Lesson 2 – Elijah
Challenges the Prophets of Baal
- Read the Bible Background
- Material skipped –
- Chapter 14 & 15 concerning
the reign of Jeroboam and Rehoboam in
- Also the reign of Abijam and Asa of Judah.
- And then the reign of Nadab of Israel and Baasha of
Israel in chapter 16.
- Chapter 16 continues with stories
of Elah and Omri of
Israel.
- Read – 1
Kings 16:29-18:46
- This is the beginning of Ahab’s
reign. Like his father, Ahab was
also a powerful king. His
prominence in the Bible, however, is due to religious reasons. He is regarded as the most wicked king of
Jezebel means “Where is the prince?” and comes from ritual lamentation in the worship of Baal. (From Access Bible commentary page 443.) - Identify the geographical setting
of the story by reading the second paragraph of the "Bible
Background." On the map below locate the following sites: Mount
Carmel, Jezreel,
- Questions to consider
•
What different meanings lie in the charge "trembler of
•
What lies behind the people's silence in verse 21 ?
•
Reflect on the role of "answers" in the story.
List the persons or characters who do or do not answer in verses 21,24,26,29,37, and implied in 38.
What is the role of "answer" in the story? What is its meaning?
•
Name some of the symbols found in the story. What are their meanings?
Continuing
to read and interpret the story
Read 1
Kings 19:1-18 and paragraphs 5-7 of the "Bible Background." Consider
the following issues:
•
What is the significance of Elijah's going to
See Exodus 3:1-2; Exodus 24:9-18; and Deuteronomy 4:10-14 for other events
on the mountain. (The northern tradition referred to the mountain as Horeb while
the southern tradition called it Sinai.)
•
What meaning lies in the forty days and nights of verse 8?
Examine other events that lasted forty days in Genesis 7:12; Exodus 34:28;
and Matthew 4:2.
Do these references mean a literal forty days and nights, or could the
number mean "a long time"?
•
Compare and contrast the meaning of the signs of God's presence in Exodus
19:16-19 with the signs in 1 Kings 19:11-13.
•
What does Elijah learn about God and God's mission in the wilderness and on
the mountain? How does it change him?
- Making the story your own
Discussing the concept of "limp"
Walter
Brueggemann comments on verses 20-21:
The
issue is sharply posed. . . .The real human problem is our "limp,"
not deciding, refusing to choose, wanting to have it both ways. Accommodation
displaces commitment. Jesus understood that one cannot serve two masters (Matt
6:24), but we keep trying and hoping. We will not choose because the loyalties
that seduce us seem to give too much (see Hos 2:8).
And the true God seems not to give so much, so we put off the choice. (Walter' Brueggemann, 1 Kings.
John Knox Press, 1982, p. 85.)
What is the "limp" in your life?
What is the "limp" in our church?
At what places do we seem to be wavering between two claims of truth?
Memory verse: 1 Kings 18:39b
“The Holy One indeed
is God”
Bible
Background (taken from Journey
through the Bible Book 2, Christian Board of Publications, 1995, p. 12)
lrTime passed, and the
2The prophet Elijah led this challenge.
He was fiercely opposed to the worship of Baal, for he firmly believed that
both the religious and the moral life of the people was being corrupted by the
orgiastic forms of religious practice led by the priest/prophets of Baal and
Asherah. For this reason, Elijah announced that the God of Israel was calling
Baal to a contest, a trial to see who in fact was God. The site chosen was a
dramatic one, on the heights of Mount Carmel, a mountain ridge that juts out
into the Mediterranean Sea just south and east of the modern seaport city of
3The contest on the mountain was
life-or-death. The question was to be: Would Baal be able to accept the
sacrifice placed before him by the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal and the
four hundred prophets of Asherah? Or would Yahweh be able to accept the
sacrifice prepared for him by Elijah? Two bulls were to be made available, one
for the worshipers of Baal and Asherah, and one for Elijah and the worshipers
of Yahweh. Each side would prepare the animal for sacrifice, but would not set
fire to the wood that was to consume the sacrifice. The deity must provide the
fire!
"The
priest/prophets of Baal prepared their sacrifice, placed the slaughtered bull
in place, and they chanted and sang and danced, praying for Baal to come down
and consume the sacrifice. Hours passed, and the prophets gashed themselves and
tormented themselves, trying to force Baal to accept the sacrifice by causing
it to go up in flames. Nothing happened. Then Elijah prepared the altar,
placed the wood on it, dug a
the
twelve altar stones that he had set up with water. Then he prayed to Yahweh,
and the fire came down from heaven, licking up all the water, consuming the
bull, the wood, and even the stones. The people cried out, "Yahweh indeed
is God; Yahweh indeed is God!" And Elijah had all the prophets of Baal and
Asherah executed at the foot of the mountain.
5Elijah's victory lasted only a short
while. After the defeat and death of the prophets of Baal, Elijah had raced in
triumph before the king's chariot all the way to Jezreel,
a distance of over twenty miles! But the very next day he received a message
from Jezebel that within a day, he would join the prophets of Baal in death!
Elijah, so brave and unbeatable the day before, fled for his life to the south
of the country, near the town of
6And there Elijah confronted God and
discovered that his mission was not over. His experience at the holy mountain
made it clear to him that he was not alone in his struggle to do the will of
God. He also learned that God's way is not the way of violence and bloodshed;
God came to him on the mountain, but not in the raging wind, or the earthquake,
or the violent lightning storm. God came to him in "a sound of sheer
silence," in "a still, small voice."
7Elijah then was able to return to his
task. King Ahab was about to take a vineyard from its owner, a man named Naboth, but Naboth would not sell
the vineyard. It was his family property, and selling it even to the king, Naboth held, would be wrong. Ahab, to his credit, did not
simply take it by force. But his wife Jezebel was contemptuous of Ahab's
weakness. She simply disposed of Naboth by having him
falsely accused of treason and blasphemy, had him executed, and turned the
vineyard over to Ahab! But Elijah was sent to condemn this deed of the king,
and Ahab had to learn that not even kings and queens can violate God's demands
and put innocent people to death. Ahab and Jezebel stood judged, and Elijah,
now a gentler prophet but still one morally committed to the way of God, stood
his ground. And again, to the credit of Ahab, he repented of his evil deed, and
God relented and did not bring the judgment upon him at that time.
8Elijah still had one task to do: He had
to designate Elisha to take over his job as prophet. Elijah did so, and Elisha
is reported to have seen Elijah disappear in a flaming chariot.
1 Kings
16:29-18:46
29 In the thirty-eighth year of King Asa
of
reign over
years.
30 Ahab son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD more than all who were
before him.
31 And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam
son of Nebat, he took as his wife Jezebel daughter of King Ethbaal of the
Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him.
32 He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal,
which he built in
33 Ahab also made a sacred pole. Ahab did more to provoke the anger of the LORD,
the God of Israel, than had all
the kings of
34 In his days Hiel of Bethel
built
of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son
Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Joshua son of Nun.
(1 Kings 17)
1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in
God of
these years, except by my word."
2 The word of the LORD came to him, saying,
3 "Go from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Wadi Cherith, which
is east of the
4 You shall drink from the wadi, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you
there."
5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD; he went and lived by the
Wadi Cherith,
which is east of the
6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in
the evening; and he drank from the wadi.
7 But after a while the wadi dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
8 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
9 "Go now to Zarephath,
which belongs to
commanded a widow there to feed you."
10 So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a
widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, "Bring me a little
water in a vessel, so that I may drink."
11 As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, "Bring me a morsel
of bread in your hand."
12 But she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a
handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple
of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we
may eat it, and die."
13 Elijah said to her, "Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first
make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something
for yourself and your son.
14 For thus says the LORD the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied
and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the
earth."
15 She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household
ate for many days.
16 The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according
to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.
17 After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; his
illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.
18 She then said to Elijah, "What have you against me, O man of God? You have
come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!"
