Day 102. 1 Kings 16-18

While the southern kingdom of Judah remains relatively stable through this tumultuous period, one ruler of the House of David succeeding the last, the northern kingdom of Israel endures a series of bloody coups and palace revolts. Each king is worse than the last, according to the compiler of 1 Kings; his history of the period is a rising crescendo of wickedness. The house of Jeroboam—the first dynasty of the northern kingdom--is slaughtered by Baasha, who founds a second dynasty. Nothing changes materially. Baasha also does what is evil in the sight of the Lord (15:34), and a prophet called Jehu predicts the violence with which his house will end—"Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city the dogs shall eat; and anyone of his who dies in the field the birds of the air shall eat" (16:4).  This grim conclusion follows quickly. Baasha's son Elah has reigned only two years when Zimri, the founder of the third dynasty, assassinates the king while he is in a drunken stupor and succeeds to the throne (16:9-10 But Zimri has reigned a scant seven days (16:15) when, surrounded by hostile forces led by one Omri, he burns his house down upon himself (16:18). Omri founds a dynasty, the fourth. He builds the city of Samaria, which remains the capital of the northern kingdom until it is destroyed by the Assyrians (16:24), and rules from there.  Omri is portrayed in our text as an evil king who provokes the Lord by leading his people into the worship of idols (16:26). We know from other sources, however, that long reign of Omri—22 years—is a period of considerable prestige and prosperity for the northern kingdom of Israel. When he eventually dies, he turns the kingdom over to his son Ahab who does "evil in the sight of the LORD more than all who were before him" (16:30). Ahab contracts a marriage with Jezebel, a princess of the Sidonians, who brings with her devotion to her pagan cults of her homeland. Jezebel will figure largely in our narrative and will do more than her part to create the atmosphere of decadence and evil that surrounds the court at Samaria during this period (16:31). (Remember that in Joshua 6:26 a curse is laid upon anyone who rebuilds the Canaanite city of Jericho.  In our reading for today we are told that under the reign of Ahab someone by the name of Hiel of Bethel ventures to rebuild the city and gates, and loses his oldest and youngest sons by defying the curse—16:34.) The LORD, however, is not silent.  To counteract the corruption of the court of Ahab and Jezebel, God raises upon one of the great prophets of the Old Testament, Elijah. Elijah will give to prophecy its classic form. When he first appears it is to warn Ahab of a terrible drought his evil ways have caused (17:1). Elijah then escapes into the wilderness where, we are told, he is miraculously fed by ravens (17:4-6). A remarkable cycle of stories about Elijah follows. When the water in the wilderness fails, Elijah is sent to a certain widow in Zarephah (17:8). Though destitute and at the edge of starvation herself, the widow shares her food with the prophet, and the LORD rewards her faith by providing for her until the drought ends. By God's grace the prophet and the widow's household eat for many days, and "the jar of meal [is] not emptied, neither [does] the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah" (17:15-16). Elijah is real hero of the Book of 1 Kings; and when the widow's only son dies, Elijah pleads with the LORD on behalf of the child's widowed mother, whose generosity has saved his life.  Then, taking the child, he stretched himself upon the child three times, he prays and "the life of the child came into him again, and he revived" (17:21-22). All this goes to certify, as the widow says, that Elijah is indeed "a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in [his] mouth is truth" (17:24). It is more than miracles; it is the boldness in the face of power that establishes Elijah's credentials as a man of God. The dialogue Obadiah, who is the steward of Ahab's palace, demonstrates the courage that marks the Man of God. Obadiah is a good man and fears the LORD; we are told the he has hidden one hundred of the prophets of the LORD from the wrath of Queen Jezebel (18:3). But he fears for his life if he tells Ahab that Elijah is coming to him. As Obadiah says, "As soon as I have gone from you, the spirit of the LORD will carry you I know not where; so, I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have revered the LORD from my youth" (18:12). So Elijah confronts Ahab alone, and when the king sees him he asks, "Is it you, you troubler of Israel?" (18:17). But Elijah fearlessly replies that it is not he but Ahab who has troubled Israel, because he has forsaken the commandments of the LORD and followed the Baals (18:18). The prophet then delivers a challenge to the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal; he proposes a contest to see once and for all which god is stronger, the LORD or Baal. Two altars are to be prepared and two bulls for sacrifice prepared. Elijah and the priests of Baal will both cry out to their respective gods, "and the god who answers with fire is indeed God" (18:24).  So the prophets of Baal call out to their god all day, "but there [is] no voice, and no answer." Exhausted, "they [limp] around the altar that they had made" (18:26).  As the day goes on, Elijah taunts then—perhaps their god is daydreaming, or on a journey, or asleep and must be wakened. They cut themselves "until blood gushed out over them" (18:28), all to no avail. At last at evening it is Elijah's turn. He orders that his sacrifice to the LORD be doused three times with water. Then he calls out to the "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel" (18:36), whereupon fire falls from heaven and consumes not only the sacrifice, but the wood, the stones, the dust, "and even [licks] up the water that is in the trench" (18:38) around the altar. The conclusion is clear. Elijah orders the prophets of Baal seized, and he kills them (18:40). The shed blood breaks the curse that has been placed upon the land. The prophet prays and sends his servant and again and again to look toward the sea. The seventh time the servant reports seeing "a little cloud no bigger than a person's hand . . . rising out of the sea" (18:44). Then Elijah says to Ahab, "Harness your chariot and go down before the rain stops you" (18:44). So they both run before the storm, but filled with the spirit of the LORD, the prophet outruns the king's chariot. Elijah wins the round, but the struggle between the prophet and wicked king has only just begun.