1Ki 22:1

1Ki 22: “It was a time of compromise. The nations of the north and south had an interlude of neither peace nor war, when each side developed its military potential (v 1). At the end of three years, the Syrian war was resumed. (1) Jehoshaphat visits Ahab: vv 2-4. (2) He allies himself with Ahab on conditions: v 5. (3) False prophets proclaim smooth things: v 6. (4) Jehoshaphat demands a prophet of Yahweh: v 7. (5) Micaiah’s sarcastic prophecy: vv 8-23. (6) A challenge to Micaiah: vv 24,25. (7) Micaiah is imprisoned: vv 26-28. (8) The kings march to war: vv 29,30. (9) Death of Ahab: vv 31-36. (10) Elijah’s prophecies fulfilled: vv 37,38. (11) Summary of Ahab’s reign: vv 39,40. (12) Summary of Jehoshaphat’s reign: vv 41-50. (13) Summary of Ahaziah’s reign: vv 51-53” (GEM).

1Ki 22:4

I AM AS YOU ARE: Jehoshaphat’s son had married Ahab’s daughter (2Ki 8:18).

1Ki 22:5

FIRST SEEK THE COUNSEL OF THE LORD: Why did not Jehoshaphat inquire for himself?

1Ki 22:8

“An ill-omened alliance had been struck up between Ahab of Israel and Jehoshaphat of Judah. The latter, who would have been much better in Jerusalem, had come down to Samaria to join in an assault on the kingdom of Damascus; but, like a great many other people, Jehoshaphat first made up his mind without asking God, and then thought that it might be well to get some kind of varnish of a religious sanction for his decision. So he proposes to Ahab to inquire of the Lord about this matter. One would have thought that that should have been done before, and not after, the determination was made. Ahab does not at all see the necessity for such a thing, but, to please his scrupulous ally, he sends for his priests. They came, four hundred of them, and of course they all played the tune that Ahab called for. It is not difficult to get prophets to pat a king on the back, and tell him, ‘Do what you like.’

“But Jehoshaphat was not satisfied yet. Perhaps he thought that Ahab’s clergy were not exactly God’s prophets, but at all events he wanted an independent opinion; and so he asks if there is not in all Samaria a man that can be trusted to speak out. He gets for answer the name of this ‘Micaiah the son of Imlah.’ Ahab had had experience of him, and knew his man; and the very name leads him to an explosion of passion, which, like other explosions, lays bare some very ugly depths. ‘I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.’

“That is a curious mood, is it not? that a man should know another to be a messenger of God, and therefore know that his words are true, and that if he asked his counsel he would be forbidden to do the thing that he is dead set on doing, and would be warned that to do it was destruction; and that still he should not ask the counsel, nor ever dream of dropping the purpose, but should burst out in a passion of puerile rage against the counsellor, and will have none of his reproofs. Very curious! But there are a great many of us that have something of the same mood in us, though we do not speak it out as plainly as Ahab did. It lurks more or less in us all, and it largely determines the attitude that some of us take to Christianity and to Christ” (MacL).

1Ki 22:24

ZEDEKIAH… WENT UP AND SLAPPED MICAIAH IN THE FACE: ‘And we will see if MY hand withers… like Jeroboam’s!’ (1Ki 13). But it did not!

1Ki 22:34

AT RANDOM: Heb “tom”, lit complete, perfect. Not as translation here: instead, he (Naaman? see 2Ki 5:1n) took “perfect” aim, and slew Ahab on purpose.

1Ki 22:43

THE HIGH PLACES, HOWEVER, WERE NOT REMOVED: Specific mention is made, several times, of the high places not being taken away: by Asa (1Ki 15:14); Jehoshaphat (1Ki 22:43); Jehoash (2Ki 12:3); Amaziah (2Ki 14:4); Azariah/Uzziah (2Ki 15:4); and Jotham (2Ki 15:35) — demonstrating the importance of this action in God’s sight. These kings did not make a full return to God. The high places (which had been used for idol worship) might have been out of use for the time being, but it seems they were not totally destroyed until the time of Hezekiah (2Ki 18:4; 2Ch 32:12); and even then their prohibition did not last beyond his reign (2Ch 33:3).

Do we have other shrines at which we worship? We must be sure that we remove the “high places” from our lives completely, even if they are currently “out of use”.

1Ki 22:46

MALE SHRINE PROSTITUTES: “Sodomites” (AV). ” ‘Qadhesh’ denotes properly a male temple prostitute, one of the class attached to certain sanctuaries of heathen deities, and ‘consecrated’ [the Heb rt word means lit, and sarcastically, ‘holy’!] to the impure rites of their worship. Such gross and degrading practices in Yahweh’s land could only be construed as a flagrant outrage; and any association of these with His pure worship was abhorrent (Deu 23:17,18): The presence of Sodomites is noted as a mark of degeneracy in Rehoboam’s time (1Ki 14:24). Asa endeavored to get rid of them (1Ki 15:12), and Jehoshaphat routed them out (1Ki 22:46). Subsequent corruptions opened the way for their return, and Josiah had to break down their houses which were actually “in the house of the Lord” (2Ki 23:7). The feminine ‘qedheshah’ is translated ‘prostitute’ in Gen 38:21,22; Hos 4:14; Deu 23:17 (the KJV mg has ‘sodomitess’; the RV mg simply transliterates). The English word is, of course, derived from Sodom, the inhabitants of which were in evil repute for unnatural vice” (ISBE).

1Ki 22:48

TRADING SHIPS: As mg, “ships of Tarshish”: See Lesson, Tarshish.

OPHIR: See Lesson, Ophir.

