This week, we shall continue the
study of the book of 1 Kings in the Old Testament.
(1) After Elijah fled from Jezreel to Beersheba upon the threat of Jezebel, he left his servant behind and walked a day’s journey into the desert: Can you recall the following things (before v. 8)?
a. What physical condition he was in
b. What he prayed to the Lord for
c. How God responded to this prayer
(2) Now he reached Horeb, the mountain of God (Exod. 3:1):
a. Did he know that it was a miracle that he was so fed and could travel 40 days and nights, strengthened by the food so provided by God?
b. How should he feel about how God was treating him?
c. If you were Elijah, what would have gone through your mind during the 40 days and nights of travel (in silence)?
d. As he arrived at the mountain of God, would he be more prepared to meet with God? Why or why not?
e. What should he say to God when God appeared (as He did to Moses)?
(3) As it turned out, the first word that God asked was, “What are you doing here?”. Of course God knew, and God’s question was not out of His ignorance, but to teach and to allow Elijah to reveal and see his own condition (see God’s question to Adam in Gen. 3:11):
a. After God’s kind treatment and his long journey in solitude, what and how should Elijah answer?
b. What was his answer?
- What was the focus of his answer?
- Was what he said all true?
- Was he the only prophet left?
- If the rest of God’s prophets were killed, why should he be any different?
- What then did his answer reveal about himself?
(4) What was God’s response to his answer?
(5) Things that happened as he hid in the cave included (i) a great and powerful wind that tore the mountain and shattered the rock, (ii) an earthquake, and (iii) a fire:
a. While God was not in any of these things, why did they happen?
b. How did Elijah react to such an earthshaking experience?
c. In essence, what was the message to him before God spoke in a small voice?
d. How should he be prepared to answer God this time?
(6) What did God say to him this time?
(7) Why did He repeat the same question that He had already asked (in v. 9)?
a. Was God satisfied with Elijah’s first answer?
b. While the questions were exactly the same, what might be the difference in the tone of God’s voice this second time? Why?
c. What answer did God expect from Elijah this time?
(8) What was Elijah’s answer?
(9) If God was not satisfied with his first answer, would He be satisfied with his answer now?
(10) What does Elijah’s reply represent and why?
(11) If you were the Lord, how would you deal with Elijah?
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’” (1 Ki. 19:9)
We often
hear people say that God speaks in a small voice, using this experience of
Elijah at Horeb as the basis. It was
absolutely true that God did speak to Elijah after the demonstration of His
mighty power through the wind, the earthquake and the fire in “a gentle whisper”
(1 Ki. 19:12). However, consider the following:
(1) God had in fact already spoken to Elijah in the most powerful voice through this shattering experience, to the point that “he pulled his cloak over his face”. The message was clear: As much as Elijah had great zeal to serve the Lord God Almighty, it was not something to brag about and it was most inappropriate for anyone to insist on complaining to the Lord God Almighty. Furthermore, with God and His might, what did Elijah have to fear? Ahab and Jezebel were mere humans.
(2) God did speak to him already twice. The first time God asked him why he was there (19:9), and the aim of God’s question was not only to allow Elijah to express himself, but to allow him to examine himself. God’s questions are never out of ignorance, but they aim to teach (see the questions He asked Adam and Eve in Gen. 3). While God was repeating the same question after the wind, earthquake and fire, the Bible emphasizes that God asked in a “gentle whisper” this time, implying it was not the case the first time. Of course, God did so in contrast to the mighty wind, earthquake and fire to show how much He loved and cared about Elijah in spite of his complaint.
Unfortunately, neither the demonstration of His power through nature nor His love through the whisper changed Elijah a bit. While God was certainly not satisfied with his answer the first time, God could not have been pleased with his exact same answer the second time. Elijah was so stubborn; we are just as stubborn sometimes. If Elijah had a humble and obedient spirit, he would have already heard God’s message through the wind, earthquake and fire. He didn’t really need to hear God’s voice, whether in a gentle whisper or not!
You might have been seeking to hear God’s answer for some time. Maybe, God has already spoken to you through some circumstance, but you are still waiting to hear His “gentle whisper”. If we do not have a sensitive and obedient enough spirit to respond to God-sent circumstances, what good will His whisper be to us?
