forced to abscond, and hide themselves in caves, where they were buried alive and cut off, though not from life, yet from usefulness, which is the end and comfort of life; and, when the prophets were persecuted and driven into corners, no doubt their friends, those few good people that were in the land, were treated in like manner. This writing has come about a few days after The Test - 2002 and the Latter Rain, and adds greater clarity to what can be expected in the latter rain. Share All these parables point in the same direction: money wants our worship. He addressed himself to God as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, acting faith on God's ancient covenant, and reminding people too (for prayer may prevail) of their relation both to God and to the patriarchs. Changes will take effect once you reload the page. Compare Psalms 135:7. 3. God expressly forbade his worshippers to cut themselves, Deuteronomy 14:1. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. Does the devil have power to make us sick? Is it really you, master?, 8Yes, Elijah answered. Those that were firm for God doubted not but it would end to his honour; those that were indifferent were willing to be determined; and Ahab and the prophets of Baal durst not oppose for fear of the people, and hoped that either they could obtain fire from heaven (though they never had yet), and the rather because, as some think, they worshipped the sun in Baal, or that Elijah could not, because not at the temple, where God was wont thus to manifest his glory. That Elijah could have made such a run is assured in the Arab runners could easily cover one hundred miles in two days. (Patterson and Austel), 2018 David Guzik No distribution beyond personal use without permission. Ahab had continued fasting all day, either religiously, it being a day of prayer, or for want of leisure, it being a day of great expectation; but now let him eat and rink for, though others perceive no sign of it, Elijah, by faith, hears the sound of abundance of rain,1 Kings 18:41; 1 Kings 18:41. He thought Elijah was not in good earnest when he bade him tell Ahab where he was, but intended only to expose the impotency of his malice; for he knew Ahab was not worthy to receive any kindness from the prophet and it was not fit that the prophet should receive any mischief from him. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Name one of the Old Testament prophets present at the Transfiguration.. rh. The Baalites are forced to give up their cause, and now it is Elijah's turn to produce his. Thats why Jesus warned his followers to watch out for all kinds of greed (see Luke 12:15). At the end of the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit had . And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. Wasnt killing too severe a punishment for the prophets of Baal? This was not as a morning cloud, which passes away (though Israel's goodness was so), but one that produced a plentiful rain (Psalms 68:9), and an earnest of more. For the nations around Israel, Baal was the rider of the clouds, who brought the rains and blessed the earth.When Baal showed up, the heavens rained oil, the rivers ran with honey, mothers gave birth to healthy children, and even the dead could be raised. Such was Elijah's zeal, no doubt, against the idolatry of Baal, and such his compassion to his people, that he thought it long to be thus confined to a corner; yet he appeared not till God bade him: "Go and show thyself to Ahab, for now thy hour has come, even the time to favour Israel." The prophets of Baal, as criminals, are seized, condemned, and executed, according to law, 1 Kings 18:40; 1 Kings 18:40. Does God gives us political leaders or do we vote them by choice? Because our material possessions so often seduce us into worshiping them like gods, they pose possibly the preeminent threat to worshiping Jesus. Micah 6:7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? As for those who fall as victims to the fire of God's wrath, no water can shelter them from it, any more than briers or thorns, Isaiah 27:4; Isaiah 27:5. Article Images Copyright , The Real Reason Israel Worshiped Baal (It Wasn't Just a Pretty Statue), Michael Rhodes, Robby Holt, and Brian Fikkert. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website. But the primary attraction to Baal wasnt a pretty statue; it was an economic promise. 9 And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? When we shall see the doctrine of the individual responsibility of each Christian fully felt and carried out into individual action. Now God made those who said they were Jews and were not, but were of the synagogue of Satan, to come, and, in effect, to worship at his feet, and to know that God had loved him,Revelation 3:9. When Jezebel was killing the Lords prophets, I hid a hundred of them, fifty in one cave and fifty in another. 27At noon Elijah began to make fun of them. Those who are called to appear and act in public for God must yet find time to be private with him and keep up their converse with him in solitude. Now Elijah shows them the absurdity of this. Those that slighted and hated his counsels would gladly be beholden to him for his prayers. King Ahab sent for Obadiah, who was in charge of the king's palace. Pray to your god, but dont start the fire.. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. 