Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 18:19
Now therefore send, [and] gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.
19. all Israel ] i.e. A representative body of the whole people.
unto mount Carmel ] There seems to have been in Elisha’s time a residence on Mt. Carmel, where he dwelt. For the Shunammite goes thither to find him. Perhaps Elijah chose the place because there was an altar there, which had been used for the worship of Jehovah, but was now thrown down. The mountain was also easy of access, and the sea, from whence the signs of the coming rain would be seen, was visible from it.
and the prophets of Baal ] These, as the narrative shews, were the priests who presided over the Baal worship, and with their office was mixed up, as we see from chap. 22, the profession of divination and soothsaying. Hence they are called prophets. The LXX. following the Jewish abhorrence for the name Baal, translate by , = of the shame, as if ‘Bosheth’ and not ‘Baal’ had been read by them.
the prophets of the groves ] R.V. of the Ashrah. See note on 1Ki 14:15. Jezebel had introduced the female as well as the male divinity, so that nothing might be wanting to the complete observance of the worship to which she had been trained at home. The staff of priests, 850 for the two divinities, shews what an outlay was made for the perfection of the idolatrous rites.
which eat at Jezebel’s table ] That the queen should shew them special favour, and feed them at her own board, was one of the surest ways of making the Baal-priests and their service popular. She no doubt also supplied funds for the support of those priests who were not in the royal city.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Carmel (Jos 12:22 note) was chosen by the prophet as the scene of the gathering to which he invited, or rather summoned, Ahab. Its thick jungles of copse and numerous dwarf-oaks and olives, would furnish abundant wood for his intended sacrifice. Here was a perennial fountain; and here again an ancient altar of the Lord 1Ki 18:30, belonging probably to the old times of non-idolatrous high-place worship – perhaps an erection of one of the patriarchs. On the one hand, there would be a view of the Mediterranean, from where the first sign of rain was likely to come, and on the other of Jezreel, the residence of the court at the time, with its royal palace and its idol-temples, so that the intended trial would take place in the sight (so to speak) of the proud queen and her minions.
The prophets of Baal – The priests of Baal are so called not so much because they claimed a power of foretelling the future, as because they were teachers of the false religion, and more especially because they stand here in antagonism to the prophet of the Lord, with whom they are about to contend.
The prophets of the groves, four hundred – Rather, of the grove – the prophets, or priests, attached to the grove – ‘asherah – which Ahab had made, probably at Jezreel (marginal reference). The number 400 seems to have been one especially affected by Ahab. We again find 400 prophets at the close of his reign 1Ki 22:6. The number 40 entered largely into the religious system of the Jews 1Ki 6:17; Exo 26:19; Deu 25:3; Eze 41:2.
Which eat at Jezebels table – Rather, which eat from Jezebels table. Oriental etiquette would not have allowed them to eat at the table of the queen, which was spread in the seraglio. They were fed from the superfluity of her daily provision, which was no doubt on a sumptuous scale. Compare 1Ki 4:22-23.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
1Ki 18:19-40
Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel.
The priests of Baal
Mendelssohn has wrought the harmonies and discords of this scene into a grand oratorio, and the painter or poet can find in it abundant material for his art. The actors are a king and royal court, hundreds of priests in splendid vesture, masses of people, anxious and hungry-eyed; and over against them a single man, big, fearless, with hairy mantle and leathern girdle, and loose locks waving like a mane about his stern face. Our lesson to-day stops short with the failure of the priests. We may call it the helplessness of heathenism. Who was Baal? Whence did he come? Where did he get his power? How did he rule? There was no such being. He never lived, never blessed a servant, or crushed a foe. When the priests cried, there was no answer, because there was no one to hear. Yet the name had a fiendish personality in the history of Israel, as a most alluring and ruinous force. An actual Baal never lived, possibly the ideal Baal has never died.
I. The heathenism of to-day. We still find idolatrous nations, with the same licentiousness, cruelty, and error. One African tribe has six words for murder, not one for love. The missionary who goes among them is an Elijah pleading for Jehovah against Baal. May the prophets mantle fall upon such, and may the Lord be with them as he was with Elijah. One definition of a heathen is an irreligious, unthinking person; a pagan, one who is neither a Christian, a Mohammedan, nor a Jew. A cleaner and brighter heathenism appears in the high-bred infidelity, of which we hear more than its worth demands. This is not ignorant and boorish, but elegant and learned. It affects to look down on the simplicity of believers, as the gorgeously robed priests may have sneered at Elijahs rough mantle. It uses the terms of science and philosophy. Its worship is mostly of the silent sort before an unknown God. Investigating the development of religious belief, it finds everywhere the longing, but nowhere the Creator who inspires it; everywhere the childs heart, nowhere the infinite Father. Speaking for art, it forgets that faith has inspired its masterpieces, and would put its visions above Him who made the splendours of earth, sea, and sky, human face divine, teeming brain, and skilful hand. Be not deceived by them. The greater number of sound thinkers and investigators are to-day, as in the past, believers. It is easy to see the paganism in such cases; not so easy where it touches us more closely in the heathenism of worldliness. Baal-worship was popular because it was gay, festal, splendid, while the Mosaic ritual was calm, earnest, self-controlled, chaste. Under the first, men could do what they liked best, and yet pass for religious. It dignified self-indulgence, and deified strength and lust. Love of God is the source and crown of all delights; but, to a multitude of meaner impulses in us, the world appeals with more flattery and promise than heaven. Let us hold fast to the Bible, in which speaks the only living and true God. If we turn from Jehovah, the deity we make ourselves will prove a Baal. Earth-born religions are dishonourable to the conscience, false to the intellect, and cruel to the heart. And if we acknowledge Jehovah to be God, let us follow Him.
II. The testing of heathenism. Anything which claims our service and our love should be able to support us in emergencies. Infidelity and worldliness may do very well in good times, when bright suns and genial rains mingle to bless our lot; so did Baal. And so all blasphemy, and polite infidelity, and everything that is not of God, when it has had its fling, and tried its power, drops back, helpless to save its followers. The testing is not often so dramatic as upon Carmel, but is continually repeated. (Monday Club Sermons.)
Elijah and the prophets of Baal
But Mount Carmel, a celebrated mountain on the southern boundary of the tribe of Assher, which extends itself into the Mediterranean Sea. It runs north-west of the plain of Esdraelon.
I. We notice the proposal of Elijah to the multitude. He speaks to them, not to the royal court. Religion is not an affair concerning the great and titled of the earth only. It respects every man. It is for the multitude as well as for the rich and great.
II. Notice the proposal of Elijah accepted. All the people said, The word is good. It was an advantageous one to the prophets of Baal. They had the prepossessions of the people and of the royal court in their favour: It is easy to take up religion when it is in prosperity: but to take it up when it is m a drooping, dying state, is the work that demands principle, sterling principle. To be zealous, when the very stones of the altar are to be replaced–when the alternative is ruin or revival–extirpation or reform–then to be zealous–then to be a reformer–to seek to restore truth and religion to their pristine dignity, that is a work honourable indeed, and arduous as it is honourable.
