Chap. 1Ki 18:1-6<\/span>. Ahab and Obadiah search the land for grass. Elijah goes to meet Ahab (Not in Chronicles)<\/p>\n 1<\/strong>. in the third year<\/em> ] According to the tradition preserved in the New Testament (Luk 4:25<\/span>; Jas 5:17<\/span>) these three years cannot be reckoned from the beginning of the drought: for that is said to have lasted for three years and six months. The Jewish tradition reckons this third year to be the third year after the restoration of the widow’s son.<\/p>\n shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain<\/em> ] Hence the LXX. on 1Ki 17:1<\/span> explains that the rain would not come . See note there.<\/p>\n The third year – <\/B>i. e., in the third year of his sojourn with the widow. The whole period of drought was three years and a half Luk 4:25<\/span>; Jam 5:17<\/span> : of this, probably about one year was passed by Elijah in the torrent-course of Cherith, and two years and a half at Sarepta.<\/P><\/p>\n 1Ki 18:1-18<\/span><\/p>\n Go, show thyself unto Ahab.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Ahab, Obadiah, and Elijah;-<\/strong><\/p>\n What <\/em>are the general lessons as affecting Ahab, Obadiah, and Elijah?<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>It is possible for a man to be very bad in one direction and very tolerant in another. It was so in the case of Ahab. He was the worst of the kings of Israel, yet he kept a governor over his house who feared the Lord greatly.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>The Lord causes the most wicked men to pay His religion the homage which is due to its excellence. A bad king employs a good governor! The thief likes an honest man for steward. The blasphemer likes a godly teacher for his child.<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>He who is the slave of idolatry becomes an easy prey to the power of cruel tempters. We do not know that Ahab was a cruel man, but we do know that Jezebel was a cruel woman, and Ahab was greatly influenced by his passionate and sanguinary wife.<\/p>\n 4. <\/strong>Ahab was a speculative idolater, Jezebel was a practical persecutor; Ahab showed that speculative error is consistent with social toleration. Redeeming points do not restore the whole character. One swallow does not make a summer.<\/p>\n 5. <\/strong>In the same character may be met great faith and great doubt. Obadiah risked his life to save fifty of the prophets of the Lord, yet dare not risk it, without first receiving an oath, for the greatest prophet of all! This mixture we find in every human character. How abject, how august is man! In Ahab, Obadiah, Elijah, and Jezebel, we see a fourfold type of human society; there is the speculator, the godly servant, the far-seeing prophet, the cruel persecutor. Society has got no further than this to-day. O wondrous combination! So checked, so controlled, by invisible but benignant power. Speculative error has its counterpart in actual cruelty, and patient worship has its counterpart in daring service. Application.<\/p>\n (1)<\/strong> Be the servant of the Lord.<\/p>\n (2)<\/strong> To-day, Christ calls for faithful testimony;<\/p>\n (3)<\/strong> If we suffer with Christ we shall also reign with Him. (J. Parker, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n CHAPTER XVIII <\/P> Elijah is commanded by the Lord to show himself to Ahab<\/I>, 1, 2.<\/P> Ahab, and Obadiah his steward, search the land to find<\/I><\/P> provender for the cattle<\/I>, 3-6.<\/P> Obadiah meets Elijah, who commands him to inform Ahab that he<\/I><\/P> is ready to present himself before him<\/I>, 7-15.<\/P> Elijah and Ahab meet<\/I>, 16-18.<\/P> Elijah proposes that the four hundred and fifty priests of Baal<\/I><\/P> should be gathered together at Mount Carmel; that they should<\/I><\/P> offer a sacrifice to their god, and he to Jehovah; and the God<\/I><\/P> who should send down fire to consume the sacrifice should be<\/I><\/P> acknowledged as the true God<\/I>, 19-24.<\/P> The proposal is accepted, and the priests of Baal call in vain<\/I><\/P> upon their god through the whole day<\/I>, 25-29.<\/P> Elijah offers his sacrifice, prays to Gods and fire comes down<\/I><\/P> from heaven and consumes it; whereupon the people acknowledge<\/I><\/P> Jehovah to be the true God, and slay all the prophets of Baal<\/I>,<\/P> 30-40.<\/P> Elijah promises Ahab that there shall be immediate rain; it<\/I><\/P> comes accordingly, and Ahab and Elijah come to Jezreel<\/I>, 41-46. <\/P> NOTES ON CHAP. XVIII<\/P> <\/P> Verse 1<\/span>. After many days – in the third year<\/B><\/I>] We learn from our Lord, Lu 4:25<\/span>, that the drought which brought on the famine in Israel lasted three years and six months<\/I>. St. James, Jas 5:17<\/span>, gives it the same duration. Probably Elijah spent six months at the brook Cherith, and three years with the widow at Sarepta<\/I>.