1 Kings 21:17-29

Humbled by the Prophet's Rebuke

1 Kings 21:17

Once before, when his presence had been urgently needed, Elijah had fled for his life. But there was no vacillation now. He dared face not only Ahab, but his two ruthless captains. He acted as an incarnate conscience. Ahab had perhaps solaced himself with the idea that he was not a murderer. How should he know what Jezebel had done with his seal! But the crime was not Jezebel's alone; it was his also. “Thus saith the Lord, Thou hast killed.”

Though the king knew it not, Elijah was his best friend, while Jezebel was his direst foe. Sin distorts everything. Let us not be surprised if men hate us and count us their enemies when we charge them with their sins! “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you… and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely.” Each of the woes which the prophet foretold came true. Ahab postponed their fulfillment for some three years by a partial repentance; but at the end of that time he went back to his evil ways, and every item was fulfilled. God is faithful. He bears witness to His witnesses. His mills grind slowly, but they grind to powder!