Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 18:43

And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, [There is] nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.

43. look toward the sea ] Because from that quarter would come the indication of the approaching storm. The LXX. omits ‘he went up’ in the next clause, and adds at the close of the verse ‘and the servant went again seven times.’

seven times ] Meaning an indefinite number. ‘Seven’ is thus used Psa 12:6; Psa 119:164; Pro 24:16.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Tradition says that Elijahs servant was the son of the widow of Sarepta 1Ki 17:23.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

1Ki 18:43-44

And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea.

The Servant of Elijah

I. That to aim upwards in our thoughts and actions is the best way to obtain relief in times of danger or difficulty. Elijah went up to the topmost position of Mount Carmel, and he bade his servant go up still higher, to the very peak of the mountain, so as the better to observe the appearances of the sky far and wide. Are we in search of some good? Then let us raise our affections above the unsatisfying, the perishing, the earthly, to the beatific, the eternal, the heavenly; let us scale the heights of our celestial Carmel, and seek for the rain-cloud of promise, by the waters of which a well of water shall be made to spring up in our hearts unto eternal life.

II. That we should not procrastinate in spiritual matters. Go up now, Elijah says to his servant, Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. What thou doest, do quickly. Indolence cannot win heavenly riches any more than worldly. Procrastination is the thief of time. The sluggard loses all his to-days in thinking of his to-morrows. To-morrow, in fact, is the watchword of the lazy and the idle.

III. That the true spiritual life consists of two parts, the active and the contemplative. Elijah went up, after his strenuous exertion in his contests with the priests of Baal, to the top of the mountain, and there rested upon the ground with his face between his knees, that is, in prayer or Divine meditation. The servant, too, was to go up. That necessitated active exertion, and then to look over the face of the heaven. That showed the desirability of contemplation.

IV. That we must never despair. The servant of Elijah had to go up seven times ere he saw any sign of the coming of the wished-for rain. Let us not then be weary in well-doing, let us not give way to disappointment if we succeed not at once in our efforts after higher things. To few persons in this life does success come immediately or at one trial. The spider–that, by its frequent efforts to cast its web between two distant points, taught perseverance to the royal Bruce–might also speak to us the lesson to persevere unto the end, to continue in well-doing, to show forth in heavenly things patience and perseverance.

V. That in small things, as well as in great we should learn to trace Gods hand. This little cloud, even at last, was no bigger than a mans hand; yet it was a messenger sent to fulfil Gods decree. Many persons are willing enough to recognise Gods agency in great events, in national revolutions, popular outbreaks, natural disturbances; but are not inclined to see the power of God in lesser matters, in individual trials, in the every-day phenomena of life.

VI. That we should regard temporal matters in the light of eternity. This servant of Elijah was to look towards the sea. The sea has ever been taken as an emblem of eternity. It was a fitter emblem of eternity in the ancient world than it is in the modern, because the ancients knew little of its depth or its extent, whereas we have mapped out in a great degree both the one and the other. (R. Young, M. A.)

Expectant prayers

A beautiful little book, Expectation Corners, tells of a king who prepared a city for some of his poor subjects. Not far from them were large storehouses, where everything they could need was supplied if they but sent in their requests. But on one condition–they should be on the outlook for the answer, so that when the kings messengers came with the answer to their petitions, they should always be found waiting and ready to receive them. The sad story is told of one desponding one who never expected to get what he asked, because he was too unworthy. One day he was taken to the kings storehouses, and there, to his amazement, he saw, with his address on them, all the packages that had been made up for him, and sent. There was the garment of praise, and the oil of joy, and the eye-salve, and so much more; they had been to his door, but found it closed; he was not on the outlook. From that time on he learnt the lesson Micah would teach us: I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. (Andrew Murray.)

Answers to prayer expected

There is no sense in always telegraphing to heaven for God to send a cargo of blessing, unless we are at the wharf to unload the vessel when it comes. (J. Ellis.)

The weather watcher

The Electric Light Company of one of Londons districts has a weather watcher who sits all day on the roof in a small glass house. It is his business to keep his eyes open to every sign of change, especially the gathering of clouds causing darkness, as in that case a sudden demand is made for electric lighting all over the district, and this requires a greatly intensified power in the huge generators below. As soon as he sees a great dark cloud travelling Londonwards, he telephones to the engine-room below that additional power will soon be needed, and by the time required it has been generated. Would that Gods people everywhere were watchmen who, when they saw the clouds gathering over the church and the world, would turn that into a plea for power–power from God. (H. O. Mackey.)

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Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 43. Look toward the sea.] From the top of Mount Carmel the Mediterranean Sea was full in view.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Go up now, whilst I continue praying.

Look toward the sea; whence clouds and vapours usually arise. Elijah desired to have timely notice of the very first appearance and signification of rain, not out of vanity or ambition, but that Ahab and the people might know that it was obtained from Jehovah by the prophets prayers, and thereby be confirmed in the true religion.

Go again seven times; let us not be dejected for some disappointments, but continue to wait upon God, who will answer me, and that speedily.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

43. Go up now, look toward theseaFrom the place of worship there is a small eminence,which, on the west and northwest side, intercepts the view of the sea[STANLEY; VANDE VELDE].It can be ascended in a few minutes, and presents a wide prospect ofthe Mediterranean. Six times the servant went up, but the sky wasclearthe sea tranquil. On the seventh he described the sign ofapproaching rain [1Ki 18:44].

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And said to his servant,…. Whom some take to be the son of the widow of Sarepta, but he must be too young to be employed in such service as this was:

go up now; still higher on Mount Carmel; than where he was, even to the highest point of it:

look towards the sea: or the west, as the Targum, the Mediterranean sea, which lay to the west of the land of Israel:

and he went up and looked, and he said, there is nothing; there was nothing in the sky, or arising out of the sea, that looked like or foreboded rain:

and he said, go again seven times; till he should see something.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(43) Go again seven times.From this delay of the answer to prayer Elijahs example became proverbial for intensity and perseverance in supplication (Jas. 5:17). The contrast is remarkable between the immediate answer to his earlier prayer (see 1Ki. 18:36-37) and the long delay here. The one was for the sake of the people; the other for some lessonperhaps of humility and patienceto Elijah himself. When the answer does come, it fulfils itself speedily. The little cloud becomes all but immediately (for so in the mean while should be rendered) a storm blackening the whole heavens, borne by a hurricane from the west.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

43. His servant Tradition says it was the Zidonian widow’s son whom he had raised from the dead. See note on 1Ki 17:23.

Go up now To the eminence just above him, whence, over the western ridge, may be seen a wide view of the Mediterranean Sea.

Seven times “Here was an act of faith on Elijah’s part, and on that of his servant, and also a prophecy. The cloud, which promised the long-expected rain, appeared at the seventh time. The walls of Jericho fell down after they had been compassed seven times, on the seventh day. Jos 6:15-20. Naaman was cleansed after he had washed seven times. 2Ki 5:14. There are seventy-seven generations from Adam to Christ.” Wordsworth.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments