18:1 After many days, God speaks to Elijah again. Elijah's purpose, like all God-directed endeavors, is an intricate process. God makes many considerations in His planning; He aligns the board perfectly before making the ultimate move. He readies Elijah while readying the land. And this is a land of idol worship, people attributing the components of seasons and weather, like rain, to their false gods.
But is has been many days of drought, ample time for one of those false gods to hear and heed the prayers of the people. Yet they have not because they cannot. God sends Elijah once again to king Ahab and promises to send rain to the land. Ahab and his fellow idol worshipers will see that although their gods cannot beckon the rain, Elijah's can.
18:2 Elijah follows God's instruction and presents himself to Ahab in the midst of the severe drought and subsequent famine in Samaria.
18:3 Ahab is scrambling to survive the famine. He calls a man in his service, Obadiah into his company to help him with a plan.
18:4 We learn that despite his affiliation with Ahab (or perhaps because of it) Obadiah is a man of God. Obadiah risked his own life by deceiving Ahab and secretly rescuing one hundred prophets from Ahab's wife, Jezebel. Obadiah provided the prophets shelter, bread and water when Jezebel was capturing and slaughtering them. Obadiah means servant/worshiper of the Lord.
18:5-6 Now, Ahab tells Obadiah to go into the land toward the springs and brooks to find grass for the king's livestock. Clearly Ahab has learned that praying to his false gods is not an option and has to take matters into his own hands. But his own hands can do so little. He splits up the territory, searching for himself one way and having Obadiah search the other way.
The stark difference between the godless and a child of God is that while the godless scrambles in desperation for an impossible thing, a child of God has that seemingly impossible thing delivered directly into their lap. Matthew 6:33 explains to us that when we pursue God, God becomes our provider, providing all things.
18:7 While Obadiah is searching, Elijah meets him. Obadiah recognizes Obadiah and bows, Is that you, my lord Elijah? Obadiah has great respect for God's prophets because their work is righteous in a land that is anything but. Obadiah's effort to save the prophets speaks of his goodness, faith and bravery.
18:8 Obadiah will need that same faith and bravery for Elijah's next directive. Because Elijah confirms his identity and swiftly instructs Obadiah to tell Ahab that Elijah has arrived.
18:9 Obadiah balks! To him, the directive feels like a punishment. The king and his wife have shown sharp contempt for the prophets. Elijah cautioned Ahab about the drought he is currently experiencing and Obadiah feels the king will interpret Elijah's reappearance as mockery.
18:10 Obadiah explains that the king has hunted Elijah for years across nations and kingdoms. He explains the king's frustration and anger that no one has been able to find Obadiah. Elijah's perfect hiding place, of course, was chosen by God. God placed Elijah quietly in the home of a widow.
This is interesting because, as we discussed in the previous chapter, Elijah humbly accepted being place in such a modest place. Had he been arrogant, he would have stood out to Ahab and would have been killed. This is an example of how God's placement is precise and perfect, even when it does not initially feel that way.
18:11-12 Obadiah explains his fear: if he tells Ahab that Elijah is present and then is unable to produce him, he will be killed. For Obadiah cannot possible fathom why Elijah would present himself to presumably an imminent death. Obadiah, like us, does not understand God's plans. Often, His plans seem too drastic or even too diminutive to make sense to us.
Like us, Obadiah is unable to see the full picture. He is unable to see beyond the present moment. His human instincts of survival cause him to fear the consequences of Elijah's directive. Faith, sometimes, requires us to choose it over reason. Obadiah has loved God since he was a child; he does not want his hesitation to be interpreted as rejection of God. He just cannot imagine that any resolution will come out of this plan because he has personally witnessed the depth of the evil of this king.
Such fears are common to humans. Our present circumstances provide only a limited and distractedly-emotional view. We often ascribe the intellectual and physical boundaries we possess to God. We are not able to properly contrast the ferocity of the evil we witness and experience with the ferocity of God. Faith asks us to trust that God's abilities shoot off the charts. Obadiah does not see a way that he or Elijah can survive king Ahab, but he does not have to, because God has the ability to make one.
18:13-14 Obadiah has risked his life to protect the prophets. If he suggests an association with one, the prophet Ahab has ruthlessly sought, his past deceptions could surface and make the king truly livid.
Throughout scripture and in our generation as well, God reveals massive plans to His children that cause us to feel intimidated. Because we think we are insignificant and unable. So when He reveals a plan for us which will require significance and ability, we freeze.
In Exodus, God told Moses that He would like him to be both prophet and orator in a movement to change the world. Moses just about looked over his shoulder for someone else because he did not think God could possibly mean him. He was utterly baffled! Obadiah is currently experiencing this moment. God certainly has a sense of humor, but He never sets us up to fail. So whether like Obadiah your purpose is confront a vicious king or like Moses you are meant to lead a nation, you will be adequately equipped by God to do so.
