Don’s Daily Devotions

Thurs 30^th July  –  Read 1 Kings 19:1-3

V1:  Sadly, nothing has truly touched or changed Ahab. He returns home only to report to Jezebel – increasingly seen to be the “power behind the throne” who dominates her husband – what Elijah has done, including executing the prophets who were her proteges.

V2:  She immediately sends a threat against Elijah’s life – he will be like them – dead – or let her god’s do the same to her. Her gods are, of course, nothing, and the true and living god will in His own time deal with Jezebel.

V3: At first reading, we are surely amazed to see the effect on Elijah. He is afraid for his life and flees to the city of Beersheba, deep in the southern kingdom of Judah, and some 80 miles from Jezreel. But only to leave his servant there. Is this the man who has just stood so fearless for God on Mount Carmel? Then we recall the words of James 5:17, and say – yes, he is a man ” just like us”. How often we may let our guard down after a time of great blessing, and be at our most vulnerable spiritually.

Wed 29^th July  –   Read 1 Kings 18:42-46

V42: As Ahab goes, Elijah seeks God’s face in humble prayer, as shown by the posture he adopts. Here surely is an intercessor praying for and identifying with his people. Compare Moses, in Exodus 33:30-32. Note also, that though Elijah is confident in what God will do, he still prays for it in humble faith ( See James 5:18.) This is a balance God’s word sets before us. May it mark our praying.

V43: He sends his servant to look out over the sea. ( Carmel is on a high promontory that looks over the Mediteranean. ) But no sign of rain yet appears – Elijah sends him back to look again – 7 times! Faith waits in humble patience yet confident trust, for God’s time to answer.

V44: On that 7th time – Biblically the number of fullness or completion, remember –  the servant reports a small cloud, in the distance so far it seems no bigger than a man’s hand. This is enough for Elijah – he sends the servant to tell Ahab to get in his chariot and drive home quickly, for the rain will soon be so torrential it would stop him doing so.

V45: So it is – soon clouds darken the sky and the rain pours down. This is God’s mercy, after bringing Israel to the measure of repentance seen in v39, even though that will prove less than complete. God is still the same God of mercy and grace – do we pray in real anticipation of the “showers of blessing” of which we sometimes sing?

V46: God’s spirit so comes upon Elijah that he can outrun Ahab’s chariot, returning to Jezreel – the city where Ahab has his palace. God will always equip and enable His servants for what He calls them to do.

Tues 28^th July  –   Read 1 Kings 18:39-41

V39: At such a revelation of God’s power, the people who have been “sitting on the fence” back in v21, now fall on their faces before the Lord they have disobeyed, and cry out that He is indeed the ( only ) true and living God.

V40: Elijah now commands the false prophets to be seized and put to death. Such OT verses may make us uneasy in our very different age and culture, but what we see here is a Holy ruthlessness to see sin and defiance of God for what it is, and to deal with it completely. Surely, we need something of this Holy ruthlessness today, above all in recognising and dealing with sin – first, our own sin before a Holy God. Too often we tolerate what we should abominate and deal with – see Christ’s own words in Matthew 5:29-30.

V41: Now Elijah turns to Ahab – who it seems has stayed silent ( and as we later learn, sadly unmoved ) through all that has taken place, and tells him to ( go home? ) and eat and drink, for “there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” The next verses make clear that as yet there is no sound, no visible sign of coming rain, but Elijah speaks in confident faith – let Ahab be ready for what God will surely do in the mercy He has promised. Do we have such assurance in God’s unchanging plan and purposes?

Mon 27^th July  –  Read 1 Kings 18:36-38

V36: After the utter failure of the prophets of Baal and their so-called god, Elijah, at the designated time of the evening sacrifice to the Lord, calls on the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel and became the name of the nation – God’s chosen people, but now in this tragic state of apostasy. He asks the Lord to vindicate His own Name, and prove that he, Elijah, is truly God’s servant who has done all that he has done in obedience to God’s revealed word.

V37: His prayer is that God will not only show that He is the living God, but that in doing so He will turn His people’s hearts back to Him. In effect, he is praying for God’s mercy and grace to restore His people. How often do we pray for God’s mercy upon our undeserving nation, even in salvation blessing?

V38: And the Lord hears and answers – His fire falls from heaven, consuming not only the sacrifice and wood, but the very stones and the water from the trench! What a demonstration of God’s almighty and incomparable power, where the “fire god” Baal has so signally failed. Let us never forget that this God is our God still today.

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?