Elijah’s Complete Despondency

 Forgetting God, Elijah ran on and on, until he found himself in a dreary wasteland, alone. Bone weary, he sat down to rest under a juniper tree and requested that he might die: “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” His spirit was crushed by bitter disappointment, and he wanted never again to look on a human face. At last, exhausted, he fell asleep.

Times of keen disappointment and discouragement come to everyone—days when it is hard to believe that God is still kind, days when troubles follow us till death seems preferable to life. Then many lose their hold on God and become slaves of doubt and unbelief. At such times, if we could unravel the meaning of God’s leadings, we would see angels seeking to save us from ourselves, working to plant our feet on a firm foundation; and new faith, new life, would spring into being.

In his trouble and darkness faithful Job declared:  “May the day perish on which I was born.”

 “Oh, that I might have my request.”

 “My soul chooses ... death. ... I loathe my life.”  Job 3:3; 6:8; 7:15, 16  But though he was weary of life, Job was not allowed to die. To him was given the message of hope:  “You will forget your misery; you will remember it as waters that have passed away.

And your life will be brighter than the noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.”  Job 11:16, 17, NRSV

From the depths of despair Job rose to the heights of trust in God. Triumphantly he declared:

“For I know that my Redeemer lives,

And He shall stand at last on the earth;

And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,

That in my flesh I shall see God.”  Job 19:25, 26

When Job caught a glimpse of his Creator, he abhorred himself and repented in dust and ashes. Job 42:6. Then the Lord was able to bless him and make his last years the best of his life.

Despondency is sinful and unreasonable. God is willing to bestow “more abundantly” (Hebrews 6:17) on His servants the strength they need. The enemies of His work may make plans that seem firmly established, but God can overthrow the strongest of these. For the disheartened there is a sure remedy—faith, prayer, work. Are you tempted to give in to worry, dread, or hopelessness? In the darkest days, when things appear at their worst, don’t be afraid. God knows your need. His infinite love and compassion never run out. He will never change the covenant He has made with those who love Him. And He will give His faithful servants the efficiency that their need demands. Paul has testified: “He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ ... For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9, 10.

Did God forsake Elijah in his ordeal? No! He loved His servant no less when he felt forsaken by God and man. And now a soft touch and pleasant voice awoke him. The pitying face bending over him was not the face of an enemy, but of a friend. God had sent an angel with food. “Arise and eat,” the angel said. “Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water.”

After Elijah had eaten and drunk, he slept again. A second time the angel touched the exhausted man, and said with pitying tenderness, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” In the strength of that food he was able to journey “forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God,” where he found refuge in a cave.

Elijah’s Lack of Faith

 Elijah should not have run. He should have met Jezebel’s threat with an appeal for protection to the One who had commissioned him. He should have told the messenger that the God in whom he trusted would protect him against the queen’s hatred. If he had made God his refuge and strength, he would have been shielded from harm. The Lord would have sent His judgments on Jezebel, and the impression made on king and people would have brought about a great reformation.

Elijah had hoped that after the miracle on Mount Carmel Jezebel would no longer have influence over Ahab and that reform would come quickly to all Israel. All day on Carmel he had gone without food. Yet when he guided the chariot of Ahab to Jezreel, his courage was strong despite the physical strain. But a reaction frequently follows high faith and glorious success. Elijah feared that the reformation begun might not be lasting, and depression seized him. In this time of discouragement, with Jezebel’s threat sounding in his ears and Satan still apparently in control, he lost his hold on God.

Jezebel Threatens Elijah’s Life

 At the gate of Jezreel, Elijah and Ahab separated. The prophet, choosing to remain outside the walls, wrapped himself in his cloak and lay down on the bare earth to sleep. The king soon reached the shelter of his palace and reported to his wife the events of the day. As Ahab told about how the idolatrous prophets had been killed, Jezebel, hardened and unrepentant, became infuriated. She refused to recognize the overruling hand of God and, still defiant, boldly declared that Elijah must die.

That night a messenger awoke the weary prophet and delivered the word of Jezebel: “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.”

It would seem that after showing such unfailing courage, and after triumphing so completely over king and priests and people, Elijah could never afterward give way to discouragement or become frightened and timid. But in this dark hour his faith and courage forsook him. Bewildered, he was startled from his sleep. The rain was pouring from the heavens, and darkness was all around. Forgetting that three years before,  when God had directed him to a place of safety, the prophet now ran for his life.

The Prophet Loses Faith and Panics

 This chapter is based on 1 Kings 18:41-46; 19:1-8.

With the prophets of Baal killed, the way was opened for a mighty spiritual reformation. The judgments of Heaven had been executed. The people had confessed their sins and acknowledged the God of their fathers. Now the curse was to be withdrawn and the land refreshed with rain. “Go up, eat and drink,” Elijah said to Ahab, “for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” Then the prophet went to the top of the mountain to pray.

He saw no clouds in the heavens; he heard no thunder. All that day he had revealed his complete confidence in God’s word, and now he knew that Heaven would bestow the blessings predicted. The same God who had sent the drought had promised rain as the reward of rightdoing. In humility, Elijah pleaded with God in behalf of repentant Israel.

