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Story 4
So the prophets of the false gods
were hurried to the foot of the mountain and slain in the dry
creek bed of the brook, Kishon. Today was the day God showed
Himself to His people.
Historical setting:
Time:Around 872 B.C.
Places: Mount Carmel; Jezreel
Persons:
Elijah, a servant, Ahab
Scripture: I Kings
18:41-19:8
"Behold, there ariseth a
little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said,
Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down
that the rain stop thee not…And it came to pass in the
meanwhile, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and
there was a great rain." (v. 44)
The day of the contest had come to an end. God (and Elijah)
had been vindicated. "The Lord, He is
God! The Lord, He is God!" still reverberated
over the mountain and across the valley. Ahab was humbled
(temporarily) before the Lord. For three and a half years he
had searched for Elijah to kill him, thinking that if he could
rid the land of Elijah the nation's troubles would be over.
But now for a few hours he had great respect for the man of
God. For a few hours Ahab sang with the people, "The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!"
The people had dispersed to their homes, but Ahab and his
escorts lingered. The Israelite dignitaries had a custom of
celebrating victories with a feast. Now, on the top of the
once-beautiful Mount Carmel, near to the altar of the Lord
that had been eaten up by the fire from heaven, Elijah spoke
to Ahab: "Go ahead, eat and drink, as is your custom. There
is going to be an abundance of rain." Ahab looked up at
the scorched, grey skies, a doubtful smile creeping over his
lips; then he and his escorts went off to eat and drink. His
heart had been touched by the events of the day, and he felt
just a little tinge of repentance coming on. He had forgotten,
until this day, how strong God's power was. Now he would drown
out that feeling of shame he had playing at the corner of his
heart by indulging himself in food and drink. His repentance
was shallow and could easily be squelched. He just didn't want
to think too deeply about the mess he had dragged his people
into. So with his escorts he indulged in a mini-feast.
Elijah separated himself from Ahab. He wasn't one for
feasting. He took a faithful servant who had attached himself
to Elijah after the dramatic events of the day, and together
they climbed to the highest peak of Mount Carmel. There he
could look in all directions. He gazed with a heavy heart at
the desolation of the land. The once lush valley was parched
and desiccated. His mind floated back to a little better than
three years ago when he had sat in this very spot mourning
over the wickedness that Ahab and his queen, Jezebel, had
brought on the land, and of the message God had given him at
that time to take to the king. His eyes had reveled then, in
the greenness of the valley and the beauty of the flowering
trees, and the glimmer of the sea beyond. He groaned just now
at the pain and suffering the people of Israel and surrounding
areas had undergone because of their stubbornness and
wickedness, brought on by Ahab and Jezebel's introduction to
the false god, Baal.
With a groan Elijah dropped his
head between his knees and began his agonizing prayer for his
people, Israel, and for the state of his beloved country. His
prayer was silent. Soon he lifted his head and said to his
servant, "Go up now to where you can see only sea and sky.
Come back and tell me if you can see any clouds in the sky."
The faithful servant scrambled down a little hill, through
a small valley, and up to the highest peak he could find. He
looked in all directions, and took his report back to Elijah.
In answer to his master's query he said, "No, my Lord,
Elijah, I could not see as much as a speck in the sky. It
looks as it has for three years."
"Well, don't give up, my lad. Go back again. Look again.
Bring me another report. We cannot give up. God has promised
rain, and rain will come." And then the old prophet tucked
his head between his knees and continued his intercession for
the country, and his prayer to God to send the rain He had
promised.
The servant bowed before Elijah, going five more times at
Elijah's bidding, and bringing back the same report. After the
sixth time of checking on the status of the sky, the young man
had become agitated. Under his breath he muttered, "What's
the use. God has forgotten us."
"Go one more time," he heard Elijah say.
So
once again the servant climbed down and up the hills to the
highest point, looking in all directions. His heart beat fast
within his chest. Not only because he had been running, but
because of what he saw. Quickly, before he had even caught his
breath from running up the hill, he retraced his steps to
Elijah.
"What is it, my lad?" Elijah saw the excitement on
the servant's face.
"I see a little cloud, like it is climbing out of the
sea. It is no bigger than the size of a man's hand." The
servant's chest was heaving from running, as he spat out the
words.