<\/P> <\/P> I will send rain upon the earth.<\/B><\/I>] The word haadamah<\/I> should be translated the ground<\/I> or the land<\/I>, as it is probable that this drought did not extend beyond the land of Judea.<\/P> <\/p>\n In the third year; <\/B>either, <\/P> 1. From the time when he went to hide himself by the brook Cherith; six months before which time the famine might begin, though it was not yet come to extremity. And so this being in or towards the end of the third year, it makes up these three years and six months, Jam 5:17<\/span>. Or, <\/P> 2. From the time of his going to Sarepta, which probably was a year after the famine began; See Poole “1Ki 17:7<\/span>“; and so this might be in the middle of the third year, which also makes up the three years and six months. <\/P> Show thyself unto Ahab; <\/B>to acquaint him with the cause of this judgment, 1Ki 18:18<\/span>, and to advise him to remove it, and upon that condition to promise him rain. <\/P> I will send rain upon the earth, <\/B>according to thy word and prayer, which thou shalt make for it. Thus God takes care to maintain the honour and authority of his prophet, and in judgment remembers mercy to Israel for the sake of the holy seed yet left among them, who suffered in this common calamity. <\/P> <\/p>\n 1. the third year<\/B>In the NewTestament, it is said there was no rain “for the space of threeyears and six months” [Jas5:17<\/span>]. The early rain fell in our March, the latter rain in ourOctober. Though Ahab might have at first ridiculed Elijah’sannouncement, yet when neither of these rains fell in their season,he was incensed against the prophet as the cause of the nationaljudgment, and compelled him, with God’s direction, to consult hissafety in flight. This was six months after the king was told therewould be neither dew nor rain, and from this period the three yearsin this passage are computed. <\/P> Go, show thyself untoAhab<\/B>The king had remained obdurate and impenitent. Anotheropportunity was to be given him of repentance, and Elijah was sent inorder to declare to him the cause of the national judgment, and topromise him, on condition of his removing it, the immediate blessingof rain.<\/P><\/p>\n And it came to pass after many days<\/strong>,…. When two years and more were gone from the time the drought and famine began; or rather from the time of the prophets departure to the brook Cherith, which might be six months after the famine began:<\/p>\n that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year<\/strong>; of his absence from Ahab:<\/p>\n saying, go show thyself unto Ahab<\/strong>; whom he had not seen so long, and who had been seeking for him, but to no purpose:<\/p>\n and I will send rain upon the earth<\/strong>; the term of three years and six months being almost expired, see Jas 5:17<\/span>.<\/p>\n As the judgment of drought and famine did not bring king Ahab to his senses and lead him to turn from his ungodly ways, but only filled him with exasperation towards the prophet who had announced to him the coming judgment; there was no other course left than to lay before the people with mighty and convincing force the proof that Jehovah was the only true God, and to execute judgment upon the priests of Baal as the seducers of the nation.<\/p>\n 1Ki 18:1-6<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> Elijah’s meeting with Ahab<\/em>. – 1Ki 18:1<\/span>, 1Ki 18:2<\/span><\/em>. In the third year of his sojourn at Zarephath the word of the Lord came to Elijah to show himself to Ahab; since God was about to send rain upon the land again. The time given, “the third year,” is not to be reckoned, as the Rabbins, Clericus, Thenius, and others assume, from the commencement of the drought, but from the event last mentioned, namely, the sojourn of Elijah at Zarephath. This view merits the preference as the simplest and most natural one, and is shown to be the oldest by Luk 4:25<\/span> and Jam 5:17<\/span>, where Christ and James both say, that in the time of Ahab it did not rain for three years and six months. And this length of time can only be obtained by allowing more than two years for Elijah’s stay at Zarephath. – From 1Ki 18:2<\/span><\/em> to 1Ki 18:6<\/span> we have parenthetical remarks introduced, to explain the circumstances which led to Elijah’s meeting with Ahab. The verbs , , , , and (1Ki 18:3<\/span>, 1Ki 18:4<\/span>, 1Ki 18:5<\/span>, 1Ki 18:6<\/span>) carry on the circumstantial clauses: “and the famine was…” ( 1Ki 18:2<\/span><\/em>), and “Obadiah feared…” ( 1Ki 18:3<\/span><\/em>), and