OT: The First Book of Kings, Chapter 22

1 Kings 22:1-53

22:1-2 Israel and Judah do not presently have outright animosity for each other. They have been divided for many years but king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, travels to visit the king of Israel, Ahab.

22:3-4 Ahab reminds his servants and Jehoshaphat that neither Israel nor Judah has reclaimed Ramoth Gilead from Syria, who yielded it after a defeat. Ahab asks Jehoshaphat if Judah will support Israel in the fight to reclaim the land.

22:5 Jehoshaphat responds amiably but asks Ahab to first consult God on the matter.

22:6 Ahab gathers four hundred men, supposed prophets, and asks them if he should send the armies into Ramoth Gilead. But these are false prophets and have been trained by the king of Israel to tell him what he wants to hear. For Ahab is not interested in the word or permission of God; his greed ensures that it does not matter to him to live in accordance with God's will.

22:7 Jehoshaphat notices that these false prophets have been conditioned by Ahab to tell him what he wants to hear. Jehoshaphat requests a prophet of the Lord. Jehoshaphat will not make a move without God's counsel. Even though there are hundreds of men currently convincing the two kings to engage in battle, only one opinion matters to Jehoshaphat: God's.

22:8 Resignedly, Ahab admits there is one man, a prophet of the Lord who can provide God's true voice. The prophet's name is Micaiah and he is hated by Ahab. Ahab hates Micaiah because he is one of the few people in his life who speak truth to him. Ahab hates to hear the word "no" and because of Micaiah's refusal to be another yes-man in Ahab's life, he is treated very poorly by the king.

22:9 But Jehoshaphat insists on hearing from a prophet of the Lord and so Micaiah is sent for. 

22:10-12 While Micaiah is being retrieved (from prison, though only for being an honest man) the other, false, prophets continue to encourage the kings to go into Gilead to battle the Syrians. 

22:13 A messenger briefs Micaiah on the situation: all of the prophets have encouraged the kings to fight and it is Ahab's desire to do so. Micaiah is told (warned) that he must be in agreement with the false prophets. Ahab wants to convince Jehoshaphat to engage in the battle but knows that the king of Judah will not do so without the go-ahead from God. 

22:14 Micaiah promises: As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak. Indeed, Micaiah is a prophet known for his obedience to God's will, even though he is hated for it. 

22:15 So when the king asks Micaiah if they should go to war against Ramoth Gilead or refrain, Micaiah says: Go and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king. The response is delivered sarcastically. Both he and God know that Ahab only wants to hear one answer and so they give it to him.

22:16 Sensing the sarcasm, the king asks Micaiah to speak truthfully.

22:17 So Micaiah does. He tells the king that God has shown him all of Israel scattered throughout the mountains like sheep without a shepherd. The message is that Ahab is a neglectful king; he is so bad that it is as if the body of people have no leader at all.

22:18 Ahab is annoyed and immediately turns to Jehoshaphat to complain about Micaiah. Ahab perceives Micaiah's messages as personal distaste, he refuses to acknowledge that God is trying to speak to him concerning his lifestyle.

22:19-23 Ahab is further antagonized by Micaiah's full explanation of the vision given to him by God: so frustrated by Ahab's adamant refusal to live righteously, God begins to organize Ahab's death. Inadvertently, Ahab chooses his own death. God will allow Ahab to go into the battle to garner the land he so desires but it will cause his death. God allows all of Ahab's false prophets to counsel him unwisely. 

We never want to get to a point in life where God gives us what we want above what He wants for us. Ahab's petulant behavior causes the corruption of his life and the kingdom. He is unable to accept God's "no." As God's children, we should work to understand that God's refusal on certain requests is for our own good. We must not surround ourselves with people who will tell us what we want to hear so loudly and frequently that God's voice is shut out. 

22:24 The men around Micaiah respond to him with violence. 

22:25 But no amount of animosity will persuade the prophet to go against the true word of God. Micaiah prophesies that the truth of his prophesy will be revealed when Ahab goes into a chamber to hide. The specific detail is given so that Ahab will eventually be forced to realize the truth instead of his own delusions. 

22:26-27 Ahab orders Micaiah to be brought to prison and to be mistreated.

22:28 Micaiah is not afraid. He proclaims that Ahab will never return from the battle - not as a punishment, but as a consequence of his own actions in disregarding God.

22:29-30 The king of Israel and Judah go to Ramoth Gilead (after all, God sanctioned it). Ahab continues to deceive: he tells Jehoshaphat to remain in his robes (which identify him as king) but proclaims that he will disguise himself. Jehoshaphat likely agrees to this because he trusts that if he is to remain alive, God will ensure it, regardless of his attire.