1Ki 17:1

1Ki 17: “Without introduction, harsh and uncompromisingly, Elijah appears in the sacred record. His parentage is not known; he leaves no posterity. He suddenly appears and is as suddenly gone, like a slave doing his master’s bidding — his constant expression is that he stands before Yahweh Elohim of Israel (1Ki 17:1; 18:15, etc). Elijah stood opposed to Ahab and his apostate wife Jezebel, daughter of the Phoenician king Ethbaal. Ahab’s worldly marriage led to his compromise with the Truth, and brought disaster to his people. But the prophet discovered a widow woman in that same area, whose son was stricken with a fatal disease. To their house Elijah is sent to recover the child of his illness. In a parable, the prophet finds the house of the widow (parabolically the ecclesia), and brings life to those who dwell therein (the believers). Thus in 1Ki 17 is represented the sudden first advent of the Lord, ministering to the house of those sick with sin’s flesh, and brings healing to those in need. Then the prophet disappears for a period (1Ki 18:1), until he returns with the message of judgment against the evil house of Ahab — typical of the imminent return of the Lord Jesus, when judgment begins at the house of God. In Judah, Jehoshaphat reigns, and though he originally opposed Ahab (2Ch 17:1), he later married his son to Ahab’s daughter (2Ch 18:1). It was a union of disaster, for though amity thus reigned between the north and south, Ahab’s wickedness increased, and the unity proved disastrous for Judah. The circumstances are being reflected in our times (GEM).

ELIJAH: Elijah was a prophet of the LORD; a man sent from God. He appeared out of Gilead to Ahab, the apostate king of Israel, who ruled the ten rebellious tribes that worshipped at Bethel and Dan. Evils covered the Land like a flood. For three and a half years Elijah prayed for no rain; the LORD answered with drought and famine. The Land literally burned during that judgment, for its natural life and livelihood depends on the water from heaven.

Elijah hated Queen Jezebel’s promotion of Astarte, the goddess named for the planet Venus. He hated the whoredom of the people who worshipped the goddess of “love” and “queen of heaven” through the religious cult that included sodomy and prostitution. Elijah hated the robbery and oppression condoned by King Ahab. He hated the people’s disobedience to the Law given to Israel at Sinai. Ahab also worshiped the calves, the pagan imagery of the worship of the “host of heaven,” which dates from even before the time of the exodus from Egypt.

Elijah was one individual among 7,000 who remained faithful to God during Israel’s apostasy of the ten tribes. He was very zealous for the one true God, who created the heavens and the earth. A righteous man, Elijah was also a passionate man. Simple, child-like, trusting; at times not fully understanding why, he nevertheless did the bidding of his God. That’s all. Because he was hot and not cold to do His work, God will send him [or someone very like him!] to Israel again, before Christ returns to rule from Zion’s hill.

The eight miracles of Elijah [Elijah did 16: 2Ki 2:9]: (1) shut up heaven (here; Jam 5:17; Luk 4:25); (2) multiplied widow’s meal (vv 14-16); (3) raised widow’s son (vv 17-23); (4) fire from heaven (1Ki 18:37,38); (5) rain from heaven (1Ki 18:41-45); (6) fire again (2Ki 1:10); (7) fire again (2Ki 1:12); and (8) divided waters of Jordan (2Ki 2:8).

Political situation in Ahab’s day: Ahab has uncertain support from his subjects. A 4-year civil war ending only 8 years earlier (1Ki 16:21-23,29). Dominance of Syria in north: Ben-Hadad I occupied parts of Dan, Naphtali, and Gad in north (1Ki 15:20-22). Antagonism of a strong Judah to south (2Ch 14:6-8; 16:1-6; 17:1,2).

ELIJAH… SAID TO AHAB: This is obviously not their first encounter.

THERE WILL BE NEITHER DEW NOR RAIN…: As Elijah had prayed for: Jam 5:16,17: “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.”

WHOM I SERVE: “Before whom I stand” (AV). “Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway” (Pro 8:34). So “stand” implies to pray also.

1Ki 17:3

Reason: the great persecution of 1Ki 18:4.

1Ki 17:4

I HAVE ORDERED THE RAVENS TO FEED YOU THERE: Ravens were unclean, symbolizing the Gentiles. This prepares Elijah for acceptance of a Gentile woman (v 9). Cp Act 10: Peter and vision of animals.

1Ki 17:9

ZAREPHATH: Heb “a place of refining”. Between Tyre and Zidon on the Mediterranean coast; within scope of Gentile dominions. Elijah was sent to the very heart of “Jezebel” country (1Ki 16:31), while Ahab was combing Israel for him!

I HAVE COMMANDED A WIDOW IN THAT PLACE TO SUPPLY YOU WITH FOOD: “Superficially read, we should conclude from this that a message had been sent to the widow woman on the subject of supporting Elijah. It transpires, however, that nothing of the sort had taken place. When Elijah went to Zarephath, he found the woman in the depth of want from the famine, and arranging for a last meal with her son (1Ki 17:12). How comes it then that Jehovah (Yahweh) should say, ‘I have commanded a widow woman to sustain thee,’ when in the ordinary sense He had not done so? Because of another sense, more powerful than the ordinary sense. The ordinary sense is to give orders by word of mouth… But with God there is another mode, which is as high above the human mode as heaven is high above the earth. Speaking of the creation, David says, ‘He spake and it was done: He commanded, and it stood fast.’ If we ask, how? we are informed, ‘By His Spirit.’ What He wills, He accomplishes by His Spirit. For this reason, the fiat of His will executing itself by the Spirit is described as His word — His command. What God wills or appoints, He can say, ‘I have commanded.’ He had arranged that this widow of Zarephath should sustain Elijah. Therefore, in divine language, He commanded her” (WP 226,227).

1Ki 17:10

Elijah (sig “the word of God”) comes to a Gentile woman, who is making a final effort to extend a feeble life.

1Ki 17:11

The “word of God” (ie Elijah) makes a demand on her very life.

1Ki 17:12

A HANDFUL OF FLOUR IN A JAR: Earthen jar — cp pitchers of Gideon (Jdg 7:16). “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2Co 4:7).

1Ki 17:13

“Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops” (Pro 3:9).

1Ki 17:14

“While Baal was overcome by death [the ‘god’ Mott] and unable to function like a king, Israel’s God demonstrated his sovereignty and superiority to death by providing food for a widow and restoring life to her son. And he did it all in Sidonian territory, Baal’s backyard, as it were. The episode demonstrates that Israel’s God, not Baal, is the true king who provides food and controls life and death” (NET notes).

God will sustain our meager resources until the Kingdom comes.

1Ki 17:15

Yet the barrel and the jar were never full, only enough to sustain life for a day or two at a time. Cp Gentile ecclesias, fed during times of Jewish “famine”.