III. The failure of the prophets and the irony of Elijah.
IV. The appeal of Elijah to heaven.
V. The prayer of Elijah answered.
VI. The conviction of the multitude.
VII. The destruction of the priests. These prophets had been the cause of the grievous famine, of the death of cattle and human beings not a few. They had also sacrificed thousands of dear children to Baal. The rites of Baal were frequently celebrated with human victims. They had also brought Jezebel to think it a meritorious act to slay the prophets of the Lord. Also, according to the laws of Moses, idolatry was considered treason against God, as the national king, and death was denounced as the punishment of that sin. These men suffered nothing but the due reward of their deeds. Those who live by imposing on the weaknesses and superstitious feelings of others shall sooner or later meet with a suitable retribution. They that dig pits for others frequently fall into them themselves. Their own lies frequently slay the authors of them. Men first utter lies, then believe them, then perish by them. And they perish without pity. They perish amidst the execrations of those whom they have deceived. (J. H. Cadoux.)
Elijah and the prophets of Baal
1. We are reminded of the great disparity between these opposing forces. Now, as then, Truth is in the minority. It was one man against four hundred and fifty. But so it is always. The world has never seen a popular majority for the truth. Only eight souls were saved in the ark; Abraham was alone in his faith; Israel was but a handful; and the peculiar peoples in every age have been a remnant. Even the Son of God did not restore the equilibrium. The Reformation effected but a partial equalisation. The present age of missions, with all its conquests, finds the Church outnumbered in every region by its foes. Not only so, but in respect to earthly rank, power, prestige, the advantage has always been on the side of error. If at intervals the tide seems to turn, as when David, Solomon, Constantine give to religious truth political pre-eminence, such episodes are transient, and soon the old disproportion returns.
Truth for ever on the scaffold,
Wrong for ever on the throne,
abides as the rule obtaining in every age for the fortunes of the kingdom of heaven on earth.
2. This disparity was intensified and emphasised by divine direction. Elijah was commanded to give to his opponents precedence at every point. The criterion which he must submit for the testing of the rival religions was the god that answereth by fire. That was a concession to the claims of Baal, who was called the sun-god, with whom fire was a native element. On the other hand, Elijahs task was rendered as difficult as possible. He must stand by and see his rivals consume the entire day. This magnifying of evil and minimising of the resources of good has marked the Divine policy from the first. God has seemed to give to sin every advantage that it could ask for, and to keep his own cause at a corresponding inferiority. What a surprising difference, according to earthly standards, between Jesus and His enemies! Not only was He alone, unfavoured and unhelped, but they were supported by all the power of the Jewish Church, the Gentile government, and even the infernal world. Sin was allowed to parade and employ its uttermost resources, while holiness seemed to be proportionately depressed in the person of Him who was born in a manger and reared at Nazareth, who became the Friend of publicans and sinners, was betrayed by His own followers, and condemned to the accursed death. Similar fortunes have attended the people of God to this day. Not only have they been left to engage in a one-sided conflict where the numerical odds were always against them, but peculiar aggravations of this disparity have been common. The Church is still burdened with such unnecessary drawbacks. How often are we tempted to take literally the words which speak of the foolishness of preaching, and to wonder why God hath chosen such needlessly foolish, weak, and base things of this world to serve Him!
3. This disparity between the two contestants was emphasised by Jehovah for the purpose of suitably displaying His own superiority to both of them. He gave to Baal every advantage and reduced His own resources to a minimum, in order to show that Truth at its lowest is stronger than Error at its highest. The result justified this plan; for the people were all the more impressed by the final victory of Elijah, because of the tremendous inequality of the conflict at the beginning. This gives us a clue to that policy of the Divine government which has been referred to. God has allowed sin to prosper in this world, and has permitted His own religion to take an inferior place, for the purpose of thus furnishing an arena for the exhibition of the Divine self-assertion. We understand, then, why Christianity has never been allowed to compete on equal terms with the dominant faiths of the world. God does not intend that His religion shall obscure Himself. He knows how readily the eye of man is caught and held by visible forms, and that spiritual truth is always endangered by material associations. Accordingly the earthly medium through which His grace shines must be as thin and plain as safety will permit. This was the reason why Jesus the Christ asked and received so little from the world. He owed nothing to its favour or its help. But as we now see, all that humiliation was the most effective background that could have been provided for the display of the spiritual kingdom of God.
4. The triumphs of grace thus obtained are also magnified by the Divine concessions to the enemy. It was yielding much to Baal when the ordeal of fire was proposed, for that meant to meet the sun-god on his own field and with his own weapons. Other tests might have been chosen which would have been more favourable to Elijah. But no; he must go into the enemys territory and challenge him in his very citadel. Do the Egyptians worship the river Nile? Lo, the rod of Moses turns those sacred waters into blood. Are they the most cleanly of peoples, making a religion of physical purity? They are stricken with vermin by the word of the Lord. Do they idolise the goat, the ram, and the bull? The cattle of their fields must perish before the Divine scourge. Thus Pharaoh is taught that even within the range of his own religion the God of the Hebrews can find means to overthrow him. Similar transformations mark all the great conquests of Christianity. He meets scientific scepticism with the scientific faith of Miller, Hitchcock, and Drummond. He compels the art of sensuous Italy to minister to biblical truth in the Madonnas and Nativities. He transforms the pagan temple into the Christian church, and puts the Gothic spire to spiritual uses. This process of overruling and utilising grace is spreading through all the ranges of human enterprise.
5. These exhibitions of Divine self-assertion furnish a severe but useful test of human character. The priests of Baal were not the only ones whose faith and patience were taxed on Mount Carmel. It must have cost Elijah not a little to find himself placed for an entire day at so great a disadvantage. Nothing less than intense consecration and courage could have endured such a trial. This experience also was typical. It represents the lot of Gods people in all ages. The very greatness of the Divine interpositions in their behalf has imposed on them burdens of self-denial and self-effacement.
6. The trials of Gods people are sure to result in their triumph as well as His glory. (C. J. Baldwin.)
The prophet of the Lord
The debate on Mount Carmel was conducted by Elijah with remarkable ability. A vital question had forced its way into prominence.
I. When he met his opponents on Mount Carmel, Elijah had very clear convictions. In some way he had gained a strong hold upon God. He was personally conscious of God. Unlike many a speculative philosopher who has framed an elaborate argument to prove that God is, Elijah seems to have advanced with a single step to a firm belief in God. His name was an announcement of his belief: My God is Jehovah! A conviction like this is an argument in itself. Men are willing to listen to a man who believes what he says. This was an important element of the success of Moses, who was compelled to go into the presence of Pharaoh and there to demand the liberation of a large number of valuable slaves. Daniel had the same advantage when he was called upon to face the idolatry of Babylon: it was widely known that Daniel feared God. The ministry of Paul was always conditioned by this strong faith. He was more than a match for his antagonists because he knew whom he had believed. Athanasius, the youthful archdeacon of Alexandria, became the successful advocate of Christian truth at the Council of Nicaea in view of his recognition of the divinity of our blessed Lord. Luther at the Diet of Worms rallied the unorganised resistance of Germany to the papal authority when he exhibited his confidence in the evangelical doctrines. These men, and others like them, were strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. They felt the rock upon which they stood. They had clarified their thought, so that they could utter it forcibly. If we can gain this consciousness we shall be prepared for the great debate.
II. When he challenged the Baal-worshippers to the proof by fire, Elijah undertook to press their opinions to a practical expression. The challenge was perfectly fair. They had accepted Baal and Ashtaroth as the representative of the life-principle in nature. They were asked to exhibit the results of their faith in these divinities. Any opinion which lays claim to the faith of man must bear the strain of his ordinary burdens. What is your religion good for? what is the quality of its manhood? What sort of a God does it present? what is its immortality?–these are questions which must be met. There is no escape from them. Now, we may inquire, What will be the natural results of the general prevalence of the opinions which antagonise the Gospel?