Again and again he sent his servant to a point overlooking the Mediterranean, to see whether there was any visible evidence that God had heard his prayer. Each time the servant returned with the word, “There is nothing.” The prophet did not lose faith but continued pleading. Six times the servant returned with the word that there was no sign of rain. Undaunted, Elijah sent him once more. This time the servant returned with the word, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!”

This was enough! In that small cloud, by faith Elijah saw an abundance of rain. He acted in harmony with his faith, sending his servant quickly to Ahab with the message,  “Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.”

Because Elijah was a man of large faith, God could use him. His faith grasped the promises of Heaven, and he persisted in prayer. He did not wait for the full evidence that God had heard him but was willing to commit everything on the slightest sign of divine favor. And what he was enabled to do under God, all may do in their own sphere in God’s service. “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.” James 5:17.

Faith such as this is needed today—faith that will lay hold of the  promises of God’s Word, faith that brings strength for coping with the powers of darkness. Through faith God’s children have “conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, ... won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.” Hebrews 11:33, 34, NRSV.

Faith is an essential element of effective prayer. “He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6. With the persistence of Elijah, we may present our requests to the Father. He has staked the honor of His throne on the fulfillment of His word.

Night was approaching on Mount Carmel as Ahab prepared for the descent. “Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.” As he traveled toward the royal city through the darkness and blinding rain, he was unable to see in front of him. That day Elijah had humiliated him before his subjects and killed his idolatrous priests, but the prophet still acknowledged Ahab as Israel’s king. Now, as an act of homage, Elijah ran before the royal chariot, guiding the king to the city.

There is a lesson in this gracious act shown to a wicked king for all who claim to be servants of God. Some people hesitate to perform humble duties, fearing that they will be doing the work of a servant. Elijah had been dramatically honored by God as fire had flashed from heaven and consumed the sacrifice; his prayer for rain had been granted. And yet, after God had been pleased to honor his public ministry, he was willing to perform the service of a footman.

The Priests of Baal Unrepentant

 But the priests of Baal refused to repent, even in their defeat and in the presence of divine glory. They would still remain the prophets of Baal. In this they showed themselves ripe for destruction.

To protect repentant Israel from those who taught them to worship Baal, the Lord directed Elijah to destroy these false teachers. The people’s anger had already been aroused, and when Elijah gave the command, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!” they were ready to obey. They took them to the brook Kishon, and there, before the close of the day that marked the beginning of decisive reform, the ministers of Baal were killed.

Fire From Heaven Answers Elijah’s Simple Prayer

 No sooner had the prayer of Elijah ended than flames of fire, like flashes of lightning, descended from heaven on the altar, devouring the sacrifice, licking up the water in the trench, and consuming even the stones of the altar. The brilliance of the blaze illuminated the mountain and dazzled the eyes of the multitude. In the valleys below, where many were watching, they could clearly see the fire descend, and all were amazed at the sight.

The people on the mountain threw themselves to the ground. They dared not continue to look on the Heaven-sent fire. Convicted of their duty to acknowledge the God of Elijah as the God of their fathers, they cried out with one voice, “he Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” The cry resounded over the mountain and echoed in the plain below. At last Israel was awakened, undeceived, and repentant. At last the people saw how greatly they had dishonored God. The character of Baal worship stood fully revealed, in contrast with the reasonable service that the true God required. The people recognized God’s justice and mercy in withholding the dew and rain until they had given Him their complete loyalty.

The Prophets of Baal Give Up

 Evening drew on. The prophets of Baal were weary, faint, and confused. One suggested one thing, and another suggested something else, until finally in despair they withdrew from the contest.

All day long the people had witnessed the baffled priests’ wild leaping around the altar, as if they would grasp the burning rays of the sun to serve their purpose. The people had looked with horror on their self-inflicted mutilations and had reflected on the follies of idol worship. Many were tired of the exhibitions of demonism and now waited with deep interest to see what Elijah would do.

At the hour of the evening sacrifice, Elijah invited the people, “Come near to me.” He turned to the broken-down altar where once Israel had worshiped the God of heaven, and he repaired it. To him this heap of ruins was more precious than all the magnificent altars of the heathen world. Choosing “twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, ... he built an altar in the name of the Lord.”

The disappointed, exhausted priests of Baal waited to see what Elijah would do. They hated the prophet for proposing a test that had exposed their gods, yet they feared his power. Almost breathless with expectancy, the people watched. The prophet’s calm manner stood in sharp contrast to the senseless frenzy of Baal’s followers.

When he completed the altar, the prophet made a trench around it. He put the wood in order and prepared the bull, then laid the victim on the altar. “Fill four waterpots with water,” he directed, “‘and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.’ Then he said, ‘Do it a second time,’ and they did it a second time; and he said, ‘Do it a third time,’ and they did it a third time. So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.”

Reminding the people of their long apostasy, Elijah called on them to humble their hearts and turn to the God of their fathers, that the curse on the land might be removed. Then, bowing reverently before the unseen God, he raised his hands toward heaven and offered a simple prayer. Baal’s priests had screamed and leaped from early morning until late in the afternoon. But as Elijah prayed, no senseless shrieks echoed over Carmel’s height. He prayed simply and fervently, asking God to show His superiority over Baal so that Israel might be led to turn to Him:

“Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”

A silence, heavy and solemn, rested on all. The priests of Baal trembled with terror, conscious of their guilt.

