Author Archives: Phillip

Sat 25^th July  –  Read 1 Kings 18:30-35

V30:  Elijah calls the people around him, and first builds up an altar of the Lord that had been knocked down. One man has commented ” how sad to see that broken and disused altar in the midst of Israel.”

V31:  He takes 12 stones, symbolic of the 12 tribes, bearing the names of the sons of Jacob, whose name, we are reminded, was changed to Israel. The reference to the 12 tribes in the context of the divided kingdom perhaps reminds us that God’s true people are always one people in His sight.

V32-33:  With them, he builds up the altar, has a trench dug around it, prepares the bull and the wood for the offering to the Lord – and commands 4 jars of water to be poured over it all. The people must be clear that there is no trickery in what is about to happen, only a mighty work of God. How complete is Elijah’s confidence in the Lord. He has no doubt what God can do and will do to vindicate His Name. Is this our assurance still today?

V34-35:  The same thing is done a second, and then a third time, until the trench around the altar is filled with water. This water must have been a precious hoarded resource in this long drought, but Elijah is confident that God is about to act, and then will send water upon the earth again. May we look to God in these days in which we live with a similar confidence that He will act in His own time to bring the situation to an end.

Fri 24^th July  –  Read 1 Kings 18:25-29

V25:  Elijah gives the prophets of Baal ” first go.” Let them choose their bull, prepare it, but light no fire. Rather, let them call on Baal to vindicate himself!

V26:  So they do, and Elijah lets them carry on ” from morning to noon” – we don’t know when they began, but clearly some hours. With understated irony, Scripture says ” There was no voice, and no-one answered “. Of course not, they call on a non-existent being!   When we are told they “limp”, there is an anticipation of v28, clearly this awful practice has begun!

V27: Elijah mocks them – in very down-to-earth terms – suggesting their god is too occupied with “other things” to hear them. Should we ” mock” falsehood? At the least, we should surely be more robust  in rebuking error and defending truth than we so often are.

V28:  They abuse and lacerate their own bodies, presumably believing their blood will satisfy their god. Remember that the NT tells us that behind all false religions, though their “gods” are non-existent, stand Satan and his powers. ( See 1 Corinthians 10 v20.) Our trust in total contrast to all man-centred thinking, is in the shed blood of God’s own son, which covers and washes away our sin.( 1 John 1:7; Ephesians 1:7.)

V29:  Elijah lets them ” rave on” for further hours – no doubt continuing to mock their empty cries – until the time of the evening sacrifice ( “the oblation”) according to the law of God for the true worship of His people. Effectively, Elijah has given them the whole day, knowing this will only demonstrate the emptiness of their religion, the impotence of their “god.”

Thurs 23^rd July  –   Read 1 Kings 18:20-24

V20:  Ahab does exactly as Elijah says, clearly under a compulsion from God, but one wonders what he anticipates from the confrontation to come. Even as believers, we do not always see or know what God is doing, but we are called to “trust Him for all that’s to come.” 

V21:  Elijah now addresses the people – they should have been God’s people, remember – 10 of the 12 tribes form the rebellious Southern kingdom, which still bears the name of Israel. He knows they are not truly committed to Baal, they “serve him” from fear and compulsion,  but this can not go on. They are like people limping along with their legs on 2 different levels. We would say they are “sitting on the fence.” No, says Elijah, if the Lord is God they must obey and follow Him – if Baal is “god” follow him! God will not share His people’s allegiance. Compare Matthew 6:24. The people, perhaps chastened, or in fear of Ahab, say nothing!

V22:  Elijah now sets up the contest. He alone stands for God ( where are Obadiah’s 100, we might wonder.)  The prophets of Baal are 450. ( The other 400 seem to fade into the background ) But as someone has said ” One, with God, is a majority.”

V23:  So, the challenge! The false prophets will have a bull to offer as a sacrifice to their “god”, Elijah will have one to offer to the Lord. Both are to be prepared for sacrifice, laid on the altar, on wood – but no fire is to be lit – no fire made by human hands!

V24:  They are to call on Baal to send fire – remember, he is supposed to be a god of fire – and Elijah will call on the Lord. Let the one who is truly God send fire from heaven and prove His claim! Already, we anticipate the outcome – but we must remember, all that Elijah does is at God’s direction ( v36. ) We are not to presume to call on the Lord in such a way, but trust Him to act as He chooses, to His own glory.

Wed 22^nd July  –  Read 1 Kings 18:15-19

V15:  Elijah, in absolute conviction that he is in the hands of the living God, tells Obadiah he will see Ahab this day. His God is ” the Lord of hosts” – sometimes rendered ” the Lord of the heavenly armies”- , the Almighty God whose full resources and power are beyond our imagining! This God is our God – may our confidence be like Elijah’s!