are therefore to be expressed by the pluperfect. When the famine had become very severe in Samaria (the capital), Ahab, with Obadiah the governor of his castle ( , see at 1Ki 4:6<\/span>), who was a God-fearing man, and on the persecution of the prophets of Jehovah by Jezebel had hidden a hundred prophets in caves and supplied them with food, had arranged for an expedition through the whole land to seek for hay for his horses and mules. And for this purpose they had divided the land between them, so that the one explored one district and the other another. We see from Oba 1:4<\/span> that Jezebel had resolved upon exterminating the worship of Jehovah, and sought to carry out this intention by destroying the prophets of the true God. The hundred prophets whom Obadiah concealed were probably for the most part pupils (“sons”) of the prophets. must signify, according to the context and also according to Oba 1:13<\/span>, “fifty each,” so that must have fallen out through a copyist’s error. , that we may not be obliged to kill (a portion) of the cattle ( partitive). The Keri<\/em> is no doubt actually correct, but it is not absolutely necessary, as the Chethb<\/em> may be taken as an indefinite phrase: “any head of cattle.” <\/p>\n 1Ki 18:7-8<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> Elijah met Obadiah on this expedition, and told him to announce his coming to the king.<\/p>\n 1Ki 18:9-11<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> Obadiah was afraid that the execution of this command might cost him his life, inasmuch as Ahab had sent in search of Elijah “to every kingdom and every nation,” – a hyperbole suggested by inward excitement and fear. is to be connected with what follows in spite of the accents: “and if they said he is not here, he took an oath,” etc.<\/p>\n 1Ki 18:12-14<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> “And if it comes to pass (that) I go away from thee, and the Spirit of Jehovah carries thee away whither I know not, and I come to tell Ahab (sc., that thou art here) and he findeth thee not, he will slay me, and thy servant feareth the Lord from his youth,” etc.; i.e., since I as a God-fearing man and a protector of the prophets cannot boast of any special favour from Ahab. , from my<\/em> youth up: “thy servant” being equivalent to “I myself.” From the fear expressed by Obadiah that the Spirit of Jehovah might suddenly carry the prophet to some unknown place, Seb. Schmidt and others have inferred that in the earlier history of Elijah there had occurred some cases of this kind of sudden transportation, though they have not been handed down; but the anxiety expressed by Obadiah might very well have sprung from the fact, that after Elijah had announced the coming drought to Ahab, he disappeared, and, notwithstanding all the inquiries instituted by the king, was nowhere to be found. And since he was not carried off miraculously then (compare the and , “get thee hence” and “he went,” in 1Ki 17:3<\/span>, 1Ki 17:5<\/span>), there is all the less ground for imagining cases of this kind in the intermediate time, when he was hidden from his enemies. The subsequent translation of Elijah to heaven (2Ki 2:11-12<\/span>), and the miraculous carrying away of Philip from the chamberlain of Mauritania (Act 8:39<\/span>), do not warrant any such assumption; and still less the passage which Clericus quotes from Ezekiel (Eze 3:12<\/span>, Eze 3:14<\/span>), because the carrying of Ezekiel through the air, which is mentioned here, only happened in vision and not in external reality. If Obadiah had known of any actual occurrence of this kind, he would certainly have stated it more clearly as a more striking vindication of his fear.<\/p>\n 1Ki 18:15-19<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> But when Elijah assured him with an oath ( , see at 1Sa 1:3<\/span>) that he would show himself to Ahab that day, Obadiah went to announce it to the king; whereupon Ahab went to meet the prophet, and sought to overawe him with the imperious words, “Art thou here, thou troubler of Israel.” ( , see at Gen 34:30<\/span>). But Elijah threw back this charge: “It is not I who have brought Israel into trouble, but thou and thy family, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of Jehovah, and thou goest after Baalim.” He then called upon the king to gather together all Israel to him upon Carmel, together with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who ate of Jezebel’s table, i.e., who were maintained by the queen.