III. When he had repaired the altar of the Lord and placed upon it a sacrifice, Elijah made an appeal which met the terms of the Divine command. There was an old altar on Mount Carmel–perhaps a relic of patriarchal times, but certainly a witness to the-reality of a pure worship. As the day was closing Elijah called the people to this altar and began to repair it. You may safely press Christian truth to its proper issues. We should have a very happy world, indeed, if all Christians would show their faith by their works. Christ-like lives, what would they be!–how sober! how industrious! how pure! how sweet! how attractive! Multiply these Christ-like lives, and how beautiful the social life of the world would appear. It is essential, therefore, that the Christian in the great debate should state clearly the truth as it is in Jesus.
IV. When he had received the fire of the Lord, which consumed his sacrifice, Elijah drew from the people the confession, Jehovah is God, Jehovah is God. The occasion was pentecostal. Conviction was instantaneous. Out from the clear, dry atmosphere flames of fire leaped as Elijah was praying; they seized upon the sacrifice and consumed it with the wood upon which it rested; they licked up the water in the trench and left the altar bare. A transformation occurred. An explanation must be given. What could be said except to confess the supremacy of Jehovah? Prof. Christlieb of Bonn has remarked that the regeneration of the human soul is the standing miracle of Christianity. This regeneration converts corrupt natures into natures which are holy. It is associated with Christian truth, and with belief in that truth. (H. M. Booth, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 19. Gather to me all Israel] The heads of tribes and families; the rulers of the people.
The prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty – the prophets of the groves four hundred] The king and queen had different religious establishments; the king and his servants worshipped Baal, the supreme lord and master of the world, the sun. For this establishment four hundred and fifty priests were maintained. The queen and her women worshipped Asherah, Astarte, or Venus; and for this establishment four hundred priests were maintained. These latter were in high honour; they ate at Jezebel’s table; they made a part of her household. It appears that those eight hundred and fifty priests were the domestic chaplains of the king and queen, and probably not all the priests that belonged to the rites of Baal and Asherah in the land; and yet from the following verse we learn that Ahab had sent to all the children of Israel to collect these prophets; but Jezebel had certainly four hundred of them in her own house who were not at the assembly mentioned here. Those of Baal might have a more extensive jurisdiction than those of Asherah, the latter being constantly resident in Samaria.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Now therefore send, to wit, messengers, that this controversy between thee and me may be decided, the true cause of these heavy judgments discovered and removed, that so this plague may be removed.
Gather to me all Israel, by their deputies, or heads, or representatives, that they may be witnesses of all our transactions.
Unto Mount Carmel; not that Carmel in Judah, 1Sa 15:12, but another in Issachar by the midland sea, Jos 19:26; Jer 46:18; which he chose as a very convenient place, being not far from the centre of his kingdom, to which all the tribes might conveniently resort; and at some good distance from Samaria, that Jezebel might not hinder his design; and a very high mountain, Amo 9:3, and that upon the sea, whence he might have the opportunity to discover the rain at its first approach, which he did, 1Ki 18:42, &c.
And the prophets of Baal; which were dispersed in all the parts of the kingdom.
The prophets of the groves; which attended upon those Baals or idols which were worshipped in the groves, which were near the royal city, and much valued and frequented by the king and the queen, 1Ki 15:13; 16:33; 2Ki 13:6, and therefore were maintained at the queens charges.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
19. gather . . . the prophets ofBaal . . . the prophets of the grovesFrom the sequel itappears that the former only came. The latter, anticipating someevil, evaded the king’s command.
which eat at Jezebel’stablethat is, not at the royal table where she herself dined,but they were maintained from her kitchen establishment (see on 1Sa20:25 and 1Ki 4:22). Theywere the priests of Astarte, the Zidonian goddess.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel….. No doubt but more discourse passed between Ahab and Elijah, though not recorded, before he made this motion to him; it is very probable, that after some dispute between them, who was the true God, and about idolatry, as the cause of want of rain, Elijah proposed to the king what he afterwards did to the people, to which he could not object; and being desirous of gratifying his curiosity, and especially of having rain, which the prophet might promise him in the issue of this affair, he agreed unto it; and therefore Elijah desired that all Israel might be convened, that it might be openly and publicly done, and to the conviction and reformation of them, which was what was chiefly designed; and he chose Carmel, a mountain in the tribe of Issachar, well situated for the people that came from all parts; and the rather this than Samaria, that he might meet with no obstruction from Jezebel, and from whence: he might be able to see the rain when coming, as he did. Of this mountain, [See comments on Jer 46:18], to which may be added, the description of it by Mr. Sandys n.
“Mount Carmel stretcheth from east to west, and hath its uttermost basis washed with the sea; steepest towards the north, and of an indifferent altitude; rich in vines and olives when farmed, and abounding with several sorts of fruits and herbs, both medicinal and fragrant, though now much overgrown with woods and shrubs of sweet savour.”
From the following solemn transaction at it, it seems in later times, to have become sacred, and was very venerable with the Heathens; from this mountain, a deity with them had the name of Carmel, and was worshipped here, without an image or a temple, only had an altar erected for it, in imitation of the God of Israel, worshipped here in like manner; here Vespasian sacrificed to this deity, assisted by the priest of it, Basilides, as Tacitus o relates; Suetonius p also makes mention of this deity, and of Vespasian’s consulting its oracle, which gave him hopes of obtaining the empire; and from hence, in Popish times, there were an order of friars called Carmelites, instituted in the year 1180, pretending to be the successors of the children of the prophets Elijah left there:
and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty; who are supposed to be dispersed in the various parts of the kingdom, to teach and practise the worship of Baal, and encourage and spread it in the nation:
and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table; for it seems there were now more groves than that one Ahab first made, 1Ki 16:33, for which such numbers were appointed to attend, and which, perhaps, were near Samaria, since they ate at Jezebel’s table, and were a sort of domestic chaplains of her’s. “Asheroth”, we render “groves”, the learned Selden q takes to be Ashtoreth, or Ashtareth, or Astarte, the goddess of the Zidonians, for whom, and so for these prophets, Jezebel might have a peculiar respect, see 1Ki 11:5.
n Travels, l. 3. p. 158. Ed. 5. o Hist. l. 2. c. 78. p Vit. Vespasian. c. 5. q De Dis Syris Syntagm. 2. c. 2. p. 232, &c.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.
1Ki. 18:19. Prophets of Baal, &c.Soothsayers and oracle prests. GrovesAsherah. Baal and Astarte were the male and female divinities. Jezebel was the patroness of the prophets of this female divinity.
1Ki. 18:21. How long halt ye, &c.From the root , to divide, dissever. In Psa. 119:118, the same word is rendered by vain thoughts, i.e., double-minded, ambiguous. The Vulg. translates here, Usquequo claudicatis in duas partes? To go from one to another. Not with standing all Ahab and Jezebel had done to exterminate Jehovah-worship, there was vacillation between Jehovah and Baalnot decision against Jehovah, only indecision.
1Ki. 18:24. The God that answereth by fireA specially favourable test, for Baal was the fire-god, the sun.
1Ki. 18:25. For ye are manyAn ironical taunt. You are the more numerous religious party in Israel, and, as being in the ascendant, you have the right of first choice! Yet, O how near the moment of their reverse from this ascendancy!
1Ki. 18:26. Leaped upon the altarThe pantomimic heathenish dance.