19 But he said to her, "Give me your son." He took him from her bosom, carried
him up into the upper chamber where he was lodging, and laid him on his own bed.
20 He cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, have you brought calamity even upon
the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?"
21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried out to the
LORD, "O LORD my God, let this child's life come into him again."
22 The LORD listened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the child came into him
again, and he revived.
23 Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper chamber into the
house, and gave him to his mother; then Elijah said, "See, your son is alive."
24 So the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God, and that
the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth."
(1 Kings 18)
1 After many days the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year of the
drought, saying, "Go, present yourself to Ahab; I will send rain on the earth."
2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine
was severe in
3 Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah revered
the LORD greatly;
4 when Jezebel was killing off the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah took a hundred
prophets, hid them fifty to a cave, and provided them with bread and water.)
5 Then Ahab said to Obadiah, "Go through the land to all the springs of water
and to all the wadis; perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules
alive, and not lose some of the animals."
6 So they divided the land between them to pass through it; Ahab went in one
direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself.
7 As Obadiah was on the way, Elijah met him; Obadiah recognized him, fell on his
face, and said, "Is it you, my lord Elijah?"
8 He answered him, "It is I. Go, tell your lord that Elijah is here. "
9 And he said, "How have I sinned, that you would hand your servant over to
Ahab, to kill me?
10 As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom to which my lord
has not sent to seek you; and when they would say, 'He is not here,' he would
require an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you.
11 But now you say, 'Go, tell your lord that Elijah is here.'
12 As soon as I have gone from you, the spirit of the LORD will carry you I know
not where; so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill
me, although I your servant have revered the LORD from my youth.
13 Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of
the LORD, how I hid a hundred of the Lord's prophets fifty to a cave, and
provided them with bread and water?
14 Yet now you say, 'Go, tell your lord that Elijah is here'; he will surely
kill me."
15 Elijah said, "As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely
show myself to him today."
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, "Is it
you, you troubler of
18 He answered, "I have not troubled
house, because you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and followed the
Baals.
19 Now therefore have all
hundred fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat
at Jezebel's table."
20 So Ahab sent to all the Israelites, and assembled the prophets at Mount
21 Elijah then came near to all the people, and said, "How long will you go
limping with two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if
Baal, then follow him." The people did not answer him a word.
22 Then Elijah said to the people, "I, even I only, am left a prophet of the
LORD; but Baal's prophets number four hundred fifty.
23 Let two bulls be given to us; let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it
in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it; I will prepare the
other bull and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it.
24 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 is indeed God." All the people answered, "Well
spoken!"
25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose for yourselves one bull and
prepare it first, for you are many; then call on the name of your god, but put
no fire to it."
26 So they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the
name of Baal from morning until noon, crying, "O Baal, answer us!" But there was
no voice, and no answer. They limped about the altar that they had made.
27 At noon Elijah mocked them, saying, "Cry aloud! Surely he is a god; either he
is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is
asleep and must be awakened."
28 Then they cried aloud and, as was their custom, they cut themselves with
swords and lances until the blood gushed out over them.
29 As midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the
oblation, but there was no voice, no answer, and no response.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come closer to me"; and all the people
came closer to him. First he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been thrown
down;
31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons
of Jacob, to whom the word of
the LORD came, saying, "
name";
32 with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD. Then he made a
trench around the altar, large enough to contain two measures of seed.
33 Next he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the
wood. He said, "Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and
on the wood."
34 Then he said, "Do it a second time"; and they did it a second time. Again he
said, "Do it a third time"; and they did it a third time,
35 so that the water ran all around the altar, and filled the trench also with
water.
36 At the time of the offering of the oblation, the prophet Elijah came near and
said, "O LORD, God of
Abraham, Isaac, and
you are God in
things at your bidding.
37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so that this people may know that you, O LORD,
are God, and that you have turned their hearts back."
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the
stones, and the dust, and even licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, "The LORD
indeed is God; the LORD indeed is God."
40 Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them
escape." Then they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon,
and killed them there.
41 Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of rushing
rain."
