I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Kings 18-19.

    In yesterday’s passage Elijah told King Ahab that it would not rain in Israel for several years, until he Elijah gave the word. James uses this as an example of the power of prayer. Elijah had prayed that it would not rain, and it did not rain for 3 1/2 years. Now God told him that it was time for the rains to resume, so Elijah went to King Ahab to give him the news. But Elijah knew that King Ahab’s prophets to Baal and Asherah would attempt to take credit for the rain returning. So, he set up a show to cement in the minds of the people the power of God vs the power of Baal.

    I want to interrupt the flow of the story here to emphasize the exchange which took place when Elijah appeared before King Ahab. The first thing out of King Ahab’s mouth when they met was the accusation that Elijah was a troublemaker for predicting the drought. However, Elijah immediately responded that King Ahab and his family were the real troublemakers because it was their sin which caused the drought. We will often be called troublemakers and hate-filled when we warn people that their sins will bring them bad consequences. When we see people committing sins which will cause them trouble, we should warn them, but we should not wish those consequences upon them. Further when we see them suffering those consequences we should strive to ameliorate their suffering as best we can. One more point, when we find trouble in our lives, we should look inside ourselves for the cause, not blame others.

    Now, back to the main story. Elijah was clearly a showman with a sense of making an impression on his audience. He had the prophets of Baal go first because he knew that their numbers and rituals would draw the people’s attention. He also knew that if they went after him, their show might eclipse the demonstration of God’s power. Elijah was not disappointed. The prophets of Baal and Asherah put on quite a show. And once again we see Elijah’s skill as a showman. He humorously made sure that the people noticed that for all of the prophets gyrations and flamboyant activity, nothing actually happened. Then when the show started to become boring and the prophets were becoming tired, Elijah called everyone’s attention to himself.
    Again, Elijah demonstrates his flair for the dramatic. He did not put on a flashy show. Rather, as soon as he got everyone’s attention, he mundanely dug a trench around the altar he had built. Then he called for audience participation by having people from the crowd pour water over his altar until the trench he had dug filled with water. Finally, Elijah calmly stood before the altar and prayed a simple prayer. The pyrotechnics which followed that simple prayer would remain stuck in people’s minds. Even more importantly, the way Elijah had done this made it stick in people’s minds that it was God who acted, not Elijah. The fact that the rains returned shortly after this put an exclamation mark on the whole thing.

    I hate to make the entry this long, but there is one more thing in this passage that needs to be touched upon. Elijah fled in fear for his life and when he had fled as far as his strength would take him he begged God to take his life. At which point God showed him a lesson which is important for all of us. First, God caused there to be a mighty windstorm on the mountain to where Elijah had fled, then an earthquake, then a firestorm. Three flashy and adrenaline-inducing events. But God was not within any of them. After these mighty examples of power, God came to Elijah in a gentle whisper. Let us remember, there is a time and a place for the flashy and powerful, but God is in the quiet and calm after the storm.