So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah. And it came to pa.s.s, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, "Is it thou, thou troubler of Israel?"
And he answered, "I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father"s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed the Baalim. Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, which eat at Jezebel"s table."
C. THE TEST AT CARMEL
So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.
And Elijah came near unto all the people, and said, "How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be G.o.d, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him." And the people answered him not a word.
Then said Elijah unto the people, "I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal"s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under. And call ye on the name of your G.o.d, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the G.o.d that answereth by fire, let him be G.o.d."
And all the people answered and said, "It is well spoken."
And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, "Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your G.o.d, but put no fire under."
And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, "O Baal, hear us." But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped about the altar which was made.
And it came to pa.s.s at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, "Cry aloud: for he is a G.o.d; either he is musing, or he is gone aside, or he is on a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked."
And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lances, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it was so, when midday was past, that they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.
And Elijah said unto all the people, "Come near unto me." And all the people came near unto him.
And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was thrown down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob. And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it on the wood. And he said, "Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt offering, and on the wood." And he said, "Do it the second time." And they did it the second time. And he said, "Do it the third time." And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
And it came to pa.s.s at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, "O Lord, the G.o.d of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art G.o.d in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou, Lord, art G.o.d, and that thou hast turned their heart back again."
Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, "The Lord, he is G.o.d; the Lord, he is G.o.d."
And Elijah said unto them, "Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape."
And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
D. THE COMING OF THE RAIN
And Elijah said unto Ahab, "Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain." So Ahab went up to eat and to drink.
And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, "Go up now, look toward the sea."
And he went up, and looked, and said, "There is nothing."
And he said, "Go again," seven times. And it came to pa.s.s at the seventh time, that he said, "Behold, there ariseth a cloud out of the sea, as small as a man"s hand."
And he said, "Go up, say unto Ahab, "Make ready thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.""
And it came to pa.s.s in a little while, that the heaven grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
THE MEANING OF THE STORY
301. In the beautiful city of Florence in Italy there was once a great prince named Lorenzo, whose reign was very splendid, but who oppressed the people and lived an evil life. The people followed his bad example and there was great immorality in Florence. But a fearless preacher came to the city who told the prince and the people plainly of their sins.
Great crowds went to hear him and he became the most influential man in Florence. By his stirring words he compelled the government to give back the liberties to the people, and he led the citizens to promise to serve G.o.d with good lives. His enemies finally proved too strong for him and killed him, but this n.o.ble Italian preacher, Savonarola, left an influence that has lasted to this day.
Among the heroes of Israel were some bold preachers, called prophets, who did not hesitate to denounce the sins of kings and people. One of the greatest of these was Elijah.
302 (--81A). Ahab was a very wicked king who married a princess from Sidon. Locate the city on the coast of Palestine. The Sidonians worshipped a G.o.d called Baal, and so the king built a temple for this idol in his capital. He thought he could go on serving the Lord and serve Baal also. Suddenly a man appeared in the court. He was roughly clad, not a man of the city. What startling message did he bring?
303 (--81B). While the drought came upon Israel the prophet was taken care of. Tell the story of Elijah at the brook. What happened to the brook at last?
304 (--81C). Elijah was east of the Jordan. He was sent to Zarephath near Sidon. Locate it. Tell the story of his conversation with the widow. The "cruse" was a flask or small jug for holding liquids.
305 (--81D). Many wonderful stories were told of this great prophet. Tell the story of the widow"s son. Think of the prophet waiting all this time till he should be sent back to the king.
306 (--82A). At last Elijah"s message came. How long had he waited?
Meantime what was the condition in Israel, and Samaria the capital? Who was Obadiah? What had he done? What did the king and Obadiah undertake?
307 (--82B). Tell the story of Elijah"s conversation with the timid Obadiah. This man was good, but he was having a hard time as the servant of a bad king. What bold answer did Elijah make to the king? What is a challenge? What challenge did Elijah make?
308 (--82C). This is the important part of the story. Find Mt. Carmel on the coast. Imagine the scene: the king, the prophets of Baal, and Elijah, as the actors, and the great crowd as an audience. What was Elijah"s first question to the people? We have a saying that no one can be on the fence: everyone must be on one side or the other. Whenever there is a right and wrong, people must take sides.
309 (--82C). What test did Elijah propose? Who prepared the bullock for the sacrifice first? How did they try to gain the attention of their G.o.d? Could Baal hear them? How did Elijah mock them? What was the result of all the excitement?
310 (--82C). Notice how serious Elijah was. How did he prepare for the sacrifice? How did he arrange so that n.o.body could say there was a trick? What prayer did Elijah offer? Learn this n.o.ble prayer so that you can recite it. What happened? How did it affect the people?
311 (--82C). Those were days when men were very stern. What awful punishment did Elijah inflict on the false prophets?
312 (--82D). Elijah was sure that the drought would now be over. What did he say to Ahab? They had eaten nothing all day, so everyone went eagerly to the food. But Elijah went back to the mountain. Who went with him?
What happened? What message did the prophet send to Ahab? Notice how quickly the storm came up. Elijah was a man of the desert, hardy and strong; he was also under great excitement from the events of the day.
It was sixteen miles from Carmel to Jezreel. Locate these places on the map. The king drove his horses hard in the storm. What did Elijah do?
WRITTEN REVIEW
Imagine yourself present at the scene on Mt. Carmel and that your parents were unable to go. How would you tell them the story of all that happened that day? Write it out just as you would have told it, if you were a young Israelite on that great occasion.
XXIX. ELIJAH, THE CHAMPION OF JUSTICE
THE STORY
=--83. Elijah"s Discouragement= (I Kings 19:1-21)
A. THE BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT