The Father’s Heart
1 Kings 18:17-40 [NKJV]
[17] Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
[18] And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals.
[19] Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
[20] So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel.
[21] And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.
[22] Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
[23] Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it.
[24] Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” So all the people answered and said, “It is well spoken.”
[25] Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.”
[26] So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made.
[27] And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.”
[28] So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them.
[29] And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.
[30] Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down.
[31] And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.”
[32] Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed.
[33] And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.”
[34] Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time.
[35] So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.
[36] And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word.
[37] Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”
[38] Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.
[39] Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!”
[40] And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there.
1 Kings 19:1-5 [NKJV]
[1] And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword.
[2] Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.”
[3] And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
[4] But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”
[5] Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.”
Theme Verse: 1 Kings 19:5 [NKJV]
“Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, ‘Arise and eat.’”
In 1 Kings 18:17–40, God stood behind His prophet Elijah, and He single-handedly defeated and executed 950 opposing prophets—450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah—in a superiority contest.
One might presuppose that, by so doing, God had proved Himself beyond reasonable doubt to be trustworthy in defending His own. But take a look at Elijah’s reaction when he received a threat from a single woman, Jezebel, whose supporters God had stood by him to defeat and execute in toto.
1 Kings 19:4 [NKJV]
“But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, ‘It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!’”
It was a” though all God had accomplished through Elijah had only done a perfect work of convincing him against God rather than for Him. He, as it were, passed a vote of no confidence in God.
If Elijah were dealing with a man, seldom would he not be executed if he had asked to be spared after passing a vote of no confidence on the one who had protected him hitherto by fleeing into the wilderness upon hearing Jezebel’s threats.
However, with His Most Compassionate, Rock Of Ages, the response was the outright opposite.
1 Kings 19:5 [NKJV]
“Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, ‘Arise and eat.’”
That was an unveiling of God’s heart, a window for us to peep through and see His heart attitude towards His own.
May I ask you: He who saved the life of one who distrusted Him and, instead of asking for mercy, asked for death—will He not save His own who trust Him and ask Him to save them?
Look Up and Say
Father, I have seen Your heart today. I can’t but repent of my fallacies that You might not rescue me when I call. I might not have seen Your hand yet, but under the shadow of Your wings, I rest assured that You are working. In Jesus’ name. Amen.