Elijah and the Prophets of Baal

18 During the third year that no rain fell, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and meet with King Ahab. I will soon send rain.” ²So Elijah went to meet Ahab. At that time, there was no food in Samaria. ³So King Ahab told Obadiah to come to him. Obadiah was the man in charge of the king’s palace.* (Obadiah was a true follower of the Lord. ⁴One time Jezebel was killing all the Lord’s prophets. So Obadiah took 100 prophets and hid them in two caves. Obadiah put 50 prophets in one cave and 50 prophets in another cave. Then Obadiah brought them food and water.) ⁵King Ahab said to Obadiah, “Come with me. We will look at every spring and every stream in the land. We will see if we can find enough grass to keep our horses and mules alive. Then we will not have to kill our animals.” ⁶Each person chose the part of the country where they would go look for water. Then the two men went through the whole country. Ahab went in one direction by himself. Obadiah went in another direction by himself. ⁷While Obadiah was traveling, he met Elijah. Obadiah knew Elijah when he saw him. Obadiah bowed down before Elijah. He said, “Elijah? Is it really you, master?” ⁸Elijah answered, “Yes, it is me. Go and tell your master the king that I am here.” ⁹Then Obadiah said, “If I tell Ahab that I know where you are, he will kill me! I have done nothing wrong to you! Why do you want me to die? ¹⁰As sure as the Lord your God lives, the king has been looking for you everywhere! He has sent people to every country to find you. If the ruler of a country said that you were not in his country, then Ahab forced the ruler to promise that you were not in his country. ¹¹Now you want me to go and tell him that you are here? ¹²If I go tell King Ahab that you are here, then the Lord might carry you to some other place. King Ahab will come here, and he will not be able to find you. Then he will kill me! I have followed the Lord since I was a boy. ¹³You heard what I did! Jezebel was killing the Lord’s prophets, and I hid 100 prophets in caves. I put 50 prophets in one cave and 50 prophets in another cave. I brought them food and water. ¹⁴Now you want me to go and tell the king that you are here. The king will kill me!” ¹⁵Elijah answered, “As sure as the Lord All-Powerful lives, I promise that I will stand before the king today.” ¹⁶So Obadiah went to King Ahab. He told him where Elijah was. King Ahab went to meet Elijah. ¹⁷When Ahab saw Elijah he said, “Is it you? You are the man that causes trouble in Israel!” ¹⁸Elijah answered, “I have not caused Israel trouble. You and your father’s family caused all this trouble. You caused the trouble when you stopped obeying the Lord’s commands and began following the false gods. ¹⁹Now, tell all Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel. Also bring to that place the 450 prophets of Baal.* And bring the 400 prophets of the false goddess Asherah.* Queen Jezebel supports those prophets.”* ²⁰So Ahab called all the Israelites and those prophets to Mount Carmel. ²¹Elijah came to all the people. He said, “When will you people decide who to follow? If the Lord is the true God, then you should follow him. But if Baal* is the true God, then you should follow him!” The people said nothing. ²²So Elijah said, “I am the only prophet of the Lord here. I am alone. But there are 450 prophets of Baal.* ²³So bring two bulls. Let the prophets of Baal take one bull. Let them kill it and cut it into pieces. Then let them put the meat on the wood. But don’t start the fire burning. Then I will do the same with the other bull. And I will not start the fire burning. ²⁴You prophets of Baal will pray to your god. And I will pray to the Lord. The god that answers the prayer and starts his wood burning is the true God.” All the people agreed that this was a good idea. ²⁵Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal,* “There are many of you. So you go first. Choose a bull and prepare it. But don’t start your fire.” ²⁶So the prophets took the bull that was given to them. They prepared it. They prayed to Baal* until noon. They prayed, “Baal, please answer us!” But there was no sound. No one answered. The prophets danced around the altar that they had built. {But the fire never started.} ²⁷At noon Elijah began to make fun of them. Elijah said, “If Baal* is really a god, then maybe you should pray louder! Maybe he is thinking! Or maybe he is busy! Or maybe he is traveling! He could be sleeping! Maybe you should pray louder and wake him!” ²⁸So the prophets prayed louder. They cut themselves with swords and spears. (This was the way they worshiped.) They cut themselves until the blood flowed over them. ²⁹The afternoon passed but the fire still had not started. The prophets continued to act wild* until the time came for the evening sacrifice. But nothing happened—there was no answer from Baal. There was no sound. There was no one listening! ³⁰Then Elijah said to all the people, “Now, come to me.” So all the people gathered around Elijah. The Lord’s altar had been torn down. So Elijah fixed it. ³¹Elijah found twelve stones. There was one stone for each of the twelve family groups. These twelve family groups were named for the twelve sons of Jacob. Jacob was the man that the Lord had called Israel. ³²Elijah used these stones to fix the altar to honor the Lord. Elijah dug a small ditch around the altar. It was wide enough and deep enough to hold about 7 gallons* of water. ³³Then Elijah put the wood on the altar. He cut the bull into pieces. He laid the pieces on the wood. ³⁴Then Elijah said, “Fill four jars with water. Pour the water on the pieces of meat and on the wood.” Then Elijah said, “Do it again.” Then he said, “Do it a third time.” ³⁵The water flowed off of the altar and filled the ditch. ³⁶It was time for the afternoon sacrifice. So the prophet Elijah went near the altar and prayed, “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I ask you now to prove that you are the God of Israel. And prove that I am your servant. Show these people that you commanded me to do all these things. ³⁷Lord, answer my prayer. Show these people that you, Lord, are God. Then the people will know that you are bringing them back to you.” ³⁸So the Lord sent down fire. The fire burned the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the ground around the altar. The fire also dried up all the water in the ditch. ³⁹All the people saw this happen. The people bowed down on the ground and began saying, “The Lord is God! The Lord is God!” ⁴⁰Then Elijah said, “Get the prophets of Baal!* Don’t let any of them escape!” So the people captured all the prophets. Then Elijah led them down to Kishon Creek. At that place he killed all the prophets.

