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Texts -- 1 Kings 18:16-46 (NET)

Context
Elijah Confronts Baal’s Prophets
18:16 When Obadiah went and informed Ahab , the king went to meet Elijah . 18:17 When Ahab saw Elijah , he said to him, “Is it really you , the one who brings disaster on Israel ?” 18:18 Elijah replied , “I have not brought disaster on Israel . But you and your father’s dynasty have, by abandoning the Lord’s commandments and following the Baals . 18:19 Now send out messengers and assemble all Israel before me at Mount Carmel , as well as the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah whom Jezebel supports . 18:20 Ahab sent messengers to all the Israelites and had the prophets assemble at Mount Carmel . 18:21 Elijah approached all the people and said , “How long are you going to be paralyzed by indecision ? If the Lord is the true God , then follow him, but if Baal is, follow him!” But the people did not say a word . 18:22 Elijah said to them : “I am the only prophet of the Lord who is left , but there are 450 prophets of Baal . 18:23 Let them bring us two bulls . Let them choose one of the bulls for themselves, cut it up into pieces , and place it on the wood . But they must not set it on fire . I will do the same to the other bull and place it on the wood . But I will not set it on fire . 18:24 Then you will invoke the name of your god , and I will invoke the name of the Lord . The god who responds with fire will demonstrate that he is the true God .” All the people responded , “This will be a fair test .” 18:25 Elijah told the prophets of Baal , “Choose one of the bulls for yourselves and go first , for you are the majority . Invoke the name of your god , but do not light a fire .” 18:26 So they took a bull , as he had suggested , and prepared it. They invoked the name of Baal from morning until noon , saying , “Baal , answer us.” But there was no sound and no answer . They jumped around on the altar they had made . 18:27 At noon Elijah mocked them, “Yell louder ! After all, he is a god ; he may be deep in thought , or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip . Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened .” 18:28 So they yelled louder and, in accordance with their prescribed ritual, mutilated themselves with swords and spears until their bodies were covered with blood . 18:29 Throughout the afternoon they were in an ecstatic frenzy, but there was no sound , no answer , and no response . 18:30 Elijah then told all the people , “Approach me.” So all the people approached him. He repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down . 18:31 Then Elijah took twelve stones , corresponding to the number of tribes that descended from Jacob , to whom the Lord had said , “Israel will be your new name .” 18:32 With the stones he constructed an altar for the Lord . Around the altar he made a trench large enough to contain two seahs of seed . 18:33 He arranged the wood , cut up the bull , and placed it on the wood . 18:34 Then he said, “Fill four water jars and pour the water on the offering and the wood.” When they had done so, he said , “Do it again .” So they did it again . Then he said , “Do it a third time.” So they did it a third time. 18:35 The water flowed down all sides of the altar and filled the trench . 18:36 When it was time for the evening offering , Elijah the prophet approached the altar and prayed : “O Lord God of Abraham , Isaac , and Israel , prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command . 18:37 Answer me, O Lord , answer me, so these people will know that you , O Lord , are the true God and that you are winning back their allegiance .” 18:38 Then fire from the Lord fell from the sky. It consumed the offering , the wood , the stones , and the dirt , and licked up the water in the trench . 18:39 When all the people saw this, they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and said , “The Lord is the true God ! The Lord is the true God !” 18:40 Elijah told them, “Seize the prophets of Baal ! Don’t let even one of them escape !” So they seized them, and Elijah led them down to the Kishon Valley and executed them there . 18:41 Then Elijah told Ahab , “Go on up and eat and drink , for the sound of a heavy rainstorm can be heard.” 18:42 So Ahab went on up to eat and drink , while Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel . He bent down toward the ground and put his face between his knees . 18:43 He told his servant , “Go on up and look in the direction of the sea .” So he went on up , looked , and reported , “There is nothing .” Seven times Elijah sent him to look. 18:44 The seventh time the servant said , “Look , a small cloud , the size of the palm of a man’s hand , is rising up from the sea .” Elijah then said , “Go and tell Ahab , ‘Hitch up the chariots and go down , so that the rain won’t overtake you.’” 18:45 Meanwhile the sky was covered with dark clouds , the wind blew, and there was a heavy rainstorm . Ahab rode toward Jezreel . 18:46 Now the Lord energized Elijah with power; he tucked his robe into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel .

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Carmel

    [ebd] a park; generally with the article, "the park." (1.) A prominent headland of Central Palestine, consisting of several connected hills extending from the plain of Esdraelon to the sea, a distance of some 12 miles or more. At ...
    [isbe] CARMEL - kar'-mel (karmel, or, with article, ha-karmel, "fruit garden"; Josephus, ho Karmelos, Karmelion oros): (1) A beautifully wooded mountain range running for about 13 miles in a south-easterly direction from the promon...
    [smith] (fruitful place or park). A mountain which forms one of the most striking and characteristic features of the country of Palestine. It is a noble ridge, the only headland of lower and central Palestine, and forms its southern...
    [nave] CARMEL 1. A fertile and picturesque mountain in Palestine, Song 7:5; Isa. 33:9; 35:2; Jer. 46:18; 50:19; Amos 1:2. Forests of, 2 Kin. 19:23. Caves of, Amos 9:3; Mic. 7:14. An idolatrous high place upon; Elijah builds an a...

  • Ahab

    [ebd] father's brother. (1.) The son of Omri, whom he succeeded as the seventh king of Israel. His history is recorded in 1 Kings 16-22. His wife was Jezebel (q.v.), who exercised a very evil influence over him. To the calf-worshi...
    [isbe] AHAB - a'-hab ('ach'abh, Assyrian a-cha-ab-bu; Septuagint Achaab, but Jer 29:21 f, Achiab, which, in analogy with '-h-y-m-l-k, (')-h-y-'-l, etc., indicates an original 'achi'abh, meaning "the father is my brother"): The comp...
    [smith] (uncle). Son of Omri, seventh king of Israel, reigned B.C. 919-896. He married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal king of Tyre; and in obedience to her wishes, caused temple to be built to Baal in Samaria itself; and an oracular g...
    [nave] AHAB 1. King of Israel, 1 Kin. 16:29. Marries Jezebel, 1 Kin. 16:31. Idolatry of, 1 Kin. 16:30-33; 18:18, 19; 21:25, 26; other wickedness of, 2 Kin. 3:2; 2 Chr. 21:6; 22:3, 4; Mic. 6:16. Reproved by Elijah; assembles the ...

  • Elijah

    [isbe] ELIJAH - e-li'-ja ('eliyahu or (4 times) 'eliyah, "Yah is God"; Septuagint Eleiou, New Testament Eleias or Elias, the King James Version of New Testament Elias): I. THE WORKS OF ELIJAH 1. The Judgment of Drought 2. The Ordea...
    [smith] (my God is Jehovah) has been well entitled "the grandest and the most romantic character that Israel ever produced." "Elijah the Tishbite,... of the inhabitants of Gilead" is literally all that is given us to know of his pare...
    [nave] ELIJAH 1. The Tishbite, a Gileadite and prophet, called Elias in the authorized version of the N.T. Persecuted by Ahab, 1 Kin. 17:2-7; 18:7-10. Escapes to the wilderness, where he is miraculously fed by ravens, 1 Kin. 17:1-...

  • JOASH (1)

    [isbe] JOASH (1) - jo'-ash (yo'ash, "Yahweh is strong" or "Yahweh has bestowed"; Ioas): (1) Father of Gideon, of the clan of Abiezer and the tribe Manasseh (Jdg 6:11,29,30,31; 7:14; 8:13,19,32). Gideon declares (Jdg 6:15) that the ...

  • ISRAEL, RELIGION OF, 2

    [isbe] ISRAEL, RELIGION OF, 2 - 3. The Religion of Israel before the 8th Century BC: (1) Decay of Religion in Canaan. Upon the intense religious feeling produced by the exodus from Egypt and the events at Mt. Sinai, there followed ...

