列王纪上

Meditative Reflection
The Unchanging Word of God

“In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the LORD spoken by Joshua son of Nun.” (1 Ki. 16:34)

Jericho was the first fortified city that Israel attacked upon their crossing of the River Jordan, signifying that God was honoring His promise to lead Israel into the Promised Land. The destruction of Jericho proved through and through that it was the work of God, signifying to the Canaanites that the God of Israel is the “God in heaven above and on the earth below” whom all nations and people should worship (Jos. 2:11). Therefore the curse that was spoken against Jericho served to remind all that God’s will and His work cannot be thwarted.

By the time of Ahab, a good 500 years would have elapsed since the destruction of Jericho, and it is interesting to note that no one ever dared to rebuild it (i.e. to make it a fortified city again). However, by the time of Ahab, the city of Jericho of Benjamin, which was on the border of the tribe of Ephraim (Jos. 16:7), had come into his possession, and its fortification would greatly enhance the power of Israel over Judah.

The rebuilding of Jericho, according to the usage of the term in 1 Kings, was definitely meant to refortify it as a stronghold, and Hiel would have done so at the command of Ahab. This proved how wicked Ahab was, except that the curse fell directly on Hiel’s family which paid the price for their blatant spurning of the Word of God.

However, this ancient incident serves to remind us that the Word of God cannot be taken lightly, even though it was spoken a long time ago, just as the Psalmist says, “Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens” (Ps. 119:89).

Meditative Reflection
The Test of Faith

“For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.” (1 Ki. 17:16)

While the appearance of Elijah was rather sudden and the town of Tishbe is unknown to us, it does not necessarily mean that he was a gentile and that he was suddenly thrust into the service of God as some scholars, like Schmidt opine. In fact, his words to Ahab indicated that he had always served the God of Israel (17:1) and his amazingly bold obedience to the command of the Lord also indicated that he knew the Lord quite well. However, this command was, perhaps the greatest test of his faith so far.

To travel from Gilead, his hometown in the east of Jordan all the way to Ahab’s Samaria, which was situated to the north-west of Israel, was a long journey; but as it turned out, the subsequent journey from Jordan to the widow in Sidon (along the Mediterranean coast) was even a longer and more difficult journey, especially considering the dry conditions brought about by his own prophecy. Obedience to God’s command often means sacrifice, sometimes considerable sacrifice!

But obedience often also leads to experiencing God’s miraculous provisions first-hand. To hide in Kerith Ravine which was to the east of Jordan, and subsequently in the Gentile land of Sidon was obviously for Elijah’s protection, and in the process, he experienced the great faithfulness of God.

While everyone in the land had to search for drinking water, Elijah did not need to sweat about water; he drank directly from the brook everyday. Not only that, the ravens did not just bring him food, they brought him “meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening” (17:6). Elijah was having a great time, that was, until the brook dried up.

I have no idea when Elijah saw the brook dry up gradually little by little, whether he complained to God or not; but when God asked him to leave his tranquil place of retreat (for the past few years?) and travel all the way to Sidon to be supported by, of all people, a  gentile widow―he probably had some doubts! The fact that he dared not ask the woman right away for food, and just for a drink in the beginning, perhaps indicated his hesitation for how could he be so insensitive in asking so much from a widow in her dire situation?

As it turned out, God did not only use the most unlikely source to provide for His servant, He also used it as a means to deliver the widow from her plight!

I often wonder which demanded a greater faith — the dependence by Elijah on this pitiful widow or the willingness of the widow to provide for Elijah out of her last handful of flour and the last drop of oil?

Meditative Reflection
Victory over Satan and Idols

“Then the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth'.” (1 Ki. 17:24)

The visit of Elijah to the widow in Sidon is not just an interlude in the story leading up to the mighty victory of God over Baal and his prophets (1 Ki. 18). Baal was but an agent of Satan, and God had revealed a greater victory over Satan through the winning of the heart of this Sidonian widow.

Through the miraculous replenishment of her flour and oil on a daily basis, and through the hospitality she extended to Elijah in providing board and lodging to him, the widow must have come to know that Elijah had miraculous power; and the teachings from the Law of Moses that Elijah no doubt had the opportunity to impart to the widow would have also introduced her to the Holy One of Israel.

However, the widow might still view Elijah as one of the miracle-workers, not unlike the prophets of her pagan gods; and the words of the Lord, as good as they sounded, would not be unlike any religious rules and regulations of the Ancient Near East. She obviously was extremely grateful for what Elijah had done, and was counting her blessings in the midst of an extremely severe drought in the land. But her feeling of blessedness was short-lived.

