1 Kings 17

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

YAHWEH VS. BAAL 1 Kings 17-18

Even a superficial survey of the narratives in the final Chapter s of I Kings and the opening Chapter s of 2Kings reveals that the materials here are quite different from those which thus far have been examined. The ministries of Elijah and Elisha are little more than a series of miracles. Few of their words have survived. It is for their works rather than their words that these prophets were remembered. These Chapter s certainly rank among the finest pieces of prose writing in the Old Testament. In the next sixteen Chapter s, the author focuses his attention, not upon the king, but rather upon the king’s prophetic opponentsElijah, Micaiah and Elisha. It is not his purpose to relate independent anecdotes, but rather to trace the efforts of Israel’s spiritual leaders to help their people emerge triumphant from a spiritual crisis precipitated by governmental policy.[406]

[406] Honor, JCBR, p. 244.

Because of the miraculous character of this section of Kings, critics have generally labeled the accounts as legendary. However, the narrative is so sober and circumstantial that, were it not for the supernatural elements, no critic would ever have thought to question its veracity. Furthermore, if there ever was a time when God needed to intervene in a mighty way in the stream of human history, it was in the time of Ahab. In that dark hour a determined effort was being made to stamp out the faith of Israel. The age demanded a messenger; the messenger must have credentials; the credentials could only be miraculous.[407] Only mighty miracles such as were performed by Elijah and Elisha could have been sufficient to counteract the influence of Jezebel and her eight hundred fifty priests and prophets. The greatest prophet is reserved for the worst age. Israel had never such an impious king as Ahab, nor such a miraculous prophet as Elijah[408] In the New Testament no prophet is mentioned and extolled so frequently as Elijah. He it was who was selected to represent that holy host of old covenant spokesmen on the Mount of Transfiguration where he, along with Moses, spoke with the Lord about His exodus (Luke 9:31).

[407] Hammond, PC, p. 380. [408] Ibid

One cannot conclude from Elijah’s silence regarding the Northern calf cult that the great prophet condoned this apostasy. Nor can it be legitimately argued that the antagonism toward calf worship arose later, long after the time of Elijah. It is best to think that Elijah was concentrating his attention on what he regarded as the greater evil and greater danger. Chapter s 17-18 deal with the early ministry of Elijah. In this unit the author describes (1) the great drought which Elijah announced during the reign of King Ahab (chap. 17); and (2) the great contest in which Elijah engaged on Mt. Cannel (chap. 18).

REVIEW OF CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I. FACTS TO MASTER

A. Important places to identify:

1. Tishbe

2. Mt. Carmel

3. Cherith

4. Brook Kishon

5. Zarephath

6. Jezreel

7. Samaria

B. Important persons to identify in relationship to this chapter:

1. Ahab

2. Jezebel

3. a widow

4. Elijah

5. Obadiah

C. Important numbers to remember:

1. Number of times Elijah stretched out on a dead child
2. Number of prophets Obadiah hid in caves
3. Number of prophets of Baal and Asherah
4. Number of stones in the altar erected by Elijah
5. Number of pitchers of water used on Mt. Carmel
6. Number of times those pitchers were emptied over the altar
7. Number of times Elijah’s servant made the trip to the summit of Mt. Carmel

D. Key words or phrases which should bring to remembrance the important events of this chapter:

1. ravens

2. caves

3. gathering sticks

4. altar

5. meal and oil

6. trench

7. upper room

8. cloud as small as a man’s fist

II. QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Elijah has been called the most important leader of the true worship of Yahweh since Moses and Samuel. How so?

What kind of spiritual lesson is contained in the account of the miraculous increase of the widow’s oil?

What is the missionary implication of Elijah’s trip to Zarephath? See Luke 4:26.

How would you contrast the religion of Ahab and that of Elijah?

What was the Carmel contest designed to demonstrate to Israel?

To Elijah, undivided religious loyalty was the only policy. To what degree do modern church leaders emulate Elijah?

How does Ahab’s address to Elijah, Troubler of Israel, illustrate the sinner’s psychology?

Why is the faithfulness of Obadiah especially to be com mended? What can one say about those prophets who were hiding in the caves?

What does this section reveal about the power of prayer? How many different prayers can you identify in this chapter?

Why did the widow blame Elijah for the death of her child? Was the child actually dead?

Why was Obadiah so fearful to relate to Ahab that he had seen Elijah?

How can the massacre of the Baal prophets at the river Kishon be justified?

How was Elijah able to outrun Ahab’s chariot back to Jezreel from Mt. Carmel?