22:31 The king of Syria commands his captions to seek out the king of Israel, Ahab, exclusively. 

22:32-33 The Syrian captains mistake Jehoshaphat for Ahab. Before the men can kill or capture him, Jehoshaphat cries out to God. Immediately the kings realize their mistake and turn away from the king of Judah.

22:34 Ahab, however, is shot by an arrow at random. Perhaps this shot was random for the man who drew it, but Ahab put a target on his back the moment he became an enemy of God. The king of Israel commands that his chariot is turned out of the battle.

22:35-36 Ahab dies in his chariot and the battle ends. From the nature of Ahab's death, we can understand the absolute precision of God. He orchestrates the details of His prophesies. 

22:37-38 Ahab's body is brought to Samaria. 

22:39 Ahab's son Ahaziah reigns in his place.

22:41-44 We learn more about Jehoshaphat. He is the son of Asa and becomes king in the fourth year of Ahab's reign. He is thirty-five years old at the time he becomes king of Judah. He reigns for twenty five years in Jerusalem. He is a righteous king and does what is right in the eyes of the Lord. Though idol worship still persists, Jehoshaphat made peace with Israel. 

22:45-47 We learn more of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles.

22:48-49 Jehoshaphat refuses to engage with ungodly nations, despite the seeming prosperity that would come from doing so. Jehoshaphat places God's will and philosophy above acquisition of power and wealth.

22:50 Jehoshaphat dies and is buried in the city of David. His son Jehoram reigns in his place.

22:51-53 In the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat's reign, Ahab's son Ahaziah becomes king over Israel. Ahaziah is an evil man and takes after his parents rather than God.

OT: The First Book of Kings, Chapter 21

1 Kings 21:1-29

21:1-2 King Ahab of Samaria (his capital city which represents Israel) begins to covet his neighbor's vineyard in Jezreel. Ahab tells his neighbor, Naboth, to give him his vineyard because of its close proximity to Ahab's home. In return, Ahab tells Naboth that he will give him a better vineyard in a different location or he will purchase the vineyard.

21:3 Naboth declines. The land was given to his family by God and he will not, under any circumstances or enticement, trade his inheritance. Symbolically, we have a faithful child juxtaposed and unfaithful one. Nabath treasures his relationship with God and will not compromise it for anything. Conversely, Ahab does not care about God what God has distributed; he sees the monetary value of the land, rather than the spiritual. 

21:4 Not unlike a petulant child, Ahab sulks whenever he is refused something he wants. He returns to his home, declines food and lies in his bed. Ahab's evil wife, Jezebel, notices his displeasure and asks him about it.

21:5-6 Ahab whines about his failed negotiation with Naboth.

21:7 Though Ahab is content to mope about the situation, his wife is not. Jezebel craves power and even more than that, exercising her power. Abab is the king but Jezebel very much pulls the strings. Jezebel promises Ahab that she will give him Naboth's vineyard. Already her manipulative wheels are turning.

21:8 -10 Jezebel writes to the elders of Israel, pretending to be the king. She organizes a fast to which she will invite Naboth as well as two men bribed to speak falsely against Naboth.

21:11-14 And so the gathering is held. During it, the two men accuse Naboth of blaspheming against God and Naboth is executed. The men inform Jezebel that Naboth has been stoned to death.

21:15-16 Jezebel finds Ahab moping and informs him that he now owns the vineyard he wanted so badly. Ahab does not care that his neighbor is head, he is perfectly content to claim the vineyard.

21:17-18 This evil and pitiful behavior is seen by God and He directs Elijah to king Ahab once again. God explains that Elijah will find Ahab in the vineyard of Naboth. Ahab is situated quite directly in his sin.

21:19 Elijah brings Ahab a rhetorical message from God, for though He asks, God is well aware of Ahab and Jezebel's actions action Naboth. Elijah prophesies that Ahab will die exactly where Naboth died because of his cruelty.

21:20 Ahab is annoyed to have been found by Elijah, whom he considers an enemy. God sends prophets to help and lead his children. The fact that Ahab perceives Elijah as an enemy makes it evident that he is very much living contrary to God. Elijah confirms that he has indeed found Ahab because his sins were unmissable.

Elijah uses the phrase "because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord." When humans choose not to live righteously, they sell themselves as slaves to evil. Because evil is submission to greed and lust and injustice.