1Ki 17:16

How much the Gentile widow received for so little output (v 12)!

1Ki 17:18

WHAT DO YOU HAVE AGAINST ME…?: For a moment, she forgets that her son would have died long ago if not for Elijah (v 12).

MY SIN: Some great secret sin, real or imagined, buried in her past?

1Ki 17:21

HE STRETCHED HIMSELF OUT ON THE BOY: As though to give the child his own breath and warmth. Like the Holy Spirit which hovered over the waters in the beginning, to bring forth new life (Gen 1:2; cp Deu 32:11).

1Ki 17:23

// Resurrection of son of widow of Nain: cp Luk 7:12.

1Ki 18:1

IN THE THIRD YEAR: After 3 1/2 years (cp Luk 4:25; Jam 5:17). Cp time periods in Dan 12:7; Rev 10:7; 11:7-15.

1Ki 18:7

IS IT REALLY YOU, MY LORD ELIJAH?: Reverence and fear. Cp Ahab’s greeting to Elijah (v 17).

1Ki 18:10

THERE IS NOT A NATION OR KINGDOM WHERE MY MASTER HAS NOT SENT SOMEONE TO LOOK FOR YOU: No doubt at the instigation of Jezebel. Cp the implacable Saul (with Gentile aid — Doeg) seeking the fugitive David.

1Ki 18:12

I DON’T KNOW WHERE THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD MAY CARRY YOU: Obadiah knew that God’s Spirit had hidden Elijah during the time of drought.

1Ki 18:19

PROPHETS OF BAAL: Baal was one of the most popular Canaanitish and Phoenician gods. He was considered the god of storms, thunders and weather in general [one text reads: ‘Yea, also Baal will make fertile with His rain, with water He will indeed make fertile harrowed land; and He will put His voice in the clouds, He will flash His lightning to the earth…’]. According to the cultic texts, Baal is in a continual struggle to maintain order against the god of chaos (Yam/Nahar), and to maintain life against the god of death and sterility (Mott). In fact, the cultic texts speak of a time during the cycle when Mott gained the ascendancy, Baal was killed and imprisoned in the underworld.

For the land of Israel to be under drought for three years because of the command of the God of Israel meant that Yahweh was more powerful than Baal! No rain came, no food was available… the people were abandoned by their ‘god’.

FOUR HUNDRED PROPHETS OF ASHERAH: The fact that the prophets of Asherah play no part in the subsequent story in 1KI 18 suggests that they did not come (cp poss 1Ki 22:6). See Lesson, Asherah.

1Ki 18:24

THE GOD WHO ANSWERS BY FIRE: Baal was the sun-god, the god of fire and storm, and needed only to work in his own “element”!

1Ki 18:26

NOON: When Baal the sun-god should have been most powerful.

1Ki 18:27

BUSY: Seeking one more consort, in his role as the god of fertility!

1Ki 18:29

NO RESPONSE, NO ONE ANSWERED, NO ONE PAID ATTENTION: Heb “And there was no voice… because there was no one to answer… because there was no one there!”

1Ki 18:30

COME HERE TO ME: He had nothing to hide! Nothing “up his sleeve”!

1Ki 18:33

HE ARRANGED THE WOOD: “He put the wood in order” (AV). Setting “in order” is a significant thing in the service of God: Gen 22:9; Exo 26:17; 39:37; 40:4,23; Lev 1:7,8,12; 6:12; 24:8; 1Ki 18:33; 2Ki 20:1; 2Ch 13:11; 29:35; Eze 41:6; Acts 18:23; 1Co 11:34; 14:40; Tit 1:5.

1Ki 18:37

TURNING THEIR HEARTS BACK AGAIN: Cp Mal 4:6: “He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

1Ki 18:38

The fire came from heaven, not from under the altar.

1Ki 18:39

THE LORD — HE IS GOD!: Would sound like “Elijah”: “Yahweh…el…yah…el”, etc.

1Ki 18:40

SEIZE THE PROPHETS OF BAAL. DON’T LET ANYONE GET AWAY!: “When the prophet Elijah had received the answer to his prayer, and the fire from heaven had consumed the sacrifice in the presence of all the people, he called upon the assembled Israelites to take the priests of Baal, and sternly cried, ‘Let not one of them escape.’ He took them all down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. So must it be with our sins — they are all doomed, not one must be preserved. Our darling sin must die. Spare it not for its much crying. Strike, though it be as dear as an Isaac. Strike, for God struck at sin when it was laid upon His own Son. With stern unflinching purpose must you condemn to death that sin which was once the idol of your heart. Do you ask how you are to accomplish this? Jesus will be your power. You have grace to overcome sin given you in the covenant of grace; you have strength to win the victory in the crusade against inward lusts, because Christ Jesus has promised to be with you even unto the end. If you would triumph over darkness, set yourself in the presence of the Sun of Righteousness. There is no place so well adapted for the discovery of sin, and recovery from its power and guilt, as the immediate presence of God” (CHS).

1Ki 18:41

In autumn, the renewal of the west wind brings heavy rain (Baly 53).

1Ki 18:43

HIS SERVANT: By tradition, the son of the widow of Zarephath.

SEVEN TIMES ELIJAH SAID, ‘GO BACK’: “Success is certain when the Lord has promised it. Although you may have pleaded month after month without evidence of answer, it is not possible that the Lord should be deaf when His people are earnest in a matter which concerns His glory. The prophet on the top of Carmel continued to wrestle with God, and never for a moment gave way to a fear that he should be non-suited in Jehovah’s courts. Six times the servant returned, but on each occasion no word was spoken but ‘Go again.’ We must not dream of unbelief, but hold to our faith even to seventy times seven. Faith sends expectant hope to look from Carmel’s brow, and if nothing is beheld, she sends again and again. So far from being crushed by repeated disappointment, faith is animated to plead more fervently with her God. She is humbled, but not abashed: her groans are deeper, and her sighings more vehement, but she never relaxes her hold or stays her hand. It would be more agreeable to flesh and blood to have a speedy answer, but believing souls have learned to be submissive, and to find it good to wait for as well as upon the Lord. Delayed answers often set the heart searching itself, and so lead to contrition and spiritual reformation: deadly blows are thus struck at our corruption, and the chambers of imagery are cleansed. The great danger is lest men should faint, and miss the blessing… At last the little cloud was seen, the sure forerunner of torrents of rain, and even so with us, the token for good shall surely be given. Elijah was a man of like passions with us [Jam 5:17]: his power with God did not lie in his own merits. If his believing prayer availed so much, why not ours?” (CHS).