  • Drought

    [nave] DROUGHT. Gen. 31:40; 1 Kin. 17; 18; Jer. 14:1-6. Sent by God as a judgment, Deut. 28:23, 24; 1 Kin. 8:35; 2 Chr. 6:26; 7:13; Hos. 13:15. See: Famine; Meteorology; Rain. Figurative Psa. 32:4; Isa. 44:3.

  • Revivals

    [nave] REVIVALS. Religious Zech. 8:20-23. Prayer for, Hab. 3:2. Prophecies concerning, Isa. 32:15; Joel 2:28; Mic. 4:1-8; Hab. 3:2. Instances of Under Joshua, Josh. 5:2-9; Samuel, 1 Sam. 7:1-6; Elijah, 1 Kin. 18:17-40; Jehoas...

  • Prayer

    [smith] The object of this article will be to touch briefly on -- The doctrine of Scripture as to the nature and efficacy of prayer; Its directions as to time, place and manner of prayer; Its types and examples of prayer. Scripture ...
    [nave] PRAYER. Index of Sub-topics Miscellany of Minor Sub-Topics; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Answer to, Promised; Answered, Instances of Answered; Confession in; Importunity in, Instances of Importunity in; Intercessor...

  • Baal

    [ebd] lord. (1.) The name appropriated to the principal male god of the Phoenicians. It is found in several places in the plural BAALIM (Judg. 2:11; 10:10; 1 Kings 18:18; Jer. 2:23; Hos. 2:17). Baal is identified with Molech (Jer....
    [smith] the supreme male divinity of the Phoenician and Canaanitish nations, as Ashtoreth was their supreme female divinity. Some suppose Baal to correspond to the sun and Ashtoreth to the moon; others that Baal was Jupiter and Ashto...
    [nave] BAAL 1. An idol of the Phoenicians, god of the sun. Wickedly worshiped by the Israelites in the time of the judges, Judg. 2:10-23; 1 Sam. 7:3, 4; by the kingdom of Israel, 2 Kin. 17:16; Jer. 23:13; Hos. 1; 2; 13:1; under Aha...

  • Miracles

    [nave] MIRACLES. Index of Sub-topics Catalog of, and Supernatural Events, Of Jesus, in Chronological Order, Of the Disciples of Jesus; Convincing Effect of; Design of; Miraculous Gifts of the Holy Spirit; Miscellany of Minor Sub-...

  • PRIESTHOOD

    [isbe] PRIESTHOOD - prest'-hood: 1. Priesthood Is an Office 2. In the Old Testament 3. Hereditary Priesthood 4. In the New Testament 5. Conclusions LITERATURE All worship is based on priesthood, for the priestly office is an essent...

  • Faith

    [nave] FAITH. 2 Sam. 22:31; Psa. 5:11; Psa. 7:1; Psa. 9:9, 10; Psa. 18:30; Psa. 32:10; Psa. 33:18, 19; Psa. 34:8, 22 vs. 1-8;; Psa. 2:12. Psa. 36:7; Psa. 40:4; Psa. 64:10; Psa. 78:7 vs. 5-7.; Psa. 84:5, 12; Psa. 112:5, 7, 8; Psa. ...

  • PALESTINE, 2

    [isbe] PALESTINE, 2 - III. Palestine in the Historic Books of the Old Testament. 1. Book of Joshua: Joshua is the great geographical book of the Old Testament; and the large majority of the 600 names of places, rivers and mountains...

  • GOD, 2

    [isbe] GOD, 2 - II. The Idea of God in the Old Testament. 1. Course of Its Development: Any attempt to write the whole history of the idea of God in the Old Testament would require a preliminary study of the literary and historical...

