The First Book of the Kings

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- Kapitel 18 -

For almost three years there was no rain in Samaria. Then Yahweh said this to Elijah: “Go and meet with King Ahab and tell him that I will soon send rain.”

So Elijah went to talk to Ahab. In Samaria there was almost no food for anyone to eat.

There was a man there named Obadiah. He was in charge of the king’s palace. He greatly revered Yahweh.

One time when Queen Jezebel had tried to kill all Yahweh’s prophets, Obadiah hid a hundred of them in two caves. He put fifty prophets in each cave, and he brought food and water to them.

By this time, the famine had become very severe in Samaria. So Ahab summoned Obadiah and said to him, “We must look near every spring and in every valley to see if we can find enough grass to give to some of my horses and mules, so that they will not all die.”

So they both started walking through the land. Obadiah went by himself in one direction, and Ahab went in another direction by himself.

While Obadiah was walking along, he saw Elijah coming toward him. Obadiah recognized Elijah and bowed down in front of him and said, “Is it really you, Elijah, my master?”

Elijah replied, “Yes. Now go and tell Ahab your master that I am here.”

Obadiah objected. He said, “Sir, I have not harmed you at all. So why are you sending me back to Ahab? He will kill me!

Yahweh your God knows that I am telling the truth when I solemnly declare that King Ahab has searched in every kingdom to find you. Each time that some king said to him, ‘Elijah is not here,’ Ahab demanded that the king of that country solemnly swear that the king was telling the truth.

Now you say to me, ‘Go and tell your master that Elijah is here!’

But as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of Yahweh will carry you away, and I will not know where he will take you. So when I tell Ahab that you are here and he comes to me and he does not find you here, he will kill me! But I do not deserve to die because I have revered Yahweh since I was a boy.

My master, have you not heard about what I did when Jezebel wanted to kill all of Yahweh’s prophets? I hid a hundred of them in two caves and took food and water to them.

Now, sir, you say, ‘Go and tell your master that Elijah is here.’ But if I do that, and he comes and you are not here, he will kill me!”

But Elijah replied, “Yahweh, Commander of the angel armies, the one whom I serve, knows that I am telling the truth as I solemnly declare that I will go to meet with Ahab today.”

Elijah on Mount Carmel

So Obadiah went to tell Ahab that Elijah had come. Ahab went to meet with him.

When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, the one who causes trouble for the people of Israel?”

Elijah replied, “It is not I who have caused trouble for the people of Israel! You and your family are the ones who have caused trouble! You have refused to obey Yahweh’s commands, and you have worshiped the idols of Baal instead.

So now, command all the Israelite people to come to Mount Carmel, and be sure to bring all the 450 prophets who worship Baal and the four hundred prophets who worship the goddess Asherah, the ones to whom your wife Jezebel always invites to eat with her.”

So Ahab summoned all his prophets and all the other Israelite people to the top of Mount Carmel, and Elijah went up there too.

Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How long are you going to be undecided about who is truly God? If Yahweh is God, then worship him. If Baal is truly God, then worship him!” But the people said nothing in reply, because they were afraid of what Jezebel would do to them if they admitted that they worshiped Yahweh.

Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only true prophet of Yahweh who is left, but Baal has 450 prophets.

Bring two bulls. The prophets of Baal may choose the one that they want. They must kill it and cut it into pieces and lay the pieces on the wood that is on the altar that they made. But they must not light a fire under the wood. I will kill the other bull and cut it in pieces and lay the pieces on the altar that I make.

Then they must call to their god, and I will call to Yahweh. The god who answers by lighting a fire to the wood that is on that altar is the true God!” Then all the people thought that Elijah’s suggestion was good.

Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “You call to Baal first, because there are many of you. Choose one of the bulls and prepare it, and then call to your god. But do not light a fire under the wood!”

So they killed one of the bulls and cut it up and placed the pieces on the altar. Then they called out to Baal all morning. They shouted, “Baal, answer us!” But no one answered. There was no reply at all. Then they danced wildly around the altar that they had made.

About noontime, Elijah started to make fun of them. He said, “Surely Baal is a god, so it seems that you must shout louder! Perhaps he is thinking about something, or perhaps he has gone to the toilet. Or perhaps he is traveling somewhere, or perhaps he is asleep and you need to wake him up!”

So they shouted louder. Then, doing one of the things that they frequently did when they worshiped Baal, they slashed themselves with knives and swords until a lot of blood flowed.

They continued calling out to Baal all afternoon. But there was no voice that gave a reply, no answer, no god who paid attention.

Then Elijah called to the people saying, “Come closer!” So they all crowded around him. Then Elijah repaired the altar of Yahweh that had been ruined by the prophets of Baal.

Then he took twelve large stones, each one to represent one of the Israelite tribes, whose ancestors were the twelve sons of Jacob.

With these stones he rebuilt Yahweh’s altar. Then around the altar he dug a little ditch that was large enough to hold about fifteen liters of water.

He piled wood on top of the stones. He killed the bull and cut it in pieces. Then he laid the pieces on top of the wood. Then he said, “Fill four large jars with water, and pour the water on top of the pieces of meat and the wood.” So they did that.