No One Has the Courage to Stand With Elijah

 The people answered not a word. Not one in that vast assembly dared to reveal loyalty to Jehovah. Deception and blindness had overspread Israel, not all at once but gradually. Each departure from rightdoing, each refusal to repent, had deepened their guilt and driven them further from Heaven. And now, in this crisis, they persisted in refusing to take their stand for God.

The Lord hates indifference in a time of crisis. With inexpressible interest the whole universe is watching the closing scenes of the great controversy between good and evil. What can be more important to the people of God than to be loyal to the God of heaven? All through the ages, God has had moral heroes, and He has them now—those who, like Joseph, Elijah, and Daniel, are not ashamed to identify themselves as His distinct people. His special blessing accompanies men and women of action, those who will not swerve from duty, but who will inquire, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” (Exodus 32:26, NRSV)—people who will demand that those who choose to identify with the followers of God step forward and reveal their allegiance to the King of kings. Such people yield their will to the law of God. For love of Him they do not count their lives dear to themselves. Loyalty to God is their motto.

While Israel hesitated on Carmel, the voice of Elijah again broke the silence: “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.”

Elijah’s proposal was so reasonable that the people answered, “It is well spoken.” The prophets of Baal dared not refuse. Elijah directed them, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many.”

With terror in their guilty hearts, the false priests laid the wood and the victim on their altar. Then they began their unholy rites. Their shrill cries echoed through the forests and the surrounding heights: “O Baal, hear us!” Leaping, writhing, and screaming, with tearing of hair and cutting of flesh, the priests pleaded with their god to help them. Morning passed, noon came, and yet there was no reply to their frantic prayers. The sacrifice remained unconsumed.

As they continued their frenzied  worship, the crafty priests continually tried to find some way to kindle a fire on the altar. But Elijah watched every movement; and the priests, hoping in vain for some opportunity to deceive, continued their senseless ceremonies.

“And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, ‘Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.’ So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. ... But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.”

Gladly would Satan have helped those who were devoted to his service. Gladly would he have sent lightning to ignite their sacrifice. But Jehovah had set Satan’s limits, and he could not carry one spark to Baal’s altar.

At last, their voices hoarse with shouting, the priests became desperate. With great frenzy they mixed terrible cursings of their sun-god in with their pleading. Elijah continued to watch intently. He knew that if by any means the priests succeeded in lighting their altar fire, he would instantly be torn to pieces.

God Vindicated on Mount Carmel

 This chapter is based on 1 Kings 18:19-40.

Standing before Ahab, Elijah commanded, “Send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

Ahab obeyed at once, as if the prophet were monarch and the king his subject. He sent swift messengers with the summons. In every town and village the people prepared to assemble at the appointed time. As they journeyed toward the place, a strange dread filled the hearts of many. Why this summons to gather at Carmel? What new disaster was about to fall?

Mount Carmel had been a place of beauty, its streams fed from never-failing springs and its fertile slopes covered with flowers and flourishing groves. But now its beauty withered under a curse. The altars to Baal and Ashtoreth stood in leafless groves. On the summit of one of the highest ridges was the broken-down altar of Jehovah.

Carmel’s heights were visible from many parts of the kingdom. At the foot of the mountain were vantage points from which people could see much of what took place above. Elijah chose this elevation as the most conspicuous place for God to display His power and vindicate His name.

Early on the morning of the appointed day, the people of Israel gathered near the top of the mountain. Jezebel’s prophets marched in impressive array. In regal pomp the king appeared at the head of the priests, and the idol-worshipers shouted his welcome. But the priests remembered that at the word of the prophet the land of Israel had been destitute of dew and rain for three and a half years. Some fearful crisis was at hand, they felt sure. The gods in whom they had trusted had been unable to prove Elijah a false prophet. The objects of their worship had been strangely indifferent to their frantic cries, their prayers, their revolting ceremonies, and their costly sacrifices.

Facing King Ahab and the false prophets, and surrounded by the assembled people of Israel, Elijah stood, the only one who had come to vindicate the honor of Jehovah. He was apparently defenseless in the presence of the king, the prophets of Baal, the men of war, and the surrounding  thousands. But around him were angels that excel in strength.

Unashamed, unterrified, the prophet was fully aware of his commission to carry out the divine command. In anxious expectancy the people waited for him to speak. Looking first on the broken-down altar of Jehovah and then on the crowd, Elijah called out in trumpet tones, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.”

Need of Reform Today

 Today there is need of the voice of stern rebuke, for terrible sins have separated the people from God. Unbelief is fashionable. “We will not have this Man to reign over us” (Luke 19:14) is the language of thousands. The smooth sermons often preached make no lasting impression; the trumpet does not give a certain sound. The people are not cut to the heart by the plain, sharp truths of God’s Word.

Many say, What need is there of speaking so plainly? They might as well ask, Why did John the Baptist have to provoke the anger of Herodias by telling Herod that it was unlawful for him to live with his brother’s wife? The forerunner of Christ lost his life by his plain speaking.

