The higher the vote, the further up an answer is. We are fairly put to our choice whom we will serve,Joshua 24:15. He insists upon it that we mortify our lusts and corruptions; but corporeal penances and severities, such as the Papists use, which have no tendency to that, are no pleasure to him. All these parables point in the same direction: money wants our worship. How did the spirit of God move upon the face of the waters in Genesis 1:2? Ahab is the Achan, the troubler, who follows Baalim, those accursed things. 31He took twelve stones, one stone for each of the twelve tribes, the number of Jacobs sons. The people, as the jury, gave in their verdict upon the trial, and they are all agreed in it; the case is so plain that they need not go from the bar to consider of their verdict or consult about it: They fell on their faces, and all, as one man, said, "Jehovah, he is the God, and not Baal; we are convinced and satisfied of it: Jehovah, he is the God" (1 Kings 18:39; 1 Kings 18:39), whence, one would think, they should have inferred, "If he be the God, he shall be our God, and we will serve him only," as Joshua 24:24. The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them: You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page. The prophets of Baal went first. I. When we cannot carry a reformation so far as we would we must do what we can, and rather comply with some corruptions than not do our utmost towards the extirpation of Baal. [3.] Copyright 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. 34Then he said, Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the meat and on the wood. Then Elijah said, Do it again, and they did it again. 1. He maketh fire come down from heaven in the sight of men and so deceiveth them,Revelation 13:13; Revelation 13:14. 0 responses Once we remember that the Jews saw idolatry as the ultimate sin that put one outside the community of faith, we can hear the full force of Pauls words. What is the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal? (1.) II. II. And the people answered him not a word. 11 And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. IV. 18During the third year without rain, the Lord spoke his word to Elijah: Go and meet King Ahab, and I will soon send rain. 2So Elijah went to meet Ahab. Yet, bad as things were. Israel being thus far reformed that they had acknowledged the Lord to be God, and had consented to the execution of Baal's prophets, that they might not seduce them any more, though this was far short of a thorough reformation, yet it was so far accepted that God thereupon opened the bottles of heaven, and poured out blessings upon his land, that very evening (as it should seem) on which they did this good work, which should have confirmed them in their reformation; see Haggai 2:18; Haggai 2:19. Micah 6:7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? But there was no voice, nor any that answered. But every bit of ourselves we give to our stuff we snatch away from our true King. 732 views, 45 likes, 11 loves, 7 comments, 73 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from : 22 2023 . He is there in the presence of Ahab, the 450 prophets of Baal, 400 prophets of the groves and a company of people from all Israel. I. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. Those fear God greatly that keep up the fear of him in bad times and places; thus Obadiah did. [4.] Practicing the King's Economy: Honoring Jesus in How We Work, Earn, Spend, Save, and Give. Didnt the prophet trick him? Now God made those who said they were Jews and were not, but were of the synagogue of Satan, to come, and, in effect, to worship at his feet, and to know that God had loved him,Revelation 3:9. (2.) When Jezebel cut off God's prophets God cut off the necessary provisions by the extremity of the drought. [People] who want to get rich, Paul declares, fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. (1 Tim. God never required his worshippers thus to honour him; but the service of the devil, though in some instances it pleases and pampers the body, yet in other things it is really cruel to it, as in envy and drunkenness. Roumie said he was drawn to both "The Chosen" and "Jesus Revolution" because of their scripts and characters, which "spoke to his heart.". Elijah sought not his own glory but in subserviency to God's, and for his own necessary vindication. Our idols never stop consuming and destroying that which we hold most dear. He did not think it enough to fear God himself, but, having wealth and power wherewith to do it, he thought himself obliged to assist and countenance others that feared God; nor did he think his being kind to them would excuse him from being good himself, but he did both, he both feared God greatly himself and patronised those that feared him likewise. These were the 450 prophets of Baal; the 400 prophets of the groves (who, some think, were Sidonians), though summoned (1 Kings 18:19; 1 Kings 