21:21-22 Elijah continues to prophesy: Ahab and his posterity will be cut off from Israel (as corrupt kings like Jereboam and Baasha before him have been). God's reasoning is that Ahab has made Israel sin. As king over God's people, these leaders have the responsibility of gathering the nation under God. But their evil and selfish actions corrode and neglect, respectively, the body of people they are meant to influence.

21:23-24 God speaks that Jezebel will also die without any honor, will be eaten by scavengers. Perhaps graphic but the meaning is that evil has no honor and is allowed no remnant. Remember that Jezebel is also responsible for killing a multitude of God's prophets. Jezebel is intent to thwart God, but her arrogance disallows her to understand that she cannot.

21:25-26 Ahab is utterly pathetic because he allowed an evil person to spoil him with luxuries at the expense of others' lives. Ahab and Jezebel have built yet another kingship on the foundation of idol worship. Idol worship is both the neglect and defiance of the God who has truly created and provided. God is adamant about humanity not submitting to idols because He knows that those things will never provide for us. He seeks after us not because he wants adoration but because but because He loves us. God knows that in His arms, we are safest and well provided for.

21:27 The prophesy, of course, it not well received by Ahab. He freaks out, desperately tearing his clothes and mourning. He even fasts. Because God has been lenient with Ahab, we can also know that Ahab's regret is genuine. We cannot fool or bribe God for anything.

21:28-29 In some small part of Ahab, he is obedient to God. But always for selfish reason. Nevertheless, God has promised leniency to his children. God still intends to remove Ahab's family from the throne but chooses to wait until Ahab has died. God will never bring calamity on a righteous person. Even if God has postponed his punishment, we can know that it will still land on a deserving person.

Once again we see how magnanimous God is. He understands that we are imperfect but he forgives us for being even less than that. It benefits us to see our behavior from His perspective as an authoritative Father. We are able to understand that He directs, blesses and disciplines us out a place of love and necessity. 

OT: The First Book of Kings, Chapter 20

1 Kings 20:1-43

20:1 With Israel and Judah experiencing internal turmoil caused by corrupt kings, enemies around them grow the courage to once again challenge and penetrate their borders. Ben-Hadad, king of Syria, amasses a group of thirty-two kings and their horses and chariots to go against king Ahab. Ben-Hadad attacks Samaria, a place on the northern edge of Israel's borders.

20:2-3 He then sends his messengers to Ahab stating his claim on the kingdom's silver, gold, women and children.

20:4 Ahab answers by submitting to Ben-Hadad's threat. Ahab is a man without much backbone; his wife, Jezebel is the true (though evil) authority over the kingdom because he allows her to take control. Ahab has just survived a several-year long drought, likely, he does not envision a way in which Israel could truly defend itself against these threats. Surely without God it cannot. 

In the previous chapter, Elijah's display and God's appearance at the altar was an effort to show Ahab that he could call upon God when in need. God, through the drought, has positioned Ahab and Israel once again into an opportunity to abandon weakness and idolatry and claim their inheritance from the true God. 

20:5-6 Ahab's immediate submission emboldens Ben-Hadad. He decides that in addition to his former claims, he will also claim all that belongs to Ahab's servants. Ben-Hadad plans to take anything he wants as it has become apparent that Israel does not intend to defend itself at all. Israel and Judah once had impenetrable defenses. Their corruption has torn so many holes in their wall of defense, the protection their spirituality provided. 

From this we learn that there are vultures in the world who will happily and arrogantly take whatever they want if they have the chance. But no unwelcome person or force is ever allowed into God's house. Had these tribes remained members of His family, they would not be so vulnerable to external forces.

20:7-8 Ahab panics; he realizes that his acquiescence had caused Ben-Hadad to behave outrageously. Ahab decides to consult the elders of Israel, who promptly tell him not to consent to the king of Syria.

20:9 Because he has already agreed to the first command, Ahab sends Ben-Hadad's messengers back with his refusal to bend to the additional request.

20:10 Ben-Hadad is infuriated by Ahab's response. He threatens to crush Samaria into dust. He uses the phrase "The gods do so to me, and more also, if..." in his threat. This is interesting in that Jezebel, Ahab's wife used the phrase in the previous chapter.  Though Israel could once rightly claim righteousness, we see that it now shares the evil and polytheistic characteristics of its enemies.

20:11 Ahab responds rather mightily: "Let not the one who puts on his armor boast like the one who takes it off." Suddenly, Ahab is prepared for a fight instead of rolling over. Ben-Hadad has boasted a crushing victory but Ahab reminds him that he has not actually fought or won yet.