<\/p>\n Carmel, a mountain ridge “with many peaks, intersected by hundreds of larger and smaller ravines,” which stands out as a promontory running in a north-westerly direction into the Mediterranean (see at Jos 19:26<\/span>), and some of the loftiest peaks of which rise to the height of 1800 feet above the level of the sea, when seen from the northern or outer side shows only “bald, monotonous rocky ridges, scantily covered with short and thorny bushes;” but in the interior it still preserves its ancient glory, which has procured for it the name of “fruit-field,” the valleys being covered with the most beautiful flowers of every description, and the heights adorned with myrtles, laurels, oaks, and firs (cf. V. de Velde, R<\/em>. i. p. 292ff.). At the north-western extremity of the mountain there is a celebrated Carmelite monastery, dedicated to Elijah, whom tradition represents as having lived in a grotto under the monastery; but we are certainly not to look there for the scene of the contest with the priests of Baal described in the verses which follow. The scene of Elijah’s sacrifice is rather to be sought for on one of the south-eastern heights of Carmel; and Van de Velde (i. p. 320ff.) has pointed it out with great probability in the ruins of el Mohraka<\/em>, i.e., “the burned place,” “a rocky level space of no great circumference, and covered with old gnarled trees with a dense entangled undergrowth of bushes.” For “one can scarcely imagine a spot better adapted for the thousands of Israel to have stood drawn up on than the gentle slopes. The rock shoots up in an almost perpendicular wall of more than 200 feet in height on the side of the vale of Esdraelon. On this side, therefore, there was no room for the gazing multitude; but, on the other hand, this wall made it visible over the whole plain, and from all the surrounding heights, so that even those left behind, who had not ascended Carmel, would still have been able to witness at no great distance the fire from heaven that descended upon the altar.” – “There is not a more conspicuous spot on all Carmel than the abrupt rocky height of el Mohraka, shooting up so suddenly on the east.” Moreover, the soil was thoroughly adapted for the erection of the altar described in 1Ki 18:31<\/span>, 1Ki 18:32<\/span>: “it shows a rocky surface, with a sufficiency of large fragments of rock lying all around, and, besides, well fitted for the rapid digging of a trench.” There is also water in the neighbourhood, as is assumed in 1Ki 18:34<\/span>. “Nowhere does the Kishon run so close to Mount Carmel as just beneath el Mohraka,” which is “1635 feet above the sea, and perhaps 1000 feet above the Kishon. This height can be gone up and down in the short time allowed by the Scripture (1Ki 18:40-44<\/span>).” But it was possible to find water even nearer than this, to pour upon the burnt-offering in the manner described in 1Ki 18:34<\/span>, 1Ki 18:35<\/span>. Close by the steep rocky wall of the height, just where you can descend to the Kishon through a steep ravine, you find, “250 feet it might be beneath the altar plateau, a vaulted and very abundant fountain built in the form of a tank, with a few steps leading down into it, just as one finds elsewhere in the old wells or springs of the Jewish times.” – “From such a fountain alone could Elijah have procured so much water at that time. And as for the distance between this spring and the supposed site of the altar, it was every way possible for men to go thrice thither and back again to obtain the necessary supply.” Lastly, el Mohraka is so situated, that the circumstances mentioned in 1Ki 18:42-44<\/span> also perfectly coincide (Van de Velde, pp. 322-325).<\/p>\n The Character of Obadiah; Elijah’s Interview with Obadiah.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 906.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> 1 And it came to pass after<\/I> many days, that the word of the LORD<\/B> came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. 2 And Elijah went to show himself unto Ahab. And there was<\/I> a sore famine in Samaria. 3 And Ahab called Obadiah, which was<\/I> the governor of his<\/I> house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD<\/B> greatly: 4 For it was so,<\/I> when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD<\/B>, that Obadiah took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) 5 And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. 6 So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. 7 And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art<\/I> thou that my lord Elijah? 8 And he answered him, I am:<\/I> go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.<\/I> 9 And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? 10 As<\/I> the LORD<\/B> thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is<\/I> not there;<\/I> he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. 