This is how those who should be guardians of God’s law have argued, till expediency has taken the place of faithfulness and sin is allowed to go unrebuked. When will the voice of faithful rebuke be heard once more in the church?

“You are the man!” 2 Samuel 12:7. Words as plain as these that Nathan spoke to David are seldom heard in pulpits today, seldom seen in the public press. The Lord’s messengers should not complain that their efforts are fruitless until they repent of their desire to please others, which leads them to suppress truth.

It is not from love for their neighbor that ministers smooth down the message entrusted to them, but because they are self-indulgent and ease-loving. True love seeks first the honor of God and the salvation of souls. Those who have this love will not evade the truth to save themselves from the unpleasant results of plain speaking. When souls are in peril, God’s ministers will speak the word given them, refusing to excuse evil.

If only every minister would show the courage that Elijah showed! Ministers are to “convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching.” 2 Timothy 4:2, NRSV. In Christ’s name they are to encourage the obedient and warn the disobedient. Worldly considerations are to have no weight with them. They are to go forward in faith. They are not to speak their own words, but their message is to be, “Thus says the Lord.” God calls for people like Elijah, Nathan, and John the Baptist, people who will bear His message regardless of consequences, people who will speak the truth though it requires the sacrifice of all they have.

God calls for men and women who will do faithful battle against wrong, warring against spiritual wickedness in high places. To such He will speak the words,“Well done, good and faithful servant. ... Enter into the joy of your Lord.” Matthew 25:23.

Brave Prophet, Guilty King

 The king and the prophet stood face to face. In the presence of  Elijah, Ahab seemed weak and powerless. In his first faltering words, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?” he unconsciously revealed the inmost feelings of his heart and tried to blame the prophet for the heavy judgments resting on the land.

It is natural for the wrongdoer to hold the messengers of God responsible for the disasters that come as the result of departing from the way of righteousness. When the mirror of truth is held up before those in Satan’s power, they become offended at receiving reproof. Blinded by sin, they feel that God’s servants have turned against them and are worthy of severest criticism.

Standing in conscious innocence, Elijah made no attempt to excuse himself or to flatter the king. Nor did he seek to evade the king’s anger by the good news that the drought was almost over. Indignant, and jealous for the honor of God, he fearlessly declared to the king that it was his sins, and the sins of his fathers, that had brought this terrible disaster. “I have not troubled Israel,” Elijah boldly asserted, “but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals.”

The People Are Finally Ready for Reformation

 At last “the word of the Lord came to Elijah ..., saying, ‘Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.’” In obedience to the command, Elijah set out on his journey.

About this time Ahab suggested to Obadiah, who was in charge of his household, that they search for springs and brooks in the hope of finding pasture for their starving flocks. Deeply concerned over the outlook for his household, the king decided to unite personally with his servant in a search for some favored spots where pasture might still exist. “Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.” “As Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, ‘Is that you, my lord Elijah?’”

During the apostasy of Israel, Obadiah had remained faithful. The king had been unable to turn him from his allegiance to the living God. Now Elijah honored him with a commission: “Go, tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”

Terrified, Obadiah exclaimed, “How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me?” This was to invite certain death! “As the Lord your God lives,” he explained to the prophet, “there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you. And now you say, ‘Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here”’! And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me.”

With a solemn oath Elijah promised Obadiah that the errand would not be in vain. “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today.” With this assurance, “Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him.”

In astonishment mixed with terror the king listened to Obadiah deliver the message from the man he feared and hated, and for whom he had searched untiringly. Could it be possible that the prophet was about to pronounce another woe against Israel? The king’s heart was filled with dread. He remembered the withered arm of Jeroboam. Ahab could not avoid obeying the summons, neither did he dare lift up his hand against the messenger of God. With a bodyguard of soldiers, the trembling monarch went to meet the prophet.

Three Years of Drought

 Through the long years of famine, Elijah prayed earnestly and waited patiently while the hand of the Lord lay heavily on the stricken land. As he saw suffering and need on every side, his heart filled with sorrow, and he longed to bring about a reformation quickly. But God was working out His plan, and His servant was to pray on and await the time for action.

The apostasy in Ahab’s day resulted from many years of evildoing. Step by step Israel had been departing from the right way, and at last  the great majority had yielded themselves to the powers of darkness.

About a century had passed since Israel, under King David, had united in hymns of praise to the Most High in recognition that they depended entirely on Him for daily mercies. Then they had sung:

O God of our salvation, ...

You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice.

You visit the earth and water it,

You greatly enrich it;

The river of God is full of water;

You provide their grain,

For so You have prepared it. ...

You crown the year with Your goodness,

And Your paths drip with abundance.  Psalm 65:5, 8, 9, 11

He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,And vegetation for the service of man,That He may bring forth food from the earth,And wine that makes glad the heart of man.O Lord, how manifold are Your works!In wisdom You have made them all.The earth is full of Your possessions.  Psalm 104:14, 15, 24

The land to which the Lord had brought Israel was flowing with milk and honey, a country where they need never suffer for lack of rain. “The land which you go to possess,” He had told them, “is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the Lord your God cares.”

The promise of abundance of rain had been given on condition of obedience: “If you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain.”

“Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, lest ... He [the Lord] shut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and you perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you.” Deuteronomy 11:10-14, 16, 17.

“If you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes,” “your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron. The Lord will change the rain of your land to powder and dust.” Deuteronomy 28:15, 23, 24.

These commands were plain, yet as the centuries passed, apostasy threatened to sweep aside every barrier of divine grace. Now the prediction of Elijah was meeting terrible fulfillment. For three years the messenger of woe was hunted. Many rulers had  given their oath of honor that the strange prophet could not be found in their lands. Jezebel and the prophets of Baal hated Elijah and spared no effort to bring him within reach of their power. And still there was no rain.

Hospitality Rewarded

 God wonderfully rewarded her faith and generosity. “She and he  and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.”

“After these things ... the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him. So she said to Elijah, ... ‘Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?’

“And he said to her, ‘Give me your son.’ So he ... carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. ... And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the Lord. ... Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.

“And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, ‘See, your son lives!’ Then the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth.’”

The widow of Zarephath shared her meager food with Elijah, and in return her life and that of her son were preserved. And to all who give sympathy and assistance to others more needy, God has promised great blessing. His power is no less now than it was in the days of Elijah. “He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward.” Matthew 10:41.

“Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.” Hebrews 13:2. In the pathway of His children our heavenly Father still places opportunities that are blessings in disguise, and those who improve these opportunities find great joy. “If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then ... you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” Isaiah 58:10, 11.

Today Christ says, “He who receives you receives Me.” No act of kindness done in Christ’s name will fail to be rewarded. And Christ’s care includes even the lowliest of the family of God: “Whoever gives one of these little ones”—those who are as children in faith and knowledge— “only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.” Matthew 10:40-42.

The Voice of Stern Rebuke

 This chapter is based on 1 Kings 17:8-24; 18:1-18.

For many months God miraculously provided Elijah with food in his mountain hiding place by the brook Cherith. When the brook dried up because of the continued drought, God told His servant: “Arise, go to Zarephath [known in New Testament times as Sarepta]. ... See, I have commanded a widow woman there to provide for you.”

This woman was not an Israelite. She had never had the privileges that the chosen people of God had enjoyed, but she was a believer in the true God and had walked in all the light shining on her pathway. And now, when there was no safety for Elijah in Israel, God sent him to this woman to find refuge in her home.

“So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, ‘Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink. ... Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.’”

In this poverty-stricken home the famine was causing severe hardship, and the widow feared that she would lose the struggle to sustain life. But in her great need she bore witness to her faith. In response to Elijah’s request she said, “‘As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.’ And Elijah said to her, ‘Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord God of Israel, “The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.”’”

No greater test of faith could have been required. Regardless of the suffering that might result to herself and her child, and trusting in the God of Israel to supply her need, the widow met this supreme test of hospitality by doing “according to the word of Elijah.”

Drought and Famine for Two Years

 The second year passed, and still the merciless heavens gave no sign of rain. Fathers and mothers were forced to see their children die. Yet apostate Israel seemed unable to detect in their suffering a call to repentance, a divine intervention to save them from taking the fatal step beyond the boundary of Heaven’s forgiveness.

Israel’s apostasy was an evil more dreadful than all the horrors of famine. God was trying to help His people recover their lost faith, and He had to bring great affliction on them. “‘Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?’ says the Lord God, ‘and not that he should turn from his ways and live?’” “‘I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,’ says the Lord God. ‘Therefore turn and live!’” Ezekiel 18:23, 32.

God had sent messengers to Israel, with appeals to return to their loyalty. But they had only become angry with the messengers, and now they regarded the prophet Elijah with intense hatred. If only he would fall into their hands, gladly they would deliver him to Jezebel—as if by silencing his voice they could prevent his words from being fulfilled!

For stricken Israel there was only one remedy—turning away from the sins that had brought upon them the Almighty’s correcting hand. God had given them the assurance, “When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:13, 14. To bring about this blessed result, God continued to withhold the dew and the rain until a thorough reformation would take place.

Priests of Baal Keep the People Deceived

 Against the assurances of hundreds of idol-worshiping priests, the prophecy of Elijah stood alone: If Baal could still give dew and rain, then let the king of Israel worship him and the people say that he is God. Determined to keep the people in deception, the priests of Baal continued to call on their gods night and day to refresh the earth. With a zeal and perseverance worthy of a better cause they lingered alongside their pagan altars and night after night prayed earnestly for rain. But no clouds appeared in the heavens, no dew or rain refreshed the thirsty earth.

A year passed. The scorching heat of the sun destroyed what little vegetation had survived. Streams dried up, and moaning herds and bleating flocks wandered in distress. Once-flourishing fields became like desert sands. The forest trees, gaunt skeletons of nature, afforded no shade. Dust storms blinded the eyes and nearly stopped the breath. Hunger and thirst affected people and animals with fearful mortality. Famine, with all its horrors, came closer and still closer.

Yet Israel did not repent or learn the lesson that God wanted them to learn. Proudhearted, fond of their  false worship, they began to look around for some other cause to blame for their sufferings.

Determined to defy the God of heaven, Jezebel united with nearly all of Israel in denouncing Elijah as the cause of their misery. If only they could put him out of the way, their troubles would end. Urged on by the queen, Ahab began a diligent search for the prophet. He sent messengers to surrounding nations to seek for the man whom he hated, yet feared. In his anxiety he required an oath from these kingdoms that they knew nothing of the prophet’s location. But the search was in vain. The prophet was safe from the malice of the king.