(1) What was your answer to the last question yesterday (i.e. if you were the Lord, how would you deal with Elijah)?
(2) After such a demonstration of power through wind, earthquake and fire, followed by a gentle voice, what changes was God hoping to see in Elijah’s attitude?
(3) In vv. 15-18, we read about the response of God to Elijah’s refusal to change:
a. He was asked to anoint Hazael king over Aram: We have no idea on whether Elijah did go and anoint Hazael or not, but Elisha was the one who told Hazael that he would be king (2 Ki. 8:7-15). What would be the result of Hazael being anointed king over Aram, as far as Israel was concerned?
b. He was to anoint Jehu king over Israel:
- Who actually anointed Jehu? (2 Ki. 9:1-6)
- What then happened to Ahab and Jezebel because of Jehu? (see the prophecy in 2 Ki. 9:7-10)
c. He was to anoint Elisha to succeed him: What would Elisha do as his successor? (v. 17)
d. How did each of the above three commands serve to answer Elijah’s complaint?
e. How did God conclude His answer to Elijah in v. 18? What did God mean?
(4) The Bible does not make mention of the anointing of Hazael and Jehu by Elijah, but it does give us an account of his anointing of Elisha which was a rather unusual act:
a. What do the 12 pairs of oxen tell us about his Elisha’s family background?
b. How did Elijah “anoint” Elisha?
c. Why did he not properly anoint him and explain what God had told him?
d. Why did he say, “What have I done to you?”?
e. As Elisha understood the meaning of his calling, what did his action of burning his plowing equipment signify?
(5) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“The LORD said to him, ‘Go back the way you came… anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet'.” (1 Ki. 19:15, 16)
After God had given Elijah 40 days and nights, a lengthy period of solitude and reflection, Elijah’s focus still appeared to be on the fact that he was the most zealous and faithful to God while all of Israel had rejected Him, and that while all God’s prophets were killed, he was the only one left and was still hotly pursued by Jezebel. In other words, he was complaining of God’s inaction and he thought somehow that he did not deserve the same fate as all other prophets of God who had been killed.
It is not unfair to say that Elijah’s attitude is one of self-pity and self-righteousness.
However, God did not blame Elijah at all. The fact that He asked Elijah the same question twice (“what are you doing here”— once after his long journey of solitude and once after the demonstration of His horrific power in the wind, the earthquake and the fire), shows clearly that He was hoping to soften Elijah’s heart and attitude. Unfortunately, nothing appeared to have worked, and the repeating of his earlier answer actually signified that Elijah had had enough. While he did not ask to die anymore, the repeating of the same answer amounted to saying, “If you are not going to act now, I quit!”.
While God’s answer in vv. 15-18 showed great patience on God’s part, it was one of the saddest answers by God, because in essence God was saying, “Since you have had enough and you want to quit, then, fine, I will replace you with Elisha. No one is indispensable, and you are not really that unique—I have reserved for myself 7,000 in Israel who have been faithful to me as well!”
Maybe, I am being too sensitive to the stubbornness of Elijah, but I feel that the subsequent “calling” of Elisha by Elijah was not the friendliest—there was no excitement, not even any words of prophecy or explanation, only the less than friendly remark of “What have I done to you?” and there was no actual “anointing” that was commanded by the Lord! I doubt even if the anointing of Hazael and Jehu actually took place by the hands of Elijah, because it was actually Elisha who told Hazael that he would be king, and it was Elisha who told his own disciple to perform the actual anointing of Jehu (see 2 Ki. 8:7-15; 9:1-10). Just the same, God demonstrated His judgment of all Israel through Hazael and the sins of Ahab and Jezebel through Jehu.
Perhaps, the two most important lessons we can learn from Elijah is that God alone is God, and we are not; and no one is indispensable!
(1) At first this powerful king of Syria (i.e. Aram) was demanding voluntary tribute in the form of treasures from the royal treasury plus the wives and children of Ahab’s own choosing:
a. Why didn’t Ahab choose to fight?
b. Why didn’t he pray to his god, Baal?
c. Why did he not seek to ask the Lord, who had demonstrated His power at Mount Carmel, for help?
(2) Why was Ahab, who was so weak and submissive, emboldened to fight back when Ben-Hadad threatened to forcefully loot not only the royal treasures but that of all the rich within his land? (See Note below.)