1Ki. 18:27. Cry aloud; for he is a godA seuthing satire, a most mocking taunt. Talking, or meditating; pursuing, gone astray.
1Ki. 18:28. Cut themselves after their manner means more than a mere puncturing or scratching. The superstition existed that the blood of priests was specially virtuous in constraining the deity to action; and now they were in extremis.
1Ki. 18:32. Two measures of seedThe measurement is not very definite, and cannot be conjectured with any accuracy, but it must have been both deep and wide.
1Ki. 18:38. The fire of the Lord fell does not mean lightning (comp. Lev. 9:24).
1Ki. 18:40. Slew them thereFor they were deadly criminals, perilous to the theocracy, and had incurred the penalty of death (Deu. 17:2-4; Deu. 13:13).
HOMILETICS OF 1Ki. 18:19-40
THE TRIAL AND DEFEAT OF IDOLATRY
THE grand, imposing spectacle on Mount Carmei described in these verses has an interest and a lesson to humanity for all time. As in other ages and countries, a great delusion was here tested, exposed, and overthrown. Truth long despised and persecuted had the opportunity of vindicating itself, and the vindication was so public and complete as to constitute an example for universal reference. The place was worthy of the scene to be enacted there. Carmel was the peculiar haunt of Elijah. Situated on the west of Palestine, immediately to the south of the Bay of Acre, it rises at its highest point sixteen hundred feet above the level of the Mediterranean Sea, from the shores of which it stretches in a south-eastern course, and in ranges of different heights, for five or six miles, commanding a view of the great plain of Esdraelon, just where the glades of the forest sink into the usual bareness of the hills of Manasseh. In the distance, and on its commanding position, overlooking the whole valley, rose the stately city of Jezreel, with Ahabs palace and Jezebels temple embosomed in its sacred grove. Immediately under their feet spread, far and wide, that noble plainthe battle-field of sacred historythe plain of Megiddo or Jezreel, with the torrent Kishon passing (as its name implies) in countless windings through the level valleythat ancient stream on whose banks had perished the host of Sisera and the host of Midian, before the army of Deborah and Barak, before the sword of the Lord and of Gideon. In such a scene, with such recollections of the past, were the people of Israel gathered for a conflict as momentous as any which had taken place in the plain beneath. On the one side were ranged the king and people, with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal dressed in their splendid vestments; and on the other side the one solitary figure of the prophet of the Lord in his rough sheepskin cloak, though supported all the time by an invisible throng of heavenly intelligences. Observe
I. That idolatry was here put on its trial under the most favourable circumstances to secure its triumph.
1. Took place at the seat of its greatest power. Idolatry was the established religion of Israel, and those who did not heartily accept it were awed into submission by the terrors of persecution. The multitude now gathered on Carmel, from the king downward, were worshippers of Baal, and were ready to defend their favourite deity. It seemed a daring and hopeless thing to offer the slightest opposition.
2. Was accepted by its acknowledged leaders. The four hundred and fifty priests might have declined the contest, and the king might have forbade it; but whether compelled by the unanimous voice of the people, or assured of victory by observing the lonely and unfriended condition of Elijah, or urged by an influence they were powerless to resist, they accepted the challenge. Could it be that they had any real confidence in the power of Baal? Alas! there is no knowing to what depth of delusion idolatry may sink its victims. The maddening earnestness of the reiterated appeals to Baal (1Ki. 18:26; 1Ki. 18:28) was a sight to make one sad.
3. Appealed to what the worshippers believed was the most prominent attribute of their deity (1Ki. 18:24). Baal was the sun-god, and his worshippers might readily suppose that, having at his command the source of light and fire, he would in such a strife vindicate himself by answering by fire. Surely, Elijah might have urged, your sun-god should find it easy, in the use of his own element, to triumph over Jehovah! He takes the Baalites on their own ground, and agrees that by a sign from heaven in the form of fire the claims of their respective religions shall be determined. The proposition is startling, because it was of the very essence of Judaism that there was no other God but Jehovah. It was a great concession on the part of Elijah to heathen notions, where contests as to the power of rival deities were of frequent occurrence. Thus Baal had everything in his favour, and if he could do anything at all, now was his opportunity.
II. That idolatry exhausted all its resources in the contest (1Ki. 18:26-29). Confident of success, the priests of Baal dress the bullock, and place the cut pieces dripping on the altar. The condition was they should put no fire under; although St. Chrysostom has preserved an old tradition which asserts that inside their altar the Baalites had secreted an accomplice who was to kindle a fire, but that in the act of so doing he died of suffocation. And now for three long hours the cry is heardthe anxiety of king, and priests, and people, growing more intense and feverish with each repetitionO Baal, hear us! But there was no voice, nor any that answered. To hurry the answer, they begin the wild, frantic pagan dance. As the Mussulman dervishes work themselves into a frenzy by the invocation of Allah! Allah! until the words themselves are lost in inarticulate gasps; as the pilgrims round the church of St. John at Samaria formerly, and round the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre now, race, run, and tumble, in order to bring down the Divine fire into the midst of them; so the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal performed their wild dances round their altar, or upon it, springing up or sinking down with the fantastic gestures which Orientals alone can command, as if by an internal mechanism, and screaming with that sustained energy which believes it will be heard for its much speaking. Still no answer. This afforded an opportunity Elijah could not resist, and he mocked the devotees with words of bitter irony (1Ki. 18:27). His object was to stimulate the priests to greater exertions, and so to make their failure more complete, and to suggest to the people that such failure would prove absolutely that Baal was no God. Elijahs scorn has the effect intended; it rouses the Baalites to increased effort. Louder and louder grow their cries, wilder and more rapid their dance, more frautic their gesticulations. At length, when the frenzy has reached its height, knives are drawn from their sheaths, lances are upraised, and the blood spurts forth from hundreds of self-inflicted wounds. And this was all idolatry could do: Baal was unresponsive to the most piteous cries, was powerless to help, and his worshippers are driven to suicide and despair! Could anything more completely expose the utter helplessness and vanity of idolatry?
III. That idolatry suffered a signal and crushing defeat (1Ki. 18:30-38).
1. Was defeated by the Being it ignored and insulted. Elijah was careful in all his arrangements to give prominence to Jehovah, of whom he was but the humble and intermediate agent. The altar was built in the name of Jehovah (1Ki. 18:32); the offering was arranged according to the injunctions of the law of Jehovah (1Ki. 18:33 compared with Lev. 1:3-9); and the short, simple, and beautifully suggestive prayer was designedly addressed to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel (1Ki. 18:36-37). Jehovah had been forgotten; His ever-living presence is again asserted: He had been ignored and insulted; His peerless majesty and righteous claims are again vindicated.
2. The defeat was signal and complete (1Ki. 18:38). As the sky was still perfectly clear, this fire cannot have been a flash of lightning. It was altogether, in its nature as well as in its opportuneness, miraculous. From the clear blue ether overhead, deepening as the sun declined towards the sea, the whole multitude saw the bright white flame descend, and in a moment consume everythingthe fragments of the ox on the summit of the altar, the pile of wood heaped from the forest of Carmel, the very stones of the altar, the dust, and also the water that filled the trench, till everything is consumed, and the crackle and hiss are gone. The prayer of a moment has accomplished what the howlings of a whole day have failed to achieve. The most obdurate heart could not fail to be convinced. The neglected and insulted God of Israel has triumphed, as He ever must.