1Ki 18:44

A MAN’S HAND: The Heb word here sig a man’s hand with the palm downward and open: sig God pouring out His blessings upon mankind.

BEFORE THE RAIN STOPS YOU: A great danger of flood in the valley of Jezreel, below Carmel.

1Ki 18:45

This is the final embarrassment for Baal [the god of storm and rain!] and his worshipers. Who brings the rains back? Do they come back because Baal has escaped from the underworld, and finally has things under control? If the rains had come back without a demonstration of WHY they had come back, then the prophets of Baal could have passed off the three years as part of the natural cycle — in which Baal[the god of rain] is periodically captured and controlled by Mott [the god of death]. But no… the prophets of Baal are given their opportunity to bring back the rain… and fail!

Elijah on the other hand prays to the God of Israel, and not only does fire come from heaven (an event often associated with Baal, the thunderer), but rain comes back! So in a public way the people of Israel were shown that the one who REALLY controlled the weather was Yahweh, rather than Baal, and the people were given something: a solid foundation of evidence upon which to base their faith.

1Ki 18:46

HE RAN: “They will run and not grow weary” (Isa 40:31). Elijah ran, not as a servant, but to show God’s special power.

1Ki 19:1

1Ki 19: “The spirit of Jezebel is promoted against the truth of Yahweh, as she endeavours to guide the nation into the worship of Baal. The priests of Baal had been destroyed, but not those of Astarte. These were under the queen’s special protection. But she saw, in the action of the prophet Elijah, a declaration of war and took the initiative immediately. So [1] Jezebel threatens to destroy Elijah: vv 1,2. [2] Elijah flees to Beersheba: v 3. There must have been considerable reaction after the nervous tension of the contest on Carmel. Elijah possibly expected it to result in a spiritual revival in Israel. Instead it merely aroused Jezebel’s anger, so that she threatened him, with the support of her weak and vacillating husband. [3] Elijah in the wilderness: vv 4-8. A mood of complete and utter depression fell upon him, so that he could not see any prospect of success in his work, and preferred death. [4] Elijah at Horeb: vv 9-18. It was here, at the rock of judgment, that the prophet was shown the true nature of his work. Though he imagined his voice was the only voice expressing the truth, there were another 7,000 supporters. Many times we may feel isolated in our conflict against apathy, indifference and error. Yahweh always preserves a remnant of faith, and provides a measure of assistance to those upholding His wisdom. [5] The call of Elisha: vv 19-21. The prophet found a successor to his work, and perhaps in that, after his outburst of v 10, he found a gentle rebuke in this young man. Both men prefigure the Messiah, who would be both a man of war and a man of peace, completing the attack against the evil spirit of Jezebel” (GEM).

See article, Elijah on Horeb (1Ki 19).

James calls Elijah “a man of like nature with ourselves” (Jam 5:17, RSV), and nowhere is this more evident than in Elijah’s confrontation with God on Mount Horeb (1Ki 19). This austere prophet had just been instrumental in a great victory for the honor of the Lord over Baal, on mount Carmel (1Ki 18). But from the heights of spiritual exaltation Elijah was plunged into the depths of despair when he realized that his great accomplishments had not softened the heart of Ahab, and had served only to intensify Jezebel’s hatred for himself. Fleeing for his life, and yet in his despondency losing all desire to live, he came into the wilderness, to Horeb (1Ki 19:8). In a pathetic prayer Elijah reveals that he has given up on Israel, and that he sees himself as the only true believer remaining (1Ki 19:10). We have all heard such laments as this, generally for much less reason than Elijah’s. In the circumstances we may understand his pessimism, but God saw fit to dispel the mistaken notions that led to his negative state of mind. A contemplation of this incident might also cure the state of mind of any brother who, more or less self-righteously, isolates himself from ‘less worthy’ brethren.

God called Elijah forth from his cave, and paraded before him a tremendous panorama of His power — strong winds, earthquake, and fire. But the Lord was not in these; Elijah saw that something was missing. At last came a still small voice, and Elijah, bracing himself, came out of the cave where he had fled for fear at the previous manifestations. The soft voice had a soothing effect; now at last the frightened prophet felt, when he heard it, the presence of God. Thus was the message driven home to him: God is best known, not in works of judgment, but in the still small voice which calls His people, when properly prepared by adversity, to repentance.

And Elijah was to be that voice! “Go, return on thy way” (v 15). Like Samuel before him, Elijah was carefully taught that wickedness is primarily an affront against God, not against any individual (1Sa 8:7); and consequently no man (no matter how “righteous”) has any prerogative to turn his back on his brethren. Elijah must minister to the remnant that remains in Israel; in the midst of gross apostasy he is not to flee in fear, but rather to stand firm for God and provide a rallying point for the sheep of Israel.

“Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him” (v 18).

1Ki 19:4

// Jer 20:9; Isa 6:5; Jon 4:3.

1Ki 19:8

FORTY DAYS: Ref Moses (Exo 24:18; 34:28; Deu 9:9,18); Jesus (Mat 4:2; Mar 1:13; Luk 4:2).

HOREB: Sinai (Exo 3:1; 19:18; Mal 4:4,5).

1Ki 19:9

A CAVE: The same cave Moses occupied when he was shown the glory of God: Exo 33:21-23?

“When men stand in the mouths of their caves and declare that they alone are fighting the battle of right, and distress the hearts and weaken the hands of their fellow-warriors by their self-centered declarations based upon ignorance of the true state of affairs, not seeing the faithful attitude of the 7,000, then surely is needed the earthquake, the fire, and the still small voice to purge them of their discouraging fantasies” (GbS 204).