We do not know what happened to build courage without Ahab, who suddenly responds with ferocity to his enemy. But Israel was an honorable nation; it represented strength and stability. Perhaps it began to shame Ahab that he represented the nation so weakly.

20:12 Ben-Hadad receives Ahab's fighting words while he is inebriated and commands his men to attack the city. We see that Ben-Hadad makes major decisions about war while drinking. His movement against Israel is motivated by his desire for material things. The manner in which he executes the order is evidence that he does not take seriously the ending of lives.

20:13 A prophet approaches Ahab and informs him that God will deliver Ben-Hadad's multitude into his hands today. Why? So that he will know that he is the true God. Elijah assumed that God was finished proclaiming His presence at that burning altar, but we see here that that was only the start. God's actions are not party-tricks. God's actions win wars, even unlikely ones.

20:14 Ahab asks by whom God will win this victory. Surely it cannot be him, Ahab, who exhibits such weakness. But indeed God has chosen to win this battle through Ahab. It will be another display of God's power and ability. God plans to use Ahab's men, the leaders of the provinces to win this win. God does not call in a special army, He works with what Ahab has to show that He can do the impossible with the impossible and still procure the victory.

20:15 And so Ahab builds a small army of leaders. A group under three hundred! And an additional seven thousand of the children of Israel.

20:16-18 Ben-Hadad is drinking again when his scouts report that Israel has prepared an army to fight back. Ben-Hadad yells the command that any men taken are to be kept alive. He might have mistakenly ordered every man to be kept alive due to his alcohol consumption (and perhaps this is a detail allowed by God to save the lives of the Israelites). Or perhaps Ben-Hadad meant to take the men alive to keep them as captured slaves. 

20:19-21 Israel defeats the Syrian army and Ben-Hadad flees. The might of God has rendered this boastful man prey.

20:22 The prophet returns to Ahab and tells him to strengthen himself because the king of Syria will return to challenge him. 

20:23-25 The enemies of Israel do not understand Israel's God. They make the mistake of comparing God to their false gods. They believe that their gods rule over certain specific circumstances and weather. Because of that, they think that Israel beat them so effectively because of the landscape on which they fought. The Syrians lost on a hill and therefore assume that they will win if they fight on a plain.

As God's children, we do not have to try to configure or manipulate a win. God delivers us the win, the strength and instrument we need to achieve it.

20:26-27 And so the children of Israel are mustered and given provisions in preparation for their enemy's attack. See how thoroughly God provides for His children. Not only are we amply supplied by Him but we are strengthened, emboldened as well.

20:28-30 God proclaims that He will accomplish this victory to show that He is the God of all things. He is not restricted to hills or by any circumstance. The children of Israel take a sweeping victory over Ben-Hadad and once again he flees.

20:31-34 Ben-Hadad humbles himself to Ahab to preserve his life. Ahab welcomes Ben-Hadad graciously. Ahab also creates a treaty with him, restoring to him the cities of his which were captured. Ahab then sends him away.

20:35-36 A prophet approaches another prophet. God's word instructs that the one hit the other to cause an apparent injury (for a purpose). But the prophet refuses and is killed by a lion. This seems a bit harsh and we can therefore assume we are missing some of the pieces. At minimum, this prophet, by denying the word of God could have been displaying an unfaithful heart (as in, in important matters, he disobeyed God). Matthew 12:31 proclaims the seriousness of disobeying the actual voice of God.

20:37 The prophet finds another to cause the mark on his face he needs to teach Ahab a lesson.

20:38 The prophet then waits by the road for Ahab to pass. The bandage disguises him, and Ahab does not immediately know he is speaking to a prophet (and thus receiving a lesson from God).

20:39-40 The prophet tells Ahab his (supposed) story: He has told to guard a man with his life. If the man was unguarded, he would lose his life. Instead of keeping the responsibility, he became busy here and there and the person disappeared.

The answer to the problem is clear to Ahab when presented this way: The man neglected his responsibility and therefore had to face the consequences.

20:41-42 The bandage is removed and Ahab realizes that he is speaking with a prophet and receiving a personal lesson and reflection of his own responsibility which he failed to guard. As a king over God's people, Ahab could not reasonably rely on the excuse that he accidentally became busy and neglected the people. Ahab let corruption distract him from his duty.

Ahab let Ben-Hadad go. God commands utter destruction of evil and evil persons. Instead, Ahab tried to make a deal with him. A treaty between corrupt men, build on a foundation God laid will not be allowed.

20:43 Ahab returns to his home grumbling because he got caught. He is not shameful or repentant. He is displeased and sullen because his deceptive plans have been figured out by God.