11 And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.<\/I> 12 And it shall come to pass, as soon as<\/I> I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD<\/B> shall carry thee whither I know not; and so<\/I> when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD<\/B> from my youth. 13 Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD<\/B>, how I hid a hundred men of the LORD<\/B>‘s prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? 14 And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here:<\/I> and he shall slay me. 15 And Elijah said, As<\/I> the LORD<\/B> of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself unto him to day. 16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah.<\/P> In these verses we find,<\/P> I. The sad state of Israel at this time, upon two accounts:–<\/P> 1. Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 4<\/span>), slew them,<\/I> v.<\/span> 13<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. Being an idolater, she was a persecutor, and made Ahab one. Even in those bad times, when the calves were worshipped and the temple at Jerusalem deserted, yet there were some good people that feared God and served him, and some good prophets that instructed them in the knowledge of him and assisted them in their devotions. The priests and the Levites had all gone to Judah and Jerusalem (2Ch 11:13<\/span>; 2Ch 11:14<\/span>), but, instead of them, God raised up these prophets, who read and expounded the law in private meetings, or in the families that retained their integrity, for we read not of any synagogues at this time; they had not the spirit of prophecy as Elijah, nor did they offer sacrifice, or burn incense, but taught people to live well, and keep close to the God of Israel. These Jezebel aimed to extirpate, and put many of them to death, which was as much a public calamity as a public iniquity, and threatened the utter ruin of religion’s poor remains in Israel. Those few that escaped the sword were forced to abscond, and hide themselves in caves, where they were buried alive and cut off, though not from life, yet from usefulness, which is the end and comfort of life; and, when the prophets were persecuted and driven into corners, no doubt their friends, those few good people that were in the land, were treated in like manner. Yet, bad as things were,<\/P> (1.) There was one very good man, who was a great man at court, Obadiah,<\/I> who answered his name–a servant of the Lord,<\/I> one who feared God and was faithful to him, and yet was steward of the household to Ahab. Observe his character: He feared the Lord greatly<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 3<\/span>), was not only a good man, but zealously and eminently good; his great place put a lustre upon his goodness, and gave him great opportunities of doing good; and he feared the Lord from his youth<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 12<\/span>), he began betimes to be religious and had continued long. Note, Early piety, it is to be hoped, will be eminent piety; those that are good betimes are likely to be very good; he that feared God from his youth came to fear him greatly. He that will thrive must rise betimes. But it is strange to find such an eminently good man governor of Ahab’s house, an office of great honour, power, and trust. [1.] It was strange that so wicked a man as Ahab would prefer him to it and continue him in it; certainly it was because he was a man of celebrated honesty, industry, and ingenuity, and one in whom he could repose a confidence, whose eyes he could trust as much as his own, as appears here, v.<\/I><\/span> 5<\/span>. Joseph and Daniel were preferred because there were none so fit as they for the places they were preferred to. Note, Those who profess religion should study to recommend themselves to the esteem even of those that are without by their integrity, fidelity, and application to business. [2.] It was strange that so good a man as Obadiah would accept of preferment in a court so addicted to idolatry and all manner of wickedness. We may be sure it was not made necessary to qualify him for preferment that he should be of the king’s religion, that he should conform to the statues of Omri, or the law of the house of Ahab.