The Rain Comes Again

⁴¹Then Elijah said to King Ahab, “Now, go eat and drink. A heavy rain is coming. ⁴²So King Ahab went to eat. At the same time, Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel. At the top of the mountain Elijah bent down. He put his head between his knees. ⁴³Then Elijah said to his servant, “Look toward the sea.” The servant went to the place where he could see the sea. Then the servant came back and said, “I saw nothing.” Elijah told him to go and look again. This happened seven times. ⁴⁴The seventh time, the servant came back and said, “I saw a small cloud the size of a man’s fist.* The cloud was coming from the sea.” Elijah told the servant, “Go to King Ahab and tell him to get his chariot* ready and go home now. If he doesn’t leave now, the rain will stop him.” ⁴⁵After a short time, the sky was covered with dark clouds. The wind began to blow, and a heavy rain began to fall. Ahab got in his chariot and started traveling back to Jezreel. ⁴⁶The power of the Lord came to Elijah. Elijah tightened his clothes around him {so he could run}. Then Elijah ran ahead of King Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

palace A large house for the king and his family. Baal The Canaanite people believed that this false god brought the rain and storms. They also thought that he made the land produce good crops. Asherah An important Canaanite goddess. At this time, the people thought she was the wife of Baal. Queen Jezebel supports those prophets Literally, “Those prophets eat at Jezebel’s table.” Baal The Canaanite people believed that this false god brought the rain and storms. They also thought that he made the land produce good crops. act wild Or, “prophesy.” This form of the Hebrew word sometimes mean to “act wild,” or “to lose control of yourself.” 7 gallons Or, “14.6 l.” Literally, “2 seahs of seed.” fist A closed hand. chariot(s) A small wagon used in war.