OT: The First Book of Kings, Chapter 19

1 Kings 19:1-21

19:1 Ahab returns to his wife and recounts all that has just occurred: through the prophet Elijah, God ended the drought as well as the population of false prophets in the land. 

19:2 Jezebel, an evil woman, sends a message to Elijah. The message is a cold and brutal one, she promises to kill Elijah by the next day. Jezebel only retains power as long as the population of people under her fear the false doctrine she has implemented. And she is not a woman willing to give up her power and prominence.

19:3 Elijah escapes to Beersheeba. 

19:4 Elijah prays intimately to God in the wilderness under a broom tree. Elijah's spirits are low, so low that he prays to die. He feels that he has failed God. Elijah's heart bursts with love for God and he so passionately wants to turn other hearts toward Him as well. His seeming inability to due so depresses him. Elijah feels that God deserves a better prophet. A better, more successful effort. 

This is one of the most tender moments in the Bible. The depth the emotion is even more prominent coming from a prophet. How much more inadequate do we, seemingly ordinary children of God, feel about what little we present to Him? Most of us do not make the grand declarations and displays that Elijah has just made. And yet even he experiences brokenness and hopelessness. Elijah blames himself. It hurts him to know that he unable to do fix the tribes of Israel; it hurts him because he feels God deserves someone to do so. God does not deserve to be neglected, hated or disregarded. Elijah absorbs all of that as his own failure. It is precisely the gentle heart that would feel such strong emotions, that would blame itself when it is entirely blameless, that God swoops in to claim. Because Elijah has been a beautiful, righteous child of God. God cherishes our love for Him. And although we think our actions do not matter, to God we are mighty.

19:5 So God sends an angel to Elijah and gently encourages him to arise and eat. Elijah has just admitted to God that he has been made weary by the evil of the world. It has broken him, weakened him. And so God, through this angel, begins to restore and strengthen his precious child. 

19:6-8 Arise and eat, the angel continues to encourage. Food and water is presented to Elijah. God truly provides what we need to be restored; when we are weak, He is strong for us, 2 Corinthians 12:10. God is aware that this is not always an easy journey. For forty days and forty nights Elijah is tended to by the ministrations of God's angel.

If you have ever been made weary by the world, consider Elijah. God is sensitive to our experiences; He is grateful for everything we do on His behalf in the name of compassion and faith. He never abandons us and He certainly never allows the darkness to convince us to extinguish our light. Elijah feels that he has been knocked out of the fight but God has declared him the victor. And this moment of pain will be intricately healed. These tender moments become a launch pad into strength and joy. 

19:9 God always gives us the opportunity to speak our heart. Our honest, raw emotion. God asks: What are you doing here, Elijah? Because what we feel and think matters to God. But He always asks in such a way as to point out that He has planned other places for us to be. Better places. 

The question is essentially: Why are you in this emotional state? Why have you given up on yourself? God already knows the answers, but He gives Elijah (and us) the chance to speak for ourselves, to unload our burdens. Because once we identify to God the source of our discomfort or hopelessness, He begins to build comfort and life there. And from this outsider perspective, it is easy to see what God sees: a blameless child in need of the love that will restore him to his path.

19:10 Elijah pours out his truth, an answer to God's question: I love you so much. Everything I do is for you but it is not enough and I am hunted for it by my enemies. Indeed Elijah's fellow prophets have all been killed by the very people pursuing him. The human frame grows weary from the pressure, the seeming failure. God has a plan to regrow Elijah's spirit.

19:11-12 God instructs Elijah to go stand on the mountain. God passes by the mountain and the wind causes rocks to fall off in pieces. But God is not the wind. After the wind, an earthquake occurs, but God is not the earthquake. A fire starts, but God is not the fire. And after all of this tumult all around him, Elijah finally finds God: a still, small voice. God is our gentle steadiness amidst the chaos. 

The havoc and corruption around Elijah has caused him to forget that God is quietly at work beneath it, above it, in the midst of it. Elijah has not failed. He is a fellow-worker with God and boldly, compassionately so. It is not always through spectacle that God does amazing, reconstructive work. 

19:13 Elijah hears the voice of God and goes out toward it. God asks the same question: What are you doing here, Elijah?

19:14 Elijah's answer is the same, but this time God propels him forward, out of his desperate situation. God prods Elijah back into his life's purpose, forcing him to put the troubles in the periphery for they have no power to truly block him anyway. The situation is the same, certainly everything depressing Elijah is true. But absolutely none of it changes Elijah's purpose or ability to fulfill it.

