1 Reis 17

1 Reis 17

1 Kings Commentaries Chart from recommended resource Jensen's Survey of the OT - used by permission 1 Kings Chart from Charles Swindoll THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL (NOTE: Many consider Amaziah and Hezekiah as "good" kings) SEE ALSO: ESV chart - kings of Israel - more information ESV chart - kings of Judah - more information 1 Kings 17:1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel lives, before Whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” Elijah: Mt 11:14 16:14 27:47,49 Lu 1:17 4:25,26 9:30,33,54 Joh 1:21,25 Ro 11:2, Elias As the LORD, the God of Israel : 1Ki 22:14 2Ki 3:14 5:16 Isa 49:18 Mt 7:29 Lu 1:17 before Whom: De 10:8 Jer 15:19 Lu 1:19 21:36 Ac 27:23 dew nor rain: Lu 4:25 Jas 5:17 Rev 11:6 1 Kings 17 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: Deuteronomy 11:13-17+ (GOD'S WARNING OF DROUGHT FOR DISOBEDIENCE) “It shall come about, if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul, 14 that He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early and late rain, that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil. 15 “He will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. 16 “Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them (LIKE AHAB AND ISRAEL WERE DOING!). 17 “Or the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and He will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its fruit; and you will perish quickly from the good land which the LORD is giving you. Deuteronomy 28:23-24+ (CURSES PROMISED FOR DISOBEDIENCE) “The heaven which is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you, iron. 24 “The LORD will make the rain of your land powder and dust; from heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed. Revelation 11:6+ (2 WITNESSES - SOME THINK ONE WITNESS WILL BE ELIJAH) These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire. Possible Location of Tishbe (ESV Study Bible) (Click to Enlarge) ELIJAH'S DRAMATIC ENTRANCE AND DISMAL DROUGHT FORECAST Now - This word is always worth noting as it is often used to introduce a new idea, event, or shift in thought, e.g., as when one says "Now it came to pass..." In this context Ahab is going to introduced to a new man and new event in his kingdom! Now can also signify something happening at this very moment, which would also be true in this context. Elijah comes suddenly on the scene as if shot out of a cannon, like a bolt of lightning flashing across the (spiritually) dark sky in Israel! Someone has subtitled the life of Elijah "Following God when those around us do not." Surely we can all identify with that scenario! Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead (click map), said to Ahab - Elijah explodes on the scene, his name meaning "The Lord is God" in effect throwing down the gauntlet toward Ahab and his worship of Baal! His name meaning "The Lord is God" is so apropos, for in 1Ki 18:21, 39 he will confront the people and ask is "the LORD God? In short Elijah's appearance would be a frontal assault against Ahab's belief in Baalism. Gilead is east of the Jordan River click map) and is the site of a town name Tishbe (Wikipedia article with location of Tishbe - see possible location of Tishbe on map above). This unknown geographical site would seem to emphasize that God calls some prophets from unlikely places. Certainly God brings His man Elijah on the scene with no fanfare, but with a clear prophecy clearly calculated to counter Baalism. God draws Elijah out of obscurity to confront apostasy! Elijah is like the those God still chooses and uses (read 1Co 1:26-27+)! God loves to use nobodies. And remember, Elijah "was a man with a nature like ours." (Jas 5:17+) ESV Study Bible explains that "Before this time no prophet addressed the house of Omri as Israel’s earlier royal houses had been addressed (cf. 1Ki 14:7-13; 16:1-4), but now Elijah is introduced. His announcement of doom on the house of Omri will be delayed, however, until 1Ki 21:21-24. His first task is to tackle the problem of the Baal worship that Ahab has introduced into Israel in 1Ki 16:31-32, and to demonstrate beyond all doubt that Baal is no more a god in any real sense than are Jeroboam’s bull calves....In Canaanite religion, Baal had authority over rain and fertility. The absence of rain meant the absence of Baal, who must periodically submit to the god of death Mot (during the dry season), only to be revived at a later date and once again water the earth (during the rainy season). This cyclical and polytheistic view of reality is the focus of Elijah’s challenges." (Borrow ESV Study Bible) (Bolding added) Keil writes, “For however many prophets of Jehovah arose in the kingdom of the ten tribes from its very commencement … no other prophet, either before or afterwards, strove and worked in the idolatrous kingdom for the honour of the Lord of Sabaoth with anything like the same mighty power of God as the prophet Elijah. And there was no other prophet whom the Lord so gloriously acknowledged by signs and wonders as Elijah” Warren