42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to
the top of
there he bowed himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees.
43 He said to his servant, "Go up now, look toward the sea." He went up and
looked, and said, "There is nothing." Then he said, "Go again seven times."
44 At the seventh time he said, "Look, a little cloud no bigger than a person's
hand is rising out of the sea." Then he said, "Go say to Ahab, 'Harness your
chariot and go down before the rain stops you.'"
45 In a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind; there was a
heavy rain. Ahab rode off and went to Jezreel.
46 But the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; he girded up his loins and ran in
front of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
1
Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the
prophets with the sword.
2
Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to
me,
and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of
one of them by this
time tomorrow."
3
Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba,
which belongs to
4
But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down
under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O
LORD,
take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors."
5
Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel
touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat."
6 He
looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of
water. He ate and drank, and lay down again.
7
The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up
and
eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you."
8 He
got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty
days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
9 At
that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of
the LORD came to him, saying, "What are you doing here,
Elijah?"
10
He answered, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for
the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your
altars, and killed
your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are
seeking my life, to
take it away."
11
He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD
is
about to pass by." Now there was a great wind, so strong
that it was splitting
mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the
LORD was not in
the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was
not in the
earthquake;
12
and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after
the fire a sound of sheer silence.
13
When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and
stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to
him that said,
"What
are you doing here, Elijah?"
14
He answered, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for
the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your
altars, and killed
your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are
seeking my life, to
take it away."
15
Then the LORD said to him, "Go, return on your
way to the wilderness of
16
Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi
as king over
anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.
17
Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever
escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha
shall kill.
18
Yet I will leave seven thousand in
to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him." ( back to lesson )
19 So he set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing.
There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah
passed by him and threw his mantle over him.
20 He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Let me kiss my father and my
mother, and then I will follow you." Then Elijah said to him, "Go back again;
for what have I done to you?"
21 He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them;
using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the
people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his
servant.
CHAPTER 20
1 King Ben-hadad of
2 Then he sent messengers into the city to King Ahab of
3 Your silver and gold are mine; your fairest wives and
children also are mine."
4 The king of
5 The messengers came again and said: "Thus says
Ben-hadad: I sent to you, saying, 'Deliver
to me your silver and gold, your wives and children';
6 nevertheless I will send my servants to you tomorrow
about this time, and they shall search your house and the houses of your
servants, and lay hands on whatever pleases them, and take it away."
7 Then the king of
8 Then all the elders and all the people said to him,
"Do not listen or consent."
9 So he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad,
"Tell my lord the king: All that you first demanded of your servant I will
do; but this thing I cannot do." The messengers left and brought him word
again.
10 Ben-hadad sent to him and
said, "The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of
11 The king of
12 When Ben-hadad heard this
message--now he had been drinking with the kings in the booths--he said to his
men, "Take your positions!" And they took their positions against the
city.
13 Then a certain prophet came up to King Ahab of
14 Ahab said, "By whom?" He said, "Thus
says the LORD, By the young men who serve the district
governors." Then he said, "Who shall begin the battle?" He
answered, "You."
15 Then he mustered the young men who serve the district
governors, two hundred thirty-two; after them he mustered all the people of
16 They went out at noon, while Ben-hadad
was drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the thirty-two kings allied
with him.
17 The young men who serve the district governors went
out first. Ben-hadad had sent out scouts, and they
reported to him, "Men have come out from
18 He said, "If they have come out for peace, take
them alive; if they have come out for war, take them
alive."
19 But these had already come out of the city: the young
men who serve the district governors, and the army
that followed them.
20 Each killed his man; the Arameans
fled and
21 The king of
22 Then the prophet approached the king of
23 The servants of the king of
24 Also do this: remove the kings, each from his post,
and put commanders in place of them;
25 and muster an army like the army that you have lost,
horse for horse, and chariot for chariot; then we will fight against them in
the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they." He heeded their
voice, and did so.