3. The defeat was publicly acknowledged (1Ki. 18:39). Unable to endure the brilliance of the Divine light, the people fell on their faces before it, and hid their eyes lest they should be blinded (Lev. 9:24; 2Ch. 7:3). The people understand thoroughly the nature and bearing of the whole scene, as a trial to determine whether Baal or Jehovah is the true God. And they now pronounce the matter to be clearly and certainly decided Baal is overthrown; he is proved to be no god at all. The Lord Jehovah, He and He alone, is God. Him will they henceforth acknowledge, and no other. The time is coming when truth shall universally triumph, and the supremacy and glory of God be everywhere adored (Php. 2:10-11).
IV. That idolatry involves its votaries in disgrace and punishment (1Ki. 18:40). The vindicator of Jehovah becomes His avenger. The slaughter of the idolatrous priests was in harmony with the express commands of the law (Deu. 13:5; Deu. 17:2-5; Deu. 18:20). Moreover, a prophet under the theocracy had a right to step in and execute the law when the king failed in his duty. In this act we may see some retaliation for Jezebels slaughter of the prophets of the Lord. It is an unalterable principle of the Divine government that evildoers shall be punished for their sins, and often by the same instruments with which they have wrought the evil. Robespierre perished on the same scaffold on which he had shed some of the best and bravest blood of France.
LESSONS:
1. Error is sure to fail when fairly put to the test.
2. The claims of God to universal homage are absolute and unchangeable.
3. The enemies of God will meet with their merited punishment.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1Ki. 18:19-40. The challenge. Whenever we read of a meeting of crowned heads or prominent statesmen, we generally infer that they have been called together by some pressing object in which they are mutually interestedan object which may involve the welfare of a people, or the destiny of a nation. And when Elijah and Ahab met face to face, such an object as this engaged their thought and discussion. The people of Israel had for a long time been suffering from a severe famine, and the king attributes it to Elijah, who disclaims the responsibility, and charges it upon the conduct of the king. Not only does he makes this charge, but he is anxious to put it to a fair trial, and consequently he gives Ahab the challenge contained in the above verses. Concerning the challenge, we shall notice the object, the test, the decision, the result.
I. The object.
1. To confirm his statement that Ahab was responsible for the prevailing distress. This could only be obtained on the assumption that Jehovah would support Elijah in his denunciation of the king by some manifestation of Himself which would carry conviction to the mind of Ahab and others; and by this challenge Elijah sought such a manifestation of God.
2. To establish his claim as the prophet of God. In all probability the people would regard Elijah with the same unbelief and hostility as Ahab did. And before Elijah could gain a hearing from them, he needed to overcome their unbelief and opposition. This could be done by means of the challenge.
3. To prove that Jehovah was the only true God, and that Baalim was no god. This was the most important object of the challenge. At this time the people believed Jehovah to be one among many gods. Elijah sought to show them that besides Him there was no god; that Baalim and all other supposed gods were the creations of mens minds, and, therefore, false.
4. To restore the people of Israel to their allegiance to Jehovah. They had forsaken Him, and transferred their allegiance to Baalim. Elijah seeks to recover them from this apostacy; and the means by which he sought it was admirably adapted to his purpose. If God should answer Elijah, then the people would be reminded in a forcible manner of their own past history, the most prominent and grandest feature of which was the appearance of Jehovah at various times to their fathers; to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; to Moses in the burning bush; in Egypt; at the Red Sea; throughout the wilderness; to Joshua at the Jordan; at Jericho; and in giving them possession of the land wherein they dwelt. A similar manifestation to themselves would surely impress them with a sense of their sin, and awaken repentance in their hearts.
II. The test.
1. This test was fair to the Baalites. They acknowledged Baal as the god of fire. If he could manifest his power in any way, surely he could in the way proposed.
2. It was honourable to Elijah. His appeal was to the special prerogative of Baal. He does not ask for a manifestation of power not claimed for him by his followers.
3. It was adapted to the multitude. It was one upon which they could all judge. It would appeal to their senses, involving no mystery, and leaving no room for doubt.
III. The decision. Elijahs proposal being accepted, he suggested to the Baalites that they should be the first to make the trial to which they agreed. No sooner had they retired, than Elijah steps forward to prepare the altar for his bullock. His preparation is more elaborate. He has a trench dug round it, and water poured upon the sacrifice and the wood; this is repeated three times. Here we see his wisdom and his faith. He is protecting himself against any charge of procuring fire by false means. He can afford to do this, because he believes that God can send sufficient fire to consume the sacrifice, notwithstanding the water. With what excited feeling would the multitude watch Elijah, as he came near and asked the God of Abraham to show Himself this day that He was God in Israel, so that His apostate people might be convinced of their sins and return unto Him. At the close of his prayer, the fire fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. It required no deliberation to form a judgment upon the point at issue. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces, and said: The Lord He is the God, the Lord He is the God!
IV. The result. The prophets of Baal were slain. There are some objections raised against the conduct of Elijah in such a slaughter. Could he slay these prophets in the face of the authority of the king? Would the people obey Elijah in this thing? How is it to be reconciled with justice? To these objections we may answer:
1. Ahab was a coward; he would be overwhelmed with fear, and would shrink from opposing his authority to one who could in such a way invoke the God of Heaven.
2. The people knew that God had spoken against idolatry, and His law was that those who practised it were to be put to death.
3. God sought to establish His claim to be King of kings and Lord of lords: that He was a jealous God, and would not share His glory with another. The people needed to be taught this, and by such terrible means they would learn the lesson. Let us learn:
1. That Gods claims are submitted to our intelligence and judgment, as well as to our hearts.
2. It is our duty to examine His claims and to yield to them.
3. It is unreasonable and dangerous to be undecided with regard to them.The Study and Pulpit.
A memorable day. l. Because of the unique assemblage it gathered.
2. Because of the distinguished personages it engaged.
3. Because of the extraordinary nature of its transactions.
4. Because of the momentous truths involved.
5. Because of the important results that followed.
1Ki. 18:19-38. Elijah on Mount Carmel, surrounded by all Israel, while the prophets of the groves, and those that ate at Jezebels table, were offering their bullocks, or crying O Baal, hear us! and leaping upon the altars, and cutting themselves with knives, is a picture with which we are all familiar. If you try to recall the impressions which it has made upon you, I think you will feel that it has not proceeded mainly from the sudden appearance of the fire which came forth to consume Elijahs sacrifice, but from the contrast between the fever and restlessness of the priests, and the calmness and minute regularity of all the proceedings of the prophet. To testify by the form of the altar that the people were even then a portion of the twelve tribes, that they were united in Gods sight, though visibly separated by the sins of men, was one great part of Elijahs work. But it was not a less important part of his duty to remind the people that God had appointed the method and time of the sacrifice; that prayer to Him was not a violent effort to bring about some mighty result desired by the worshipper, but was an act of quiet obedience, of self-surrender: all its earnestness being derived from a belief in the willingness of God to make His creature that which without Him he cannot be. O Lord God, turn the heart of this people back again! they are in an unnatural, disorderly condition; they are trying to be independent of Thee. And they have so fixed and rooted themselves in that which is false, that they cannot break loose from it. The evil power to which they have done homage holds them fast bound in his fetters. Good has become evil to them; evil has become good. Ruler of the heart and reins, who desirest good and nothing but good for them, make them reasonable beings, restore them to the state of men! To this prayer the fire was an answer. It came down as a witness that God himself is the Author as well as the Accepter of every sacrifice; that all fire must be false which He has not kindled.Maurice.