  • Rain

    [nave] RAIN Forty days of, at the time of the flood, Gen. 7:4, 10-12, 17-24. The plague of, upon Egypt, Ex. 9:22-26, 33, 34. Miraculously caused by Samuel, 1 Sam. 12:16-19; by Elijah, 1 Kin. 18:41-45. David delivered by, 2 Sam. ...

  • Jezebel

    [ebd] chaste, the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of the Zidonians, and the wife of Ahab, the king of Israel (1 Kings 16:31). This was the "first time that a king of Israel had allied himself by marriage with a heathen princess; and...
    [isbe] JEZEBEL - jez'-e-bel 'izebhel, "unexalted," "unhusbanded" (?); Iezabel; see BDB; 1 Ki 16:31; 18:4,13,19; 19:1,2; 21:5 ff; 2 Ki 9:7 ff,30 ff; Rev 2:20): Daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians, i.e. Phoenicians, and queen ...
    [smith] (chaste), wife of Ahab king of Israel. (B.C. 883.) She was a Phoenician princess, daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians. In her hands her husband became a mere puppet. (1 Kings 21:25) The first effect of her influence ...
    [nave] JEZEBEL Daughter of Ethbaal, a Sidonian, and wife of Ahab, 1 Kin. 16:31. Was an idolater and persecuted the prophets of God, 1 Kin. 18:4, 13, 19; 2 Kin. 3:2, 13; 9:7, 22. Vowed to kill Elijah, 1 Kin. 19:1-3. Wickedly acc...

  • Reproof

    [nave] REPROOF. Lev. 19:17; Psa. 141:5; Prov. 9:7, 8; Prov. 10:17; Prov. 12:1; Prov. 13:18; Prov. 15:5, 10, 12, 31, 32; Prov. 17:10; Prov. 19:25; Prov. 21:11; Prov. 25:12; Prov. 26:5; Prov. 27:5, 6; Prov. 28:23; Eccl. 7:5; Amos 5:...

  • Idolatry

    [isbe] IDOLATRY - i-dol'-a-tri (teraphim, "household idols," "idolatry"; eidololatreia): There is ever in the human mind a craving for visible forms to express religious conceptions, and this tendency does not disappear with the ac...
    [nave] IDOLATRY. Wicked Practices of Human sacrifices, Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5; Deut. 12:31; 18:10; 2 Kin. 3:26, 27; 16:3; 17:17, 18; 21:6; 23:10; 2 Chr. 28:3; 33:6; Psa. 106:37, 38; Isa. 57:5; Jer. 7:31; 19:4-7; 32:35; Ezek. 16:20, 2...

  • Idol

    [nave] IDOL Manufacture of, Ex. 20:4; 32:4, 20; Deut. 4:23; Isa. 40:19, 20; 44:9-12, 17; Hab. 2:18; Acts 19:24, 25. Manufacture of, forbidden, Ex. 20:4; 34:17. Made of gold, Ex. 32:3, 4; Psa. 115:4-7; 135:15-17; Isa. 2:20; 30:22;...

  • Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena

    [nave] METEOROLOGY AND CELESTIAL PHENOMENA. Gen. 2:5, 6; Gen. 27:39; Job 9:7; Job 26:7, 8, 11; Job 27:20, 21; Job 28:24-27; Job 29:19; Job 36:27-33; Job 37:6-22; Job 38:9 [with vs. 8-11.] Job 38:22, 24-29, 31-35, 37; Psa. 18:8-15;...
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  • [1Ki 18:38] Elijah’s God Still Lives
  • [1Ki 18:38] How The Fire Fell
  • [1Ki 18:41] Sweeping This Way

Questions

  • The following material from The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia should be helpful here: III. Significant numbers Numbers are also used with a symbolical or theological significance. One is used to convey th...
  • How do you think Joshua, Gideon, David and other Old Testament saints felt about it? Do you suppose they did not know of the commandment "Thou shalt not kill"? They do not appear to have found any difficulty in reconciling th...
  • In general, the Old Testament prohibitions against cutting or piercing the body as in Lev. 19:26-31 were prohibitions that related to pagan religious customs which were to be avoided, including pagan mourning rites (vv. 27-28...

