st Kings _Chapter 18

After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah, saying, Go, let Ahab see you. I want rain on the ground.

Elijah went to let Ahab see him. At that time, there was a great famine in Samaria.

Ahab summoned his household ruler Obadiah. Obadiah greatly revered the Lord,

When Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah hid a hundred prophets, each fifty in a cave, and provided them with bread and water.

Ahab said to Obadiah, “Let us travel through this land to all the springs of water and all the streams, or we may find green grass to revive mules and horses, so that we may not cut off livestock.”.

So the two of them marched separately, with Ahab walking alone and Obadiah walking alone.

Obadiah met Elijah on the way, and recognized him. He fell to the ground and said, Are you my lord Elijah.

The answer is yes. Go tell your master that Elijah is here.

Obadiah said, What sin have you committed against your servant, that you will deliver me into the hands of Ahab, that he may kill me?

I swear by the living Lord your God, that my lord will send people to find you, no matter which country or country you are in. If it is said that you are not there, then it will make the people of that country and nation swear that they cannot find you.

Now you say, go and tell your master that Elijah is here.

I am afraid that as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to a place that I do not know. So, I will go tell Ahab that if he cannot find you, he will kill me. But servants have revered the Lord since childhood.

When Jezebel killed all the prophets of the Lord, I hid one hundred prophets of the Lord, every fifty in a cave, and provided them with bread and water. Has no one told my lord about this?

Now you say, go and tell your master that Elijah is here, and he will kill me.

Elijah said, As the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will make Ahab see me today.

So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him. Ahab went to meet Elijah.

When Ahab saw Elijah, he said, Is it you who caused Israel to suffer?

Elijah said, It is not me who caused trouble to Israel, but you and your father’s house. Because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and gone after Baal.

Now send someone to gather all Israel and the four hundred and fifty prophets who serve Baal, as well as the four hundred prophets who Jezebel provided to serve Asherah, so that they may all go up to Mount Carmel to see me.

Ahab sent messengers to gather all Israel and the prophets to Mount Carmel.

Elijah came and said to all the people, “How long will your hearts be divided?”? If the Lord is God, submit to the Lord. If Baal is God, then submit to him. The people did not answer a word.

Elijah said to all the people, ‘I am the only one who remains as a prophet of the Lord.’. But there were four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal.

When we are given two calves, the prophet of Baal can choose one, cut it into pieces, and place it on the firewood without setting it on fire. I also prepared a calf to put on the firewood without igniting the fire.

You call on the name of your God, and I call on the name of the Lord. The God who responds with fire is God. The people answered and said, This is very good.

Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since there are many people, choose a calf first and prepare it. Then call on the name of your God, but do not ignite the fire.”.

They prepared the calves they had obtained, and from morning until noon, they called on the name of Baal, saying, Baal, please answer us. But there was no sound, no agreement. They danced around the altar they had built.

At noon, Elijah laughed at them and said, cry out loud. Because he is God, whether he meditates, or walks aside, or travels, or sleeps, wake him up.

They shouted loudly, following their rules, cutting themselves with knives and spears, stabbing themselves until their bodies bled.

From the afternoon until the evening sacrifice, they shouted and screamed wildly, but there was no sound, no agreement, and no attention.

Elijah said to all the people, Come to me. All the people came to him. He then repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been destroyed.

Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of Jacob’s descendants (the word of the Lord came to Jacob, saying, Your name shall be called Israel),

Build an altar in the name of the Lord with these stones, and dig a trench around the altar to accommodate two measures of grain,

And he set the wood on the altar, and cut the calf into pieces and placed them on the wood. He said to the people, Fill four buckets with water and pour it on the burnt offering and the wood.

Also, it’s the second time. They fell for the second time. Also, it’s the third time. They fell for the third time.

The water flows around the altar, and the ditch is also filled with water.

At the time of the evening sacrifice, the prophet Elijah approached and said, “Abraham, Isaac, the God of Israel, O Lord, let it be known today that you are the God of Israel, and that I am your servant, and I have done all these things according to your orders.”.

Lord, please answer me, answer me. Let this people know that you, the Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts.

So the Lord brought down fire and burned up the burnt offering, wood, stones, and dust, and burned up the water in the dry ditch.

When all the people saw it, they fell to the ground and said, The Lord is God. The Lord is God.

Elijah said to them, ‘Take the prophets of Baal and let no one escape.’. So the crowd caught them. Elijah took them to the river Kishun and killed them there.

Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up now and eat and drink, because there is a sound of heavy rain.”.

Ahab went up to eat and drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground, and laid his face between his knees.

And he said to his servant, Go up and look towards the sea. The servant went up and looked, saying, There is nothing. He said, go and watch again. So seven times.

The seventh servant said, I saw a small cloud rising from the sea, but it was as big as a human hand. Elijah said, Go up and tell Ahab to get the carriage down, so that it may not be blocked by the rain.

In an instant, the sky was dark due to wind and clouds, and heavy rain fell. So Ahab took a carriage and went to Jezreel.

The hand of the Lord fell on Elijah, and he tied his waist and ran ahead of Ahab until he reached the gate of Jezreel.