1 Kings - Chapter 18

The Amazing Bible. Book Club

After three and a half years, the Lord told Elijah to go tell Ahab that He would send rain to the land, so he went and found Obadiah, Ahab's overseer of the palace. We learn that Obadiah fears the Lord and has protected 100 prophets of the Lord from Jezebel who was killing the Lord's prophets. Obadiah was fearful to tell Ahab, thinking that Elijah would hide again, but Elijah gave his word that he would present himself before Ahab this very day. When they met, king Ahab called Elijah, "O troubler of Israel," and Elijah said, "I'm not the troubler, but you are because you have followed the Baals instead of the Lord." Elijah called a meeting with the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah on Mt. Carmel. The test was each would build an altar and sacrifice, and the god who sets it on fire is God. The people agreed, and the prophets of Baal went first. They got it ready and cried out, but no on answered. They cried louder. They cried all morning, but no response. By noon, Elijah began to taunt them, "Cry louder, maybe he's sleeping!" They did and even slashed themselves until their blood flowed, but no answer. At the time of evening sacrifice, Elijah set up the altar of the Lord with 12 stones representing the 12 sons of Judah, also named Israel. He got it all ready, and then he dug a trench around it and pour 12 large jugs of water over the alter and sacrifice. He prayed one simple prayer, "so that these people will know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You are turning their hearts back again." Fire came down from heaven, and the people cried, "The Lord - He is God! The Lord - He is God!" Elijah and the people seized the prophets of Baal and killed them in the Kishon Valley. Elijah told king Ahab to go and eat for the rain is coming. The king left, and Elijah went back to the top of the mountain. He bent down on the ground and put his face between his knees and waited. He kept having his servant look out over the sea to see anything, and on the 7th time, the servant saw a cloud the size of a man's fist coming out of the sea. Elijah sent his servant to tell Ahab to head to Jezreel before the rain stopped him. He did, Ahab did, and Elijah, in the power of the Lord, tucked his cloak in his belt, and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.