Eat This Book
Read Proverbs Chapter 24
1 Kings 18
King James Version (KJV)
18 And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.
2 And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria.
3 And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly:
4 For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of theLord, that Obadiah took an 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 thou that my lord Elijah?
8 And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.
9 And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me?
10 As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; 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.
12 And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the Lordfrom my youth.
13 Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord, how I hid an hundred men of theLord’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: and he shall slay me.
15 And Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day.
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.
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.
21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
22 Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
23 Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under:
24 And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.
25 And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under.
26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.
27 And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.
28 And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.
29 And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.
30 And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.
31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of theLord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:
32 And with the stones he built an altar in the name of theLord: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.
33 And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.
34 And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.
35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.
40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
41 And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.
42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,
43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.
44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop thee not.
45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.
46 And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
The POFW Daily Bible Reading 
35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
The sacrifice pleasing to God may at first seem foolish (three times pouring that much water on a sacrifice 1) that’s supposed to get burned up and 2) during a drought when water is desperately needed…?) but God has an abundance coming.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. (Luke 9:24 KJV)
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10 KJV)
Could it be the blessing of abundance is waiting just beyond death to self, just beyond applying Calvary to our lives, just beyond the grave of baptismal waters, just beyond giving what seems at first most-precious?
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; (1 Corinthians 1:27 KJV)
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4 KJV)
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.
After death and water, there is fire and the abundance…
18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim. KJV
Be careful what idols you are worshiping.
Exodus 20 : 3 KJV: Thou shalt have no other Gods before me
Eatting blueberry muffins too, caught you.
ILove to eat breakfast with Jesus
The Blame Game
And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? (1 Kings 18:17 KJV)
When I was a child I had a step dad who refused to work. He would sleep until 11 or 12 in the morning, and then wake up and lay on the couch to watch reruns of old westerns all day long. When the night would come he would drink his beer until he was drunk. One thing I will never forget is THE BLAME GAME. It was always someones else’s fault why he couldn’t get and keep a job. I remember several times that we couldn’t pay the rent and the land lord would come over to talk to us. As soon as he would leave, my step dad would accuse the man of being rich and not caring for us… “He’s got plenty of money…IT’S HIS FAULT THAT I’M ANGRY RIGHT NOW, THE NERVE OF HIM COMING OVER AND BADGERING US FOR MONEY, HE CAN JUST WAIT!”
Elijah was not trying to hear that nonsense, he told the king, “ITS YOUR FAULT”
18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.
Amen brother!!!!!!…good lesson today!
The difference between Fact & Truth!!!
I told you the rain is coming!!!! Fact = A thing that is indisputably the case. Information used as evidence or as part of a report or news article.
So Fact is what you see in your circumstances. The facts can change according to the point of view of the viewer.
True/Truth = accurate or exact does not yield to anything, does not change with circumstances.
The Fact will always yield to the Truth. Fact is what you see in the circumstances, in this case the fact is Elijah is the only prophet for God, while baal are about 400. Fact says that Elijah had water pour over the offering and we all know that wet wood don’t light. Fact says that they had have a 3 years drought.
Truth on the other hands says, Deut. 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
I King 18:38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.
And the Rain came: 44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop thee not.
45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.
God is a multiplying God, out of a little oil & meal He fed the widow & the man of God & never ran out of either. Here He takes the smallest cloud & turns it into a drenching Rain.
Your facts might be that you have no money, but the Truth says Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Your fact might be that you are ill, but the Truth says Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Don’t let the fact intimidate you, just speak the Truth and the fact & circumstance will change; for the RAIN is coming, the RAIN is coming, lets all get wet.
beautifully put sister!
LET GOD BE GOD
v21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opionions? If the LORD be GOD,follow him:
but if Baal, them follow him And the people answered him not a word.
Man do I ever like this fellar by the name of Elijah . He was on fire.
If GOD is GOD ( HE IS ) let’s serve GOD
Why worship GOD on Sunday and Baal on Monday and others the rest of the week.