(3) Given the wickedness of Ahab, why would God send a prophet to foretell his victory? (v. 13)
(4) Why did Ahab ask, “Who will do this?... And who will start the battle?”? What kind of a king was he?
(5) How confident was king Ben-Hadad? (v. 18)
(6) We are not told how “vast” the entire Aramean army was (20:1, 13), but 7,000 soldiers of Israel was certainly a very small army:
a. What was the result of the battle? (vv. 19-21)
b. What should king Ahab and his people learn about the Lord?
(7) Why should God still care about Ahab and the people?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
The proverb quoted by Ahab likely means that one should not boast until one has actually won. To put on one’s armor means one is about to go to war; to take the armor off means one has achieved victory.
“Meanwhile a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and announced, ‘This is what the LORD says: "Do you see this vast army? I will give it into your hand today, and then you will know that I am the LORD".’” (1 Ki. 20:13)
As we read how Elijah fled from Jezreel in complete defeat, it appeared that however great the victory in Mount Carmel over Baal and the prophets of Baal was, it was all for naught. King Ahab had not changed, and the people of Israel would never change. The worship of Yahweh was permanently replaced by the worship of Baal and Asherah. If there were any prophets left, they had to continue to live in hiding.
It was true that King Ahab had not changed, because upon the threat of Ben-Hadad of Aram, he quietly submitted. He did not pray to the Lord for help. However, the religious scene in the post-Carmel era seemed to have great changes:
- For one, while King Ahab did not enquire of the Lord, he did not seek help from Baal either. Apart from the fact most, if not all the prophets of Baal were killed, he knew for sure Baal was not a god, or at least was no match for the Lord.
- None of his princes or advisers told him to seek help from any god or even from Jezebel’s own father — the Sidonian king — it was a sign that even Jezebel was losing her power.
- More importantly, it appeared the school of prophets were now serving in the open, not only with one of them coming freely to approach the king (20:13, 22), but with others congregating to serve the Lord (20:35).
During this battle with Ben-Hadad, we have no idea where Elijah was. Maybe he was still licking his wounds in a secluded place, but he should find solace in knowing that his courage and faithfulness which cumulated to God’s great victory in Mount Carmel was not all lost. God had used him greatly to bring about a new spiritual climate in the land. Given time, we can expect to see him come out of his cocoon to resume his service to the Lord.
(1) What do you think this first victory meant to the worship of Yahweh in Israel and the status of God’s prophets? Do you think the prophets of God had to hide again?
(2) Based on the words of the advisers to the king of Aram, consider the following:
a. Did they attribute their defeat to the strength of Israel’s army or God? Why?
b. What made them think that the Lord was only a territorial god — that of the hills?
c. How do non-Christians view our God today, if they are not atheists?
d. Why?
(3) Why did the advisers tell the king to replace their “kings” with other officers? (see v. 15)
(4) Why does the Bible describe Israel’s army as “two small flocks of goats"? How many men could they muster? (v. 15)
(5) While we are still not told how large the Aramean army was, how great a casualty did the Israelite army inflict upon the Aramean? (vv. 29-30)
(6) How could it happen and why? (v. 28)
(7) As ungodly as Israel had been, how would you describe them as they were willing to listen to the prophet and fought with 7,000 men against more than 127,000 Aramean soldiers?
(8) The kings of Israel were known to be “merciful” (i.e. by comparison to the kings of the heathen nations):
a. Why was it the case?
b. Was it necessarily a good thing or not?
c. Why?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Meanwhile, the officials of the king of Aram advised him, ‘Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they'.” (1 Ki. 20:23)
We may laugh at the Aramean advisers who thought the Lord was nothing more than a god of the mountains, but at least they got something right. They recognized that there was no way that Israel, with a mere 7,000 soldiers, could defeat their vast army which we have come to know was composed of at least 127,000 (20:29-30). As a result, they did not have to believe, they knew that Israel had supernatural help. However, they had no idea that the God of Israel was not a territorial god, and in fact, there is no other God than Yahweh, the omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent God of Creation.