Elijah at Mount Sinai

19 King Ahab told Jezebel all the things that Elijah did. Ahab told her how Elijah had killed all the prophets with a sword. ²So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah. Jezebel said, “I promise that before this same time tomorrow, I will kill you like you killed those prophets. If I don’t succeed, then may the gods kill me.” ³When Elijah heard this, he was afraid. So he ran away to save his life. He took his servant with him. They went to Beersheba, Judah. Elijah left his servant in Beersheba. ⁴Then Elijah walked for a whole day into the desert. Elijah sat down under a bush. He asked to die. Elijah said, “I have had enough, Lord! Let me die. I am no better than my ancestors.*” ⁵Then Elijah lay down under the tree and slept. An angel came to Elijah and touched him. The angel said, “Get up! Eat!” ⁶Elijah saw very near him a cake baked over coals and a jar of water. Elijah ate and drank. Then he went back to sleep. ⁷Later the Lord’s angel came to him again. The angel said, “Get up! Eat! If you don’t, you will not be strong enough to make the long trip.” ⁸So Elijah got up. He ate and drank. The food made Elijah strong enough to walk for 40 days and nights. He walked to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. ⁹There Elijah went into a cave and stayed all night. Then the Lord spoke to Elijah. The Lord said, “Elijah, why are you here?” ¹⁰Elijah answered, “Lord God All-Powerful, I have always served you the best I can. But the people of Israel have broken their agreement with you. They destroyed your altars. They killed your prophets. I am the only prophet that is still living. And now they are trying to kill me!” ¹¹Then the Lord said to Elijah, “Go, stand in front of me on the mountain. I will pass by you.”* Then a very strong wind blew. The wind caused the mountains to break apart. It broke large rocks in front of the Lord. But that wind was not the Lord! After that wind, there was an earthquake. But that earthquake was not the Lord. ¹²After the earthquake, there was a fire. But that fire was not the Lord. After the fire, there was a quiet, gentle voice.* ¹³When Elijah heard the voice* he used his coat to cover his face. Then he went and stood at the entrance to the cave. Then a voice said to him, “Elijah, why are you here?” ¹⁴Elijah said, “Lord God All-Powerful, I have always served you the best that I can. But the people of Israel broke their agreement with you. They destroyed your altars. They killed your prophets. I am the only prophet that is still living. And now they are trying to kill me.” ¹⁵The Lord said, “Go back on the road that leads to the desert around Damascus. Go into Damascus, and anoint* Hazael as king over Aram. ¹⁶Then anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel. Next, anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah. He will be the prophet that takes your place. ¹⁷{Hazael will kill many bad people.} Jehu will kill anyone that escapes from Hazael’s sword. And Elisha will kill anyone that escapes from Jehu’s sword. ¹⁸{Elijah, you are not the only faithful person in Israel. Those men will kill many people. But, even after that,} there will still be 7,000 people living in Israel that never bowed down to Baal! I will let those 7,000 people live—and none of those people ever kissed a Baal idol.

Elisha Becomes a Prophet

¹⁹So Elijah left that place and went to find Elisha son of Shaphat. Elisha was plowing 12 acres of land. Elisha was working on the last acre when Elijah came.* Elijah went to Elisha. Then Elijah put his coat* on Elisha. ²⁰Elisha immediately left his cows and ran after Elijah. Elisha said, “Let me kiss my mother and father goodbye. Then I will follow you.” Elijah answered, “That is fine. Go. I won’t stop you.*” ²¹{Then Elisha had a special meal with his family.} Elisha went and killed his cows. He used the yoke* for firewood and boiled the meat. Then he gave it to the people and they ate the meat. Then Elisha began following Elijah. Elisha became Elijah’s helper.

ancestors Literally, “fathers.” This means a person’s parents, grandparents, and all the people they are descended from. Go, stand … you This is like the time God appeared to Moses. See Ex. 33:12–23. voice Or, “sound.” anoint To pour olive oil on a person’s head to show he was chosen by God to be a king, priest, or prophet. Elisha was plowing … came Or, “Elijah was plowing. There were 11 pair before him and he was on the twelfth.” coat This was a special robe that showed that Elijah was a prophet. Giving this coat to Elisha showed that Elisha was taking Elijah’s place as a prophet. I won’t stop you Literally, “What have I done to you?” or “What will I do to you?” yoke A piece of wood that was put over an animal’s neck so it could pull a plow or wagon.