1 Kings 18:18

18:18 Elijah ¹  replied, “I have not brought disaster ²  on Israel. But you and your father’s dynasty have, by abandoning the Lord’s commandments and following the Baals.

1 Kings 18:42-45

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.” ³  Seven times Elijah sent him to look. ⁴  18:44 The seventh time the servant ⁵  said, “Look, a small cloud, the size of the palm of a man’s hand, is rising up from the sea.” Elijah ⁶  then said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up the chariots and go down, so that the rain won’t overtake you.’” ⁷  18:45 Meanwhile the sky was covered with dark clouds, the wind blew, and there was a heavy rainstorm. Ahab rode toward ⁸  Jezreel.

Jeremiah 14:22

14:22 Do any of the worthless idols ⁹  of the nations cause rain to fall?

Do the skies themselves send showers?

Is it not you, O Lord our God, who does this? ¹⁰ 

So we put our hopes in you ¹¹ 

because you alone do all this.”

Acts 14:17

14:17 yet he did not leave himself without a witness by doing good, ¹²  by giving you rain from heaven ¹³  and fruitful seasons, satisfying you ¹⁴  with food and your hearts with joy.” ¹⁵ 

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Or “trouble.”

³ sn So he went on up, looked, and reported, “There is nothing.” Several times in this chapter those addressed by Elijah obey his orders. In vv. 20 and 42 Ahab does as instructed, in vv. 26 and 28 the prophets follow Elijah’s advice, and in vv. 30, 34, 40 and 43 the people and servants do as they are told. By juxtaposing Elijah’s commands with accounts of those commands being obeyed, the narrator emphasizes the authority of the Lord’s prophet.

⁴ tn Heb “He said, ‘Return,’ seven times.”

⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tn Heb “so that the rain won’t restrain you.”

⁸ tn Heb “rode and went to.”

⁹ tn The word הֶבֶל (hevel), often translated “vanities”, is a common pejorative epithet for idols or false gods. See already in 8:19 and 10:8.

¹⁰ tn Heb “Is it not you, O Lord our God?” The words “who does” are supplied in the translation for English style.

¹¹ tn The rhetorical negatives are balanced by a rhetorical positive.

¹² tn The participle ἀγαθουργῶν (agaqourgwn) is regarded as indicating means here, parallel to the following participles διδούς (didou") and ἐμπιπλῶν (empiplwn). This is the easiest way to understand the Greek structure. Semantically, the first participle is a general statement, followed by two participles giving specific examples of doing good.

¹³ tn Or “from the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

¹⁴ tn Grk “satisfying [filling] your hearts with food and joy.” This is an idiomatic expression; it strikes the English reader as strange to speak of “filling one’s heart with food.” Thus the additional direct object “you” has been supplied, separating the two expressions somewhat: “satisfying you with food and your hearts with joy.”

¹⁵ sn God’s general sovereignty and gracious care in the creation are the way Paul introduces the theme of the goodness of God. He was trying to establish monotheism here. It is an OT theme (Gen 8:22; Ps 4:7; 145:15-16; 147:8-9; Isa 25:6; Jer 5:24) which also appears in the NT (Luke 12:22-34).