Then he said, “Do the same thing again!” So they did it again. Then he said, “Do it a third time!” So they did it again.

As a result, the water flowed down below the altar and filled the ditches.

Elijah’s Prayer

When it was time to offer the evening sacrifices, Elijah walked close to the altar and prayed. He said, “Yahweh, you who are the God that our ancestors Abraham and Isaac and Jacob worshiped, prove today that you are the God whom the Israelite people should worship, and prove that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all these things because you told me to do them.

Yahweh, answer me! Answer me in order that these people will know that you, Yahweh, are God and that you have caused them to trust in you again!”

Immediately a fire from Yahweh flashed down from the sky. The fire burned up the pieces of meat, the wood, the stones, and the dirt that was around the altar. It even dried up all the water in the ditch!

When the people saw that, they prostrated themselves on the ground and shouted, “Yahweh is God! Yahweh is God!”

Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize all the prophets of Baal! Do not allow any of them to escape!” So the people seized all the prophets of Baal, and took them down the mountain to the river Kishon, and Elijah killed them all there.

The LORD Sends Rain

Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go and get something to eat and drink. But do it quickly, because it is soon going to rain very hard!”

So Ahab and his men left to prepare a big meal. But Elijah went back up to the top of Mount Carmel and prayed.

Then he said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea, to see if there are any rain clouds.” So his servant went and looked, and came back and said, “I do not see anything.” This happened six times.

But when the servant went the seventh time, he came back and said, “I saw a very small cloud above the sea. As I extend my arm, the cloud is about the size of my hand.” Then Elijah shouted to him, “Go and tell King Ahab to get his chariot ready and go home immediately! If he does not do that, the rain will stop him!”

Very soon the sky was full of black clouds. There was a strong wind, and then it began to rain very hard. Ahab got into his chariot and started to return to the city of Jezreel.

Yahweh gave extra strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt in order to run fast, and he ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to Jezreel.

After many days, the LORD’s word came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab; and I will send rain on the earth.”

Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria.

Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly;

for when Jezebel cut off the LORD’s prophets, Obadiah took one hundred prophets, and hid them fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)

Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land, to all the springs of water, and to all the brooks. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, that we not lose all the animals.”

So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

As Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. He recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”

He answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your lord, ‘Behold, Elijah is here!’”

He said, “How have I sinned, that you would deliver your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me?

As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he took an oath of the kingdom and nation that they didn’t find you.

Now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here.”’

It will happen, as soon as I leave you, that the LORD’s Spirit will carry you I don’t know where; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he can’t find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.

Wasn’t it told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the LORD’s prophets, how I hid one hundred men of the LORD’s prophets with fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water?

Now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here”.’ He will kill me.”

Elijah said, “As the LORD of Armies lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.”

Elijah on Mount Carmel

So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”

He answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house, in that you have forsaken the LORD’s commandments and you have followed the Baals.

Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel to Mount Carmel, and four hundred fifty of the prophets of Baal, and four hundred of the prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together to Mount Carmel.

Elijah came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you waver between the two sides? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” The people didn’t say a word.

Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left as a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred fifty men.

Let them therefore give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under; and I will dress the other bull, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under it.

You call on the name of your god, and I will call on the LORD’s name. The God who answers by fire, let him be God.” All the people answered, “What you say is good.”

Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves, and dress it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.”

They took the bull which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, “Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice, and nobody answered. They leaped about the altar which was made.

At noon, Elijah mocked them, and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is deep in thought, or he has gone somewhere, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he sleeps and must be awakened.”

They cried aloud, and cut themselves in their way with knives and lances until the blood gushed out on them.

When midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the evening offering; but there was no voice, no answer, and nobody paid attention.

Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me!”; and all the people came near to him. He repaired the LORD’s altar that had been thrown down.

Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the LORD’s word came, saying, “Israel shall be your name.”

With the stones he built an altar in the LORD’s name. He made a trench around the altar large enough to contain two seahs

(a)

of seed.

He put the wood in order, and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.”

He said, “Do it a second time;” and they did it the second time. He said, “Do it a third time;” and they did it the third time.

The water ran around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.

Elijah’s Prayer

At the time of the evening offering, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “LORD, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.

Hear me, LORD, hear me, that this people may know that you, LORD, are God, and that you have turned their heart back again.”

Then the LORD’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust; and it licked up the water that was in the trench.

When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces. They said, “The LORD, he is God! the LORD, he is God!”

Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Don’t let one of them escape!” They seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and killed them there.

The LORD Sends Rain

Elijah said to Ahab, “Get up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.”

So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down on the earth, and put his face between his knees.

He said to his servant, “Go up now and look toward the sea.” He went up and looked, then said, “There is nothing.” He said, “Go again” seven times.

On the seventh time, he said, “Behold, a small cloud, like a man’s hand, is rising out of the sea.” He said, “Go up, tell Ahab, ‘Get ready and go down, so that the rain doesn’t stop you.’”

In a little while, the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.

The LORD’s hand was on Elijah; and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

Fußnoten

(a)18:32 1 seah is about 7 liters or 1.9 gallons or 0.8 pecks