When her efforts against Elijah failed, Jezebel determined to kill all the prophets of Jehovah. The infuriated woman massacred many, but not all of them. Obadiah, the governor of Ahab’s house, “had taken one hundred prophets,” and at the risk of his own life had “hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.” 1 Kings 18:4.

Elijah Confronts King Ahab

 

This chapter is based on 1 Kings 17:1-7.

Among the mountains east of Jordan there lived a man of faith and prayer whose fearless ministry was to stop the rapid spread of apostasy. Though he occupied no high position in life, Elijah entered on his mission confident that God would give him abundant success. His was the voice of one crying in the wilderness to rebuke sin and press back the tide of evil. And, while he came as a reprover of sin, his message offered comfort to sin-sick souls.

As Elijah saw Israel going deeper into idolatry, he became indignant. God had done great things for His people “that they might observe His statutes and keep His laws.” Psalm 105:45. But unbelief was quickly separating the chosen nation from the Source of their strength. Viewing this apostasy from his mountain home, in anguish of soul Elijah called for God to stop the people in their wicked course, to bring judgments on them if need be, that they might come to repentance.

Elijah’s prayer was answered. The time had come when God must speak by means of judgments. The worshipers of Baal claimed that dew and rain came from the ruling forces of nature, and that through the creative energy of the sun the earth brought forth abundantly. The apostate tribes of Israel must be shown the foolishness of trusting to Baal for material blessings. Until they turned to God with repentance, neither dew nor rain would fall on the land.

God entrusted Elijah with the mission of delivering Heaven’s message of judgment to Ahab. He did not seek to be the Lord’s messenger; the word of the Lord came to him. To obey the divine call seemed to invite swift destruction at the hand of the wicked king, but the prophet set out at once and traveled night and day until he reached the palace. Dressed in the coarse garments usually worn by the prophets, he passed the guards apparently unnoticed and stood for a moment before the astonished king.

Elijah made no apology for his abrupt appearance. One greater than the ruler of Israel had commissioned him to speak. “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand,” he declared, “there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”

On his way to Samaria, Elijah had passed by ever-flowing streams and stately forests that seemed beyond the reach of drought. The prophet might have wondered how streams that had never ceased their flow could become dry, or how those hills and valleys could be burned with drought. But he allowed no doubts to linger. God’s word could not fail. Like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, the message of judgment fell on the ears of the wicked king; but before Ahab could recover from his astonishment, Elijah disappeared. And the Lord went before him, making the way plain. “Turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

The king inquired diligently, but the prophet was not to be found. Queen Jezebel, angered over the message that had locked up the treasures of heaven, lost no time in conferring with the priests of Baal, who united in cursing the prophet and defying Jehovah. News quickly spread throughout the land regarding Elijah’s denunciation of Israel’s sins and his prophecy of swift-coming punishment. Some became concerned, but in general the people received the heavenly message with scorn and ridicule.

The prophet’s words went into immediate effect. The earth, unrefreshed by dew or rain, became dry, and vegetation withered. Streams never known to fail began to decrease and brooks to dry up. Yet the leaders urged the people to have confidence in Baal and to ignore the prophecy of Elijah as idle words. Do not fear the God of Elijah, they urged. It is Baal who brings the harvest and provides for man and beast.

Ahab’s Wicked Reign Begins

 Two years before the death of Asa, Ahab began to rule in Israel. From the beginning a strange, terrible apostasy characterized his reign. He“did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him,” acting “as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.” 1 Kings 16:33, 31. He boldly led the people into the grossest heathenism.

Having married Jezebel, “the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians” and high priest of Baal, Ahab “served Baal and worshiped him. Then he set up an altar for Baal  in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.” Verses 31, 32.

Under the leadership of Jezebel, Ahab set up heathen altars in many “high places,” until nearly all Israel followed after Baal. “There was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up.” 1 Kings 21:25. Ahab’s marriage with an idol-worshiping woman brought disaster both to himself and to the nation. The determined spirit of Jezebel easily molded his character. His selfish nature was unable to appreciate the mercies of God to Israel and his own obligations as guardian and leader of the chosen people.

Under Ahab’s rule Israel wandered far from the living God. The dark shadow of apostasy covered the whole land. Images of Baal and Ashtoreth were everywhere. Idolatrous temples multiplied. The smoke of sacrifices offered to false gods polluted the air. Hill and valley resounded with the drunken cries of a heathen priesthood who sacrificed to the sun, moon, and stars.

The people were taught that these idol gods were deities, by their mystic power ruling the elements of earth, fire, and water. The running brooks, the streams of living water, the gentle dew, the showers of rain which caused the fields to bring forth abundantly—all were credited to the favor of Baal and Ashtoreth instead of to the Giver of every good and perfect gift. The people forgot that the living God controlled the sun, the clouds of heaven, and all the powers of nature.

Through faithful messengers the Lord sent repeated warnings to the apostate king and the people, but these words of reproof were in vain. Captivated by the gorgeous display and the fascinating rites of idol worship, the people gave themselves up to the intoxicating, degrading pleasures of sensual worship. The light God had so graciously given them had become darkness.

