181 And the days are many, and the word of Jehovah hath been unto Elijah in the third year, saying, 'Go, appear unto Ahab, and I give rain on the face of the ground;' 2 and Elijah goeth to appear unto Ahab. And the famine is severe in Samaria, 3 and Ahab calleth unto Obadiah, who 'is' over the house—and Obadiah hath been fearing Jehovah greatly, 4 and it cometh to pass, in Jezebel's cutting off the prophets of Jehovah, that Obadiah taketh a hundred prophets, and hideth them, fifty men in a cave, and hath sustained them with bread and water— 5 and Ahab saith unto Obadiah, 'Go through the land, unto all fountains of waters, and unto all the brooks, if so be we find hay, and keep alive horse and mule, and do not cut off any of the cattle.' 6 And they apportion to themselves the land, to pass over into it; Ahab hath gone in one way by himself, and Obadiah hath gone in another way by himself; 7 and Obadiah 'is' in the way, and lo, Elijah—to meet him; and he discerneth him, and falleth on his face, and saith, 'Art thou he—my lord Elijah?' 8 And he saith to him, 'I 'am'; go, say to thy lord, Lo, Elijah.' 9 And he saith, 'What have I sinned, that thou art giving thy servant into the hand of Ahab—to put me to death? 10 Jehovah thy God liveth, if there is a nation and kingdom whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee; and they said, He is not, then he caused the kingdom and the nation to swear, that it doth not find thee; 11 and now, thou art saying, Go, say to thy lord, Lo, Elijah; 12 and it hath been, I go from thee, and the Spirit of Jehovah doth lift thee up, whither I know not, and I have come to declare to Ahab, and he doth not find thee, and he hath slain me; and thy servant is fearing Jehovah from my youth. 13 'Hath it not been declared to my lord that which I have done in Jezebel's slaying the prophets of Jehovah, that I hide of the prophets of Jehovah a hundred men, fifty by fifty in a cave, and sustained them with bread and water? 14 and now thou art saying, Go, say to my lord, Lo, Elijah—and he hath slain me!' 15 And Elijah saith, 'Jehovah of Hosts liveth, before whom I have stood, surely to-day I appear unto him.' 16 And Obadiah goeth to meet Ahab, and declareth 'it' to him, and Ahab goeth to meet Elijah,
17 and it cometh to pass at Ahab's seeing Elijah, that Ahab saith unto him, 'Art thou he—the troubler of Israel?' 18 And he saith, 'I have not troubled Israel, but thou and the house of thy father, in your forsaking the commands of Jehovah, and thou goest after the Baalim; 19 and now, send, gather unto me all Israel, unto the mount of Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the shrine, four hundred—eating at the table of Jezebel.'
20 And Ahab sendeth among all the sons of Israel, and gathereth the prophets unto the mount of Carmel;
21 and Elijah cometh nigh unto all the people, and saith, 'Till when are ye leaping on the two branches?—if Jehovah 'is' God, go after Him; and if Baal, go after him;' and the people have not answered him a word. 22 And Elijah saith unto the people, 'I—I have been left a prophet of Jehovah—by myself; and the prophets of Baal 'are' four hundred and fifty men; 23 and let them give to us two bullocks, and they choose for themselves the one bullock, and cut it in pieces, and place 'it' on the wood, and place no fire; and I—I prepare the other bullock, and have put 'it' on the wood, and fire I do not place;— 24 and ye have called in the name of your god, and I—I call in the name of Jehovah, and it hath been, the god who answereth by fire—He 'is' the God.' And all the people answer and say, 'Good 'is' the word.' 25 And Elijah saith to the prophets of Baal, 'Choose for you the one bullock, and prepare first, for ye 'are' the multitude, and call ye in the name of your god, and place no fire.' 26 And they take the bullock that 'one' gave to them, and prepare, and call in the name of Baal from the morning even till the noon, saying, 'O Baal, answer us!' and there is no voice, and there is none answering; and they leap on the altar that one had made. 27 And it cometh to pass, at noon, that Elijah playeth on them, and saith, 'Call with a loud voice, for he 'is' a god, for he is meditating, or pursuing, or on a journey; it may be he is asleep, an doth awake.' 28 And they call with a loud voice, and cut themselves, according to their ordinance, with swords and with spears, till a flowing of blood 'is' on them; 29 and it cometh to pass, at the passing by of the noon, that they feign themselves prophets till the going up of the present, and there is no voice, and there is none answering, and there is none attending. 30 And Elijah saith to all the people, 'Come nigh unto me;' and all the people come nigh unto him, and he repaireth the altar of Jehovah that is broken down; 31 and Elijah taketh twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of Jehovah was, saying, 'Israel is thy name;' 32 and he buildeth with the stones an altar, in the name of Jehovah, and maketh a trench, as about the space of two measures of seed, round about the altar. 