Author: Administrador

Elijah is tired, discouraged, suicidal, and God is with the prophet. Dear Working Preacher, this week is not your typical prophetic narrative. For this week, I encourage you to prayerfully prepare your sermon, while considering those who are really struggling in their journeys. This week’s narrative begins with Ahab “telling” Jezebel about Elijah’s defiantly violent … Continue reading “1 Kings 19:1-4[5-7]8-15a Commentary by Roger Nam”

These verses in First Kings have long captured the imagination of interpreters, especially the phrase: “the still, small voice” or “a sound sheer silence” (19:12). What does that mean? In the preceding chapters (1 Kings 17-18), Elijah is a prophet “in charge.” Everything seems to be going his way — confronting kings and followers of … Continue reading “1 Kings 19:1-4[5-7]8-15a Commentary by Terence E. Fretheim”

This week’s passage focuses on the loyal prophet who is sent to persuade the wayward monarch and people to return to “the Lord” (Hebrew YHWH, called the tetragrammaton), the God of Israel. Leaving God behind Ahab son of Omri ruled the northern kingdom of Israel for 22 years (ca 874 – 853 BCE). The deuteronomistic … Continue reading “1 Kings 18:20-39 Commentary by Vanessa Lovelace”

450 v. 1 is truly no contest. Prophetic ministry in ancient Israel is quite the multifaceted life. Our modern perceptions often perceive prophetic ministry as lonely and contemplative, analogous to a type of desert spirituality associated with Isaiah 40:3 (“a voice crying out in the wilderness.”) Most significantly, Christians typically correlate prophetic activity to predictions. … Continue reading “1 Kings 18:20-21[22-29]30-39 Commentary by Roger Nam”

1 Kings 18:20-40 contains one of the most memorable Elijah narratives. The great prophet of Yhwh summons the prophets of Baal and Asherah (well known deities in Syria-Palestine) at Mount Carmel for a contest of the gods. At stake is Israel’s allegiance to Yhwh (“How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If … Continue reading “1 Kings 18:20-21[22-29]30-39 Commentary by Michael J. Chan”

The wheels almost come off the wagon of the bold narrative known as the Elijah cycle, when the boy dies unexpectedly. What saves the day is God’s surprising willingness to respond to human protest and do something unprecedented. In the first two episodes of 1 Kings 17 (verses 1-7 and verses 8-16), things go strictly … Continue reading “1 Kings 17:17-24 Commentary by Amy Erickson”

How do we know that Elijah is really a “man of God”? The widow of Zarephath is unsure of Elijah’s identity when, after taking the prophet into her home, her son becomes deathly sick. By the end of the story, though, she is ready to proclaim, “Now I know that you are a man of … Continue reading “1 Kings 17:17-24 Commentary by Cameron B.R. Howard”

Deprivation and despair are two words that come to mind when reading the stories narrated in 1 Kings 17. Just before the text of Elijah healing the Widow of Zarephath’s son that is the lectionary text for this week, Elijah, fleeing for his life and living in exile, is sent to Zarephath where God tells … Continue reading “1 Kings 17:17-24 Commentary by Juliana Claassens”

Sometimes God’s provision comes in the most unlikely of places and by means of the most unlikely of people. Take the example of Elijah. In 1 Kings 17:1-7, the text right before the lectionary text for today (verses 8-16), we find Elijah in a precarious situation, caught in the divine judgment against Ahab that involves … Continue reading “1 Kings 17:8-16 Commentary by Juliana Claassens”

Chapter 17 of 1 Kings begins a series of stories about the prophet Elijah and his successor, Elisha. In these stories, the two prophets interact with the rulers of the northern kingdom of Israel (notably Ahab, Jezebel, and Jehu) and with common folk. At the beginning of chapter 17, the reader is rather abruptly introduced … Continue reading “1 Kings 17:8-16 Commentary by Nancy deClaissé-Walford”