Never before had the chosen people of God fallen so low in apostasy. Of the “prophets of Baal” there were four hundred fifty, besides four hundred “prophets of Asherah.” 1 Kings 18:19. Nothing short of the miracle-working power of God could preserve the nation from complete destruction. Israel had voluntarily separated from Jehovah, yet in His compassion the Lord still yearned after those who had been led into sin, and He was about to send them one of the mightiest of His prophets.

A Remarkable Victory Gained by Trusting God

 The opposing armies now stood face to face. It was a time of test and trial to those who served the Lord. Had they confessed every sin? Did Judah have full confidence in God’s power to deliver? From every human viewpoint the huge force from Egypt would sweep everything before it. But in time of peace Asa had not been giving himself to amusements and pleasure; he had been preparing for any emergency. He had an army trained for conflict, and he had tried to lead his people to make peace with God. Now his faith did not weaken.

Having sought the Lord in prosperity, the king could now rely on Him in adversity. “It is nothing for You to help,” he pleaded, “whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude.” Verse 11.

God rewarded King Asa’s faith dramatically. “The Lord struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. ... They were broken before the Lord and His army.” Verses 12, 13.

As the victorious armies were returning to Jerusalem, “Azariah the son of Oded ... went out to meet Asa, and said to him, ... ‘The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.’” “Be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!” 2 Chronicles 15:1, 2, 7.

Greatly encouraged, Asa soon led out in a second reformation. He “removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin.” “Then they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul.” “And He was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.” Verses 8, 12, 15.

Some mistakes marred Asa’s long record of faithful service. On one occasion, when the king of Israel entered Judah and seized Ramah, a city only five miles from Jerusalem, Asa sought deliverance by an alliance with Ben-Hadad, king of Syria. Hanani the prophet sternly rebuked this failure to trust God. He appeared before Asa with the message, “Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. ... You have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.” 2 Chronicles 16:8, 9.

Instead of humbling himself before God, “Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in prison. ... And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time.” Verse 10.

“In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians.” Verse 12. The king died in the forty-first year of his reign and was succeeded by Jehoshaphat, his son.

King Asa’s Good Rule

 During the greater part of this time, Asa was ruling in Judah. He “did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God, for he removed the altars of the foreign gods and ... commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment. ... And the kingdom was quiet under him.” 2 Chronicles 14:2-5.

The faith of Asa was put to a severe test when “Zerah the Ethiopian ... with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots” invaded his kingdom. Verse 9. In this crisis Asa did not put his trust in the “fortified cities in Judah” that he had built, with “walls around them, and towers, gates, and bars,” nor in the “mighty men of valor” in his army. Verses 6-8. The king’s trust was in Jehovah. Setting his forces in battle array, he sought the help of God.

National Apostasy Brings National Ruin

 From Jeroboam’s death to Elijah’s appearance before Ahab, Israel experienced a steady spiritual decline. The majority of the people rapidly lost sight of their duty to serve the living God and adopted practices of idol worship.

Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, who occupied the throne of Israel for a few months, was suddenly killed with all his relatives in the line of succession, “according to the word of the Lord which He had spoken by His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he had sinned and by which he had made Israel sin.” 1 Kings 15:29, 30.

The idolatrous worship that Jeroboam had introduced brought the judgments of Heaven, and yet the rulers who followed—Baasha, Elah, Zimri, and Omri—continued the same fatal course of evildoing.

Royalty and Ruin: God’s Judgment on Jeroboam

 Toward the close of a troubled reign of twenty-two years, Jeroboam met with disastrous defeat in a war with Abijah, the successor of Rehoboam. “Jeroboam did not recover strength again in the days of Abijah; and the Lord struck him, and he died.” 2 Chronicles 13:20.

The apostasy introduced during Jeroboam’s reign finally resulted in the utter ruin of the kingdom of Israel. Even before the death of Jeroboam, Ahijah, the aged prophet who many years before had predicted Jeroboam’s elevation to the throne, declared: “The Lord will ... uproot Israel out of this good land. ... And He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who sinned and who made Israel sin.” 1 Kings 14:15, 16.

Yet the Lord did all He could to lead Israel back to allegiance to Him. Through long, dark years when ruler after ruler boldly defied Him, God sent message after message to His backslidden people. Through His prophets He gave them every opportunity to return to Him. Elijah and Elisha would live and labor, and the tender appeals of Hosea, Amos, and Obadiah would be heard in the land. Never was the kingdom of Israel left without noble witnesses to the mighty power of God to save from sin. Through these faithful ones the eternal plan of Jehovah was finally to be fulfilled.

Royalty and Ruin: How a Prophet Was Tricked Into Disobeying

 The prophet was about to return to Judea, when Jeroboam said to him, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.”

“If you were to give me half your house,” the prophet replied, “I would not go in with you; nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place. For so it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.’” 1 Kings 13:7-9.

While traveling home by another route, the prophet was overtaken by an aged man who claimed to be a prophet but who lied to him: “I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” Again and again he repeated the lie until the man of God was persuaded to return.

