1 Kings 22:10-20 - False prophecies

22:10-18

Ahab and Jehoshaphat are dressed in royal robes and sat on thrones, but do not have any real power. Zedekiah, one of the false prophets makes a dramatic declaration, but none of this changes the fact that he is not a true prophet. All the false prophets backed him up in his lies.Micaiah is then summoned. First he  treats Ahab with contempt saying “Attack and be victorious”. Ahab knows that this is not the word of the Lord and rebukes Micaiah, who then gives him the truth, Ahab continues to complain about it.

22:19,20

We then get a glimpse of heaven, God is looking for someone to entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and so to meet his death.

1 Kings 22:6-9 - Shall I go to war?

22:6

It seems that Ahab had reformed his school of prophets, for he brings in four hundred of them. They were prophets of baal. So Ahab’s repentance of the previous chapters does not seem to have been very deep.

22:7-9

Jehoshaphat knew that Ahab’s prophets were not men of God so asks Ahab if there is not a real prophet about. Ahab betrays his true character by saying there is one, Micaiah, but he doesn’t like him because “he never prophesies anything good about me”. Ahab does not want to hear the truth. Jehoshaphat scolds the king for saying that. Ahab then sends for Micaiah.

1 Kings 22:1-5 Will you fight with me against Aram?

22:1-3

This is one of my favourite passages in Kings. There are three main characters in it: Ahab, Jehishaphat, and the coolest prophet in the Bible, Micaiah.  There was peace between Aram and Israel, but Ahab wanted to get some of the land back. T\he current tensions in the Middle East are nothing new. 

22:4,5

Ahab seeks Judah’s help in this enterprise. Ahab was a thoroughly bad king, both morally bad, and weak as well. Jehoshaphat was a generally good king, but far from perfect. \he readily agrees to help Ahab, but tells him to seek the counsel of the Lord first.

1 Kings 21:25-29 - He repents!

21:25-29

A note is added that Ahab was the worst king Israel ever had, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord. However, there is a surprising turn in that Ahab repents, and 17:28,29 shows that this was genuine, so God delays the sentence. If only other kings had responded like Ahab.

1 Kings 21:15-24 - Take possession!

21:15,16

Ahab was not the most go-ahead of men, so Jezebel urged him to seize the opportunity and take the vineyard, which he did.

21:17-24

God told Elijah what had happened and gave him a word to give to Ahab. Ahab would meet a terrible fate. Ahab was not pleased to see Elijah. Elijah takes no nonsense, and speaks to Ahab plainly, pronouncing judgement upon him. Ahab’s house would be decimated. Jezebel would be devoured by dogs, as would Ahab’s family, and birds "will feed on those who die in the country”.

Kings 21:4-14 - Not selling!

21:4-6

Ahab went into a sulk.  His wife, Jezebel, asked him what was wrong. Ahab told her about Naboth’s refusal to sell his vineyard.

21:7-14

Jezebel was appalled that Ahab was allowing Naboth to get away with this; she thought that Ahab should use his power to get what he wanted.. So she determined to take matters into her own hands . She proclaimed a day of fasting and gave Naboth a prominent seat. So she gave her plan a veneer of religious respectability. She seated two scoundrels next to Naboth, they would falsely accuseNabothof blasphemy, this would lead to Naboth being stoned to death. Many of our church leaders today are utterly stupid when they court favour from the world. The plan was executed, and so was Naboth and Ahab was informed.

1 Kings 21:1-3 - Naboth's vineyard

21:1,2

We now come to the infamous incident of Naboth’s vineyard. In understanding the incident it is important to realise how important property, and keeping it in the family was in Israel and in the Law. Ahab saw the vineyard and wanted it for himself. He thought that with his one wealth he could easily get it from Ahab, either by buying it, or by giving Naboth another vineyard in exchange. So he makes his offer to Naboth.

21:3

However, Naboth refused because it belonged to his family, it was “the inheritance of [his] ancestors”, and so not his to give away, but his to look after.

1 Kings 32-35 - Please let me live

20:32-34

So they put sackcloth and ashes on, humbling themselves and seeking mercy from Israel. The king reacts favorably, speaking well of Ben-Hadad, wanting to see him. Ben-Hadad offers to return previously taken cities. Ahab makes a treaty with him, but this proves to be a big mistake.

20:35

The Lord sent a prophet again. Ahab should not have let Ben-Hadad go, \god’s people are not meant to have any relationship with evil. So Ahab would suffer for what he had done. He probably felt pleased with himself, but was then rebuked so he sulked.

1 Kings 20:32-39 - Ahab in a sulk

20:32-34

So they put sackcloth and ashes on, humbling themselves and seeking mercy from Israel. The king reacts favorably, speaking well of Ben-Hadad, wanting to see him. Ben-Hadad offers to return previously taken cities. Ahab makes a treaty with him, but this proves to be a big mistake.

20:35-39

The Lord sent a prophet again. Ahab should not have let Ben-Hadad go, \god’s people are not meant to have any relationship with evil. So Ahab would suffer for what he had done. He probably felt pleased with himself, but was then rebuked so he sulked.