In a way, these Aramean advisers were smarter than many modern men and women who are inclined not to believe in God’s existence. While these Aramean advisers saw in their defeat by the Israelites the hand of God, many modern men and women refuse to believe in the supernatural even when they witness healing of terminal disease because of prayers, or the mighty power of God manifested through natural disasters.
On the other hand, we Christians are really no better than the Aramean advisers in that we continue to put God in a box as if He might be powerful in one aspect, but not in another. I have come across believers who totally trust in God to provide financially for them even in the most unlikely situation, yet refuse to believe that God would reconcile their marriage. There are believers who firmly believe that God will vindicate them in their workplace, but flatly refuse to believe that God will intervene in their church’s affairs. And I find that many godly Christians believe in God in virtually all areas of life, except that they do not believe that God can turn the tide of society in terms of crime, drugs and immorality, especially that of homosexual practices.
A.W.
Tozer is absolutely right when he says,
“I am positively sure after many years of observation and prayer that the basis of all of our trouble today, in religious circles, is that our God is too small.” (from his sermon, Old Path—Our God is Too Small)
(1) If you were the companion of the prophet in question, would you listen to him and strike him with a weapon?
(2) What is meant by “By the word of the Lord”? (v. 35)
(3) What does this presumably “unnecessary” incident serve to teach us?
(4) Why did the prophet have to wound himself to make the point to Ahab? Was it not enough for him to just tell the king of his error?
a. What does it say about being a servant of the Lord?
b. What does it say about the seriousness of Ahab’s mistake?
(5) Ahab certainly acted out of being “merciful”:
a. Why did God call Ben-Hadad “a person devoted to destruction? (Lev. 27:29)
b. What was the core of Ahab’s mistake?
(6) Why did Ahab react with being sullen and angry?
(7) How should he have responded to the revelation of his sin?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Look, we have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. Let us go to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.” (1 Ki. 20:31)
It was quite refreshing to read that as wicked as the kings of Israel had been, they were actually known for being “merciful”. Obviously, they were only merciful in comparison to the heathen kings around them. It shows on the one hand, the savageness of the kings of heathen nations at the time, and on the other hand, the impact of the Law of Moses had on Israel as a whole. Although the people and kings of Israel, for all intents and purposes, had departed from the Lord and His Law, the little decency left in them because of their spiritual heritage did distinguish them from the rest of the world, especially in terms of mercy. Ahab appeared to be no different. He treated the kings of the Aramean with mercy, except that he totally overlooked that he was not really the king of Israel—God was. He also forgot that from start to finish, it was not his battle, but it was God’s. Therefore, it was neither for him to kill nor for him to spare, unless God so commanded. Ben-Hadad was not his enemy, he was God’s enemy.
That is actually quite a picture of the post-Christian western world. While Europe and the West as a whole have departed from orthodox Christianity, and have taken the path of immorality and even an anti-Christian attitude, their Christian heritage has meant that they are known for their concern for human rights, including equality.
However, in championing human rights and equality, they err in thinking that by sheer human effort, we can usher the world into a better place, ignoring that the disregard against God and His Law continues to plunge the world into hatred, conflict and self-destruction, forgetting that the “Ben-Hadads” are our real enemies — the forces that seek to rid Jesus Christ from all public arenas and to tolerate all kinds of evil and perversion in the name of acceptance.
We forget that this is God’s world, not ours. He is Lord, and we are not!
(1) Should Ahab know that no Israelite could sell his ancestral land according to the Law of Moses? (See Lev. 25:23-28; Num. 36:7)
(2) Why then would he even ask Naboth to sell him his ancestral land?
(3) What did Ahab want to buy the land for?
(4) Why did he feel so sullen and angry?
a. Was it because he could not realize his dream of cultivating a vegetable garden?
b. ...because he felt humiliated as a king?
(5) Based on the conversation between Ahab and Jezebel, consider the following:
a. What kind of a husband and king was Ahab?
b. What kind of a wife and queen was Jezebel?
(6) In her scheme to take over Naboth’s land (vv. 8-10), how many of the Ten Commandments did Jezebel break blatantly? (see Exod. 20:3-17)
(7) What do you think was the most evil or heinous part of her plot? Why?
(8) Why didn’t anyone, including Ahab, stop this crime?
(9) In your opinion, who should be held responsible for this crime?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Jezebel his wife said, ‘Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite'.” (1 Ki. 21:7)
In many ways, Ahab could not blame his wife for his failures, and especially his sins.