19:15 With His commands, God invites Elijah to get back to work with Him. He tells Elijah to anoint a man name Hazael as king over Syria. Let's get back to work, that still, small voice boldly speaks.

19:16 God continues: Anoint Jehu as king over Israel. Anoint Elisha as prophet in your place. God has plans for this land and these stubborn people. He has plans to replace evil kings and create nets for corruption. All is not lost. 

19:17 God creates a network of kingdoms which will ensure justice. More and more, Elijah learns that he never had to give up. God always had these plans to rebuild and restore. Never give up on God because His plans and abilities are limitless. 

19:18 God reveals to Elijah that there are seven thousand in Israel who have remained faithful to Him. Elijah is not alone as he had believed! Elijah is not alone in his love and obedience to God. Not only has he always had God, he now has a host of people. Things are not a desolate as Elijah imagined. And with these instructions, God has given Elijah back his purpose and motivation. Elijah is allowed to be sad, the circumstances warrant it, but God encourages him not to give up. Not to let his spirit be stifled by that sadness. 

There are so many battles, and sometimes we lose them. But the war has already been won by our God. Therefore, stay in the ring, John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

19:19 Elijah departs and finds Elisha, who will be appointed in his place as prophet. Elisha is plowing with twelve oxen, representative of the twelve tribes of Israel so in need of righteous leaders.

19:20 Elisha is excited to follow Elijah, he only requests that he is able to kiss his parents before he leaves.

19:21 Elisha turns to prepare a meal for the people around him from the oxen. He gives up his trade, his livelihood, to take up the yoke of God, Matthew 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Only a righteous and faithful heart would ever leave behind the comforts of their normal life for the adventure God invites us on. 

OT: The First Book of Kings, Chapter 18

1 Kings 18:1-46

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. 

OT: The First Book of Kings, Chapter 17

1 Kings 17:1-24

17:1 We are introduced to a new prophet at the beginning of his journey. His name is Elijah, meaning: My God is Yahveh/Yahweh. His name is a declaration of his faith in our one true Father. And his journey is significant, it begins not only with the solidification of his own trust in God and but will endeavor to restore the faith of God's children in a spiritual effort to eradicate corruption. 

Elijah a Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, (Gilead was a mountainous region east of the Jordan River divided among the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, and situated in modern-day Jordan) makes his first prophecy and it is bold, drastic. Elijah proclaims the onset of a severe, several-years drought. Except by Elijah's God-given command, neither rain nor dew will occur. The prophecy is made to king Ahab, who has further inculcated idol worship into the tribes.

Drought is often a symbol for faithlessness and the desolation it perpetuates. However, it takes further meaning when we consider that this is a population of people who have placed their faith in false-gods. They have been worshiping and praying to gods for things precisely like rain, even though none of those inanimate gods are able to actually provide it. 

This is not a prideful struggle for God to regain his reputation; He is not hungry for reverence. Rather, God is passionate about humanity's well-being and He can see the dead-end road they are quickly approaching. Because corruption is the hungry one. Greed and violence are the ones that consume not provide. God's efforts are to return them to His provision before evil inevitably starves them of life.

Only water quenches a desert, a drought. Water is the most physiological and figurative element of life. For the latter water is symbolic of the living water, the presence, word and will of God. Our lives are eminently dependent on Him. We often make a spectacle of the grand and physical things God provides in these books of the Bible, and truly they are spectacular: split seas, manna, kingdoms, victories and more. But anyone who has lived even just one day on earth has learned that we are more sustained by visceral provisions than the physical ones. Humans require love and rest and hope and patience in immeasurable quantities. Access to those are the true and abundant treasures of our relationship with God.

John 7:38He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'

God will provide as much as your faith will accommodate: simple prayers and complex prayers. God will preside in every moment you invite Him into. He will counsel through every decision. He will love through every hurt. He will comfort every loneliness. But if we block Him out, if we replace His rightful place with something else, that thing holds the responsibility of providing for us. And things do not have the ability, capacity, awareness or willingness to do so.

The tribes of Israel and Judah have replaced God with things. Instead of ignoring the suffering and deterioration of the quality of their lives, God initiates this movement to save and restore. God's selfless, empathetic, powerful loyalty comes after us every time. He comes to retrieve us against reason and against experience, hoping that one day we will stop walking away, getting hurt and needing to be rescued.

Establishing and sending this prophet Elijah into their midst is a vehement and selfless effort of retrieval. It can only be maintained and propelled by a foundation of faith, and therefore Elijah must ensure his own.

