XVIII. In this and the succeeding chapter we pass from the domestic and peaceful simplicity of the quiet refuge at Zarephath to a grand description, first, of the struggle and victory of the great warrior of God, then of his momentary failure and rebuke — brought out to our generation with fresh dra... [ Continue Reading ]
THE THIRD YEAR. — By the accurate tradition, preserved in Luke 4:25; James 5:17, it would seem that the drought lasted “three years and six months.” If, therefore, the expression in the text is to be taken literally, it must be reckoned from the beginning of the visit to Zarephath.... [ Continue Reading ]
OBADIAH. — The name (“servant of Jehovah”) here corresponds to the character of the man. It is curiously significant of the hesitating and temporising attitude of Ahab, that, while Jezebel is suffered to persecute, a high officer in the court is able to profess openly the service of Jehovah, and sec... [ Continue Reading ]
JEZEBEL CUT OFF THE PROPHETS. — The persecution here referred to, in which for the first time the royal power was placed in distinct antagonism to the prophetic order, is only known by this allusion. It may probably have followed on the denunciation of judgment; and Elijah’s retirement to Cherith an... [ Continue Reading ]
ART THOU THAT... — The sense is either (as the LXX. has it) “Is it thy very self, my lord Elijah?” or (perhaps more suitably to the context), “Thou here, my lord Elijah,” when all seek thy life? The prophet’s answer is still simpler in its original brevity, “Behold, Elijah!” standing in dignified co... [ Continue Reading ]
THERE is NO NATION. — This unremitting search — implying perhaps some supremacy or authority over neighbouring kingdoms — suits ill with the half-hearted enmity of Ahab. _No_ doubt it was the work of Jezebel, in Ahab’s name, connived at (as in the murder of Naboth) by his timidity.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD SHALL CARRY THEE. — In this phrase there is perhaps a survival of the original physical sense of the word “Spirit” — the whirlwind which is “the breath of the Lord.” (Comp. 2 Kings 2:16; Acts 8:39.) To Obadiah it seemed that only by such miraculous agency could Elijah have bee... [ Continue Reading ]
ART THOU... — Probably (as in 1 Kings 18:7) the rendering should be, “Thou here, the troubler of Israel!” — defying vengeance (that is) in the very land which thou hast troubled.... [ Continue Reading ]
BAALIM — that is, as usual, “the Baalim” — the phrase being probably used contemptuously for false gods generally, the Baal, the Asherah, and perhaps other Canaanitish idols, being included.... [ Continue Reading ]
CARMEL. — The word signifies a “garden” or “park” (see Isaiah 29:17; Isaiah 32:15, &c.) and, when used for the proper name of the mountain, has commonly the article. Mount Carmel — rightly called “the park,” well planted and watered, of central Palestine — is a limestone ridge, with deep ravines thi... [ Continue Reading ]
HOW LONG HALT YE BETWEEN TWO OPINIONS? — In this exclamation is expressed the very motto of Elijah’s life. It is that of righteous impatience of the “halting” (_i.e._, limping to and fro) “between two opinions — at all times more dangerous, because more easy, than open apostasy — which was evidently... [ Continue Reading ]
AND CALL YE ON THE NAME OF YOUR GODS. — This gift of a “sign from heaven” — not unfamiliar to Israelite experience (see Leviticus 9:24; 1 Chronicles 21:26; 2 Chronicles 7:1) — which may not, as our Lord teaches us (Matthew 12:38; Matthew 16:1), be craved for or demanded as a ground of faith, is, lik... [ Continue Reading ]
O BAAL, HEAR US. — This repeated cry — the ever-recurring burden of the prayer, uttered probably first in measured chant, afterwards in a wild excited cry — stands in an instructive contrast (which has been splendidly emphasised in Mendelssohn’s music) with the simple, earnest solemnity of the praye... [ Continue Reading ]
ELIJAH MOCKED THEM. — The mockery of Elijah — apparently even blunter and more scornful in the sense of the original — has been with over-ingenuity explained as applying to various supposed actions of Baal. It is merely the bitter irony of sheer contempt, calling Baal a god only to heap upon him ide... [ Continue Reading ]
LANCETS — should be _lances._ This self-mutilation, common in Oriental frenzy, was possibly a portion, or a survival, of human sacrifice, in the notion that self-torture and shedding of human blood must win Divine favour — a delusion not confined to heathen religions, though excusable only in them.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY PROPHESIED — _raved_ _in their frenzy;_ like Saul in the hour of madness (1 Samuel 18:10), or of overpowering religious excitement (1 Samuel 19:20). As a rule, not perhaps without some rare exceptions, the true prophetic inspiration, _even_ if felt as overmastering the will (see Jeremiah 20:7),... [ Continue Reading ]
THE ALTAR OF THE LORD — evidently referred to as well known, and here accepted by Elijah as having a true sacredness. The exclusive consecration of the appointed sanctuary at Jerusalem, if ever as yet thoroughly recognised, was now obviously broken down by the religious severance of Israel.... [ Continue Reading ]
TWELVE STONES. — The emphatic notice of these, as emblematic of the twelve tribes, is significant. In spite of political division, and even religious separation, the tribes were still united in the covenant of God.... [ Continue Reading ]
MEASURES. — The “measure,” the third part of the ephah, hence also often called _shalish_ (a “tierce,” or “third”), was something less than three gallons. A trench to contain only six gallons seems too insignificant for the context; hence it is supposed that the sense is “large enough for the sowing... [ Continue Reading ]
FILL FOUR BARRELS — or pitchers. The filling of these at the time of drought has naturally excited speculation. A ready surmise, by those unacquainted with the country, was that the water was taken from the sea flowing at the base of Carmel; but a glance at the position and the height of the mountai... [ Continue Reading ]
LORD GOD OF ABRAHAM. — In this solemn and earnest invocation of God, as in Exodus 3:15; Exodus 6:2, the name JEHOVAH, describing God as He is in Himself — the One eternal self-existent Being — is united with the name which shows His special covenant with “Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel.” In His own... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY FELL ON THEIR FACES. — Exactly as in Leviticus 9:24, at the inauguration of the sacrifices of the new Tabernacle by the fire from heaven, with the characteristic addition of the cry, “Jehovah; He, and He only, is God.”... [ Continue Reading ]
SLEW THEM. — This ruthless slaughter of Baal’s prophets, as a judgment on their idolatry and perversion of the people, belongs alike to the fierce righteousness of the character of Elijah, and to the spirit of the old Law. (See, for example, Deuteronomy 13:6; Deuteronomy 17:2.) The law was adapted ... [ Continue Reading ]
GET THEE UP, EAT AND DRINK. — There seems a touch of scorn in these words. Ahab, remaining passive throughout, had descended to the place of slaughter in the valley, looking on silent — if not unmoved — while the priests, whose worship he had openly or tacitly sanctioned, were slain by hundreds. Now... [ Continue Reading ]
PUT HIS FACE BETWEEN HIS KNEES. — The attitude is, of course, one of prayer, but is a peculiar attitude — distinct from the ordinary postures of standing and kneeling — which has been noted as existing still among the modern dervishes. Possibly it is characteristic of the vehement excitement of the... [ Continue Reading ]
GO AGAIN SEVEN TIMES. — From this delay of the answer to prayer Elijah’s example became proverbial for intensity and perseverance in supplication (James 5:17). The contrast is remarkable between the immediate answer to his earlier prayer (see 1 Kings 18:36) and the long delay here. The one was for t... [ Continue Reading ]
JEZREEL. — This is the first mention of the city Jezreel, a city of Issachar (Joshua 19:18), as a royal city. The name (signifying “Jehovah hath sown”) was applied to the whole of the rich plain, the garden and battlefield of northern Palestine. (See Judges 6:33 : 1 Samuel 29:1; 2 Samuel 2:9.) The c... [ Continue Reading ]
THE HAND OF THE LORD WAS ON ELIJAH — in a striking reaction of enthusiastic thankfulness after the stern calmness of his whole attitude throughout the great controversy, and his silent earnestness of prayer. At the head of the people he brings the king, conquered, if not repentant, home in triumph.... [ Continue Reading ]