Is it True for Christians That 'Once Saved, Always Saved'? 35So the water ran off the altar and filled the ditch. 37Lord, answer my prayer so these people will know that you, Lord, are God and that you will change their minds., 38Then fire from the Lord came down and burned the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the ground around the altar. With their experiences as a pastor, urban community development expert, and bestselling author of "When Helping Hurts" and president of the Chalmers Center for Economic Development, Michael Rhodes, Robby Holt, and Brian Fikkert offer eye-opening true stories of economic discipleship in action. When we cannot carry a reformation so far as we would we must do what we can, and rather comply with some corruptions than not do our utmost towards the extirpation of Baal. Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army. 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. By this time there was no food in Samaria. Their perishing thus is the using, as the apostle speaks of them (Colossians 3:22), was to intimate the utter abolition of them after a little while, Hebrews 8:13. Paul goes even further. 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. Please ensure your answer MEETS all our guidelines. The god who answers by setting fire to his wood is the true God.. 45After a short time the sky was covered with dark clouds. For less than $5/mo. Notice is hereby soon brought to Ahab that Elijah had sent him a challenge to meet him immediately at such a place, and Ahab accepts the challenge: He went to meet Elijah,1 Kings 18:16; 1 Kings 18:16. Elijah did not interrupt them, but let them go on till they were tired, and quite despaired of success, which was not till the time of the evening sacrifice,1 Kings 18:29; 1 Kings 18:29. Compare Psalms 135:7. [3.] Elijah is not the Achan: "I have not troubled Israel, have neither done them any wrong nor designed them any hurt." How importunate and noisy the prophets of Baal were in their applications to him. But there was no voice. He did not think it enough to fear God himself, but, having wealth and power wherewith to do it, he thought himself obliged to assist and countenance others that feared God; nor did he think his being kind to them would excuse him from being good himself, but he did both, he both feared God greatly himself and patronised those that feared him likewise. Thou employest me; Lord, make it appear that thou dost so;" see Numbers 16:28; Numbers 16:29. [2.] Then let them put the meat on the wood, but they are not to set fire to it. Do you believe that? 30Then Elijah said to all the people, Now come to me. So they gathered around him, and Elijah rebuilt the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. Little wonder, then, that when King Ahab chose to marry a woman from Baal territory, the farmers in Israel built a house for this new god and welcomed him to the neighborhood (see 1 Kings 16:31). While Baal worshipers went hungry during the drought, God fed Elijah meat and bread delivered to him daily by carrier ravens (see v. 6). 4. This he calls (1 Kings 18:21; 1 Kings 18:21) halting between two opinions, or thoughts. God's cause is so incontestably just that it needs not fear to have the evidences of its equity searched into and weighed. God demands no more from us than he can make out a title to. " By afternoon, worshippers of Baal were cutting themselves up and ripping off their clothes, writhing in unspeakable suicidal frustration.When he called on them to shout and wake up . Based only on the sighting of a cloud that was as small as a mans hand, he knew a torrent was on the way. We may request cookies to be set on your device. a. Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. Ahab, like himself, basely accused Elijah. He is sure Ahab would be so enraged at the disappointment that he would put him to death for making a fool of him, or for not laying hands on Elijah himself, when he had him in his reach, 1 Kings 18:12; 1 Kings 18:12. 33Elijah put the wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces, and laid the pieces on the wood. If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at privacy@biblegateway.com. The manager of God's cause was but one man, lately a poor exile, hardly kept from starving; so that God's cause has nothing to support it but its own right. (2.) [2.] But God listened to his prophet. As he had shown the tenderness of a father to the sons of the prophets, so he showed the reverence of a son to this father of the prophets; and by this made it appear that he did indeed fear God greatly, that he did honour to one that was his extraordinary ambassador and had a great interest in heaven. Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord (1 Kings 18:4; 1 Kings 18:4), slew them,1 Kings 18:13; 1 Kings 18:13. The execution he did upon the prophets of Baal, 1 Kings 18:40. His interview with Obadiah, one of Ahab's servants, by whom he sends notice to Ahab of his coming, 1 Kings 18:2-16. He hid 100 of them in two caves, when the persecution was hot, and fed them with bread and water,1 Kings 18:4; 1 Kings 18:4. The central story in the Torah portion is that of the Golden Calf, and thus the story of the haftarah serves as an obvious sequel to this unfortunate episode. Now if, upon trial, it appears that Baal is that one infinite omnipotent Being, that one supreme Lord and all-sufficient benefactor, you ought to renounce Jehovah and cleave to Baal only: but, if Jehovah be that one God, Baal is a cheat, and you must have no more to do with him." It is an instance of the courage of Elijah that he durst stand alone in the cause of God against such powers and numbers; and the issue encourages all God's witnesses and advocates never to fear the face of man. He maketh fire come down from heaven in the sight of men and so deceiveth them,Revelation 13:13; Revelation 13:14. Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural, Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hitpael - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural, Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine plural, Drought, a cutting instrument, as a, knife, sword, Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine plural, Preposition-k | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural, A verdict, a sentence, formal decree, divine law, penalty, justice, privilege, style, Blood, of man, an animal, the juice of the grape, bloodshed, Preposition | third person masculine plural, In the extremity of famine Elijah, sent to Ahab, meets good Obadiah, Elijah, reproving Ahab, by fire from heaven convinces Baal's prophets, Elijah, by prayer obtaining rain, follows Ahab to Jezreel, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, OT History: 1 Kings 18:28 They cried aloud and cut themselves after (1Ki iKi i Ki 1 Kg 1kg). When we read about the Israelites worshiping the god Baal in 1 Kings 18, we tend to think of them developing a preference for wooden idol images. 18During the third year without rain, the Lord spoke his word to Elijah: Go and meet King Ahab, and I will soon send rain. 2So Elijah went to meet Ahab. Here are guidelines to help facilitate a meaningful learning experience for everyone. IV. 23 Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: 24 And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience. 34 And he said, Do it the second time. He does not insist upon their relation to Jehovah--"Is he not yours, and the God of your fathers, while Baal is the god of the Sidonians? 26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. He bids Obadiah go and tell the king that he is there to speak with him: Tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is forth-coming, 1 Kings 18:8; 1 Kings 18:8. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer. And he said, Do it the third time. Ahab rode in his chariot, at ease and in state, 1 Kings 18:45; 1 Kings 18:45. ESV - He also recognized, though, that people in his day faced a new, subtler, and perhaps even stronger temptation: to treat money as an idol like Baal, an idol to worship as a god to get what they wanted. Asked April 28 2020 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God. Let it go on therefore to a trial. Does God gives us political leaders or do we vote them by choice? 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. But his corruptions got the better of his convictions, and he was glad to get clear of him, as Felix of Paul, when he dismissed him, and adjourned his conference with him to a more convenient season. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 7 And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my lord Elijah? 23Bring two bulls. Paul declares that greed is idolatry, that to be greedy is to worship other gods (see Col. 3:5; Eph. He mentions this, not in pride or ostentation, but to convince Elijah that though he was Ahab's servant he was not in his interest, and therefore deserved not to be bantered as one of the tools of his persecution. Baal's 450 prophets worked themselves into a frenzy, cutting themselves, dancing, and chanting to their god. How sharp Elijah was upon them, 1 Kings 18:27; 1 Kings 18:27. And they did it the second time. 34Then he said, Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the meat and on the wood. Then Elijah said, Do it again, and they did it again. And there was a sore famine in Samaria. The Contemporary Parallel New Testament with KJV, NIV, NKJV, NASB, and more! 1416). 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. 9 And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? Baal was chief of the Canaanite gods. V. Elijah hereupon hastened Ahab home, and attended him himself. He turned the hearts of his people back to himself. Obadiah would not have accepted the place if he could not have had it without bowing the knee to Baal, nor was Ahab so impolitic as to exclude those from offices that were fit to serve him, merely because they would not join with him in his devotions. The people, as the jury, gave in their verdict upon the trial, and they are all agreed in it; the case is so plain that they need not go from the bar to consider of their verdict or consult about it: They fell on their faces, and all, as one man, said, "Jehovah, he is the God, and not Baal; we are convinced and satisfied of it: Jehovah, he is the God" (1 Kings 18:39; 1 Kings 18:39), whence, one would think, they should have inferred, "If he be the God, he shall be our God, and we will serve him only," as Joshua 24:24. 17When he saw Elijah, he asked, Is it youthe biggest troublemaker in Israel?, 18Elijah answered, I have not made trouble in Israel. How did the spirit of God move upon the face of the waters in Genesis 1:2? (1.) 10 As the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. Help us purchase electrical generators for churches. 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. How senseless, how brutish, were they in their addresses to Baal! He could not bring them to the altar at Jerusalem unless he could unite the two kingdoms again (which, for correction to both, God designed should not now be done), therefore, by his prophetic authority, he builds an altar on Mount Carmel, and so owns that which had formerly been built there. The Lord is God!. The particular Levitical institutions were so often dispensed with (as in the time of the Judges, Samuel's time, and now) that one would be tempted to think they were more designed for types to be fulfilled in the evangelical anti-types than for laws to be fulfilled in the strict observance of them. I have followed the Lord since I was a boy. Leviticus 19:28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD. Yahweh would have none of it. Changes will take effect once you reload the page. Perhaps he is deep in thought, or occupied, or . Maybe we can find enough grass to keep our horses and mules alive and not have to kill our animals. 6So each one chose a part of the country to search; Ahab went in one direction and Obadiah in another. Those halt between them that are unresolved under their convictions, unstable and unsteady in their purposes, promise fair, but do not perform, begin well, but do not hold on, that are inconsistent with themselves, or indifferent and lukewarm in that which is good. Excerpted from "Practicing the King's Economy: Honoring Jesus in How We Work, Earn, Spend, Save, and Give," by Michael Rhodes, Robby Holt and Brian Fikkert. He that will thrive must rise betimes. Probably on that mountain they had an eminent high place, where formerly the pure worship of God had been kept up as well as it could be any where but at Jerusalem. God will provide himself fire. Jesus knew all about gods such as Baal. Jesus reminds us that when we try, we risk devoting ourselves to money and hating him (see Luke 16:13). Above two years he had lain hid with the widow at Zarephath, after he had been concealed one year by the brook Cherith; so that the third year of his sojourning there, here spoken of (1 Kings 18:1; 1 Kings 18:1), was the fourth of the famine, which lasted in all three years and six months, as we find, Luke 4:25; James 5:17. This was the way they worshiped, Douay-Rheims Bible So they cried with a loud voice, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till they were all covered with blood. Practicing the King's Economy: Honoring Jesus in How We Work, Earn, Spend, Save, and Give. To this fair proposal of the case, which Elijah here makes, the people knew not what to say: They answered him not a word. 40Then Elijah said, Capture the prophets of Baal! Did they tithe to themselves? 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. II. If Ahab had paid the respect to Elijah that he deserved he would have taken him into his chariot, as the eunuch did Philip, that he might honour him before the elders of Israel, and confer with him further about the reformation of the kingdom. 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. Second, Baal was a false god and men were not to worship him. Nothing creates more trouble to a land than the impiety and profaneness of princes and their families. 33 And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. Go tell your master that I am here., 9Then Obadiah said, What wrong have I done for you to hand me over to Ahab like this? Let us see if he speed better. 115:8 NET). They likely continued going to church, paying their tithes, and saying a prayer or two now and againespecially on holidays. When they saw the fire consume both the burnt offering and the entire altar, they answered, " The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God " (1 Kings 18:39). After all, if youre a farmer, its only practical to invest in getting the rider of the clouds to like you. 2. (Mark 6:20). [1.] "But there was no voice. Thither all Israel must come, to give Elijah the meeting; and the prophets of Baal who were dispersed all the country over, with those of the groves who were Jezebel's domestic chaplains, must there make their personal appearance. Baal and his prophets were confounded. answer us; as it is in the margin: and this for some hours together, longer than Diana's worshippers made their cry, Great is Diana of the Ephesians,Acts 19:34. This is the right method. He stood by them, and patiently heard them for so many hours praying to an idol, yet with secret indignation and disdain; and at noon, when the sun was at the hottest, and they too expecting fire (then if ever), he upbraided them with their folly; and notwithstanding the gravity of his office, and the seriousness of the work he had before him, bantered them: "Cry aloud, for he is a god, a goodly god that cannot be made to hear without all this clamour. Elijah first surrendered, or rather discovered, himself to Obadiah. 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