1 Kings 20:23-31 - gods of the hills

20:23-27

Ben-Hadad's advisers were not very wise, thinking that Israel;’s gods were gods of the hills; this followed the prevailing idea of the time that “gods” were limited to certain domains. The world does not know God nor understand him, so will make certain mistakes. So their advice is to fight them on the plain. There was a need to replenish the army. Ben-Hadad did this the next spring.

20:28-31

The prophet came to Israel and reassured them, God could fight anywhere. He would show both the Arameans and Israel that He was Lord of all. The battle was eventually joined and Israel inflicted massive casualties on the Aramean foot soldiers. The rest flew to Aphek, but there a wall collapsed on them . Ben-Hadad fled and hid in an inner room. Now his officials advise him to seek mercy from Israel.

1 Kings 20:13-22 - A prophet came to Ahab

20:13,14

Despite Ahab being a terrible king, God has not forgotten about Israel. We may have all sorts of legitimate criticisms of Israel, but we should never forget that God loves Israel. So he sends a prophet to Israel, telling Ahab that he will give Ben-Hadad’s army into his hands, he also tells him what to do. Ahab needs to take action.

20:15-21

They attacked at noon, while Ben Hadad’s leaders were getting drunk. Ahab had assembled his troops according to the prophet's word, i.e. the junior offices were a big part of the force. Ben Hadad had dispatched scouts “who reported that “men are advancing from Samaria”.. Ahab tells his men to “take them alive”, regardless of whether they came for peace or war. As it is, the junior officers killed BenHadad’s men. Ben-Hadad, however, escaped on horseback. Ahab inflicted heavy losses on the Arameaness.

20:22

The prophet warns Ahab against complacency, saying he should strengthen his position and be ready for a further attack in the spring.

1 Kings 20:1-12 Ahab mustered his entire army

20:1-4

Syria was the dominant power at this time, hence Ben Hadad’s ability to muster thirty two “kings” to serve with him. \he makes demands of Ahab, which Ahab initially agrees to.

20:5-9

Ben-Hadad now ups his demands, saying he will send his officials, and they should be allowed to search the palaces and houses and take whatever they want. Ahab sent for the elders saying Ben-Hadad has now gone too far.The elders agree and urge Ahab to reject the demands, which he then does.

20:10-12

Ben-Hadad is not best pleased and makes further threats. Ahab treats the threats with scorn, Ahab reacts by telling his men to prepare to attack.

1 Kings 16:13-21 - A gentle whisper

16:13-21

Elijah heard the voice of the Lord and went out to the mouth of the cave. There can be times when the Lord seems to be nowhere, but when we get a hint of his presence we should make the most of it. \god asks Elijah the same question, “What are you doing here Elijah?” Elijah repeats his sob story. God now gives Elijah instructions, he is to return the way he came and anoint Hazael as king over Aram, then to anoint Jehu as king over Israel, and Elisha as his own successor. Contrary to Elijah’s thoughts, God had not stopped working. He also tells \\elisha that he is far from being the only one,God has “seven thousand" in Israel. So Elijah goes off and finds Elisha. Elijah throws his cost over him. Elish wants to say farewell to his parents before following Elijah, Elijah is not impressed (Matt 8:22), Elisha followed Elijah at once, slaughtering his oxen and burning his plough, signifying his total commitment.

1 Kings 19:6-12 - I've had enough

19:6-9

God knew what was going on and sent an angel. The angel spoke to Elijah  and said “Get up and eat for the journey is too much for you”. If an angel spoke to me I might expect it to say something more profound than “get up and eat”. However God knew that his physical condition would affect his spirit, and that he still had work to do, and a journey to take. So the angel repeated his words, and Elijah obeyed them. He then got up and travelled to Horeb. Horeb was the mountain where Moses encountered the burning bush, and received the Law, ii is Mount Sinai. The journey took forty days and nights. When he got there he spent the night in a cave.

19:10-12

God spoke to Elijah saying, “What are you doing here Elijah?”. Elijah gives a rather self-pitying reply, reminding God that he has been zealous for the Lord, while Israel has rejected the Lord. Now he thinks he is the only one left, and his own life is now threatened. The Lord tells him to “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then there are three dramatic events, a great powerful wind that shattered the rocks.; an earthquake and finally fire, but the Lord was not in any of these. Then there was a “gentle whisper” and God was in this. There may be dramatic events in our lives, as there certainly was in Elijah’s, but it is a quiet trust in the Lord that we need, there is a gentle assurance from Him. (Is 30:15). Elijah heard the gentle whisper and went out to stand at the mouth of the cave. Again God asked him “What are you doing here Elijah?”.

1 Kings 19:1-5 - I want Elijah dead

19:1,2

We now get an interesting turn which demonstrates the humanity of Elijah. Ahab tells Jezebel what has happened, in particular the killing of the prophets of Baal. \jezebel reacts by declaring her intention to kill Elijah.