V16:  Obadiah argues no longer, he goes to find Ahab, and indeed Ahab comes to meet Elijah. Under God’s hand it is not the despotic king who is in command of all that happens here, but the humble servant of the Lord, as events will go on to show.

V17-18:  At once Ahab blames Elijah as ” the troubler of Israel”. God’s people will often be the subject of abuse and false accusation for their faith and witness ( See Matthew 10 v25.) But Elijah at once lays the blame for bringing this time of judgement upon Israel where it truly lies, with Ahab and his equally godless predecessors, who have led Israel into the worship of false gods. “The Baals” here is a general term for these false gods, where later in the chapter “Baal” is the “proper name” of the chief Canaanite god, a god of fire and thunder.

V19:  Elijah, with God’s spirit clearly directing him and giving him an authority which cannot be resisted, tells Ahab to summon the people of Israel to Mount Carmel – a “high place” which at this time is one of the centres of false worship, in defiance of God, and perhaps seen as “sacred” to Baal! And to summon the prophets of Baal and of other false gods, who appear to be favourites of Jezebel. A great contest between truth and falsehood is about to be set up!

Tues 21^st July  –   Read 1 Kings 18:10-14

V10:  We learn that Ahab has searched for Elijah – no doubt blaming him for the drought – in all the neighbouring kingdoms. God has kept His servant from Ahab’s anger until this moment – perhaps using the very fact that the prophet had been concealed in the very land where Jezebel’s father ruled, where surely he would least have expected to find the prophet and the search may have been no more than nominal.

V11-12:  So Obadiah again expresses his fear that the Lord will take Elijah away and leave Obadiah himself to face Ahab’s fury. He pleads his faith in God from his childhood. Again, though he is a true believer, his fear surely confirms that he has kept his faith secret, and shows his lack of anticipation or confidence in God’s sovereign purposes.

V13:  He says again how he has hidden and protected 100 of the Lord’s servants, offering this as a reason why he should not be put at risk of Ahab’s anger. Though not wishing to be too hard on him – how would we have fared in Ahab’s court? – it is not only a limited faith, but a faulty view of how we stand in a right relationship with God which offers his own works as a reason for God to show him mercy – but are we completely free of thinking at times like this? ( ” I do so much in God’s service – surely He must think well of me for this?” )

V14:  As poor Obadiah reiterates his fears, we need to remember the Lord’s own words in Matthew 10:28.

Mon 20^th July  –  Read 1 Kings 18:5-9

V5:  Ahab sends Obadiah to search for any remaining source of water – does his emphasis only on livestock here suggest he is more concerned about these animals and their economic benefit to him and his kingdom than about his people?

V6:  So Ahab himself will search in one direction, Obadiah in another. Ahab’s trust in Obadiah suggests he is a diligent and faithful steward, but again we may wonder how far he has kept his faith quiet, at the very least ” kept his head down” in Ahab’s court, unlike Daniel and Nehemiah in the foreign courts in which they served.

V7:  Elijah now meets Obadiah, not as men would say ” by chance”, but in God’s plan and purpose. He recognises and shows respect for Elijah, calling him ” my Lord”, though in human terms Obadiah is surely of higher rank than the rustic prophet – but he knows him to be God’s true servant. Do we show a proper regard for those who minister to us as God’s servants?

V8:  Elijah simply tells Obadiah to go to Ahab and tell him “Elijah is here”. In effect, he is summoning the king – surely at God’s direction, to show Ahab that the Lord is in command of the situation and humble his pride.

V9:  But Obadiah’s response is one of fear for his own safety. He believes that God will actually remove Elijah from Ahab’s wrath ( which he clearly anticipates ), which would then focus on Obadiah himself. Though a believer, he surely fails to see or anticipate God’s hand at work in day to day events, as he works His purpose out. Can this be true of us at times?

Sat 18^th July       –        Read I Kings 18:1-4

V1  In the third year of drought ( 3 and a half years in total according to James 5:17) when Elijah has stayed with the widow and her son for “many days”, ( what must the conversations in that house have been like during that time?) God sends him back to Ahab – this time with a message of mercy after judgement.

V2:  The famine is still at this time severe. Samaria is the capital of the northern kingdom – ( usually referred to as Israel, where the southern kingdom is Judah, where at least there is some legacy of faith and obedience, though often sadly flawed )- of the divided nation, where Ahab reigns. Like almost every king of Israel he has no real faith in God, of course. How sad to trace the history of God’s covenant people!

V3-4:  Obadiah, Ahab’s steward is introduced. He does know and fear the Lord – he has protected and hidden 100 of God’s servants during the drought. And it is also made clear here that Jezebel is the prime persecutor of God’s people.( We know nothing else of these men in Scripture, but clearly God has other servants than those who figure in the biblical pages ), but – though a genuine believer, he surely must have been in some sense a “secret disciple” to hold a high and trusted place in Ahab’s court, and later verses will show how this has weakened his confidence in God!