CHAPTER THIRTEEN YAHWEH VS. BAAL 1 Kings 17-18 Even a superficial survey of the narratives in the final Chapter s of I Kings and the opening Chapter s of 2Kings reveals that the materials here are quite different from those which thus far have been examined. The ministries of Elijah and Elisha are... [ Continue Reading ]
II. THE GREAT CONTEST ON CARMEL 18:1-46 Events in Israel during the years of Elijah's self-imposed exile are not narrated in any detail. No doubt at first Jezebel and the Baal prophets assured the people that their god controlled the weather and not Yahweh. But as the months and years of drought con... [ Continue Reading ]
B. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE CONTEST 18:21-40 The story of the contest on Carmel is one that has excited the imagination of believers through the centuries. The narrative is somewhat lengthy and may for convenience be discussed under the following heads: (1) The preliminaries of the contest (1 Kings 1... [ Continue Reading ]
C. THE AFTERMATH OF THE CONTEST 18:41-46 TRANSLATION (41) And Elijah said onto Ahab, Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of the tumult of rain. (42) Then Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went unto the top of Carmel, bowed himself to the ground, and put his face between his knee... [ Continue Reading ]