A cave is no place for a prophet. In fact, it’s no place for any child of God. Yet many of us have been in the caves of despondency, worry, hopelessness and fretfulness. To all “cave-dwellers”, Elijah’s God is saying, “What are you doing here?” A cave is no place for a child of God. You belong on the mountaintop. You belong in the surging stream of life, not in a cave. You will never see the Lord as long as you remain in the cave. For God is not a God of the caves, but of the mountaintops. Crawl out of your cave. Climb to the top of God’s mountain. There you’ll see what Elijah saw. The glory of God! And you will hear what Elijah heard.

1Ki 19:10

Examples of prophetic reluctance: Exo 4:10; Jer 1:6; Eze 3:14; Jon 1:3; 1Ki 19:10; Luk 5:8,10; 9:59; 18:23; Act 13:13; 18:9. Ct Isa 6:8.

1Ki 19:12

A GENTLE WHISPER: “A still small voice” (AV, RSV); “a gentle breeze” (LXX).

The judgments of God (strong wind, earthquake, fire) are actually manifestations of His mercy. They are the prelude, and preparation, for the still small voice calling the nation to repent.

Elijah is being shown that the LORD God — or Yahweh — is, of course, the God of the strong wind, the earthquake, fire — all these were presumed by the pagans to be manifestations of the great “god” Baal, but this was utterly false!

But not only was Yahweh the true and only God of these great and frightening aspects of nature, in contrast to Baal. He was, ESPECIALLY, the God who revealed Himself through the quiet, still, small, and gentle voice speaking to the individual conscience.

An old preacher spoke something in reply to a question from a young man, something so hushed it could not be discerned. The young man stepped across the room. “What did you say?” he asked. The preacher repeated himself, but again in a tone as soft as a whisper. So the young man moved closer until he was leaning on the preacher’s chair. “Sorry,” he said. “I still didn’t hear you.” With their heads bent together, the old preacher spoke once more. “God sometimes whispers,” he said, “so we will move closer to hear Him.”

We all want God’s voice to thunder through the air with the answer to our own particular problem. But God’s is the still, small voice… the gentle whisper. Perhaps there’s a reason. Nothing draws human focus quite like a whisper.

God’s whisper means I must stop my ranting and move close to Him, until my head is bent together with His. And then, as I listen, I will find my answer.

Better still, I find myself closer to God. And there is no better place to be.

Are you close enough to God that you can hear Him whisper? Or are you so far away that you would barely hear Him if His voice boomed like thunder?

Sometimes we say we are believers, residents in God’s house, but we expect to feel close to Him by yelling down the hall or using an intercom. The only way to have the BEST relationship with God is to live where He lives… not just in the same house, but in the same room; side by side. We need to draw close to Him… “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8). There is no better way to do this than to read His Word, prayerfully and quietly and in a spirit of contemplation, EVERY DAY.

Let’s be so close to the LORD that we can feel His presence and hear Him whisper His Word to us.

1Ki 19:13

AND STOOD AT THE MOUTH OF THE CAVE: Elijah had come out when God called him (v 11), but he had fled back into the cave when the strong wind and earthquake came.

1Ki 19:14

Elijah’s unrevised answer indicates that, essentially, he does not understand the question!

1Ki 19:16

3 anointings in the OT: Typical of Christ in his 3 capacities: Lev 8:12, as priest; 1Ki 19:16, as prophet; and 1Sa 16:1, as king.

ELISHA: Sig “God’s salvation”, or “the power of salvation”.

SON OF SHAPHAT FROM ABEL MEHOLAH: The mention of Elisha’s father and village indicates that he was hitherto unknown to Elijah.

ABEL MEHOLAH: “A meadow of dancing”, a joyful, righteous place.

1Ki 19:18

‘Forget the fireworks. You must concentrate instead on the scattered remnant, the school of the prophets, etc.’

1Ki 19:19

TWELVE YOKE OF OXEN: A quite wealthy family, who were nevertheless to send away their heir and overseer on a mission for Yahweh.

1Ki 19:20

1Ki 19:20.

GO BACK: ‘Return for the moment’…

WHAT HAVE I DONE TO YOU?: ‘But do not forget the call I have given you!’

1Ki 19:21

Cp Ornan the Jebusite: 2Sa 24:22.

HE TOOK HIS YOKE OF OXEN AND SLAUGHTERED THEM. HE BURNED THE PLOWING EQUIPMENT…: To signify publicly, by sacrifice, his consecration to a new life. Cp Peter and Andrew (Mar 1:29), and Matthew (Mat 9:9-13).

“Still another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.’ Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God’ ” (Luk 9:61,62).

1Ki 20:1

1Ki 20: “The invasion by Benhadad was not the first of Israel by Syria. There was an earlier one as the direct instigation of Judah (1Ki 15:18-20). Later, in the time of Omri, cities were taken (1Ki 20:34), and deference shown by Israel to its northern neighbour. The invasion of Syria by Assyria probably relieved the pressure on Israel by the former. The record continues: [1] Syria invades Israel, and Benhadad presents his ultimatum: vv 1-4. [2] Benhadad’s further arrogant demand: vv 5,6. [3] Ahab refuses the demands of the Syrians: vv 7-9. [4] Benhadad threatens to destroy Samaria: v 10. [5] Ahab’s courageous reply: vv 11,12. [6] The prophet’s counsel: vv 13,14. [7] Ahab’s attack: vv 15-21. [8] The prophet warns Ahab to prepare for a second attack: vv 22-25. [9] The Syrians again invade the land: vv 26-27. [10] Ahab is promised victory: v 28. [11] Syrian army completely destroyed: vv 29,30. [12] Benhadad pleads for mercy: vv 31,32. [13] Ahab’s folly: vv 33,34. [14] The result of Ahab’s folly typically indicated: vv 35-43.

“When men engage upon the combat for supremacy without the direction of Yahweh they put themselves in the hands of defeat” (GEM).

THIRTY-TWO KINGS: Ben-Hadad had unified 32 small kingdoms under his own rule.

1Ki 20:4

Feigned humility: Ahab seeks a diplomatic way to soften blow.

1Ki 20:6

‘All I will accept is unconditional surrender.’

1Ki 20:9

MY LORD THE KING: He is still very respectful in his address.

1Ki 20:10

‘The only thing left of Samaria will be dust — and very little of that!’