Lessons in Living

THE FAITH OF THE WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH

1 Kings 17:8-16 Luke 4:25-26

I. Her Faith was *Challenged

Make me a little bread cake from it first. and afterward you may make one for yourself and your son*

II. Her Faith was *Put to Work

She went and did according to the saying of Elijah*

III. Her Faith was *Rewarded

She and her household ate for many days*

Drawings by Horace Knowles from the British and Foreign Bible Society

1 Kings 17:1

I. THE GREAT DROUGHT IN ISRAEL 17:1-24

The Ahab-Elijah clash was the epitome of the conflict which had been going on in Israel between king and prophet since the founding of the monarchy. The king had as his primary goals military security, economic expansion and a higher standard of living for his people. The prophets, on the other hand, were concerned first and foremost about fidelity to the Lord. They viewed with suspicion the foreign treaties negotiated by the crown. The indomitable Elijah thundered forth against the flagrant violations of the principles of Sinaiagainst the new mores imported from prosperous Phoenicia. The process of Phoenicianization threatened to destroy the foundations of Israelite society. The crown promoted the process; the prophets opposed it. These antithetical ideals prompted the struggle that is so graphically portrayed in 1 Kings 17 -2 Kings 10.

Ahab’s Phoenician queen Jezebel was chief promoter of Phoenicianization in Israel. She could not understand the hesitancy on the part of her husband to deal decisively with his prophetic adversaries. Taking matters into her own hands, this wicked woman launched an all out attack against the prophets. Less stalwart men were forced into hiding. But Elijah would not be intimidated and continued to preach and teach in defiance of the queen. His relentless, vehement, flaming indignation bolstered the courage of the faint-hearted and sent chills up the spine of those who hated him.

In chapter 17 the author traces the movements of Elijah in connection with a great drought which came upon Israel. He presents (1) Elijah before the king (1 Kings 17:1); (2) Elijah at the brook Cherith (1 Kings 17:2-7); and (3) Elijah in the village of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:8-24).

A. ELIJAH BEFORE THE KING 17:1

TRANSLATION

(1) And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel lives before whom I stand, surely there shall not be dew or rain these years except at my word.

COMMENTS

Whether the name Elijah was the prophet’s given name, or whether it was an assumed name, it is most appropriate for this man of God. The very name embodies the credo of this prophet for it means my God is Yahweh.

Elijah hailed from the town of Tishbe[409] in the rugged region of Gilead. Like his great predecessor Moses, the character of Elijah was forged in an unsettled and half-civilized region. Throughout the narrative he is referred to in Kings by his name only, or as the Tishbite. Only once is he called prophet (1 Kings 18:36). Perhaps his reputation was so well established that the designation prophet was regarded as redundant and unnecessary.

[409] Since Byzantine times Tishbe has been identified with al-Istib, eight miles north of the Jabbock. A shrine, mar Elias, (St. Elijah) marks the approximate spot today.

The abrupt way in which Elijah appears on the scene without a word of introduction or explanation is certainly remarkable. Not a word is said about his past relations with the king or the people. Such suddenness is appropriate to the character of this prophet whose comings and goings were unexpected and startling. Someone has said, Elijah comes in with a tempest, and goes out with a whirlwind. His sudden appearances and disappearances gave birth to the belief of some in that age that he was borne hither and you by the Spirit of God (cf. 1 Kings 18:12).

The ministry of Elijah began with a pronouncement of judgment upon wayward Israel. This pronouncement is introduced with an oath formula which is altogether appropriate for that age: As the Lord God of Israel lives. By these words Elijah was asserting that Yahweh, not Baal, was the God of Israel. Furthermore, Yahweh was a living God and not a figment of vain imagination as was Baal. This was the God that Elijah served. Slaves normally stood to wait upon their masters and, therefore, the words before whom I stand serve to identify Elijah as the ambassador or spokesman of the Lord.

The judgment announced by Elijah is one that was threatened by Moses if the people should fall into idolatry (cf. Deuteronomy 11:16-17): Neither dew nor rain would fall in Israel. The two main sources of moisture in Palestine are noted, the regular rains from November to March and the dew which condenses on the mountains of Palestine in the hot season. The latter may be almost as heavy as a drizzle of rain in the higher regions. This penalty would last these years, i.e., an indefinite period. The duration of the drought would depend upon Elijah’s word, and Elijah’s word depended, of course, upon the repentance of the people (1 Kings 17:1). It was because of the obduracy of the king and the people that the drought[410] lasted so long. The prophets of Baal would not be able to remove the curse though they claimed that their god controlled the elements of nature. Their inability to remove the ban would prove the impotency of their god. Thus the announcement of the drought served a polemical, as well as a judicial function.