God permitted the prophet to suffer the penalty of transgression. While he and the one who had invited him were sitting together at the table, the false prophet “cried out to the man of God who came from Judah,  saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord, and have not kept the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you, ... your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.”’” Verses 18, 21, 22.

This prophecy of doom was soon fulfilled. “So it was, after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him. ... When he was gone, a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his corpse was thrown on the road, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the corpse. And there, men passed by and saw the corpse thrown on the road. ... Then they went and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. Now when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard it, he said, ‘It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the Lord.’” Verses 23-26.

If the prophet had been permitted to go on in safety after disobeying, the king would have used this to justify his own disobedience. The split altar, the withered arm, and the terrible fate of the one who dared disobey an express command of the Lord—these judgments should have warned Jeroboam not to persist in wrongdoing. But, far from repenting, Jeroboam not only sinned greatly himself, but “made Israel sin”; and “this thing was the sin of the house of Jeroboam, so as to exterminate and destroy it.” 1 Kings 14:16; 13:34.

Royalty and Ruin: The King’s Defiance Rebuked

 The king had boldly defied God in setting aside His appointed worship, and God did not allow this to pass without rebuke. During the dedication of the strange altar at Bethel, a man of God from Judah appeared before the king, sent to denounce him for daring to introduce new forms of worship. The prophet  “cried out against the altar ..., and said, ... ‘Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you.’

“And he gave a sign the same day, saying, ‘This is the sign which the Lord has spoken: Surely the altar shall split apart, and the ashes on it shall be poured out.’” Immediately the altar “was split apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.” 1 Kings 13:2, 3, 5.

On seeing this, Jeroboam attempted to restrain the one who had delivered the message. In anger he cried out, “Arrest him!” His rash act met with swift rebuke. The hand outstretched against the messenger of Jehovah suddenly became withered and useless. Terror-stricken, the king appealed to the prophet: “Please entreat the favor of the Lord your God,” he pleaded, “‘and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.’ So the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and became as before.” Verses 4, 6. This experience should have led the king of Israel to renounce his wicked plans, which were turning people away from the true worship of God. But he hardened his heart and determined to follow his own way.

The Lord seeks to save, not to destroy. He gives His chosen messengers a holy boldness, that those who hear may come to repentance. How firmly the man of God rebuked the king! In no other way could the evils have been rebuked. The messengers of the Lord are to stand for the right without flinching. As long as they put their trust in God, they don’t need to be afraid, for He who gives them their commission also gives them the assurance of His protecting care.

Royalty and Ruin: Jeroboam Leads Israel Back to Idol Worship

 Under Solomon’s rulership, Jeroboam had shown ability and sound judgment. His years of faithful service fitted him to rule with wisdom. But Jeroboam failed to trust in God.

His greatest fear was that his subjects might be won over by the ruler occupying David’s throne. He reasoned that if the ten tribes often visited the ancient seat of the monarchy, where the temple services were still conducted as in Solomon’s reign, many might renew their allegiance to the government at Jerusalem. He determined to reduce this probability with one bold stroke. Within his newly formed kingdom he would create two centers of worship, one at Bethel, the other at Dan. He would invite the ten tribes to worship God in these places instead of at Jerusalem.

In arranging this transfer, Jeroboam thought to appeal to the imagination of the Israelites by some visible object to symbolize the presence of the invisible God. He placed two calves of gold in shrines at the centers of worship. In doing this, he violated the plain command, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image. ... You shall not bow down to them nor serve them.” Exodus 20:4, 5. He failed to consider the great peril of setting before the Israelites the symbol their ancestors had known during centuries of Egyptian slavery. His desire for the northern tribes to stop their annual visits to the Holy City led him to adopt the most unwise policy. “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem,” he urged. “Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!” 1 Kings 12:28.

The king tried to persuade the Levites within his realm to serve as priests in the new shrines at Bethel and Dan, but in this he failed. So he elevated men to the priesthood from “every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.” Verse 31. Alarmed, many of the faithful fled to Jerusalem, where they could worship in harmony with God’s requirements.

Royalty and Ruin: The Aftereffects of Rehoboam’s Apostasy

 But as the nation prospered once more, many turned again to idol worship. Among these was King Rehoboam himself. Forgetting the lesson that God had tried to teach him, he fell back into the sins that had brought judgments on the nation. After a few inglorious years, “Rehoboam rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David. Then Abijah his son reigned in his place.” Verse 16.

At times during the centuries that followed, men of moral worth occupied the throne of David. Under their rulership the blessings resting on Judah extended to the surrounding nations. But no one ever entirely uprooted the seeds of evil already springing up when Rehoboam ascended the throne, and at times the once-favored people of God were to fall so low as to become a symbol of scorn among the heathen.

Despite these idol-worshiping practices, God in mercy would do everything in His power to save the divided kingdom from complete ruin. And as the years rolled on and His plan for Israel seemed entirely defeated by people inspired by satanic agencies, He still showed His gracious intentions through the captivity and restoration of the chosen nation.

The tearing apart of the kingdom was only the beginning of a wonderful history that reveals the long-suffering and tender mercy of God. And the worshipers of idols, in the end, were to learn the lesson that false gods are powerless to uplift and save. Only in loyalty to the living God can anyone find rest and peace.