Elijah jumped up from the ground. "Well,
hurry my good fellow. Get down to where King Ahab is feasting
and tell him to prepare his chariot and get on home to his
palace. There is no time to waste. There will be a rainstorm
before he can even make it home, so he'd better make haste."
The servant rushed to give Ahab Elijah's message. The
clouds were gathering. The scorched grey sky was becoming
filled with billowing clouds. Lightening flashed. Thunder
roared. It was a sound that had all but been forgotten during
the past three years. Ahab's escorts lashed the horses as the
chariot rattled down the hillside, through gullies and
valleys, through the Plain of Esdraelon, in the twenty-mile
trip back to Jezreel, to the king's residence. All the while
the storm was gaining momentum. Ahab was desperate to get
home. Elijah had said that God was going to send an "abundance
of rain," and Ahab remembered what could happen to these
chariot trails. He did not want to get stuck in the mud.
Meanwhile, Elijah pulled his mantel around him, and
scrambled down the hill. He was fit and lean, and the power of
his God was upon him. He began running. His chariot rattling
over the ruts, Ahab looked to the side and saw something
remarkable. He could scarcely believe his eyes. It was Elijah,
running beside him, and now he was overtaking the chariot. How
could a mortal man run faster than a team of horses, being
urged on by a frantic king? What magical powers this strange
man had!
Elijah arrived at the gates of Jezreel before
the chariot, and stood waiting until the king's arrived. Ahab
turned in to the gates of the palace, thinking that Elijah
would follow, but he didn't. His business with the king was
over for the time being. He turned aside, knowing that as soon
as Jezebel found out what had transpired that day, his life
would be in grave danger.
Ahab entered the palace, apprehensive at the thought of
explaining to Jezebel the amazing results of the contest on
the mountain, and how it was that this remarkable rain was
pouring down. His shallow repentance still lingered in his
heart, but standing before his queen, and detecting the look
of anger on her face, he could feel it quickly weakening. He
never had been able to stand up to his wife. Instantly he knew
he would not be able to defend God and Elijah before her by
saying to her what he had said earlier, on the top of Mount
Carmel, "The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He
is God!"
Jezebel knew about the contest, but of course she had not
heard of the results, except she knew that anything to do with
her enemy, Elijah, would not be good news for her. "Well,
spit it out," she demanded of Ahab, as he stood quivering
before her. "What happened today?
Giving as few details as possible, Ahab unfolded before his
queen the events of the day. He closed his eyes, expecting the
explosion that was to follow. He did not have to wait long. As
violently as the rain poured down from the sky, so did the
words spew from Jezebel's mouth. "Let the gods do to me,
and even more, of what Elijah did to the prophets of Baal
today, if I do not do the same to him by this time tomorrow."
She turned to Ahab. "Gather together your army if you
have to, but I want Elijah found and killed. He has been
nothing but trouble since the first day I laid eyes on him. "
Ahab slunk from Jezebel's presence. He did not tell her
that Elijah had preceded him to Jezreel, and was no doubt
standing outside the palace grounds at this very
minute.
Someone from the palace, hearing the angry
outburst from the queen, quickly got word to Elijah. And
Elijah knew that he could no longer remain in Israel. He knew
that as soon as it was morning, Ahab would have forgotten all
about his near-repentance, and would be scrambling around
obeying Jezebel's orders, preparing an army to pursue him, to
find him, and to have him killed.
There was only one
country to which Elijah could flee, the southern kingdom of
Judah. Israel and Judah, once one kingdom, had been divided in
the days of King Solomon's son, Rehoboam; and since then, the
two kingdoms had been enemies of each other. Elijah would be
safe hiding in the most southerly part of this kingdom, close
to the wilderness of Arabia. The fact that he was a victim of
persecution of Ahab would ensure his security there. Its
rugged terrain would be no problem to Elijah. He was well used
to roughing it. So off he started, hurrying from the imminent
danger he would be facing, come morning.
© Helen Dowd
(some information gleaned from "The Chosen
Word" copyright 1915 The John A. Hertel Co.)
Please read Story 5: Elisha Hears God's Whisper
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