[410] Josephus (Ant. VIII, 13.2) quotes Menander as referring to this drought in his account of Ethbaal, king of Tyre, the father-in-law of Ahab.

1 Kings 17:2-7

B. ELIJAH AT CHERITH 17:2-7

TRANSLATION

(2) And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, (3) Go from this place and torn for your sake to the east, and hide yourself at the river Cherith, which is before the Jordan. (4) And it shall come to pass that from the brook you shall drink, and the ravens I have commanded to feed you there. (5) So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, and he went and dwelt at the brook Cherith, which was before the Jordan. (6) And the ravens brought to him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and from the brook he drank. (7) And it came to pass at the end of several days, that the brook dried up, for there was no ram in the land.

COMMENTS

Shortly after Elijah announced the drought in Israel he received a divine revelation (1 Kings 17:2) instructing him to proceed immediately eastward to the brook (lit., water course) Cherith. Cherith was one of the lateral valleys which run down to the Jordan river. It was probably located in the region of Gilead in a very secluded area.[411] There he was to hide himself (1 Kings 17:3) both to escape royal punishment and to avoid the importunity of his countrymen who would no doubt cry out to him because of the burden he had laid on the land. From that brook Elijah was to drink; but God would provide his food in a miraculous manner. The ravens would bring his food to him in that secluded spot. The ministry of these birds was prolonged and methodical. Under the commandment of God they acted in an intelligent and rational way: they brought food to the prophet, and they brought it for months together with unfailing regularity. Elijah carried out the instructions of the Lord (1 Kings 17:5), and the Lord was faithful to the promises which He had made concerning the miraculous provision of the daily food (1 Kings 17:6).

[411] One tradition places Cherith near Jericho at Wadi-el-kelt.

The miracle of feeding by the ravens has been questioned from earliest times, as for example by Jerome. It is possible by altering the vowel points on the word ravens to yield the meaning Arabs. According to this view Elijah was cared for by some Bedouins who lived in the region of Cherith. The Arabs even to this day are noted for their generous hospitality and loyalty to strangers.[412] This interpretation certainly cannot be ruled out because the Hebrew vowel points are not part of the inspired consonantal Hebrew text and were only added to the Hebrew Bible in the Middle Ages. Still another view transliterates the Hebrew consonants and vowels as a proper name. According to this view it was the Orbites, i.e., the inhabitants of Orbo who fed Elijah at Cherith. But no town by the name of Orbo is attested in the Bible. The correct reading attested by all the ancient versions of the Old Testament (except the Arabic) is ravens. In, the days of Josephus (Ant., VIII, 13.2) at the end of the first Christian century the reading ravens was accepted. Therefore, the traditional understanding of the text is probably the correct one.

[412] However, Bedouins eat very little meat, and it would be very strange that they would twice daily share meat with Elijah. Skinner (cited in SBB, p. 123) calls this emendation of the text a rationalistic absurdity.

1 Kings 17:8-24

C. ELIJAH AT ZAREPHATH 17:8-24

As the water supply at Cherith began to fail, God instructed Elijah to leave the land of Israel and journey to the Phoenician village of Zarephath. Two great miraculous occurrences are connected with the prophet’s sojourn therethe miraculous provision of food in the home of a widow (1 Kings 17:8-16); and the resurrection of the widow’s son (1 Kings 17:17-24).

1. THE MIRACULOUS PROVISION OF FOOD (1 Kings 17:8-16)

**TRANSLATION

(8) And the word of the LORD came onto him, saying, (9) Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold I have commanded a woman, a widow, to feed you. (10) And he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold there was a widow gathering wood. And he called unto her and said, Take I pray you for me a little water in a vessel that I may drink. (11) And as she was going to get it, he called unto her and said, Bring, I pray you, for me a morsel of bread in your hand. (12) And she said, As the LORD your God lives, I do not have a cake, except a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a vase; and behold I am gathering a couple of sticks, that I might go and make it for myself and for my son, that we might eat it and die. (13) And Elijah said unto her, Do not fear! Go and do according to your word, but make from it a little cake first, and bring it out to me, and afterwards make one for yourself and for your son. (14) For thus says the LORD God of Israel: The jar of meal shall not diminish, nor shall the vase of oil fail, until the day the LORD shall bring rain upon the face of the ground. (15) And she went and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her house did eat many days. (16) The jar of meal did not diminish nor did the vase of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD which he spoke by the hand of Elijah.