As an Israelite he should know very well the Law of Moses and that it prohibited the sale of ancestral land by any Israelite (Lev. 25:23-28; Num. 36:7). Therefore, for him to even ask Naboth and to entice him with lucrative offers in itself was an evil, not to mention the building of a temple for Baal in his capital, hence plunging the entire nation into idolatry.
However, throughout his life, we still see glimpses of the remnant of his spiritual heritage. The fact that he clung to Obadiah, a known devout believer in the Lord, as his confidant; the fact that he did not use force to take the land of Naboth which a godless king would certainly do; and later on, upon the rebuke of Elijah, he humbled himself before the Lord (21:27-29) — all these, perhaps, showed that he was not beyond repentance, except that his biggest mistake was the marrying of Jezebel, an idolater who had no fear of the Lord at all! It was Jezebel who pushed him further into the bottomless pit of wickedness.
What Jezebel did to Naboth was outrageously evil. She blatantly broke most of the Ten Commandments:
(1) She misused the name of the Lord by declaring a fast (breaking the 3rd Commandment);
(2) She used false witnesses against Naboth (breaking the 9th Commandment);
(3) She essentially committed murder (breaking the 6th Commandment); and
(4) Of course, she stole and she coveted her neighbor’s property (breaking also the 8th and 10th Commandments).
Of course, way before this incident, she broke the first set of Commandments already by importing Baal and Asherah worship into Israel, and obviously gladly condoning the continued worship of the golden calves in Dan and Bethel, reducing God into the images of an animal!
This, I believe, is the reason why the Bible adds the marrying of Jezebel to the list of Ahab’s sins:
“Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.” (1 Ki. 16:30-33, italics mine)
(1) Can you sense how Jezebel treated her murder of Naboth?
(2) How would you describe this woman?
(3) How did Ahab react to the news of the death of Naboth?
(4) How would you describe this man?
(5) As God had been using other prophets in the meantime, why do you think God used Elijah again in this particular incident?
(6) What crime did the Lord accuse Ahab of? (v. 19) Was it not his wife who murdered Naboth?
(7) What was the state of mind of Ahab when Elijah “found” him?
(8) What is meant by the accusation that he had “sold” himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord?
(9) What would be his punishment? (21:21, 22, 24)
(10) What would be the punishment for Jezebel? (v. 23) Where would her punishment take place and why? (Note: Most Hebrew manuscripts have “by the wall of the plot of ground at Jezreel”.)
(11) How does the Bible explain why the punishments were so severe? (vv. 25-26)
(12) Given such a commentary on Ahab’s sins, why would God delay bringing upon him the prophesied disaster?
(13) What have you learned about the character of our God? Are you amazed by this?
(14) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.” (1 Ki. 21:29)
We have read about the how wicked a king Ahab was. He was one of the rare kings whose sins were mentioned both at the beginning and toward the end of his reign. The beginning commentary of his reign has already pointed out that he “did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel before him” (1 Ki. 16:33); and the ending commentary used an even stronger language in that “there was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the Lord drove out before Israel” (1 Ki. 21:25-26).
As we read about the judgment pronounced by the Lord through Elijah, we could only echo with “Amen”, just like the great multitude in heaven shouting on the Last Days, “for true and just are His judgments” (Rev. 19:2).
However, almost in the same breath, we heard the Lord say to Elijah, “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.” (1 Ki. 21:29).
Honestly, I found it troubling at first: How could God forgive such a wicked king who had not only committed murder but “behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols”? Just because he tore his clothes and put on a sackcloth and fasted, you would forgive him?
I thought of the wife and children of Naboth; I thought of the many slain prophets who died at the hand of Jezebel; and I thought of how the name of God was put to shame by his blatant idol worship.
Then, I remember these words of Solomon which are echoed throughout the Scriptures, “The hearts of men…are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts…” (Eccl. 9:3). Indeed, we are all sinners, and given the right circumstances, we all could sell our souls to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, if not for the grace of God. However, once we are willing to repent, genuinely repent, the Lord is gracious and is quick to forgive, even the most heinous crime! “How unsearchable (are) His judgments and His paths beyond tracing out” (Rom. 11:33).