1 Kings 14 – 18
Verse 14:9 is a reoccurring story:
but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and made for yourself other gods and metal images, provoking me to anger, and have cast me behind your back,
It seems the kings just keep compounding what the other ones did. You find Jeroboam, Omri and Ahab all have something like this written about them. The other “evil” kings just kept up the family tradition. These three not only continued the problems through their generation, but got worse. Although there are not real specifics about what each did to compound the others actions, the do expand on Jeroboam’s and Rehoboam’s reign to give a limited base line to the “standard” the other kings lived down to.
Nested in the “evil” rulers was Asa who reigned in Judah. Verse 15:12 has him straightening up the mess Rehoboam and Abijam had made:
He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
One has to wonder what mess Asa cleaned up. Through this he reigned for 41 years an obviously did what was right in the Lord’s eyes. You don’t get much detail on his reign, but it’s used as a reference to the kings of Israel and they kept turning over.
Chapter 17 opens with Elijah predicting a drought. Through this he travels and eventually is helped by a widow. In verse 17:14 a miracle happens:
For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.’”
Interesting this happens again in a story from 2 Kings 4 with another widow who has a never ending jar of olive oil. This chapter ends with Elijah raising her son who had “no breath left in him.” Along with Jesus we see that Elijah, Elisha, Peter and Paul raised the dead during their lives. Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:8 that we should go do this, so I ask when will more be added to these names? Or because of “science” these miracles are no longer wonders, but rather common occurrences? I often wonder if God instructed them with basic CPR or if they were raised through God’s power?
Chapter 18 tells one of the “cooler” stories in the Bible. Ahab and his prophets of Baal are confronted by Elijah and challenged. There were 450 prophets verses Elijah in a dual with their god’s. Both set up an altar with a bull. The prophets of Baal went first and nothing happened. Elijah then set up his offering and doused it with water. Verse 18:38 shows God’s response:
Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
God showed up in a big way! When the false god’s of Baal had nothing, God showed not only He was real, but he could outdo anything we would consider impossible.
How do you expect God to come? Do you need 450 preachers to pray over you for a possible healing or do you just expect God to show himself big time? Often I wonder if we live expecting big things or just live like these stories are one time deals for the Bible? How about you, do you expect prayers to burn up your entire drenched offering or are you just praying to pray? Expect Elijah’s results!!