26 In the spring Ben-hadad
mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against
27 After the Israelites had been mustered and
provisioned, they went out to engage them; the people of
28 A man of God approached and said to the king of
Israel, "Thus says the LORD: Because the Arameans
have said, 'The LORD is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys,'
therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall
know that I am the LORD."
29 They encamped opposite one another seven days. Then on
the seventh day the battle began; the Israelites killed one hundred thousand Aramean foot soldiers in one day.
30 The rest fled into the city of
31 His servants said to him, "Look, we have heard
that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings; let us put sackcloth
around our waists and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of
Israel; perhaps he will spare your
life."
32 So they tied sackcloth around their waists, put ropes
on their heads, went to the king of
33 Now the men were watching for an omen; they quickly
took it up from him and said, "Yes, Ben-hadad is
your brother." Then he said, "Go and bring him." So Ben-hadad came out to him; and he had him come up into the
chariot.
34 Ben-hadad said to him,
"I will restore the towns that my father took from your father; and you
may establish bazaars for yourself in
35 At the command of the LORD a certain member of a
company of prophets said to another, "Strike me!" But the man refused
to strike him.
36 Then he said to him, "Because you have not obeyed
the voice of the LORD, as soon as you have left me, a lion will kill you."
And when he had left him, a lion met him and killed him.
37 Then he found another man and said, "Strike
me!" So the man hit him, striking and wounding him.
38 Then the prophet departed, and waited for the king
along the road, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes.
39 As the king passed by, he cried to the king and said,
"Your servant went out into the thick of the battle; then a soldier turned
and brought a man to me, and said, 'Guard this man; if he is missing, your life
shall be given for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.'
40 While your servant was busy here and there, he was
gone." The king of
41 Then he quickly took the bandage away from his eyes.
The king of
42 Then he said to him, "Thus says the LORD,
'Because you have let the man go whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore
your life shall be for his life, and your people for his people.'"
43 The king of
CHAPTER
21
1 Later the following events took place: Naboth the Jezreelite had a
vineyard in Jezreel, beside the
2 And Ahab said to Naboth,
"Give me your vineyard, so that I may have it for a vegetable garden,
because it is near my house; I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if
it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money."
3 But Naboth said to Ahab,
"The LORD forbid that I should give you my
ancestral inheritance."
4 Ahab went home resentful and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to
him; for he had said, "I will not give you my ancestral inheritance."
He lay down on his bed, turned away his face, and would not eat.
5 His wife Jezebel came to him and said, "Why are
you so depressed that you will not eat?"
6 He said to her, "Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to
him, 'Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if you prefer, I will give you
another vineyard for it'; but he answered, 'I will not give you my
vineyard.'"
7 His wife Jezebel said to him, "Do you now govern
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them
with his seal; she sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who lived with
Naboth in his city.
9 She wrote in the letters, "Proclaim a fast, and
seat Naboth at the head of the assembly;
10 seat two scoundrels opposite him, and have them bring a charge against him, saying, 'You have cursed God
and the king.' Then take him out, and stone him to death."
11 The men of his city, the elders and the nobles who
lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. Just as it was written
in the letters that she had sent to them,
12 they proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth
at the head of the assembly.
13 The two scoundrels came in and sat opposite him; and
the scoundrels brought a charge against Naboth, in
the presence of the people, saying, "Naboth
cursed God and the king." So they took him outside the city, and stoned
him to death.
14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, "Naboth has been stoned; he is dead."
15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth
had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, "Go, take possession
of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite,
which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is
not alive, but dead."
16 As soon as Ahab heard that Naboth
was dead, Ahab set out to go down to the vineyard of Naboth
the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
17 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying:
18 Go down to meet King Ahab of
19 You shall say to him, "Thus says the LORD: Have
you killed, and also taken possession?" You shall say to him, "Thus
says the LORD: In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will also lick up your blood."
20 Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me, O my
enemy?" He answered, "I have found you. Because you have sold
yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the LORD,
21 I will bring disaster on you; I will consume you, and
will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in
22 and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam
son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you
have provoked me to anger and have caused
23 Also concerning Jezebel the LORD said, 'The dogs shall
eat Jezebel within the bounds of Jezreel.'