17:2-3 God speaks to Elijah and instructs him to leave Ahab and travel eastward. Elijah is told to go to the Brook Cherith (which flows into the Jordan River). From this brook Elijah will drink; his food will provided by the ravens. 

What we must understand about tests of faith is that they are not examinations meant to qualify or disqualify us from God's love. Instead, they are circumstances in life in which we can choose faith above well, reason. The world's definition of reason. Elijah is told that ravens will feed him. Faith interprets "the ravens will feed you" as God's declaration of His will and authority over the universe and every thing in it. From planets to kingdoms to winged creatures. For the universe knows its tailor and serves His will. 

Put simply, faith interprets that as God's promise to keep Elijah fed and well. The means through which He will do it is made inconsequential by the unwavering belief that He will. Faith is able to discard its insistence on the burning question of how, the desperation to know the indescribable intricacies of the abilities of God, when a human stops trying to fit God into the limited framework of itself.

This is not the time to know the how of God, that comes after earth. This is the age of the why and His answer is always: because I love you. Even when that does not seem like an appropriate answer, in particular when we are consulting Him on an issue of pain or suffering, it is the right answer. 

17:4 And so Elijah does not ask how, he just goes. He follows God's instruction. During his time, Elijah is indeed fed by the ravens who bring him meat. He drinks from the brook until eventually, it dries up because of the drought. It is written that after awhile the brook dried up. Elijah had this private length of time with God to prepare for the unfolding mission. 

This is not unlike our own lives which also require more patience than we often have. In comparison to God's patience, our own is inconsistent and infantile. But God takes His time and the result is always quality. Elijah camps by this brook and is fed by birds. Perhaps there are hearts content to live so simply and modestly but those hearts do not beat in many chests. Only a truly, purely faithful individual would find satisfaction and even gratitude in such a life. 

The interesting thing about God's teaching is that the discipline is often the ideal. God teaches us to live simply and to have joy and contentment in it. Once we are happy with having only Him, the abundance comes into our lives. The abundance comes into our lives and instead of becoming the main event as we always thought it would, it is simply decoration on the cake. Lovely indeed, but no longer the thing we are desperate for. 

So Elijah resides by this brook in simplicity and his faith grows and strengthens, as if he is drawing in the water around him. The water no one else was glad to have, but through its disappearance will come to cherish.

17:8 God again begins His instructions to Elijah. He gives Elijah small steps to take. Steps so small they seem unlikely to actually lead anywhere productive. It's important to realize this because though in our own lives we wish to make great impacts, we are rarely able to envision to way to actually do that. God wants us to understand that purposeful steps are always small because they allow for more precision. 

17:9 Elijah is directed to go to Zarephath to dwell with a widow. God explains that the widow will provide for him while he is there. This is another chance for Elijah to rely on his faith rather than the world's reason. Because in his day, a widow could barely provide for herself never mind another. If Elijah did not trust God, he would not go to be fed by a woman who could barely feed herself.

Humility becomes a requirement. Elijah is a prophet of God... now dependent on a widowed woman. If Elijah were an arrogant man, he would not associate with anyone but the powerful and prominent. The reason why this is pointed out is because God repeatedly tells us that the humble shall be exalted and the proud made humble, Matthew 23:12. In order to live powerfully and purposefully, we must be willing to decrease, John 3:30. When we clear out our vanity, we become a vessel for the power and purpose of God to flow through.

17:10-11 And so without question, Elijah travels to Zarephath and goes to the woman. He asks her for a little water in a cup. The woman begins to walk to get him one. Her willingness to provide a little water is symbolic of her possession of at least a little faith. Elijah is about to ask her to have a little faith in God, and here we see she does. Before she gets the cup of water, Elijah asks for a little bit of bread. Again, bread is symbolic of faith. Even if she only has a little (living) water and mere morsel of bread (God's word) God, through Elijah, is asking her to use it.

17:12 The woman is honest with Elijah: she does have a little flour and a tiny bit of oil, but she is reserving it for her and her child's last meal before they die. She uses an interesting phrase to highlight her honesty: as the Lord your God lives. This woman is not of the tribes of Israel or Judah but she believes in their God, the true God. She does not yet have a personal relationship with Him; perhaps she does not feel she has a right to. But her personal relationship with God begins right here, through Elijah. Because of the tribes or not, God loves all of His children. This woman is a child because she is a believer. And though she is a believer with only a morsel of understanding, a little bit of faith, it is enough to sustain her life and her child's. If she allows it to, her faith will save her life and her son's.