<\/I> Obadiah would not have accepted the place if he could not have had it without bowing the knee to Baal, nor was Ahab so impolitic as to exclude those from offices that were fit to serve him, merely because they would not join with him in his devotions. That man that is true to his God will be faithful to his prince. Obadiah therefore could with a good conscience enjoy the place, and therefore would not decline it, nor give it up, though he foresaw he could not do the good he desired to do in it. Those that fear God need not go out of the world, bad as it is. [3.] It was strange that either he did not reform Ahab or Ahab corrupt him; but it seems they were both fixed; he that was filthy would be filthy still, and he that was holy would be holy still. Those fear God greatly that keep up the fear of him in bad times and places; thus Obadiah did. God has his remnant among all sorts, high and low; there were saints in Nero’s household, and in Ahab’s.<\/P> (2.) This great good man used his power for the protection of God’s prophets. He hid 100 of them in two caves, when the persecution was hot, and fed them with bread and water,<\/I> v.<\/span> 4<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. He did not think it enough to fear God himself, but, having wealth and power wherewith to do it, he thought himself obliged to assist and countenance others that feared God; nor did he think his being kind to them would excuse him from being good himself, but he did both, he both feared God greatly himself and patronised those that feared him likewise. See how wonderfully God raises up friends for his ministers and people, for their shelter in difficult times, even where one would least expect them. Bread and water were now scarce commodities, yet Obadiah will find a competence of both for God’s prophets, to keep them alive for service hereafter, though now they were laid aside.<\/P> 2. When Jezebel cut off God’s prophets God cut off the necessary provisions by the extremity of the drought. Perhaps Jezebel persecuted God’s prophets under pretence that they were the cause of the judgment, because Elijah had foretold it. Christianos ad leones–Away with Christians to the lions.<\/I> But God made them know the contrary, for the famine continued till Baal’s prophets were sacrificed, and so great a scarcity of water there was that the king himself and Obadiah went in person throughout the land to seek for grass for the cattle, 1Ki 18:5<\/span>; 1Ki 18:6<\/span>. Providence ordered it so, that Ahab might, with his own eyes, see how bad the consequences of this judgment were, that so he might be the better inclined to hearken to Elijah, who would direct him into the only way to put an end to it. Ahab’s care was not to lose all the beasts,<\/I> many being already lost; but he took no care about his soul, not to lose that; he took a deal of pains to seek grass, but none to seek the favour of God, fencing against the effect, but not enquiring how to remove the cause. The land of Judah lay close to the land of Israel, yet we find no complaint there of the want of rain; for Judah yet ruled with God, and was faithful with the saints<\/I> and prophets (Hos. xi. 12<\/span>), by which distinction Israel might plainly have seen the ground of God’s controversy, when God caused it to rain upon one city and not upon another<\/I> (Amo 4:7<\/span>; Amo 4:8<\/span>); but they blinded their eyes, and hardened their hearts, and would not see.<\/P> II. The steps taken towards redressing the grievance, by Elijah’s appearing again upon the stage, to act as a Tishbite,<\/I> a converter<\/I> or reformer<\/I> of Israel, for so (some think) that title of his signifies. Turn them again to the Lord God of hosts, from whom they have revolted, and all will be well quickly; this must be Elijah’s doing. See Luk 1:16<\/span>; Luk 1:17<\/span>.<\/P> 1. Ahab had made diligent search for him (v.<\/I><\/span> 10<\/span>), had offered rewards to any one that would discover him, sent spies into every tribe and lordship<\/I> of his own dominions, as some understand it, or, as others, into all the neighbouring nations and kingdoms that were in alliance with him; and, when they denied that they knew any thing of him, he would not believe them unless they swore it, and, as should seem, promised likewise upon oath that, if ever they found him among them, they would discover him and deliver him up. It should seem, he made this diligent search for him, not so much that he might punish him for what he had done in denouncing the judgment as that he might oblige him to undo it again, by recalling the sentence, because he had said it should be according to his word,<\/I> having such an opinion of him as men foolishly conceive of witches (that, if they can but compel them to bless that which they have bewitched, it will be well again), or such as the king of Moab had of Balaam. I incline to this because we find, when they came together, Elijah, knowing what Ahab wanted him for, appointed him to meet him on Mount Carmel, and Ahab complied with the appointment, though Elijah took such a way to revoke the sentence and bless the land as perhaps he little thought of.<\/P> 2. God, at length, ordered Elijah to present himself to Ahab, because the time had now come when he would send rain upon the earth<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 1<\/span>), or rather upon the land.<\/I> Above two years he had lain hid with the widow at Zarephath, after he had been concealed one year by the brook Cherith; so that the third year of his sojourning there, here spoken of (v.<\/I><\/span> 1<\/span>), was the fourth of the famine, which lasted in all three years and six months, as we find, Luk 4:25<\/span>; Jas 5:17<\/span>. Such was Elijah’s zeal, no doubt, against the idolatry of Baal, and such his compassion to his people, that he thought it long to be thus confined to a corner; yet he appeared not till God bade him: “Go and show thyself to Ahab,<\/I> for now thy hour has come, even the time to favour Israel.<\/I>” Note, It bodes well to any people when God calls his ministers out of their corners, and bids them show themselves–a sign that he will give rain on the earth;<\/I> at least we may the better be content with the bread of affliction while our eyes see our teachers,<\/I>Isa 30:20<\/span>; Isa 30:21<\/span>.<\/P> 3. Elijah first surrendered, or rather discovered, himself to Obadiah. He knew, by the Spirit, where to meet him, and we are here told what passed between them.<\/P> (1.) Obadiah saluted him with great respect, fell on his face, and humbly asked, Art thou that my lord Elijah?<\/I> v.<\/span> 7<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. As he had shown the tenderness of a father to the sons of the prophets, so he showed the reverence of a son to this father of the prophets; and by this made it appear that he did indeed fear God greatly,<\/I> that he did honour to one that was his extraordinary ambassador and had a great interest in heaven.<\/P> (2.) Elijah, in answer to him, [1.] Transfers the title of honour he gave him to Ahab: “Call him thy lord, not me;” that is a fitter title for a prince than for a prophet, who seeks not honour from men.<\/I> Prophets should be called seers,<\/I> and shepherds,<\/I> and watchmen,<\/I> and ministers,<\/I> rather than lords,<\/I> as those that mind duty more than dominion. [2.] He bids Obadiah go and tell the king that he is there to speak with him: Tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah<\/I> is forth-coming, v.<\/I><\/span> 8<\/span>. He would have the king know before, that it might not be a surprise to him and that he might be sure it was the prophet’s own act to present himself to him.<\/P> (3.) Obadiah begs to be excused from carrying this message to Ahab, for it might prove as much as his life was worth. [1.] He tells Elijah what great search Ahab had made for him and how much his heart was upon it to find him out, v.<\/I><\/span> 10<\/span>. [2.] He takes it for granted that Elijah would again withdraw (v.<\/I><\/span> 12<\/span>): The Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee<\/I> (as it is likely he had done sometimes, when Ahab thought he had been sure of him) whither I know not.<\/I> See 2 Kings ii. 16<\/span>. He thought Elijah was not in good earnest when he bade him tell Ahab where he was, but intended only to expose the impotency of his malice; for he knew Ahab was not worthy to receive any kindness from the prophet and it was not fit that the prophet should receive any mischief from him. [3.] He is sure Ahab would be so enraged at the disappointment that he would put him to death for making a fool of him, or for not laying hands on Elijah himself, when he had him in his reach, v.<\/I><\/span> 12<\/span>. Tyrants and persecutors, in their passion, are often unreasonably outrageous, even towards their friends and confidants. [4.] He pleads that he did not deserve to be thus exposed, and put in peril of his life: What have I said amiss?<\/I> v.<\/span> 9<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. Nay (v.<\/I><\/span> 13<\/span>), Was it not told my lord how I hid the prophets?<\/I> He mentions this, not in pride or ostentation, but to convince Elijah that though he was Ahab’s servant he was not in his interest, and therefore deserved not to be bantered as one of the tools of his persecution. He that had protected so many prophets, he hoped, should not have his own life hazarded by so great a prophet.<\/P> (4.) Elijah satisfied him that he might with safety deliver this message to Ahab, by assuring him, with an oath, that he would, this very day, present himself to Ahab, v.<\/I><\/span> 15<\/span>. Let but Obadiah know that he spoke seriously and really intended it, and he will make no scruple to carry the message to Ahab. Elijah swears by Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n