24 Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs
shall eat; and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the air
shall eat."
25 (Indeed, there was no one like Ahab, who sold himself
to do what was evil in the sight of the LORD, urged on by his wife
Jezebel.
26 He acted most abominably in going after idols, as the
Amorites had done, whom the LORD drove out before the Israelites.)
27 When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and
put sackcloth over his bare flesh; he fasted, lay in the sackcloth, and went about
dejectedly.
28 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite:
29 "Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself
before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the
disaster in his days; but in his son's days I will bring the disaster on his
house."
CHAPTER 22
1 For three years
2 But in the third year King Jehoshaphat
of
3 The king of
4 He said to Jehoshaphat,
"Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth- gilead?" Jehoshaphat replied
to the king of
5 But Jehoshaphat also said to
the king of
6 Then the king of
7 But Jehoshaphat said,
"Is there no other prophet of the LORD here of whom we may
inquire?"
8 The king of
9 Then the king of
10 Now the king of
11 Zedekiah son of Chenaanah
made for himself horns of iron, and he said,
"Thus says the LORD: With these you shall gore the Arameans
until they are destroyed."
12 All the prophets were prophesying the same and saying,
"Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the LORD
will give it into the hand of the king."
13 The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, "Look, the words of the prophets
with one accord are favorable to the king; let your word be like the word of
one of them, and speak favorably."
14 But Micaiah said, "As
the LORD lives, whatever the LORD says to me, that I will speak."
15 When he had come to the king, the king said to him,
"Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead
to battle, or shall we refrain?" He answered him, "Go up and triumph;
the LORD will give it into the hand of the king."
16 But the king said to him, "How many times must I
make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the
LORD?"
17 Then Micaiah said, "I
saw all
18 The king of
19 Then Micaiah said,
"Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his
throne, with all the host of heaven standing beside him to the right and to the
left of him.
20 And the LORD said, 'Who will entice Ahab, so that he
may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?' Then one said
one thing, and another said another,
21 until a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD,
saying, 'I will entice him.'
22 'How?' the LORD asked him. He
replied, 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his
prophets.' Then the LORD said, 'You are to entice him, and you shall succeed;
go out and do it.'
23 So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the
mouth of all these your prophets; the LORD has decreed
disaster for you."
24 Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah
came up to Micaiah, slapped him on the cheek, and
said, "Which way did the spirit of the LORD pass from me to speak to
you?"
25 Micaiah replied, "You
will find out on that day when you go in to hide in an inner
chamber."
26 The king of
27 and say, 'Thus says the king:
Put this fellow in prison, and feed him on reduced rations of bread and water
until I come in peace.'"
28 Micaiah said, "If you
return in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me." And he said, "Hear,
you peoples, all of you!"
29 So the king of
30 The king of
31 Now the king of
32 When the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "It is surely the king of
33 When the captains of the chariots saw that it was not
the king of
34 But a certain man drew his bow and unknowingly struck
the king of
35 The battle grew hot that day, and the king was propped
up in his chariot facing the Arameans, until at evening
he died; the blood from the wound had flowed into the bottom of the
chariot.
36 Then about sunset a shout went through the army,
"Every man to his city, and every man to his country!"
37 So the king died, and was brought to
38 They washed the chariot by the pool of
39 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did,
and the ivory house that he built, and all the cities that he built, are they
not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?
40 So Ahab slept with his ancestors; and his son Ahaziah succeeded him.
41 Jehoshaphat son of Asa began to reign over
42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five
years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in
43 He walked in all the way of his father Asa; he did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in
the sight of the LORD; yet the high places were not taken away, and the people
still sacrificed and offered incense on the high places.
44 Jehoshaphat also made peace
with the king of
45 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat,
and his power that he showed, and how he waged war, are they not written in the
Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah?
46 The remnant of the male temple prostitutes who were
still in the land in the days of his father Asa, he
exterminated.
47 There was no king in
48 Jehoshaphat made ships of
the Tarshish type to go to Ophir
for gold; but they did not go, for the ships were wrecked at Ezion-geber.