1Ki 20:13

Ahab shows great faith in following the commands of God when it is to his own military advantage, but he ignores them otherwise (1Ki 22:26).

1Ki 20:15

7,000 IN ALL: Cp 1Ki 19:18: Elijah’s 7,000 faithful.

1Ki 20:24

REMOVE ALL THE KINGS: The kings themselves prob being very inexperienced as military commanders.

1Ki 20:29

1Ki 20:29,

Vv 29,30: See Lesson, Large numbers in the OT.

1Ki 20:30

TWENTY-SEVEN THOUSAND: See Lesson, Large numbers in the OT.

1Ki 20:32

YOUR SERVANT BEN-HADAD: Just before, Ahab had offered to be his “servant”, but had been spurned.

1Ki 20:35

BUT THE MAN REFUSED: Acting out the deeds of Ahab.

1Ki 20:36

A LION… KILLED HIM: Sym Ahab’s fate: death.

1Ki 20:38

HEADBAND: KJV has “ashes”.

1Ki 20:39

// Nathan’s parable: 2Sa 12.

1Ki 20:42

“Here is an apparent frustration of the ways of providence through human weakness. God meant the destruction of the king of Syria, and he escaped through Ahab’s misplaced leniency. The case reveals the fact that there is no mechanical coercion of the human will in the working out of the divine purpose by means of men; co-operation of man in such a case is necessary, and that where the result aimed at is not attained through the failure of that co-operation, the purpose will be accomplished by another instrument, for divine purposes will never ultimately fail” (WP 228).

Cp Mordecai’s words to Esther: “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Est 4:14).

1Ki 11:1

1Ki 11: “How the mighty fall! With such great privileges, and divine blessing, Solomon multiplied wealth, women, weapons and worship. In so doing he brought misery upon himself, the throne and the kingdom. Under the canopy of the ivory throne there was no true and lasting satisfaction (Ecc 1:2,18; 2:11,17). Wisdom was turned to folly, peace into tyranny, prosperity into misery and ruin. The king countenanced polygamy, polytheism, despotism. It was not merely that he had ‘many wives’, but that they were ‘strange’ (foreign) women, securing the throne by political and marital connections with occupied nations, but they also introduced spiritual adultery into Israel. So the story of Solomon’s sad decline is recorded, to remind us that, in spite of Solomon’s greatness and wisdom, the temptations of his position were too much. It needed a ‘greater than Solomon’ to hold his position without wavering. The folly of Solomon led to the unloosing of ‘Satan’ (vv 14-20), and it awaited the coming of the Lord Yahshua before there was one to defeat the counsels of the flesh. Thus the wisdom of Solomon is to be seen in the books that flowed from his pen under inspiration, which reveal the true nature of the king who will ultimately rule on the throne of his father David” (GEM).

Marriage with unbelievers causes many problems: Gen 27:46; Deu 7:1-4; Exo 34:14-16; 1Ki 11:1-4; 1Co 7:39; 2Co 6:14-17. See Lesson, Marriage “only in the Lord”.

1Ki 11:7

A HILL EAST OF JERUSALEM: The mount of Olives is the highest spot near Jerusalem, from the top of which the lands of Moab and Ammon might be clearly seen (WEnj 143).

1Ki 11:14

“ADVERSARY: Heb “satan”; here Hadad the Edomite, the enemy. Note: “from the royal line”: see also vv 23,25.

“The folly of Solomon led to the unloosing of ‘Satan’ (vv 14-20)” (GEM): cp Rev 20:3.

1Ki 11:23

ADVERSARY: Heb “satan”, as in vv 14,25.

1Ki 11:25

ADVERSARY: Heb “satan”, as in vv 14,23.

1Ki 11:31

10 tribes (Israel) were divinely overturned by Shalmaneser of Assyria: 2Ki 17:1-6. The 2 tribes (Judah) were taken into captivity to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar: 2Ki 25:1,2; 2Ch 36:17-21. Zedekiah was the last king to sit on David’s throne: Eze 21:25-27.

1Ki 11:40

AND STAYED THERE UNTIL SOLOMON’S DEATH: Deliverance language: “Out of Egypt have I called my son” (Hos 11:1; cp Mat 2:15). But Jeroboam failed.

1Ki 11:43

“In later years his soul had been sullied, his faith had grown dim, his fervor cold. All was emptiness. He stood horribly alone. His one son was not a wise man, but a fool. Gewgaws could no longer satisfy him. His wealth exhausted, his fame tarnished, his dominions reduced to insignificance, himself insulted by contemptible adversaries whom he could neither control nor punish, he entered on the long course of years… The peaceful is harried by petty raids; the magnificent is laden with debts; the builder of the Temple has sanctioned polytheism; the favorite of the nation has become a tyrant, scourging with whips an impatient people; the ‘darling of the Lord’ has built shrines for Moloch and Astarte. The glamour of youth, of empire, of gorgeous tyranny was dispelled, and the splendid boy-king is the weary and lonely old man. Hiram of Tyre has turned in disgust from an ungenerous recompense. A new Pharaoh has dispossessed his Egyptian father-in-law and shelters his rebel servant. His shameful harem has given him neither a real home nor a true love; his commerce has proved to be an expensive failure; his political alliances a hollow sham. In another and direr sense than after his youthful vision, ‘Solomon awoke, and behold it was a dream’ (1Ki 3:15)” (EB).

1Ki 12:8

In the court of Rehoboam “the wisdom and experience of the aged were contemptuously hissed off the seat of judgement by the irreverent folly of the young” (EB).

1Ki 12:11

SCORPIONS: Special whips, with thorns and stones embedded in the lashes; a type of whip which inflicted esp biting, stinging wounds.

1Ki 12:16

Greatly similar to the revolt of Sheba against David: 2Sa 20:1.

1Ki 12:18

The tax collector was not the right man to send!

1Ki 12:24

FOR THIS IS MY DOING: God is in all things; there is neither power, nor life, nor thought, nor existence apart from Him. “For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). And all things are upheld by His might. He is in the earthquake and the great storm, but He is also in the gentlest breeze.