1Ki. 18:21. The necessity of decision in religion.
1. Because of its superior claims.
2. Because of its exalting benefits.
3. Because of the moral deterioration and inevitable misery involved in prolonged hesitation.
1. Israels double-mindedness.
2. Israels unreasonableness.
3. Israels coldness and indifference under appeal.
And the people answered him not a word. The sullenness of unbelief.
1. Unbelief is slow to accept evidence.
2. Is reluctant to admit conviction.
3. Stubbornly refuses to act in harmony with both evidence and conviction.
Israel is met together. Elijah rates them not so much for their superstition, as for their unsettledness and irresolution. Nothing is more odious to God than a profane neutrality in main oppositions of religion. To go upright in a wrong way is a less eyesore to God than to halt betwixt right and wrong. The Spirit wished that the Laodiceans were either hot or cold; either temper would be better borne than neither, than both. In reconcileable differences, nothing is more safe than indifferency both of practice and opinion; but in cases of so necessary hostility as betwixt God and Baal, he that is on neither side is the deadliest enemy to both. Less hateful are they to God that serve Him not at all, than they that serve Him with a rival.Bp. Hall.
1Ki. 18:22. The solitariness of the good.
1. A picture of indomitable bravery when menaced by overwhelming Numbers 2. Calls forth profound sorrow in view of the popular and prevailing iniquity.
3. Yearns for companions to share the bliss of a holy life.
1Ki. 18:24. We see the god of the blind, mad world; and the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. The generation of to-day thinks itself elevated far above the Baal worship which in its nature was deification of nature and the world; and yet how often does it happen that it serves the creature rather than the Creator! Men no longer make gods out of wood and stone, but construct them out of their own thoughts, and worship their own ideas. The world wishes to hear nothing of the God who is holy and ready to sanctify the sinful heart of man; who is just, and metes to each man the measure which he deserves; who does not suffer Himself to be scorned; of the rebukes and chastisement of such a God as He has revealed Himself in His Word, the world makes nothing; and will only hear of a God who never rebukes or punishes, who is no avenging judge, who works no miracles, can hear no prayers. Elijah, could he return to earth, would scorn such a divinity no less than he did the idol Baal.Lange.
The people now find a voice. They had hesitated before, not wishing to decide between the two worships, or wholly to relinquish either. They now readily accept a proposition which promises them an exciting spectacle, and will relieve them of the trouble of making a decision by mental efforts of their own.Speakers Comm.
1Ki. 18:26-29. The infatuation of idolatry.
1. May beguile minds of the highest order.
2. Incites its votaries to the most extravagant Acts 3. Is more resolute the less it succeeds.
4. Presents a painful picture of what self-deceived humanity may become.
1Ki. 18:36-39. The sublimity and efficacy of true prayer.
1. If we consider the glorious Being to whom it is addressed (1Ki. 18:36).
2. If we contrast it with the wild iterations of raving idolaters (1Ki. 18:26-28). If we consider the practical good it seeks to confer on men (1Ki. 18:37).
3. If we consider the remarkable answers vouchsafed (1Ki. 18:38-39).
1Ki. 18:37. All knowledge and recognition of God is inseparable from the conversion of the heart to Him. That is the aim of every testimony and revelation of God, and for that every true servant of God should daily pray in behalf of those entrusted to his care. Elijah, unlike the priests of Baal, who called upon their god the whole day, used few words, yet was he heard, because in those few words he expressed infinite meaning, and his prayer came from the depths of a believing, unquestioning soul.
1Ki. 18:38. What is the miracle of that fire which devoured the burnt offering and compelled the whole people to cry out: The Lord He is God, in comparison with the miracle that God hath sent His Son into the world to kindle the greatest fire which has ever burnt in the world; compared with the miracle that the Word has become flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory? In Bethlehem, and upon Golgotha, the glory of the Lord is infinitely higher in its manifestation than upon Carmel.Lange.
1Ki. 18:40. The appeal of Elijah was to the people. He called upon them to inflict then and there, upon these ringleaders of the people in idolatry, the punishment which the law denounced, and such as would have been inflicted upon himself had the victory been on their side; and the king seems to have been too awestricken to interfere. From the character of Elijah, we have no doubt that he executed this act of blood heartily and with entire satisfaction. It is not for us to vindicate him; the only question is: Was this in accordance with the law and with the spirit of the times? It certainly was; and Britons, not so much as fifty years ago, performed under their own laws, with perfect peace of mind, upon far less heinous offenders, the deadly executions which we now regard with horror. If, then, in looking back upon the last generation, we make allowance for this great change of law and sentiment within so short a time, we must needs make the same allowance in surveying the more remote and less refined age in which Elijah lived.Kitto.
A fearful vengeance, surely! Does the thought occur to youIf this book be, as is alleged, not a mere history of that which is strange and exceptional, but a revelation of permanent laws and principles, may not this act be pleaded in justification of any, even the most outrageous punishment of worshippers false, or thought to be false, that has ever taken place in any age of the Christian church? I answer, I conceive this story is a revelation of permanent priniciples, just as I believe Elijahs declaration that there should be no rain nor dew, or his commanding the widows cruse not to fail, is the revelation of a permanent principle. The one shows forth Gods indignation against those who corrupt and demoralize a nation by trading in religious arts and fears, just as the others show Gods continual government over the outward universe, and His protecting care over every person who dwells in it. The method in which the revelation of these truths was made belongs to a peculiar period of the worlds history. In a general way, it may be said to belong to the whole Jewish dispensation, Including in that the period down to the destruction of Jerusalem. In another sense, it belonged to the special circumstances of the time in which Elijah was living. We do not need to have prophets executing these purposes of the Divine government, which famines, pestilences, revolutions execute without them, or those which are accomplished through the intervention of the ordinary minister of health and nourishment. But if no prophet had ever been commissioned to do one kind of work as well as the other, we should not have known to whom we might refer them. An infinite darkness would have rested both upon human and natural proceedings, which, except through our own fault and unwillingness to profit by Gods illumition, does not rest upon them now.Maurice.
The sentence upon the idol-priests was a terrible but necessary one, which should serve us not as an example, but as a warning; for although under the new covenant superstition and unbelief, idol-worship and apostacy, are not chastised with fire and sword, yet there is not wanting a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries. Those who tread under foot the blood of the Lamb will shrink from the wrath of the Lamb (Luk. 9:54-56; Heb. 10:27-31; Rev. 6:16).Lange.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(19) Carmel.The word signifies a garden or park (see Isa. 29:17; Isa. 32:15-16, &c.) and, when used for the proper name of the mountain, has commonly the article. Mount Carmelrightly called the park, well planted and watered, of central Palestineis a limestone ridge, with deep ravines thickly wooded, running north-west for about twelve miles from the central hills of Manasseh, so as to form the south side of the bay of Ptolemais, and almost to reach the sea, leaving, however, a space round which the southern armies constantly poured into the plain of Jezreel. It varies from 600 feet to 1,700 feet in height. Near its higher eastern extremity there is a place still called El Maharrakah, the burning, in view of the plain and city of Jezreel, and commanding from one point a glimpse of the sea, which is the traditional (and highly probable) scene of Elijahs sacrifice. Carmel is previously mentioned in Jos. 19:26, as falling to Asher, and the existence of the altar of the Lord shows that, as was natural, it was made one of the high places, and, indeed, it appears to have been known as such even to the heathen. In the prophetic writings it is referred to as proverbial for its luxuriant pasturage and beauty. (See Isa. 33:9; Jer. 4:26; Amo. 1:2; Amo. 9:3; Son. 7:6.) No more striking scene could well be found for the great drama of this chapter.