COMMENTS**

It is impossible to determine how long Elijah remained at Cherith. Eventually the water supply there was affected by the drought (1 Kings 17:7) which no doubt also affected the available food supply which the ravens brought to the prophet. A second revelation (1 Kings 17:8) instructed Elijah to migrate to the Phoenician town of Zarephath situated on the high road from Tyre to Sidon on the seacoast about seven miles south of Sidon. At this spot Elijah would be in the lion’s den, the very heart of the dominions of Ethbaal, the fanatical father of Jezebel. There God had arranged for a destitute widow[413] to care for His prophet. Jesus suggested that Elijah was sent to this widow for her sake as well as his own (Luke 4:25-26).

[413] Whereas a childless widow was provided for through the law of Levirate marriage, the widow-mother was dependent on charity alone for her wherewithal.

Always obedient to the voice of God, Elijah hastened to Zarephath. It is likely that he kept to the east of Jordan as far as Dan where he crossed the river and took the road directly to Sidon and then southward a few miles to his destination. Upon approaching the gates of the city, Elijah providentially encountered the very woman for whom he was looking, though of course he did not at first realize it. He may have recognized her as a widow by her garments (cf. Genesis 38:14; Genesis 38:19). The woman was gathering sticksa sign of her povertywhen the weary prophet approached her and requested that she secure for him a cup of water (1 Kings 17:10). Because Phoenicia is watered by the fresh streams from the Lebanon mountains, the drought does not seem to have affected that area so much as Israel. It is considered a duty almost sacred in that region of the world to supply water to the thirsty. And so the woman scurried off in the direction of the well or water pot.

As the woman was going to fetch the water the prophet also mentioned that he would like some food, a morsel of bread (1 Kings 17:11). This request would soon reveal to him whether or not this was the woman whom God had ordained to sustain him. In responding to the prophet’s request, the woman took an oath in the name of Yahweh. Some commentators view this as an indication that the woman was a worshiper of Yahwehperhaps an Israelite who had married a Phoenician. It should be noted, however, that she used the words, the Lord (Yahweh) your god. Obviously she recognized Elijah either by his facial features or by his special prophetic garb (cf. 2 Kings 1:8) as being a Yahweh worshiper. But had she herself been an Israelite or a proselyte, she would probably have said the Lord my God. Polytheists could swear in the name of any God since they in effect recognized the existence of all gods. Therefore, there is nothing in the language of this woman to indicate that she was anything other than a typical polytheist. Furthermore, it was customary courtesy in the pagan world to recognize the deity of another people in addressing oneself to a member of that people.[414]

[414] Honor, JCBR, p. 251-52.

The widow explained her desperate situation to the prophet. She did not have in her possession so much as one small cake of bread. All she had was a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil. At the very moment Elijah approached her, she was gathering a few sticks to make a fire, prepare that bread, that she and her son might eat their last meal (1 Kings 17:12). Since the Phoenicians were in large measure dependent upon Israel for foodstuffs, the drought in Israel would have created great scarcity of grain in Phoenicia. The poor would have been the hardest hit, and this widow was evidently reduced to the greatest extremities.

It is not clear at what point in the conversation Elijah became aware that the woman with whom he was speaking was in fact the widow to whom God had sent him. Some commentators think his words in 1 Kings 17:13-14 indicate that he had already identified her; others, that these verses represent a further test of the woman. In either case the faith of the woman was put to the test. Do not be afraid, the prophet told her. Take the oil and make the cake. The oil was to take the place of butter, and sometimes the cakes were baked in oil. Feed me first, the prophet instructed; then you and your son may eat. Why would a heathen woman acquiesce in such a demand? Would she not in her desperate circumstances view such a request as unreasonable and selfish? Then to his forthright demand the prophet added a precious promise. If the woman would put God’s servant first, her jar of meal and flask of oil would be miraculously preserved until the rains returned to the land (1 Kings 17:14).

Perhaps it was the authoritative manner of the man, or his prophetic garb, or the fact that he had spoken an oracle in the name of the Lord which caused this heathen woman to believe and obey. Her faith was rewarded. For many days she, her son, her prophetic friend and her houseprobably friends or poor relativesate of that meal and oil (1 Kings 17:15). All attempts of rationalists to rule out the miraculous in this passage fail.[415] This passage certainly suggests that God was doing more for that widow than merely sustaining her providentially by natural means. The natural and obvious interpretation of 1 Kings 17:16 is that there was a supernatural and inexplicable multiplication of the woman’s food supplies. This widow received a prophet in the name of a prophet, and she received a prophet’s reward (cf. Matthew 10:41).

[415] As, for example, Gray (OTL, p. 381) who sees the factual basis of the story being that the generosity of the widow touched the conscience of her better-provided neighbors.