33 And he arrangeth the wood, and cutteth in pieces the bullock, and placeth 'it' on the wood, and saith, 'Fill ye four pitchers of water, and pour on the burnt-offering, and on the wood; 34 and he saith, 'Do 'it' a second time;' and they do 'it' a second time; and he saith, 'Do 'it' a third time;' and they do 'it' a third time; 35 and the water goeth round about the altar, and also, the trench he hath filled with water. 36 And it cometh to pass, at the going up of the 'evening-'present, that Elijah the prophet cometh nigh and saith, 'Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to-day let it be known that Thou 'art' God in Israel, and I Thy servant, that by Thy word I have done the whole of these things; 37 answer me, O Jehovah, answer me, and this people doth know that Thou 'art' Jehovah God; and Thou hast turned their heart backward.' 38 And there falleth a fire of Jehovah, and consumeth the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and the water that 'is' in the trench it hath licked up. 39 And all the people see, and fall on their faces, and say, 'Jehovah, He 'is' the God, Jehovah, He 'is' the God.' 40 And Elijah saith to them, 'Catch ye the prophets of Baal; let not a man escape of them;' and they catch them, and Elijah bringeth them down unto the stream Kishon, and doth slaughter them there.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Kings 18:1-40
Commentary on 1 Kings 18:1-16
(Read 1 Kings 18:1-16)
The severest judgments, of themselves, will not humble or change the hearts of sinners; nothing, except the blood of Jesus Christ, can atone for the guilt of sin; nothing, except the sanctifying Spirit of God, can purge away its pollution. The priests and the Levites were gone to Judah and Jerusalem, 2 Chronicles 11:13,14, but instead of them God raised up prophets, who read and expounded the word. They probably were from the schools of the prophets, first set up by Samuel. They had not the spirit of prophecy as Elijah, but taught the people to keep close to the God of Israel. These Jezebel sought to destroy. The few that escaped death were forced to hide themselves. God has his remnant among all sorts, high and low; and that faith, fear, and love of his name, which are the fruits of the Holy Spirit, will be accepted through the Redeemer. See how wonderfully God raises up friends for his ministers and people, for their shelter in difficult times. Bread and water were now scarce, yet Obadiah will find enough for God's prophets, to keep them alive. Ahab's care was not to lose all the beasts; but he took no care about his soul, not to lose that. He took pains to seek grass, but none to seek the favour of God; fencing against the effect, but not inquiring how to remove the cause. But it bodes well with a people, when God calls his ministers to stand forth, and show themselves. And we may the better endure the bread of affliction, while our eyes see our teachers.
Commentary on 1 Kings 18:17-20
(Read 1 Kings 18:17-20)
One may guess how people stand affected to God, by observing how they stand affected to his people and ministers. It has been the lot of the best and most useful men, like Elijah, to be called and counted the troublers of the land. But those who cause God's judgments do the mischief, not he that foretells them, and warns the nation to repent.
Commentary on 1 Kings 18:21-40
(Read 1 Kings 18:21-40)
Many of the people wavered in their judgment, and varied in their practice. Elijah called upon them to determine whether Jehovah or Baal was the self-existent, supreme God, the Creator, Governor, and Judge of the world, and to follow him alone. It is dangerous to halt between the service of God and the service of sin, the dominion of Christ and the dominion of our lusts. If Jesus be the only Saviour, let us cleave to him alone for every thing; if the Bible be the world of God, let us reverence and receive the whole of it, and submit our understanding to the Divine teaching it contains. Elijah proposed to bring the matter to a trial. Baal had all the outward advantages, but the event encourages all God's witnesses and advocates never to fear the face of man. The God that answers by fire, let him be God: the atonement was to be made by sacrifice, before the judgment could be removed in mercy. The God therefore that has power to pardon sin, and to signify it by consuming the sin-offering, must needs be the God that can relieve from the calamity. God never required his worshippers to honour him in the manner of the worshippers of Baal; but the service of the devil, though sometimes it pleases and pampers the body, yet, in other things, really is cruel to it, as in envy and drunkenness. God requires that we mortify our lusts and corruptions; but bodily penances and severities are no pleasure to him. Who has required these things at your hands? A few words uttered in assured faith, and with fervent affection for the glory of God, and love to the souls of men, or thirstings after the Lord's image and his favour, form the effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous man, which availeth much. Elijah sought not his own glory, but that of God, for the good of the people. The people are all agreed, convinced, and satisfied; Jehovah, he is the God. Some, we hope, had their hearts turned, but most of them were convinced only, not converted. Blessed are they that have not seen what these saw, yet have believed, and have been wrought upon by it, more than they that saw it.