17:13 Comprehending God's effort to reach out to her, Elijah tells the woman not to fear. He gives her another option: make a small cake from the flour and bring it to him and then make a meal for herself and her son. 

17:14 Elijah explains to her that if she does, her bin of flour and jar of oil will never deplete. Again: faith over reason. The unspoken question: Will you give all that you have to the cause of Christ, trusting that God will constantly replenish your stores?

17:15-16 The woman's mustard seed of faith is enough for her to choose faith over reason, and because of that "she and he and her household ate for many days." Faith provides the will to live, the provisions to do so. This widowed woman, who is not well regarded or cared for by society because the advocate of a prophet of the Lord. From unlikely positions, broken hearts and wearied spirits God raises angels. If you ever feel inadequate or unimportant, remember this. God can make your last day the first day of the rest of a better life. The catalyst is the faith that He will do so. 

17:17-18 The widow's son becomes gravely ill. And although she and perhaps most, would interpret this as a punishment from God, it is not. This is another chance to choose faith over reason. The woman immediately assumes that her sin has caused her to lose her child. This is a moment for the woman to realize that God is not a cruel authoritarian. Undesirable things happen in life here on earth but to righteous children of God, these are not punishments or consequences. 

17:19-22 Elijah brings the child up to his room and begins to pray over him to God. God hears the voice of Elijah and revives the child. God's ears are attuned to the passionate cries and prayers of His children. This prayer resulted in the life of the child, sometimes prayer will not. Faith against reason chooses to believe that there is purpose and life in either circumstance. God is always going to answer; He is always going to help us receive and accept whatever that answer may be. But we must allow Him to, trust Him to.

17:23-24 What she believed to be a punishment became the solidification of her faith: "Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the Lord in your mouth is the truth." Had God not already provided enough evidence? He continues to provide more because we constantly ask Him to. But eventually this woman and we, need to stop debating His presence and realize its consistency. Because that is when and where everything truly begins and abounds. The moment of the declaration of unwavering faith is perpetual explosion of life and blessing in every direction. 

OT: The First Book of Kings, Chapter 16

1 Kings 16:1-34

16:1-7 King Baasha receives a word from God through Jehu, son of Hanani: I lifted you from the dust and made you ruler over My people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam. To each king, and person, God presents two things: what we were are offered and what we have done with it.

Regardless who we are, around us lie materials. Materials like opportunities, relationships, motivations and other such things which prompt us to choose what kind of person to be. Our materials are different and therefore our potential is different. We are not all kings but we all hold prominent positions according to God; the kingly and confident and the meek and humble.

God offers this commitment, the same He gives to Jeroboam and the kings in these chapters, to each of us: "if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you."

Baasha chooses not to heed God's commands, walk in His ways, do what is right in His sight or keep His commandments. As a result, a result not a punishment, his life crumbles around him. God does not expect perfection, He is well aware of our inability to be perfect. He is willing to accommodate our inefficiencies. But outright rejection and neglect of righteousness leaves those voids empty and liable to widen and deepen. 

Baasha's entire life and posterity is swallowed by the void he allowed to fester. 

16:8-14 Elah replaces his father as king. The prophecy against Baasha's posterity continues to be fulfilled. Elah is overthrown by his servant Zimri, commander of his chariots. It is easy for Zimri to dethrone and kill Elah because he is found inebriated in his home. 1 Peter 4:3 and Proverbs 20:1 speak of the laziness and non-productivity of inebriation. Elah inherited a broken people; he had the opportunity to restore but instead chose to do nothing. 

Zimri kills the entirety of Baasha's household, relatives and friends. 

16:15-20 Zimri is not a good man or king either. He is challenged by the people who instead choose to elect Omri, commander of the army as king. When Zimri realizes his imminent defeat, he burns down the king's house while inside of it and dies.

16:21-28 Israel continues to divide: half choose to support Tibni and the other half Omri. But Omri has a stronger force and eliminates Tibni. Omri reigns as king for twelve years. Omri is described to have done worse than the kings before him. Omri dies and his son Ahab becomes king. 

16:29-33 Ahab reigns for twenty-two years, another evil king. None of these kings are able to lead the way God's prophets were able to. Their corrupt leadership continues to fray the tribes and tempt them further away from righteousness. Ahab marries Jezebel, a Sidonian and worships a false god, Baal.

16:34 Ahab endeavors to rebuilt Jericho. This is fulfillment of a caution-prophesy from Joshua 6:26 Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying, “Cursed be the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.”

Utter disregard of God causes the tribes of Israel to continue to destruct.