49 Then Ahaziah son of Ahab
said to Jehoshaphat, "Let my servants go with
your servants in the ships," but Jehoshaphat was
not willing.
50 Jehoshaphat slept with his
ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his father David;
his son Jehoram succeeded him.
51 Ahaziah son of Ahab began to
reign over
52 He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and
walked in the way of his father and mother, and in the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused
53 He served Baal and worshiped him; he provoked the
LORD, the God of Israel, to anger, just as his father had done.
II Kings
CHAPTER 1
1 After the death of
2 Ahaziah had fallen through
the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay injured; so he sent
messengers, telling them, "Go, inquire of Baal-zebub,
the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this
injury."
3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Get up, go to meet the messengers of the
king of
4 Now therefore thus says the LORD, 'You shall not leave
the bed to which you have gone, but you shall surely die.'" So Elijah
went.
5 The messengers returned to the king, who said to them,
"Why have you returned?"
6 They answered him, "There came a man to meet us,
who said to us, 'Go back to the king who sent you, and
say to him: Thus says the LORD: Is it
because there is no God in
7 He said to them, "What sort of man was he who came
to meet you and told you these things?"
8 They answered him, "A hairy man, with a leather
belt around his waist." He said, "It is Elijah the Tishbite."
9 Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his
fifty men. He went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said
to him, "O man of God, the king says, 'Come
down.'"
10 But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, "If I
am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your
fifty." Then fire came down from heaven, and consumed him and his
fifty.
11 Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty
with his fifty. He went up and said to him, "O man of God, this is the
king's order: Come down quickly!"
12 But Elijah answered them,
"If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and
your fifty." Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him
and his fifty.
13 Again the king sent the captain of a third fifty with
his fifty. So the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his
knees before Elijah, and entreated him, "O man of God, please let my life,
and the life of these fifty servants of yours, be precious in your sight.
14 Look, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two
former captains of fifty men with their fifties; but now let my life be
precious in your sight."
15 Then the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, "Go
down with him; do not be afraid of him." So he set out and went down with
him to the king,
16 and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: Because you
have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the
god of Ekron,--is it because there is no God in
17 So he died according to the word of the LORD that
Elijah had spoken. His brother, Jehoram succeeded him
as king in the second year of King Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat of Judah, because Ahaziah
had no son.
18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah
that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of
Israel?
CHAPTER
2
1 Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven
by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.
2 Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; for the LORD
has sent me as far as
3 The company of prophets who were in
4 Elijah said to him, "Elisha, stay here; for the
LORD has sent me to
5 The company of prophets who were at
6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; for the LORD
has sent me to the
7 Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and
stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the
8 Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and
struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until
the two of them crossed on dry ground.
9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha,
"Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha
said, "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit."
10 He responded, "You have asked a hard thing; yet,
if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it
will not."
11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of
fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a
whirlwind into heaven.
12 Elisha kept watching and crying out, "Father,
father! The chariots of
13 He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from
him, and went back and stood on the bank of the
14 He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him,
and struck the water, saying, "Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?"
When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the
other, and Elisha went over.
15 When the company of prophets who were at
16 They said to him, "See now, we have fifty strong
men among your servants; please let them go and seek your master; it may be
that the spirit of the LORD has caught him up and thrown him down on some
mountain or into some valley." He responded, "No, do not send
them."
17 But when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said,
"Send them." So they sent fifty men who searched for three days but
did not find him.
18 When they came back to him (he had remained at
19 Now the people of the city said to Elisha, "The
location of this city is good, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the
land is unfruitful."
20 He said, "Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in
it." So they brought it to him.
21 Then he went to the spring of water
and threw the salt into it, and said, "Thus says the LORD, I have made
this water wholesome; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from
it."
22 So the water has been wholesome to this day, according
to the word that Elisha spoke.
23 He went up from there to
24 When he turned around and saw them, he cursed them in
the name of the LORD. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and mauled forty- two of the
boys.
25 From there he went on to Mount Carmel, and then
returned to