19:3-5

Elijah has won a great victory, but now he goes into utter despondency. Maybe he hoped that Israel would now see sense and turn back to God, but no. So Elijah flees and runs into the wilderness. He comes to a broom tree, sits under it and wants to die, asking God to take his life. “I have had enough, Lord, take my life; I am no better than my ancestors”. There is self-pity and maybe guilt as well. Our only grounds for hope and acceptance is the blood of Jesus. No matter how skilled or successful we may be at preaching, evangelism or whatever else it is that we do. Our hope must be in Christ alone. Elijah lay down and fell asleep.

1 Kings 8:41-46 - Prepare for rain!

18:41-44

Having made it clear that the Lord is God, and Baal was nothing, Elijah tells Ahab to prepare for rain. Ahab went off to eat and drink, while Elijah went to look for rain. James reminds us that Elijah was a man like us (James 5:17), and here we see that Elijah wanted reassurance that it would actually rain, it is not actually clear why he puts his head between his knees. Seven times his servant had to go and look for rain. On the seventh occasion he sees a small cloud. This was sufficient for Isaiah, and he tells his servant to go and tell Ahab, Sometime we just need a little reassurance.

18:45,46

Meanwhile the sky grew black, and a heavy  rainstorm came. In the power of the Lord Elijah sped to Ahab at Jezreel.

1 Kings 18:29-40 - Confrontstion - an absent "god"

18:29-32

The prophets of Baal became more desperate , even cutting themselves, but still no response. Elijah then prepares his own sacrifice. This involved repairing the altar of the Lord, and taking twelve stones, one for each tribe. God was the Lord of all Israel. He even doused the sacrifice with water. There could be no doubt that it was the Lord Himself who sent the first.

18:33-40

Elijah had even more water added, then he calmly prayed to the Lord. The sacrifice was now utterly soaked in water. Elijah calls  on the Lord to turn the hearts of the people back to him (Mal 4:6). God sent fire and consumed the sacrifice (Heb 12:9). The Lord sent fire and the people fell down in worship. Elijah then ordered that the prophets of Baal be seized and then slaughtered.

1 Kings 18:15-28 - the troubler of Israel

18:15-18

Elijah assures him that he will indeed present himself to Ahab that very day. Obadiah agrees to go and speak to Ahab, and Elijah does go to meet Ahab. The meeting begins with the two of them exchanging insults. Ahab calls Elijah “that troubler of Israel”, Elijah tells Ahab the truth, it is Ahab and his disobedience that are the root of the problem. He and his household had abandoned \god and followed the Baals. THis is part of the reason for the confrontation.  Rain was about to come, and the Baals were thought to be in command of the weather, so might get the credit for the rain. The confrontation would clearly demonstrate that the Baals were useless.

18:19-28

The confrontation on Mount Carmel begins. Elijah tells Ahab to summon all Israel, all the people needed to see the truth, he also wanted the prophets of Baal and Asherah. So they all assembled on Mount Carmel. Elijah speaks to the people. Challenging them to choose between God and the Baals, whom would they follow? The people did not answer. Elijah called on the prophets of Baal to prepare a sacrifice, and call on their god to send fire. So they did so, but of course no fire came.

They danced and made a big show, but still no fire. Elijah mocks them and their “god”. 

1 Kings 18:7-14 - Obadiah

18:7-9

Obadiah knew of Elijah and respected him, so he bowed down to him. He also knew that Ahab thought Elijsh to be somewhat elusive. Eliijah knew that Obadiah was a servant of Ahab, and told him to tell Ahab that Elijah was here. This command filled Obadiah with dread, thinking that it would put his life in danger. Obadiah feared that God would carry Elijah off somewhere else, and so it would look as if Obadiah was making a fool of Ahab. Obadih reminds Elijah that he, Obadiah, has been a faithful servant of the Lord. He reminds Elijah how he has protected the prophets of the Lord. How then, can Elijah ask such a thing of Obadiah?

18:10-14

Ahab considered Elijah to be a complete nuisance and had desperately been trying to find him. Obadiah knew that Elijah was a man of God, and was led by the Holy Spirit, so was unpredictable (John 3:8).Obadiah reminds Elijah of what he, Obadiah, had done while Jezebel was killing the prophets

1 Kings 18:1-6 Present yourself to Ahab

18:1,2

We now come to the most famous incident in lijah’s life, the confrontation with the prophets of Baal. Before  that happens there is the meeting with Obadiah. The Lord tells Elijah to go and “present yourself to Ahab” So Elijah obeys the Lord. Earlier Elijah had told Ahab there would be no rain until he said so, God was now about to send the rain. There had been no rain, and so there was a severe famine. Ahab was trying to find Elijah 

18:3-6

Obadiah was a man of God, and also the palace administrator. God sometimes has people in the heart of the enemy's territory. Obadiah used his position to protect the prophets of God. Jezebel was trying to kill all the servants of the Lord. Ahab was getting desperate and sent Obadiah to try and find some grass to keep the livestock alive, Ahab joined Obaadiah in this task.