1 Kingschapter 18
46 verses · BSB1 Kings book hub →
The Prophets of Baal Are Slaughtered — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
A.Obadiah, who hid a hundred prophets in cavesvv. 1-16
1 After a long time, in the third year of the drought, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the face of the earth.” 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria, 3 and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD, 4 for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.) 5 Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and every valley. Perhaps we will find grass to keep the horses and mules alive so that we will not have to destroy any livestock.” 6 So they divided the land to explore. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself. 7 Now as Obadiah went on his way, Elijah suddenly met him. When Obadiah recognized him, he fell facedown and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?” 8 “It is I,” he answered. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here!’” 9 But Obadiah replied, “How have I sinned, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death? 10 As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made that kingdom or nation swear that they had not found you. 11 And now you say, ‘Go tell your master that Elijah is here!’ 12 I do not know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off when I leave you. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth. 13 Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them with food and water. 14 And now you say, ‘Go tell your lord that Elijah is here!’ He will kill me!” 15 Then Elijah said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will present myself to Ahab today.” 16 So Obadiah went to inform Ahab, who went to meet Elijah.
B.Art thou he that troubleth Israel?vv. 17-19
17 When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?” 18 “I have not troubled Israel,” Elijah replied, “but you and your father’s house have, for you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals. 19 Now summon all Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
C.From morning until noon: O Baal, hear usvv. 20-29
20 So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did not answer a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the LORD, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let the prophets of Baal choose one bull for themselves, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood but not light the fire. And I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood but not light the fire. 24 Then you may call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people answered, “What you say is good.” 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since you are so numerous, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first. Then call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 And they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound, and no one answered as they leaped around the altar they had made. 27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them, saying, “Shout louder, for he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or occupied, or on a journey. Perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened!” 28 So they shouted louder and cut themselves with knives and lances, as was their custom, until the blood gushed over them. 29 Midday passed, and they kept on raving until the time of the evening sacrifice. But there was no response; no one answered, no one paid attention.
D.Twelve stones, four barrels three times, and the fire fallsvv. 30-40
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people approached him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down. 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, one for each tribe of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come and said, “Israel shall be your name.” 32 And with the stones, Elijah built an altar in the name of the LORD. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, placed it on the wood, 34 and said, “Fill four waterpots and pour the water on the offering and on the wood.” “Do it a second time,” he said, and they did it a second time. “Do it a third time,” he said, and they did it a third time. 35 So the water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench. 36 At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command. 37 Answer me, O LORD! Answer me, so that this people will know that You, the LORD, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back again.” 38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water in the trench. 39 When all the people saw this, they fell facedown and said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!” 40 Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.
E.A cloud like a man's hand; Elijah outruns the chariotvv. 41-46
41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the summit of Carmel, bent down on the ground, and put his face between his knees. 43 “Go and look toward the sea,” he said to his servant. So the servant went and looked, and he said, “There is nothing there.” Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.” 44 On the seventh time the servant reported, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.” And Elijah replied, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’” 45 Meanwhile, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and a heavy rain began to fall. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. 46 And the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
Chapter summary
Three years on, Elijah meets Ahab ('Is it thou, thou troubler of Israel?'), the troubler being the house that forsook the commandments for the Baalim.
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Chapter summary
Three years on, Elijah meets Ahab ('Is it thou, thou troubler of Israel?'), the troubler being the house that forsook the commandments for the Baalim.
Read the rest, the context and the outline ▾Show less ▴
Three years on, Elijah meets Ahab ('Is it thou, thou troubler of Israel?'), the troubler being the house that forsook the commandments for the Baalim. On Carmel the nation is put to one question: 'How long go ye limping between the two sides? if Jehovah be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.' The people answer not a word. Baal's prophets cry and cut themselves till the evening oblation; then twelve stones, a trench, three soakings of water, and a prayer of sixty words. Fire falls and licks up even the water: 'Jehovah, he is God.' Then a cloud 'as small as a man's hand,' and rain, the prayer James 5 holds up.
Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary and John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament.
Context
History · Jeremiah — 1 Kings overview
- A. 1–16 Obadiah, who hid a hundred prophets in caves
- B. 17–19 Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
- C. 20–29 From morning until noon: O Baal, hear us
- D. 30–40 Twelve stones, four barrels three times, and the fire falls
- E. 41–46 A cloud like a man's hand; Elijah outruns the chariot
Top cross-references8 chapters ▾
1 Kings 1814 verses
- 1 Kings 18:1After a long time, in the third year of the drought, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the face of the earth.”
- 1 Kings 18:3and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD,
- 1 Kings 18:4for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)
- 1 Kings 18:8“It is I,” he answered. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here!’”
- 1 Kings 18:10As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made that kingdom or nation swear that they had not found you.
- 1 Kings 18:12I do not know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off when I leave you. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.
- Read 1 Kings 18: 8 more there →
Jeremiah 143 verses
- Jeremiah 14:3The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads.
- Jeremiah 14:5Even the doe in the field deserts her newborn fawn because there is no grass.
- Jeremiah 14:18If I go out to the country, I see those slain by the sword; if I enter the city, I see those ravaged by famine! For both prophet and priest travel to a land they do not know.’”
- Read Jeremiah 14 →
1 Kings 163 verses
- 1 Kings 16:9However, while Elah was in Tirzah getting drunk in the house of Arza the steward of his household there, Elah’s servant Zimri, the commander of half his chariots, conspired against him.
- 1 Kings 16:31And as if it were not enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he even married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and he then proceeded to serve and worship Baal.
- 1 Kings 16:33Then he set up an Asherah pole. Thus Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel before him.
- Read 1 Kings 16 →
1 Kings 172 verses
- 1 Kings 17:1Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel before whom I stand—there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!”
- 1 Kings 17:18“O man of God,” said the woman to Elijah, “what have you done to me? Have you come to remind me of my iniquity and cause the death of my son?”
- Read 1 Kings 17 →
4 more chapters this one speaks with
1 Kings 192 verses
- 1 Kings 19:10“I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”
- 1 Kings 19:14“I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”
- Read 1 Kings 19 →
Matthew 102 verses
- Matthew 10:28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
- Matthew 10:40He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me.
- Read Matthew 10 →
2 Chronicles 72 verses
- 2 Chronicles 7:1When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
- 2 Chronicles 7:3When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD: “For He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.”
- Read 2 Chronicles 7 →
2 Kings 22 verses
- 2 Kings 2:16“Look now,” they said to Elisha, “we your servants have fifty valiant men. Please let them go and search for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and put him on one of the mountains or in one of the valleys.” “Do not send them,” Elisha replied.
- 2 Kings 2:25And Elisha went on to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
- Read 2 Kings 2 →
Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.