25:3146). We may suppose it was a great surprise to Ahab to hear that Elijah, whom he had so long sought and not found, was now found without seeking. How did the spirit of God move upon the face of the waters in Genesis 1:2? Why did king Ahab have to die? 3 And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. Copyright 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. It was great condescension in God that he would suffer so plain a case to be disputed, and would permit Baal to be a competitor with him; but thus God would have every mouth to be stopped and all flesh to become silent before him. Through Elijah, God declared that Baal couldnt deliver the goods and his people couldnt have it both ways. 10 million Ukrainians without power because of Russia. 22Elijah said, I am the only prophet of the Lord here, but there are four hundred fifty prophets of Baal. And all the people came near unto him. (1.) When they called on their god, nothing happened. Bread and water were now scarce commodities, yet Obadiah will find a competence of both for God's prophets, to keep them alive for service hereafter, though now they were laid aside. See how wonderfully God raises up friends for his ministers and people, for their shelter in difficult times, even where one would least expect them. Elijah does not say, "The God that answers by water" (though that was the thing the country needed), but "that answers by fire, let him be God;" because the atonement was to be made by sacrifice, before the judgment could be removed in mercy. He ordered his servant to bring him notice as soon as he discerned a cloud arising out of the sea, the Mediterranean Sea, which he had a large prospect of from the top of Carmel. To win his people back, God demonstrated his power and mocked Baal along the way. Three years and a half's famine would not bring them back to God. "As long as God keeps bringing me stories that I can honor him with, to me, it doesn't matter what genre they . Baal's prophets were so far from being convinced and put to shame by the just reproach Elijah cast upon them that it made them the more violent and led them to act more ridiculously. Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army. Mauled by Money: The Cost of Economic Idolatry, The Bible also teaches us that the wages of our economic idolatry is death. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, 43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. Why did the prophets of Baal cut themselves (1 Kings 18:28) Context: 1 Kings 18:27-28 New International Version (NIV) 27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. The execution he did upon the prophets of Baal, 1 Kings 18:40. He turned the hearts of his people back to himself. But, since Ahab invites him not to ride with him, he will run before him (1 Kings 18:46; 1 Kings 18:46) as one of his footmen, that he may not seem to be lifted up with the great honour God had put upon him or to abate in his civil respect to his prince, though he reproved him faithfully. 14 And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay me. Elijah Kills the Prophets of Baal - During the third year without rain, the LORD spoke his word to Elijah: "Go and meet King Ahab, and I will soon send rain." So Elijah went to meet Ahab. Ahab is the Achan, the troubler, who follows Baalim, those accursed things. For less than $5/mo. Otherwise you will be prompted again when opening a new browser window or new a tab. Trust ye not in lying words, saying . God and Elijah were honoured, 1 Kings 18:21-39. God's cause is so incontestably just that it needs not fear to have the evidences of its equity searched into and weighed. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention. Note, It has been the lot of the best and most useful men to be called and counted the troublers of the land, and to be run down as public grievances. 732 views, 45 likes, 11 loves, 7 comments, 73 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from : 22 2023 . We may well imagine what a terror the fire struck on guilty Ahab and all the worshippers of Baal, and how they fled from it as far and as fast as they could, saying, Lest it consume us also, alluding to Numbers 16:34. They allow the proposal to be fair and unexceptionable "God has often answered by fire; if Baal cannot do so, let him be cast out for a usurper." God reveals his secrets to his servants the prophets; and yet, without a revelation, we may foresee that when man's judgments run down like a river God's mercy will. Note, 1. Twelve barrels of water (probably sea-water, for the sea was near, and so much fresh water in this time of drought was too precious for him to be so prodigal of it), thrice four, he poured upon his sacrifice, to prevent the suspicion of any fire under (for, if there had been any, this would have put it out), and to make the expected miracle the more illustrious. 28 And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. Get the BEST VALUE in digital Bible study as you prepare for Easter. III. 45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. One true prophet against 450 false prophets. III. IV. Nothing creates more trouble to a land than the impiety and profaneness of princes and their families. 1416). In the myth, Baal returns to life when the rains come. 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