It isn't that God never sends us into the lion's den, we learn from the Book of Daniel that He absolutely will. In fact, it is often essential that we enter such places. Righteousness is meant to confront evil. Surely God will send us into the lion's den, but the lion will be rendered powerless against us, Daniel 6:16-23.
18:15 And so Elijah promises that as the Lord whom he stands before lives, he will present himself to Ahab. He will not run. Elijah will willing walk into the lion's den and he encourages Obadiah to do so as well. For there is nothing greater we can do with our lives than the will of God. God honors rather than punishes Obadiah for his great work and rescue of the prophets but presenting this opportunity to him.
18:16 Obadiah chooses to follow the will of God. He tells Ahab that Elijah would like to meet. Ahab goes to meet Elijah.
18:17 Elijah is not well received by Ahab. To Ahab, Elijah is a "toubler of Israel."
18:18 Boldly, Elijah explains to Ahab that Ahab and his kingship have troubled Israel by forsaking God and following false gods.
18:19 Elijah commands Ahab to gather all of Israel as well as the prophets of the false gods together to hear him speak on Mount Carmel.
18:20 Ahab does so. Suddenly gathered is the entire audience God has a message for.
18:21 Elijah begins: How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him. If they choose to follow God, they must live by His philosophy. Elijah seeks to put an end to the back and forth. The tribes cannot choose to follow the true God when they need Him yet neglect Him when they do not feel like living righteously. None of the crowd voices an answer.
18:22-24 Elijah tells the prophets of the false gods to prepare a sacrifice without lighting the fire. Elijah himself will prepare a sacrifice and will also refrain from lighting the fire. Elijah gives the other, multitudinous false prophets the advantage of choosing which bull they want to be their sacrifice.
18:25 He allows the false prophets to go first. To prepare their sacrifice and to call on their god(s).
18:26 For hours the false prophets call on their god, but their god never responds.
18:27-29 God's sense of humor again rears its head through Elijah: Elijah tells the prophets that perhaps their god missed their calls because he has been busy. He encourages them to continue and louder, more vehemently. But no matter how raucous they become, none of their gods ever answer.
18:30 Thus is becomes Elijah's own turn to call on his own God. As everyone gathers around him, Elijah begins to prepare and repair an altar for God.
18:31-35 Elijah places twelve stones around the altar, representative of the tribes of Israel, God's children. He builds a trench around the alter. He places the wood and instructs someone to pour plenty of water over the sacrifice and the wood. This all would presumably place Elijah's God at a disadvantage. Elijah has water poured over the altar three times, enough to fill even the trench.
18:36-37 Finished with the preparations, Elijah approaches the altar and speaks to God: “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.”
18:38 Immediately God sends fire to consume the entire sacrifice. A fierce and burning fire which licks up all of the water in the trench.
18:39 The display, the declaration, is enough for the people to bow down to the true God. Without loitering, without frivolity and without advantage or volume, Elijah calls simply from his heart to God and is answered immediately.
18:40 Elijah commands that the false prophets be seized and killed for their evil work.
18:41 And because the true God has been restored, an abundance of rain falls. Elijah tells Ahab to go drink; indeed he is in desperate need of the righteous provision God supplies.
18:42 As Ahab goes to drink, Elijah climbs the top of Carmel and bows down to God on his knees. Indeed he prays for a torrent of rain. The rain is no longer withheld.
18:43-44 The passion with which we see Elijah pray is evidence of his good heart. He genuinely, passionately wants Ahab and other such people to understand God's ability, generosity and power. Let it pour, let them see the magnitude of God. The false gods could not provide a drop, the true God brings a torrent. There is a cloud, rising out of the sea. After the seventh time, God relents and the rain falls down mightily. Elijah tells Ahab to bring his chariot out underneath the storm cloud to experience the power of God in the form of this rainstorm.
18:45-46 Indeed a rainstorm takes place and Ahab rides out into it toward Jezreel. Elijah runs ahead of Ahab as he approaches Jezreel.
Glean from this chapter that whatever figurative drought is in your life, God can send the rain. Stop searching in desperation like Ahab does, and just open an earnest heart to God as Elijah does. We have Baals, false gods in our own generation. Idols of vanity and wealth and acclaim. All of that is dust and will return to dust, Ecclesiastes 3:20. What God provides is everlasting.
Glean from this chapter that whatever figurative drought is in your life, God can send the rain. Stop searching in desperation like Ahab does, and just open an earnest heart to God as Elijah does. We have Baals, false gods in our own generation. Idols of vanity and wealth and acclaim. All of that is dust and will return to dust, Ecclesiastes 3:20. What God provides is everlasting.