18:19), yet, as it should seem, did not attend, and so escaped this execution, which fair escape perhaps Ahab and Jezebel thought themselves happy in; but it proved they were reserved to be the instruments of Ahab's destruction, some time after, by encouraging him to go up to Ramoth-Gilead, 1 Kings 22:6; 1 Kings 22:6. a. "Shout louder!" he said. Not only some Israelites worshipped God and others Baal, but the same Israelites sometimes worshipped one and sometimes the other. Dont let any of them run away! The people captured all the prophets. Blessed are those that have not seen what they saw and yet have believed and been wrought upon by it more than those that saw it. But, since Ahab invites him not to ride with him, he will run before him (1 Kings 18:46; 1 Kings 18:46) as one of his footmen, that he may not seem to be lifted up with the great honour God had put upon him or to abate in his civil respect to his prince, though he reproved him faithfully. Such living falls far short of the life Jesus invites us to experience. When we worship money, it mauls us. ), St. Joseph New Catholic Version New Testament. The Lord preserved Elijah's life for a reason. After all, if youre a farmer, its only practical to invest in getting the rider of the clouds to like you. I see nothing, he said. Showdown on the mount When Jezebel was killing all the LORD's . God reveals his secrets to his servants the prophets; and yet, without a revelation, we may foresee that when man's judgments run down like a river God's mercy will. It is a very bad thing to halt between God and Baal. IV. If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at privacy@biblegateway.com. e. Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you: This was a word of faith from Elijah to Ahab. Though ten of the tribes had revolted to Baal, he would look upon them as belonging to God still, by virtue of the ancient covenant with their fathers: and, though those ten were unhappily divided from the other two in civil interest, yet in the worship of the God of Israel they had communion with each other, and they twelve were one. Nay (1 Kings 18:13; 1 Kings 18:13), Was it not told my lord how I hid the prophets? Elijah did not interrupt them, but let them go on till they were tired, and quite despaired of success, which was not till the time of the evening sacrifice,1 Kings 18:29; 1 Kings 18:29. Click on the different category headings to find out more. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. 46The Lord gave his power to Elijah, who tightened his clothes around him and ran ahead of King Ahab all the way to Jezreel. 22 Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. (5.) (1.) Elijah would endeavour to convince their judgments, and no doubt it was by special warrant and direction from heaven that he put the controversy between God and Baal upon a public trial. No one answered; no one paid attention (v. 29 ESV). The long drought was over, and it was demonstrated that the prayers of Elijah both withheld the rain and then subsequently brought the rain. Answer The account of Elijah and the prophets of Baal is recorded in 1 Kings 18. Should the explanation in Genesis on how God created plants before the sun affect the understanding of creation? At the end of the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit had . To Christians this is a. Obadiah would not have accepted the place if he could not have had it without bowing the knee to Baal, nor was Ahab so impolitic as to exclude those from offices that were fit to serve him, merely because they would not join with him in his devotions. Why in 1 Kings 18:40 did Elijah take the prophets of Baal down to the brook of Kishon to slew them? Had it been true that he was the troubler of Israel, Ahab, as king, would have been bound to animadvert upon him. [2.] But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention. 16So Obadiah went to Ahab and told him where Elijah was. Obadiah feared God greatly; Ahab had sold himself to work wickedness; and both discovered their character by the manner of their address to the prophet. VI. 2. The prophets of Baal, as criminals, are seized, condemned, and executed, according to law, 1 Kings 18:40; 1 Kings 18:40. [2.] 35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. Practicing the King's Economy: Honoring Jesus in How We Work, Earn, Spend, Save, and Give, California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Elijah satisfied him that he might with safety deliver this message to Ahab, by assuring him, with an oath, that he would, this very day, present himself to Ahab, 1 Kings 18:15; 1 Kings 18:15. 33Elijah put the wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces, and laid the pieces on the wood. This is the right method. [3.] Note, It has been the lot of the best and most useful men to be called and counted the troublers of the land, and to be run down as public grievances. 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