The prophets of the groves (Asherah) . . .These, being probably the devotees of the female deity Astarte, seem to have been especially favoured by the queen. It is, however, to be noted that, in spite of Elijahs challenge, they do not appear at all in the subsequent scene. (See 1Ki. 18:22; 1Ki. 18:40.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
19. Mount Carmel See at Jos 19:26. “Carmel was the peculiar haunt of Elijah. On its eastern summit, commanding the last view of the Mediterranean Sea and the first view of the great plain of Esdraelon, just where the glades of forest the ‘excellency’ whence it derives its name sink into the usual bareness of the hills of Manasseh, a rock is still shown bearing the name of Maharrakah ’the sacrifice.’ On this rock stood an altar of Jehovah, (1Ki 18:30,) which had, in all probability, been destroyed in the recent persecution. On this same spot, probably, long afterwards, Vespasian sacrificed when commanding the Roman armies in Palestine; and to this the Druses still come in yearly pilgrimage. In the distance, and on its commanding position overlooking the whole valley, rose the stately city of Jezreel, with Ahab’s palace and Jezebel’s temple embosomed in its sacred grove. Immediately under their feet spread far and wide that noble plain the battlefield of sacred history the plain of Megiddo, or Jezreel, with the torrent Kishon passing, as its name implies, in countless windings through the level valley; that ‘ancient stream,’ on whose banks had perished the host of Sisera and the host of Midian before the army of Deborah and Barak, before the sword of the Lord and of Gideon. In such a scene, with such recollections of the past, were the people of Israel gathered for a conflict as momentous as any which had taken place in the plain beneath.” Stanley.
Prophets of the groves Rather, Prophets of Asheroth, the female divinity of the Zidonians, and often called Ashtoreth. 1Ki 11:5-33; Jdg 2:13; 1Sa 7:3-4. In this verse Baal and Asherah are mentioned together as in Jdg 2:13. The one was the male, the other the female deity of the Phenicians. See note on 1Ki 14:15. The prophets of Asherah were specially petted and patronized by Jezebel, though they seem not to have been quite as numerous as those of Baal. They ate at Jezebel’s table, were treated as members of the royal family. The multitude of false prophets here specified (850) shows the zeal and success with which the queen had introduced her national idolatry into the kingdom of Israel. The strong hold which the newly-introduced idolatry now had upon the kingdom shows, also, the demand there was for the miraculous vindication at Carmel of the true worship of Jehovah, and the overwhelming defeat and disgrace of the worship and worshippers of Baal.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“ Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel to mount Carmel, and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
He then called on Ahab to bring to Elijah on Mount Carmel ‘all Israel’ (the assembly of Israel), together with the numerous prophets of Baal and Asherah who were being fed at Jezebel’s table. This may well have been for a recognised festival which was regularly held there, for it is apparent later that both sides saw Mount Carmel as possessing a sanctuary.
We are reminded here that all nations and religions had their ‘prophets’ who claimed to be inspired by their gods, often going into a state of ecstasy (1Ki 18:28), although until the time of Ezekiel the outstanding true prophets of YHWH are presented as remarkably free from such ecstasy (contrast the ecstasy of the false prophet Zedekiah with the reasoned approach of Micaiah in 1Ki 22:11-28). We should note, however, 1Sa 10:5, although their ecstasy was seen as the true work of the Spirit. However, as Deu 18:21-22 has pointed out, the test was as to whether what they proclaimed came true. Israel too had its share of false prophets (1Ki 22:11; 1Ki 22:24). But it also had bands of genuine prophets who held firmly to the truth of YHWH.
1Ki 18:20
‘ So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together to mount Carmel.’
It is an indication of the awe in which King Ahab held Elijah that he did as he had bid him. The summons went out to all Israel to gather at the sanctuary on Mount Carmel, and all the prophets of Baal were commanded to be there. It was a further indication that in his heart he knew that Elijah could do something about the drought.
In what follows we gather that there was at Mount Carmel, a long mountain ridge stretching out into the sea, divided by many ravines, a true sanctuary dedicated to YHWH which had been allowed to fall into disuse. There was also there a sanctuary and altar of Baal which were flourishing, no doubt encouraged by Jezebel. Mount Carmel with its periodic rains and storms, which regularly included lightning, together with its abundant fruitfulness, would be very suitable as a site for Baal worship. (The lightning dancing around the hills is a spectacular feature of life in Palestine). It may have been partly this contrast in the sanctuaries that made Elijah choose Mount Carmel, for it was his purpose to illustrate the revival of Yahwism, and this site on the borders of Israel and Phoenicia, revered by all, was a good place to do it. There is also a good possibility that it was because he knew that the true prophets of YHWH were hiding in the caves there.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
(19) Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table. (20) So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.
How must the mind of this wretched man Ahab have been overruled so immediately to comply with the prophet’s request. It is more than probable that Ahab thought, as Elijah had declared when he predicted the famine, that there should be no dew, nor rain, but according to his word, that Elijah would give that word on mount Carmel. No doubt, the Lord’s hand was in the whole, and he overruled Ahab’s mind to obey the prophet implicitly.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Ki 18:19 Now therefore send, [and] gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.
Ver. 19. And the prophets of the groves, which eat at Jezebel’s table.] These came not, as forbidden, haply, by Jezebel, who yet was at great charge with them. The Duke of Bavaria’s house is at this day so pestered with friars and Jesuits, that notwithstanding the greatness of his revenue, he is very poor, as spending all his estate on these Popish flesh flies.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Carmel. Eighteen miles from Jezreel; sixteen miles from the sea. The Kishon below, but now dry. At the foot a perennial spring, with a roofed reservoir, eight feet deep. Carmel is still called “Mar-Elias”.
groves = the’ Asherah. See note on Exo 34:13.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
mount Carmel: Mount Carmel is situated north of Dora and south of Ptolemais or Acre, from which it is distant, according to Josephus, 120 stadia, or, according to Thevenot, 10 miles; one of its principal points advancing considerably into the Mediterranean, and forming an elevated promontory. It is described as a flattened cone, about 2,000 feet (some say 1,500) in height, very rocky, its sides steep and rugged, and the soil neither deep nor rich. Capt. Mangles says its is now quite barren, though at the north-eastern foot of it there are some pretty olive-grounds. 1Ki 18:42, 1Ki 18:43, Jos 19:26, 1Sa 15:12, 2Ki 2:25, Jer 46:18, Amo 1:2, Amo 9:3
the prophets of Baal: 1Ki 22:6, 2Pe 2:1, Rev 19:20
prophets of the groves: 1Ki 15:13, 1Ki 16:33, 2Ki 13:6, Though ashairah certainly denotes in some place a grove, yet it is equally certain, that in others, as here, it must signify an idol; and it is thought by learned men to be the same as Ashtoreth, or Astarte the Syrian Venus.