Sermon Illustrations

Four Principles of Prayer:; Double-Mindedness

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • God did not just condemn forms of worship that were inappropriate, but He instructed the Israelites positively how they were to worship Him.This pericope serves as an introduction to 42 judgments in 21:1-23:12. A similar sect...
  • After offering these sacrifices, Aaron blessed the people (v. 22). He "stepped down"perhaps from a platform near the altar of burnt offerings on which he may have been standing to address the people. Probably Moses took Aaron...
  • "The list has a brief introduction (v. 1) and ends with the introduction to the next list (v. 16). There are fourteen (7 x 2) laws in the list."24421:1-6 The priest was not to defile himself ceremonially by touching a corpse ...
  • Verses 1-33 record Jephthah's success. The rest of his story (11:34-12:7) relates his failure. The writer likewise recorded Gideon's success first (6:1-8:23) and then his failure (8:24-9:57). We shall find a similar pattern w...
  • The fact that this book opens and closes with death should be a clue as to its message.It opens with David's death, and it closes with Ahab's death. The intervening period of about a century and a half is a story of national ...
  • I. The reign of Solomon chs. 1-11A. Solomon's succession to David's throne 1:1-2:121. David's declining health 1:1-42. Adonijah's attempt to seize the throne 1:5-533. David's charge to Solomon 2:1-94. David's death 2:10-12B. ...
  • Again God raised up a prophet to announce what He would do. Evidently Ahab's apostasy had been going on for 14 years before God raised up His prophetic challenge.173Normally God gives sinners an opportunity to judge themselve...
  • God had a very unusual ministry for Elijah to perform in which he would stand alone against hundreds of opponents (18:16-40). This section reveals how the Lord prepared him for it.The site of Zarephath was between Tyre and Si...
  • Elijah would next learn from God how the Israelites would respond to his ministry as God's servant.Evidently God made the famine especially severe in Samaria (v. 2) because Ahab and Jezebel were the causes of it and lived the...
  • Ahab had a problem of perception similar to Obadiah's (v. 17; cf. v. 7). The real source of Israel's troubles was Ahab and Omri's disregard of the Mosaic Covenant and their preference for idolatry (Deut. 6:5)."This was a crim...
  • Evidently thunder accompanied the falling of the fire (lightning?) from heaven (v. 41).201Elijah told Ahab, who had personally witnessed the contest, that he could celebrate by eating (v. 41). Perhaps he had been fasting to e...
  • Elijah's zeal for God's covenant, altars, and prophets was admirable, but he became too discouraged because he underestimated the extent of commitment to Yahweh that existed in Israel.208He was not alone in his stand for Yahw...
  • Another significant battle occurred between the battle of Ramoth-gilead that the writer recorded in chapter 22 (853 B.C.) and the battles he recorded in chapter 20. Ahab and his Aramean ally Ben-Hadad II (860-841 B.C.) defeat...
  • Aharoni, Yohanan. "The Building Activities of David and Solomon."Israel Exploration Journal24:1(1974):13-16.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonahl. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed., New York: Macmillan Publishing Co.,...
  • Second Kings begins with Ahaziah's reign that fell during the 33-year period of Israel and Judah's alliance (874-841 B.C.; -1 Kings 16:29-2 Kings 9:29). This period in turn fits within the larger context of the divided kingdo...
  • Jehoram reigned 12 years in Israel (852-841 B.C.). His reign overlapped with Jehoshaphat and Jehoshaphat's son Jehoram's coregency (853-848 B.C.) as well as Jehoram of Judah's sole reign (848-841 B.C.). During these 12 years ...
  • Had Elijah still been alive on the earth Elisha could not have exercised authority as his successor. In this chapter note the parallels between the succession of the prophets and the succession of the kings that the writer re...
  • In his prayer Solomon explained the significance of God's coming to indwell His temple. God had come to empower, to have fellowship, and to judge if necessary. God was present among His people, and He would hear their prayers...
