Elijah then ordered the prophets of Baal killed. He told Ahab to eat and drink as the sound of rain was approaching. He goes to Mt. Carmel and prayed. His servant looked towards the sea seven times before he saw a cloud rising from the sea. He told his servant to tell Ahab to go down before the rain starts. Ahab journeys to Jezreel while clouds form. Elijah ran ahead of Ahab by the power of the Lord.
13) Because they opposed God and had led His people astray.
14a) He goes to Mt. Carmel and prayed. His servant looked towards the sea seven times before he saw a cloud rising from the sea.
b) His persistent faith.
15) Where to move. I just keep on chugging along where I’m at until He moves me.
The most interesting thing here is the judgment of the prophets. It’s no laughing matter to outright oppose God.
Rain could now fall since the purpose of the drought was to prove the false gods of Baal false was now defeated.
Elijah waited on God to answer him. So must we all. We must have stubborn faith, too.
Elijah ran 14 miles to Jezreel with God’s help. He wanted to beat Ahab, but we are unsure why.
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After 3 years, the Lord told Elijah to got to Ahab and present himself. He would end the drought. Obadiah was a devote believer in the Lord, and he was Ahab’s palace administrator. He hid 100 prophets from the evil Jezebel and kept them alive. Obadiah was sent by Ahab to try to find food and water for the horses and mules to keep them alive.
Obadiah met Elijah and bowed to him. Elijah tells him to go to Ahab to tell him he is here. Obadiah, however, balks because he believes Ahab will kill him if Elijah goes missing in the meantime because Ahab has been trying to find him for 3 years. Elijah reassures him, so Obadiah does as bidden.
Ahab blames Elijah for the drought. Elijah tells Ahab the drought is punishment from God for abandoning him. He commands Ahab to assemble the people to meet on Mount Carmel, as well as the prophets of Baal and Asherah.
Elijah says to brings two bulls. He will prepare one for sacrifice and the prophets of Baal will prepare the other. He will call upon the Lord to consume the bull with fire, and the prophets of Baal will call upon their god to do so. Whoever answers is God.
The prophets of Baal called upon their god with no response. Elijah begins to taunt them.
Elijah built an altar to the Lord with 12 stones to represent the 12 tribes. He cut his bull and laid it on the wood. He poured 12 jars of water on the wood. He then prayed to God to answer Him to let His people know He is the God of Israel. God sent fire down, which consumed everything, including the water. The people fell down and proclaimed the Lord is God.
9) It got Elijah in front of the king so Elijah could show all that the gods of Baal were false.
10) He never wavers in his faith that God will consume his offering. He is 100% confident, even taunting the prophets of Baal. You just don’t do that unless you are sure you are going to “win.”
11a) “Let it be known today that you are the God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” “Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.” In short, He answered in an undeniable show of power.
b) “They fell prostrate and cried, ‘The Lord – he is God! The Lord – he is God!'”
c) James 5:16-18 tells us that Elijah prayed earnestly. “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” The key was Elijah had a heart for God.
12) Unsure on this one. Maybe just staying the course for all He has asked me to do. Asking God to be with me each and every day, to bless me, to keep me, and more.
I love this story! It shows the best in those who have a heart for God in such a human way (with the taunting and all!).
Bible scholars are unsure if this is the same Obadiah whose prophesized against Edom. There are 13 Obadiahs in the Old Testament, which is why we can’t be sure. (2 Chronicles 17:7) (2 Chronicles 34:12) (Nehemiah 10:5)
The meeting between Obadiah and Elijah was no coincidence — it was God’s doing.
Ahab wanted to punish Elijah for the drought, which is why Obadiah was afraid. Ahab should have believed the word of God Deuteronomy 28:23-24 if Israel disobeyed instead of blaming Elijah.
Before God sent rain, he had to discredit Baal’s gods. This showdown was God’s doing.
The water Elijah used was precious, indeed, after the years of drought. It was a fitting sacrifice to God and it made the wood even harder to catch on fire.
The people were persuaded, but as in all of this history of God’s people, this faith would not last for long.
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When the brook dried up, God spoke to Elijah. God told him to go to Zarephath of Sidon where a widow will give him food. When he arrived, he spoke to a woman at the town gate gathering sticks. He asked her for food and water. She told him she hardly had any food for her and her son. Elijah told her to go home and make him a small cake of bread and then make something for her and her son. Her jar of flour will never be used up and her jug of oil will not run dry until it rains.
She did as commanded and it was so. She had flour and oil every day, as well as food.
The son of the woman grew ill and died. Elijah took him into a room and cried out to the Lord to give him his life back. The Lord heard Elijah’s cry and revived the boy. The woman believed in the Lord.
6a) She did as Elijah had commanded and made him a cake of bread despite she and her son were starving. He asked her to have faith in God and she did.
b) They both received food and water while there was drought and famine in the land.
7a) The woman responded in anger, mad that God had punished her for her sin by taking her son. Elijah responded by turning to the Lord for help.
b) Probably some of both. I get angry and then I pray.
8 ) I know that there is a life outside of this earthly life that is infinitely better. This gives me hope in my troubles.
I had forgotten this story! It’s been a while since I’ve studied Elijah, so this is great! I love: 1) When God conquers death 2) He answers our prayers. Great stuff!
Elijah moved around a lot, and here he’s ordered to go to the home of a povery-stricken widow in the territory of the evil Queen Jezebel, which is not a welcoming place for a prophet.
The woman had no idea she had been chosen by God based on her responses to Elijah.
She says “the Lord your God,” which shows she is a Gentile. Elijah makes a bold response to feed him first when they have only a small amount of food. The widow willingly obeys, and she is blessed by God for it.
The widow is angry when her son dies. Now, she has no one to provide for her in her old age as was the custom. She blames Elijah and her sin.
Elijah asked God to fix this tragedy. Out of faith, God answered. All of the widow’s needs were met.
Fun Fact: This is the first recording in the Bible of God raising the dead.
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Nadab became king of Israel and he reigned over Israel 2 years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. Baasha killed Nadab and succeeded him as king. He killed Jeroboam’s whole family. Baasha became king of Israel and he reigned 24 years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. The prophet Jehu told Baasha that God was angry with him for his actions and God will destroy him.
Elah succeeded Baasha as king. He ruled 2 years before he was struck down by Zimri, who succeeded him. He killed Baasha’s whole family. He ruled 7 days before Omri was proclaimed king. Omri became king of Israel and he reigned 12 years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and sinned more than all those before him. Ahab, Omri’s son, succeeded him as king of Israel. He reigned 22 years and did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any before him. He married Jezebel, daughter of the king of the Sidonians and began to serve Baal.
By rebuilding Jericho, Hiel endured the curse of the Lord as spoken by Joshua in Joshua 6:26.
Elijah the prophet proclaims to Ahab that a famine is coming for a few years. The Lord sent Elijah to live in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. The river and ravens will feed and water him.
3)
4a) Elijah the prophet proclaims to Ahab that a famine is coming for a few years
b) The Lord sent Elijah to live in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. The river and ravens fed and watered him during this time.
c) God cares for his people. All it takes is simple faith and obedience and God will provide.
5) My whole life really. He always provides everything I need and blesses me everyday with a wonderful life.
Lots of “doing evil in the eyes of the Lord.” Truly disheartening.
You must remember that the books of Kings are more concerned with the ruler’s spiritual health than anything else, which is why the books are written like they are, pointing out who did good in the eyes of the Lord and who did bad.
Baasha conspired to murder Nadab. Little did Baasha know, he was the instrument of God’s judgment against the house of Jeroboam. Baasha faces the same judgment in his death, too.
Assassination to get the throne was common in ancient times, as was the assassination of the entire family so that no claims to the throne could be made.
God exterminated every member of the first two dynasties of Israel.
Fun Fact: Zimri is one of only a handful of suicides mentioned in the Bible. Some of the others are: Samson (Judges 16:28-30), Saul (1 Samuel 31:4) and Ahithophel (2 Samuel 17:23). This is because God does not approve of suicide and therefore does not want to approve of it in any way.
Omri defeated Tibni in a civil war, presumably killing him. He built what would become the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Samaria. He is regarded by historians as one of the strongest kings of Israel. The location he chose for the capital guarded all routes north and south into the city, a perfect defensive position. He was the 6th king of Israel since the split into two kingdoms.
In 41 years, Israel had 7 different kings.
Ahab was worse than all of the other previous kings. This is because he introduced the worship of new, pagan gods and made people worship them. This is why God was so angry. Both Omri and Ahab did this; whereas, Solomon only worshipped pagan gods himself. Marrying Jezebel only took the country further into idolatry.
God brings Elijah up in order to try to bring light into this dark time of Israel’s history. Elijah means “Yahweh is my God.” The nation was headed deeper into idolatry. Israel needed a prophet to bring them back to God. Elijah came from nowhere to appear on the scene.
Elijah prayed for a drought and God answered his prayer. God has granted Elijah great power in order to bring Israel back to Him.
God protects and preserves Elijah during the drought by taking him some place to be alone so He could provide for him. Here, Elijah would learn total dependence on God as God fed and watered him every day like God did the Israelites in the desert.
So must we trust God to provide for us.
God told him the specific place. So must we listen to where God wants us, too.
Fun Fact: Elijah is the most mentioned Old Testament prophet in the New Testament.
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