3. THE RESURRECTION OF THE WIDOW’S SON (1 Kings 17:17-24)

**TRANSLATION

(17) And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was very serious, because there did not remain any breath in him. (18) And she said unto Elijah, What is between me and you, O man of God, that you have come unto me to bring my iniquity to remembrance, and to slay my son? (19) And Elijah said unto her, Give me your son! And he took him from her breast and brought him up to the upstairs where he dwelt, and laid him upon his bed. (20) And he called unto the LORD and said, O LORD my God, Have You also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn to slay her son? (21) And he stretched out upon the lad three tunes, and he called unto the LORD and said, O LORD, my God, let the soul of this lad return into him I pray You. (22) And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the lad returned into him and he lived. (23) And Elijah took the lad and brought him down from the upstairs to the house and he gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, See your son lives. (24) And the woman said unto Elijah, Now I know beyond all doubt that you are a man of God, and the word of the LORD in your mouth is true.

COMMENTS**

While the prophet was in residence at the widow’s home, her son fell desperately ill. The phrase there did not remain any breath in him (1 Kings 17:17) has been taken by some commentators to mean that the boy had died of his affliction.[416] Others feel that no more than a coma is intended by these words.[417] That the expression need not in itself mean the child was dead is proved by Daniel 10:17 where Daniel is said to have no breath in him while in fact he was very much alive. However, 1 Kings 17:18; 1 Kings 17:20-21 certainly point in the direction of actual death.

[416] Keil, BCOT, p. 239. [417] Hammond, PC, p. 386-87. Cf. Josephus Antiquities VIII, 13.3 he appeared to be dead.

The woman was quite upset over the loss of her child and immediately jumped to the conclusion that the prophet’s presence had drawn the wrath of God upon her house. What is between me and you (lit., what to me and you) is a formula occurring several times in the Old Testament.[418] The question may be paraphrased, What business does a saintly man like you have with a sinful woman like me? It seemed to this simple woman that before Elijah had taken up residence in her home that her own shortcomings had passed unobserved; but in the presence of this saint, attention had been focused, by contrast, on her failings. To this woman the death of the child was evidence of divine displeasureretribution for sins which would never have been noticed had Elijah left her alone (1 Kings 17:18). What have I done? i.e., Is this the result of my association with you? She felt that the man of God by residing with her had become aware of the sin in her life and had called her sin to the remembrance of the Lord. The death of her son she regarded as a judgment upon her sin (1 Kings 17:18).

[418] Judges 11:12; 2 Samuel 16:10; 2 Kings 3:13.

With calm confidence Elijah asked the desperate woman to give him the limp corpse of her son. He took the child from the bosom of his mother and carried him up into the upper chamber[419] where he dwelt and laid the lad on his own bed (1 Kings 17:19). In mighty intercessory prayer the prophet cried out to God. He began his petition with a rhetorical question: Had God brought misery upon this woman because of the prophet just as He had previously brought misery upon Israel?[420] (1 Kings 17:20). Then in an action prayer the prophet stretched himself upon the child in order to warm the body of the lad in expectation of the return of life into that corpse.[421] Three times the prophet repeated his action prayer, and each time he accompanied it with earnest entreaty that God would permit the child’s soul or life to return to his body (1 Kings 17:21). The Lord heard that prayer of faith and the lad revived and lived (1 Kings 17:22).

[419] Probably a flimsy shelter on the flat roof where guests might be accommodated without infringing the privacy of the small, one-room, family dwelling.

[420] 1 Kings 17:20 may also be interpreted in the following way: Have You brought evil also on the widow who has shared her last with me as You have upon the evildoers?

[421] Gray (OTL p. 382) affirms this was contactual magic where the health of Elijah was magically conveyed to the corresponding organs of the child. Such concepts are, of course, completely foreign to the Old Testament faith. Furthermore, Gray can produce not one example in extra biblical literature where someone attempted to convey health to another through magic!

With great joy Elijah descended from that upper chamber with the child and tenderly handed him over to his anxious mother (1 Kings 17:23). Satisfying herself that the child was indeed alive, the joyous woman burst forth in grateful acknowledgement that Elijah was truly a man of God. Her words should not be taken to mean that she had previously doubted that Elijah was a man of God, but only that she regarded the mighty resurrection miracle as final proof of his authority. The miracle served as Elijah’s credentials, and the pagan woman was now utterly convinced that the message he had been sharing with her was absolutely true (1 Kings 17:24). These words imply that the woman was genuinely converted to the true faith by the miracle performed in the upper room.