eat at Jezebel’s table: 1Ki 19:1, 1Ki 19:2, 2Ki 9:22, Rev 2:20
Reciprocal: Deu 18:20 – in the name Jdg 3:7 – the groves 1Ki 16:31 – Jezebel 1Ki 18:22 – Baal’s prophets 2Ki 3:13 – the prophets 2Ki 4:25 – to mount 2Ki 10:11 – his priests 2Ki 10:18 – Ahab served Baal 2Ki 10:20 – Proclaim 2Ki 23:4 – Baal 2Ch 18:5 – prophets Neh 5:17 – at my table Isa 44:11 – let them all Hos 9:8 – but Hos 11:2 – they sacrificed Hos 13:1 – offended
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Ki 18:19. Now therefore That this great controversy between thee and me may be decided; that it may be determined who is the true God, and therefore the proper object of the peoples worship; that the true cause of these heavy judgments may be discovered and removed, and so the plague may cease; send messengers and gather all Israel By their heads or representatives, that they may be witnesses of all our transactions; unto mount Carmel Not Carmel in Judea, but another place of that name in the tribe of Issachar, by the midland sea, which he chose, because, being in the centre of Ahabs kingdom, all the tribes might conveniently resort to it; and being at a distance from Samaria, Jezebel, he had reason to think, would not be present there to hinder his design. And as it was a very high mountain, (Amo 9:3,) and upon the sea, he might from thence discover the rain at its first approach. The prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty Who were dispersed in all parts of the kingdom. The prophets of the groves four hundred Who attended upon those idols that were worshipped in the groves which were near the royal city, and much frequented by the king and the queen. Mr. Selden understands by them the prophets of Astarte, the great goddess of the Zidonians, and renders his opinion very probable, by comparing many passages of Scripture together. Which eat at Jezebels table Whom she sustained, most probably not always, but in this time of famine only, when, upon account of the extreme poverty that prevailed, they could not be supported by the offerings of the people, and the gains they made of them. But this sufficiently shows the infatuation and zeal of Jezebel for these idolatrous priests, that in a time of such famine she should take upon her to provide for eight hundred and fifty of them.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
ELIJAH AT SAREPTA
1Ki 17:7; 1Ki 18:19.
“The rain is Gods compassion.”
-MOHAMMED
THE fierce drought continued, and “at the end of days” even the thin trickling of the stream in the clefts of Cherith was dried up. In the language of Job it felt the glare and vanished {Job 6:17} No miracle was wrought to supply the Prophet with water, but once more the providence of God intervened to save his life for the mighty work which still awaited him. He was sent to the region where, nearly a millennium later, the feet of his Lord followed him on a mission of mercy to those other sheep of His flock who were not of the Judaean fold.
The word of the Lord bade him make his way to the Sidonian city of Zarephath. Zarephath, the Sarepta of St. Luke, the modern Surafend, lay between Tyre and Sidon, and there the waters would not be wholly dried up, for the fountains of Lebanon were not yet exhausted. The drought had extended to Phoenicia, but Elijah was told that there a widow woman would sustain him. The Baal-worshipping queen who had hunted for his life would be least of all likely to search for him in a city of Baal-worshippers in the midst of her own people. He is sent among these Baal-worshippers to do them kindness, to receive kindness from them-perhaps to learn a wider tolerance, and to find that idolaters also are human beings, children, like the orthodox, of the same heavenly Father. He had been taught the lesson of “dependence upon God”; he was now to learn the lesson of “fellowship with man.” Traveling probably by night both for coolness and for safety, Elijah went that long journey to the heathen district. He arrived there faint with hunger and thirst. Seeing a woman gathering sticks near the city gate he asked her for some water, and as she was going to fetch it he called to her and asked her also to bring him a morsel of bread. The answer revealed the condition of extreme want to which she was reduced. Recognizing that Elijah was an Israelite, and therefore a worshipper of Jehovah, she said, “As Jehovah thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but (only) a handful of meal in the barrel, and a little oil in the cruse.” She was gathering a couple of sticks to make one last meal for herself and her son, and then to lie down and die. For drought did not only mean universal anguish, but much actual starvation. It meant, as Joel says, speaking of the desolation caused by locusts, that the cattle groan and perish, and the corn withers, and the seeds rot under their clods.
Strong in faith Elijah told her not to fear, but first to supply his own more urgent needs, and then to make a meal for herself and her son. Till Jehovah sent rain, the barrel of meal should not waste, nor the cruse of oil fail. She believed the promise, and for many days, perhaps for two whole years, the Prophet continued to be her guest.
But after a time her boy fell grievously sick, and at last died, or seemed to die. So dread a calamity-the smiting of the stay of her home, and the son of her widowhood-filled the woman with terror. She longed to get rid of the presence of this terrible “man of God.” He must have come, she thought, to bring her sin to remembrance before God, and so to cause Him to slay her son. The Prophet was touched by the pathos of her appeal, and could not bear that she should look upon him as the cause of her bereavement. “Give me thy son,” he said. Taking the dead boy from her arms, he carried him to the chamber which she had set apart for him, and laid him on his own bed. Then, after an earnest cry to God, he stretched himself three times over the body of the youth, as though to breathe into his lungs and restore his vital warmth, at the same time praying intensely that “his soul might come into him again.” His prayer was heard; the boy revived. Carrying him down from the chamber, Elijah had the happiness of restoring him to his widowed mother with the words, “See, thy son liveth.” So remarkable an event not only convinced the woman that Elijah was indeed what she had called him, “a man of God,” but also that Jehovah was the true God. It was not unnatural that tradition should interest itself in the boy thus strangely snatched from the jaws of death. The Jews fancied that he grew up to be servant of Elijah, and afterwards to be the prophet Jonah. The tradition at least shows an insight into the fact that Elijah was the first missionary sent from among the Jews to the heathen, and that Jonah became the second.
We are not to suppose that during his stay at Zarephath Elijah remained immured in his chamber. Safe and unsuspected, he might, at least by night, make his way to other places, and it is reasonable to believe that he then began to haunt the glades and heights of beautiful and deserted Carmel, which was at no great distance, and where he could mourn over the ruined altar of Jehovah and take refuge in any of its “more than two thousand tortuous caves.” But what was the object of his being sent to Zarephath? That it was not for his own sake alone, that it had in it a purpose of conversion, is distinctly implied by our Lord when He says that in those days there were many widows in Israel, yet Elijah was not sent to them, but to this Sidonian idolatress. The prophets and saints of God do not always understand the meaning of Providence or the lessons of their Divine training. Francis of Assisi at first entirely misunderstood the real drift and meaning of the Divine intimations that he was to rebuild the ruined Church of God, which he afterwards so gloriously fulfilled. The thoughts of God, are not as man’s thoughts, nor His ways as man’s ways, nor does He make all His servants as it were “fusile apostles,” as He made St. Paul. The education of Elijah was far from complete even long afterwards. To the very last, if we are to accept the records of him as historically literal, amid the revelations vouchsafed to him he had not grasped the truth that the Elijah-spirit, however needful it may seem to be, differs very widely from the Spirit of the Lord of Life. Yet may it not have been that Elijah was sent to learn from the kind ministrations of a Sidonian widow, to whose care his life was due, some inkling of those truths which Christ revealed so many centuries afterwards, when He visited the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, and extended His mercy to the great faith of the Syro-Phoenician woman? May not Elijah have been meant to learn what had to be taught by experience to the two great Apostles of the Circumcision and the Uncircumcision, that not every Baal-worshipper was necessarily corrupt or wholly insincere? St. Peter was thus taught that God is no respecter of persons, and that whether their religious belief be false or true, in every nation he that feareth Him and doeth righteousness is accepted of Him. St. Paul learnt at Damascus and taught at Athens that God made of one every nation of men to dwell on the face of the earth, that they should seek God if haply they might feel after Him and find Him, though He be not far; from every one of us.