The death of her son appeared to have convinced her of who Elijah and his God were, in that it revealed to her the holiness of the Lord. However, her faith was one of fear only. While her words might sound like a complaint (v.18), they were in fact a confession of her sin.

However, the resurrection of her son totally changed her perspective of the Lord in that she had come to know the Lord as the life-giving and forgiving God, and it also validated Elijah as not just a miracle-worker, but a man of God.

While Ahab and Israel had turned from the Lord to idols, this gentile woman turned from idols to the Lord and her faith affirmed that the Lord is not just the God of the Jews, but the God of the Gentiles also (Rom. 3:29).

This conversion of the Sidonian woman, to me, was a far greater victory over Satan and his idols than the victory over Baal and his prophets on Mount Carmel, because the latter did not bring about the repentance of Ahab and Israel!

Meditative Reflection
An Undercover Agent for the Lord

“Obadiah was a devout believer in the Lord. While Jezebel was killing off the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.” (1 Ki. 18:3-4)

In the midst of all the wickedness and idol-worship in Israel under Jeroboam, Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri and now Ahab, one would assume that there would be no godly prophets left in Israel, and certainly no godly leaders present in the royal court. Such was not the case. Not only were there 100 prophets hidden by the king’s palace administrator, Obadiah, we learn later that God had in fact reserved “seven thousand in Israel — whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him” (1 Ki. 19:18). This should serve to encourage us not to lose heart “though the wrong seems oft so strong” (This is My Father’s World); God is still in control and there are many more who remain faithful to Him than we realize.

However, I find Obadiah such a good example of someone who knows his God-given role in such a wicked time like his.

How Obadiah became such a “devout believer in the Lord" was not explained in the Bible, but when he was promoted to the post of palace administrator, he was not swayed by fortune or power, nor was he prompted to defect to Judah as many of the priests and Levites did, followed by those “who set their hearts on seeking the Lord, the God of Israel” (2 Chr. 11:16). He decided to stay put, risking his life in the process, because he knew that his position was given by God for a reason, and he used his position to harbor 100 prophets during their time of persecution by Jezebel (1 Ki. 18:4).

I believe that Ahab must have known about the incident, or at least he would not be blind to the godly character of Obadiah. Why then would he continue to use Obadiah? I believe that there is always an attractiveness in each godly person that is admired and appreciated even by the vilest of rulers. In this respect, Daniel was one of the noted ones, while Obadiah was the lesser known, but just the same, they were willing to serve under evil rulers because they understood that it was God who had caused them to “come to royal position for such a time as this” (Est. 4:14).

In other words, they knew they were drafted by God to be His under-cover agent!

Meditative Reflection
Who is God?

“Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire — he is God.” (1 Ki. 18:24)

The confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel was obviously inspired by God, or else Elijah would not dare to tempt the Lord, since he knew he was 1 against 450 (18:22) — a sure bet that he would be killed, if it was not of God. However, he was confident that God would send fire to consume the bull he would slaughter on the altar. He was so confident of God’s vindication that he would let the prophets of Baal choose which bull to use, and he would ask the people to drench the offering and the wood three times over (18:34). We all know the result. However, we know that God rarely repeats such a miracle today, and so we are left with the question, “How then can we prove to the world that Jesus is God today?”

I think it is important to know that even with such a miracle, neither King Ahab nor the people returned to God as a result. In fact, Queen Jezebel was not moved a bit by her defeat (19:1-2). In other words, as much as God was vindicated through this marvelous miracle, a miracle in itself is not the key to repentance and faith in God; the inner conviction by the Holy Spirit is. This is what Jesus says of the Holy Spirit, “When He comes, He will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment” (Jn. 16:8).

It has been almost 2,000 years since the age of the Apostles. While miracles of the kind described in the Acts of Apostles appear to be few and far between, the mighty work of the Holy Spirit to convict people of sin and to vindicate the truth of the Lordship of Jesus Christ has not ceased. The spread of the gospel to the ends of the earth and the billions of people who have come to believe in Christ in the post-Apostle age bear witness to the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit.

Today, we have been charged to take the baton of the Great Commission, and as long as we are faithful to our charge in making disciples of all nations, the promise of God’s powerful presence through the work of the Holy Spirit will continue to be our vindication and proof to the world that Jesus is God! (Matt. 28:18-20)

Meditative Reflection
Two Kinds of Prayers

“Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.” (1 Ki. 18:36)

The epic battle on the Mount of Carmel was not so much a showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal than a battle between the God of Israel and Baal. While the outcome has left no doubt as to who the True God is, we have much to learn about how we should pray and how we should not pray.

The pagan prophets had to yell aloud, dance and even cut themselves with swords and spears until their blood flowed which reflected their understanding of who Baal was:

- They had to yell as if Baal could not hear or was too far away to hear them.

- They danced perhaps as a tradition of celebration to please the gods or as a means to invoke the participation of the gods.

- They slashed themselves to show their sincerity and earnestness.

Elijah summed up their assumptions well in that they believed their god was just like them — a human being who was too deep in thought to be disturbed, too busy with other things to hear their prayers, too far away to be called back immediately or too tired that he needed to be awakened. In other words, Baal was not omniscient, not omnipresent, and certainly not omnipotent.

On the other hand, the prayer of Elijah not only showed that his God was omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent, but that He is a God who is grounded in faithfulness and in history:

- He called the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel — the God who has bound Himself with the covenant with his forefathers — a God who is forever faithful.

- The Lord is the God of Israel — the God who has also bound Himself in history, the history of Israel.

- He is God’s servant — all that he did was at the command of God.

- His plea was for God’s glory — so that the people might know the Lord is God.

- His plea was also for the good of the people — their repentance and return to the Lord!

Elijah’s prayer is such an example to us in that as we pray we should not forget that our God is not a God of our imagination, but a God who has established His truthfulness and faithfulness in human history for thousands of years.

Meditative Reflection
“Elijah-a Man Just Like Us”

“Elijah was afraid and ran for his life.” (1 Ki. 19:3)

The sudden turn of events from Elijah’s huge victory at Mount Carmel to fleeing to the far south of Judah certainly has caught readers throughout the ages by surprise. At the same time, it serves to reinforce to us that we are all humans; there are really no super heroes among us, just as the Apostle James affirms, “Elijah was a man just like us” (Jas. 5:17).

Some Bibles (like the NIV) translates v. 3 as “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life”, but that is more of an interpretative translation as the original word for “was afraid” is “saw”. What then did Elijah see?

Well, Elijah had seen that his prayers were wonderfully answered — the prayer for a drought that lasted 3½ years, and the prayer for the return of the rain.

He also had seen God’s wonderful provisions through the ravens in Kerith Ravine, and the poor widow in Sidon.

He had just witnessed the incomparable demonstration of God’s power in sending fire from heaven to consume his offering. In other words, “God has spoken!”

He also had seen the people siding with him in the killing of all the prophets of Baal!

In other words, the tide had turned, God’s victory had won and his job was done — all the hiding, all the running around, all the fear for his life had come to an end, so he thought!

How could King Ahab not repent? How could Queen Jezebel not relent from her arrogance? How could the people not return to the Lord?

However, just as he thought his job was done, he heard the threatening word of Jezebel! But, pause and think about Jezebel: If she really wanted to kill Elijah, would she have given advance warning? Should she not send someone to kill him right away? The fact that she uttered her threat shows that she did not know what to do with Elijah. In fact, with what happened at Mount Carmel, she and not Elijah, was in fear! How could she not be?

Given all the miracles Elijah had witnessed in the last 3½ years, all he needed to do was to pray to God and ask what his next move should be. He should dovetail the great victory on Mount Carmel and ask the people to rise up against Jezebel!

But he was tired and exhausted physically, especially from running ahead of Ahab back to Jezreel.

He was emotionally spent too, after 3½ years of hiding. The years at Kerith Ravine were not exactly a retreat, and to live in Sidon, the power base of Jezebel, took much faith too. The huge victory at Mount Carmel was not a piece of cake; it took a toll on him emotionally, because he thought “he was the only one of the Lord’s prophets left” (18:22).

And just as he thought complete victory was won, he “saw” the unyielding spirit of Jezebel. He was tired of all the spiritual battles; he longed for rest and he ran — he quit!

It is unfortunate that in that long journey from Jezreel to Beersheba, his mind was not so much on the wonderful successes in the last 3½ years, but on his running away — he knew he shouldn’t have and so he said, “I am no better than my ancestors”!

Well, Elijah, why compare yourself to your ancestors? We are all human. If not for the grace of God, we all would have run away, just like you! But look at God: He understands! Not one word of rebuke, only words of understanding and compassion even when we fail, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you” (19:7).