  • This oracle is similar to the one in Isaiah 15 and 16.555Other oracles against Moab appear in Ezekiel 25:8-11, Amos 2:1-3, and Zephaniah 2:9, but this is the longest one. It is very difficult to say when Jeremiah gave this or...
  • 14:1-2 Some of the elders of the Jewish community in exile came to visit Ezekiel. While these men sat with the prophet, a word from the Lord came to him.14:3 The Lord revealed to His servant that these elders (along with the ...
  • 7:1 We have already read of two dreams that Nebuchadnezzar had (2:1; 4:5). Now God gave one to Daniel. It too was a vision from God that came to Daniel as he slept."In referring to the experience as a dream' (sing.) Daniel wa...
  • This pericope condemns Israel's foreign policy.7:8 Ephraim had mixed itself with the pagan nations, like unleavened dough mixed with leaven. She had done this by making alliances with neighbor nations as well as by importing ...
  • Jonah is the fifth of the Minor Prophets (the Book of the Twelve) in our English Bibles. It is unique among the Latter Prophets (Isaiah through Malachi) in that it is almost completely narrative similar to the histories of El...
  • The sailors interrogated Jonah about his reasons for travelling on their ship, but it was his failure to live consistently with his convictions that amazed them.1:7 It appears to have been common among the heathen to cast lot...
  • 6:13 Because of these sins the Lord promised to make His people sick, downtrodden, and desolate.6:14 They would continue to eat, but their food would not bring them satisfaction (cf. Lev. 26:26). Their excessive accumulation ...
  • "The opening verses of Nahum form a prologue dominated by the revelation of God's eternal power and divine nature in creation (cf. Rom 1:20). As in Romans 1:18-32, this revelation is characterized preeminently by God's justic...
  • 1:9 Yahweh will frustrate and destroy all attempts to thwart His will. Even though they may appear to succeed at first, they will not endure. Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, had besieged Jerusalem once (1 Kings 18), but the...
  • 2:18 Habakkuk, like other prophets, saw through the folly of idolatry and exposed it (cf. Isa. 41:7; 44:9-20; 45:16, 20; 46:1-2, 6-7; Jer. 10:8-16). An idol carved by human hands cannot help its maker because anyone who creat...
  • 13:1 In that day God would open a fountain for the complete spiritual cleansing of the Israelites, both for their moral sins and for their ritual uncleanness (cf. Ezek. 47). The figure of a fountain pictures abundant cleansin...
  • 14:25 Luke described a setting different from the preceding meal. Jesus was on the road again heading toward Jerusalem. It was evidently the great size of the multitude that accompanied Him that led Him to say what He did.14:...
  • The exact time of this miracle and Jesus' resultant discourse is unclear. Evidently these events transpired sometime between the feast of Tabernacles (7:2, 10; September 10-17, 32 A.D.) and the feast of Dedication (10:22-39; ...
  • The writer proceeded to explain the superiority of the New Covenant by comparing it with the Old Covenant using the figure of two mountains: Sinai and Zion.12:18-21 These verses describe the giving of the Old Covenant at Mt. ...
  • To illustrate the power of prayer James referred to Elijah's experience (1 Kings 17:1; 18:1, 41-45). In view of the remarkable answers Elijah received James reminded his audience that the prophet was an ordinary man."Here the...
  • 1:13 "Therefore"ties in with everything Peter had explained thus far (vv. 3-12). He said in effect, Now that you have focused your thinking positively you need to roll up your sleeves mentally and adopt some attitudes that wi...
  • 11:7 It is only when they have finished their ministry that God will permit the beast to kill the two witnesses. They will not die prematurely. This is the first of 36 references to "the beast"in Revelation (cf. Dan. 7:21). H...
  • The final three bowl judgments all have political consequences.16:12 The problem that this judgment poses for earth-dwellers is not a result of the judgment itself but its consequences, namely, war. It does not inflict a plag...
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