God is even to be found in events which seem to be produced merely by the sin and the stupidity of men. This breaking up of the kingdom of Solomon into two parts was the result of Solomon’s sin and Rehoboam’s folly; yet God was in it: “For this is MY doing!” God had nothing to do with the sin or the folly, but in some way which we can never explain, in a mysterious way in which we are to believe without hesitation, God was in it all.

The most notable instance of this truth is the death of our Lord Jesus Christ; that was the greatest of human crimes, yet it was predetermined by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge (Acts 2:23), and it was right and proper.

How, then, was “this” — the rebellion — God’s “doing”? It was His doing in two ways: (1) It was a matter of prophecy. The prophet Ahijah had prophesied that the ten parts of the rent garment which were given to Jeroboam should be symbolic of the ten tribes that would be given to him when they had been torn away from the house of David. The prophecy was now literally fulfilled (1Ki 11:29-31). (2) It was a matter of punishment. He sent it as a punishment for the sins of the house of David, of which Solomon had been guilty when he set up other gods in Israel, and divided the allegiance of his kingdom from Yahweh by introducing the gods of Moab and Ammon and Egypt. And so God ordained this “evil” that He might punish the greater evil of idolatry on the part of his servant Solomon.

There are some events which are especially from God, although at first look it may seem incongruous. And in this we may take comfort. Even that which appears “evil” or disastrous (Isa 45:7) is nevertheless from Him, and it is right — because it serves His own purposes, which we may only dimly comprehend, or even not comprehend at all. Accepting this general principle, even when we cannot see how it might work out, we learn to trust in Him in all things; for He alone knows the end from the beginning: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28).

1Ki 12:28

HERE ARE YOUR GODS, O ISRAEL: // Exo 32:4,8.

1Ki 12:29

BETHEL… DAN: Situated at the very northern and southern ends of the Land. Intended to “counterfeit” the true cherubim, as if God’s presence were overshadowing the whole Land, from one end to the other.

1Ki 13:1

1Ki 13: “Jeroboam’s policy was to widen the breach between the two kingdoms and sever the links that held them together — the common interests, which it was the one great object of the Law to combine and interlace. To that end he sacrificed the most sacred and inviolable interests and obligations of the covenant people, by forbidding his subjects to resort to the temple of the One who set him in power, by elevating common people as priests, by himself acting as high priest to the imitation of Egyptian gods he had set up in the name of Yahweh (as did Aaron in the matter of the golden calf beforehand). He met a situation that could only be satisfactorily handled in faith, by his own earthly diplomacy — and so failed. The great sin of Jeroboam was not merely idolatry (for Solomon and Rehoboam were both guilty of that) but compromise, a policy of expediency which perverted Truth by superimposing upon it pagan principles. The early Christian communities became guilty of the same sin. Jeroboam believed that the end justified the means. So the king was rebuked by the nameless prophet recorded in this chapter. [1] Dramatic interruption at the dedicatory service: vv 1-3. [2] The king’s anger and dismay: vv 4-5. [3] He pleads the prophet’s help: vv 6,7. [4] The king’s invitation rejected: vv 8-10. [5] The prophet of Bethel: v 11. [6] The prophet of Bethel seeks the prophet of Judah: vv 12,13. [7] The invitation extended: vv 14,15. [8] The invitation refused: vv 16,17. [9] The prophet deceived: vv 18,19. [10] The prophet rebuked: vv 20-22. [11] The prophet punished: vv 23-24. [12] The prophet mourned: vv 26-32. [13] Jeroboam’s obstinacy: vv 33,34” (GEM).

A “dedication” never completed. Yahweh intervenes to rob sin of its “solemnity”.

1Ki 13:2

HE CRIED OUT…: A public, courageous pronouncement, in the very stronghold of sin!

NAMED JOSIAH: Poss an editorial parenthesis inserted for explanation’s sake at the time 1Ki was being put together.. True enough: God could have named Josiah 150 or 200 years ahead of time, but did He? When Josiah did arise to fulfill this prophecy (2Ki 23:15,18), the record there makes no allusion to the fulfillment (WIsa 393).

1Ki 13:4

Jeroboam’s joy turned to ashes (v 5)!

1Ki 13:6

In his idolatry (golden calves: 1Ki 12:28), Jeroboam emulated Egypt. And in the plagues and subsequent removal, there is the typical pattern again of Pharaoh and Moses in Egypt.

HAND WAS RESTORED: Cp Christ’s miracle of withered hand restored: Mat 12:9-14; Mar 3:1-6; Luk 6:6-11.

1Ki 13:9

NOT EAT… OR DRINK…: A stranger and a pilgrim.

1Ki 13:11

Hiding his light under a bushel — not instructing even his sons. Those sons had been present at (and evidently consenting to) Jeroboam’s idolatrous dedication.

1Ki 13:15

Though not prepared to fight for the truth himself — which seems evident from the earlier part of the narrative — the “old prophet” was quite happy to spend (that is, waste!) the time of those who did!

1Ki 13:18

AN ANGEL SAID TO ME: Many years later the apostle Paul warned against just this sort of thing: succumbing to the allurements of those who merely CLAIM to have a revelation from God — without “testing the spirits”! “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” (Gal 1:8). Do not be turned aside by the words, ‘I prayed, and/or had a revelation from God.’

EAT… DRINK: Peace and ease beckon seductively to us in many forms. But all are of sin: “But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Rom 14:23).

1Ki 13:19

Such a sudden change!

1Ki 13:28

THE LION HAD NEITHER EATEN THE BODY NOR MAULED THE DONKEY: Suggesting that this was indeed a miraculous occurrence, because the lion — contrary to his nature — stopped short of tearing and eating the body or harming the donkey.

1Ki 13:33

The death of the disobedient prophet lessens the effect his withdrawal from Jeroboam might have had.

1Ki 14:1

1Ki 14: “The sin of Jeroboam was that he perverted the divine worship — and not that he directly opposed it. He neutralised the spirit of David and Solomon within the nation, by tampering with and weakening the principle of worship. The festivals, sacrifices, sabbaths, etc, of the Law continued in the northern kingdom (Hos 2:11; 6:6; 8:13; 9:4). Tithes, etc, were brought to the temple at Bethel (Amos 4:4; 5:21-22). The Psalms of David were heard (Amos 5:23; 6:5), but the people were deterred from worshipping at Jerusalem (Deu 12:11). There was an encouragement to ignore the fundamentals of Faith, and to ignore those who were valiant for the Truth in times past. There was a deliberate change of policy to allow a greater liberty of expression, and political pressure on those who desired to uphold the things of the past. Now sickness and death strike at Jeroboam’s family, the premonition of greater tragedy to come.

“So the prophet Ahijah was instructed to convey the divine warning to Jeroboam (vv 1-16); but the appeal of the king was to no avail, for the child died (vv 17,18), and this was followed by the death of Jeroboam (vv 19,20). Meanwhile, in Judah to the south, Rehoboam’s reign brought an evil environment (vv 21-24). Then came the invasion of Shishak of Egypt (vv 25-28), concluding with the death of Rehoboam (vv 29-31). It was a sad story of failure by a nation that ignored its pioneer spirit of former times” (GEM).

1Ki 14:15

ASHERAH: See Lesson, Asherah.

1Ki 14:23

ASHERAH: See Lesson, Asherah.

1Ki 14:24

MALE SHRINE PROSTITUTES: “Sodomites” (AV). ” ‘Qadhesh’ denotes properly a male temple prostitute, one of the class attached to certain sanctuaries of heathen deities, and ‘consecrated’ [the Heb rt word means lit, and sarcastically, ‘holy’!] to the impure rites of their worship. Such gross and degrading practices in Yahweh’s land could only be construed as a flagrant outrage; and any association of these with His pure worship was abhorrent (Deu 23:17,18): The presence of Sodomites is noted as a mark of degeneracy in Rehoboam’s time (1Ki 14:24). Asa endeavored to get rid of them (1Ki 15:12), and Jehoshaphat routed them out (1Ki 22:46). Subsequent corruptions opened the way for their return, and Josiah had to break down their houses which were actually “in the house of the Lord” (2Ki 23:7). The feminine ‘qedheshah’ is translated ‘prostitute’ in Gen 38:21,22; Hos 4:14; Deu 23:17 (the KJV mg has ‘sodomitess’; the RV mg simply transliterates). The English word is, of course, derived from Sodom, the inhabitants of which were in evil repute for unnatural vice” (ISBE).

1Ki 15:10

GRANDMOTHER’S: Cp 2Sa 14:27; 2Ch 11:20,21.

1Ki 15:12

MALE SHRINE PROSTITUTES: “Sodomites” (AV). ” ‘Qadhesh’ denotes properly a male temple prostitute, one of the class attached to certain sanctuaries of heathen deities, and ‘consecrated’ [the Heb rt word means lit, and sarcastically, ‘holy’!] to the impure rites of their worship. Such gross and degrading practices in Yahweh’s land could only be construed as a flagrant outrage; and any association of these with His pure worship was abhorrent (Deu 23:17,18): The presence of Sodomites is noted as a mark of degeneracy in Rehoboam’s time (1Ki 14:24). Asa endeavored to get rid of them (1Ki 15:12), and Jehoshaphat routed them out (1Ki 22:46). Subsequent corruptions opened the way for their return, and Josiah had to break down their houses which were actually “in the house of the Lord” (2Ki 23:7). The feminine ‘qedheshah’ is translated ‘prostitute’ in Gen 38:21,22; Hos 4:14; Deu 23:17 (the KJV mg has ‘sodomitess’; the RV mg simply transliterates). The English word is, of course, derived from Sodom, the inhabitants of which were in evil repute for unnatural vice” (ISBE).

1Ki 15:13

A REPULSIVE ASHERAH POLE: See Lesson, Asherah.

1Ki 15:14

HE DID NOT REMOVE THE HIGH PLACES: Specific mention is made, several times, of the high places not being taken away: by Asa (1Ki 15:14); Jehoshaphat (1Ki 22:43); Jehoash (2Ki 12:3); Amaziah (2Ki 14:4); Azariah/Uzziah (2Ki 15:4); and Jotham (2Ki 15:35) — demonstrating the importance of this action in God’s sight. These kings did not make a full return to God. The high places (which had been used for idol worship) might have been out of use for the time being, but it seems they were not totally destroyed until the time of Hezekiah (2Ki 18:4; 2Ch 32:12); and even then their prohibition did not last beyond his reign (2Ch 33:3).

Do we have other shrines at which we worship? We must be sure that we remove the “high places” from our lives completely, even if they are currently “out of use”.

THE HIGH PLACES: Poss not associated with idolatrous worship, as were those in 2Ch 14:3,5.

1Ki 15:17

“We read of a very early king of Israel, Baasha, making his iron curtain. He fortified the border, ‘that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa, king of Judah’ (1Ki 15:17).

“Why did he do that? Other books of the Old Testament supply the answer. Like the builders of the Berlin wall he was not concerned about keeping an enemy out, but with keeping his own people in. All the God-fearing people in the idolatrous north wanted to emigrate to the south, where the Temple in Jerusalem kept true worship alive.

“Baasha’s iron curtain was inefficient. He lacked the barbed wire and minefields beloved of modern dictators. The Second Book of Chronicles tells us that when good king Asa purged all the idols out of the Kingdom of Judah, this was the result: ‘He gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and them that sojourned with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh and out of Simeon. For they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the Lord his God was with him’ (2Ch 15:9)” (GT).

1Ki 15:18

BEN-HADAD: There are 3 Ben-hadads: (1) here; 2Ch 16:1-6; (2) 1Ki 20:1-34; 22:1-36; 2Ki 5:2; 6:18-23; 7:20); murdered by Hazael (2Ki 8:7-15); and (3) son of Hazael (2Ki 13:3-13,22-25).

1Ki 15:27

GIBBETHON: A town in west central Palestine in the territory of Dan listed with Eltekeh and Baalath (Jos 19:44). It was assigned to the Kohathite Levites (Jos 21:23). In early days of the northern kingdom Gibbethon belonged to the Philistines. Nadab was slain by Baasha while besieging it (1Ki 15:27). Omri was besieging it when he was made king to succeed Zimri. It may possibly be identified with Kibbiah, which lies about 16 miles se of Joppa.