Our GOD Is JESUS and HIM we serve and worship only.
iPray
iServe
iWorship
CONFUSED DECEPTION
17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.
I am amazed at the attitude and spirit of Ahab; which is present wit us even today. An idol worshiping, backslid child of GOD has the audacity and boldness to confront the Man of GOD for the trouble he brings.
How often do you BLAME the preacher for your current situation. Elijah refused to back down or be intimidated by the comment of Ahab; he spoke the truth; identified the problems.
GOD give us grace and wisdom to FOLLOW HIM and KNOW HIM to “seek FIRST the Kingdom of GOD”.
iPray
iWork
iGive
The only thing that I keep thinking in my heart is just because people say or teach JESUS doesnt mean they know Him. There’s a scripture to back it up dont have my big KJV with me just my small kjv cant see it. But I love the LORD and He knows it too. Gotta love to have some “church “.
Amen.
Send the fire
v38 Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust , and licked up the water that was in the trench
Elijah was a man of like passions and I like this because there’s a streak of meaness in all of us . v27 Elijah mocked them”.
( Paraphrasing). Elijah said to them Maybe your god is on vacation , maybe he is hard of hearing and forgot his hearing aids at home
We will always have spectators . So Elijah filled four barrels of water v35. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. For all the spectators.
Then Elijah prayed send the fire
Wish to GOD the church ( that’s you and me)
would start praying like that.
What a Victory! Praise GOD
iPray
iWork
iRepair
iServe
iSacrifice
iWorship
Step 1.
30 And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.
Elijah did not build his own altar, he did not try and come up with something new and impressive. Elijah rebuilt the altar.
God takes sacrifice and attitude very seriously. Cain’s was not accepted.
Elijah shows us that when we want to get things right we must start by rebuilding the altar.
I am glad that my God is The God and he can do wondrous things when others can not.
1 Kings 18:46 NLT
46 Then the LORD gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel.
I wish. God will give me some strength!!
Good lesson today bromo!!!
It was awesome. When. Elijah ask God to prove to the people that God is real.
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.
When something is on fire, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind because they see the evidence of the water being licked up, and the things in the fire being consumed by that flame. Likewise, when we are “on fire” with the Spirit of God, there should be no question as to whether or not we are a christian. Our life should exemplify that of someone who’s fire cannot be quenched nor flame put out.
It should be the desire of all of our hearts for the Spirit of God to consume us in such a manner that it burn anything out of us that is not Christlike and only leave in us the remnant of His nature and attributes.
This chapter illustrates might. Ahab feared the man of God (Elijah), which is why he searched so long for him. Albeit Elijah simply did as the Lord instructed and God showed his might. One must simply decide to abide like Elijah or like the prophets of Baal, which we all read their fate. For truly the Lord has shown himself mightily and will continue to more as the day approaches. May the good Lord Bless you all in Jesus name, Amen
18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim….
Jesus is the only king i worship and by his word we are not to follow any other gods….
My god is jesus christ the king who died for are sins….
I find it interesting that Jezebel a daughter Ethbaal, the king of Sidon and Tyre a pagan worshiper, who married evil king Ahab had posessed so much more power than most Israelite queens. But then again she was no holy rollin’ Israelite, and her husband was no different. Consider Gen 3:16 “..thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”
Her domineering influence on Ahab allowed her to bring a corrupt form of pagan worship with her- into her home, into a nation, and even into the temple itself. She exercised by promoting the cause of Baal with zeal by considering the her god to be equal with Israel’s God, creating her confilct with Elijah, the Lord’s prophet. She focused her royal power to a willful and wicked advatage, and personfies the principle of reaping what is sown (Gal 6:7) demonstrating that the power and influence of evil, although allowed by God for a limited time in chastisment of His own people when they are disobedient, ultimately never triumphs.The writer of Kings contrasted the evil that this foreign woman did to the godly people of Israel by recording the righteous acts of the foreign widow of Zarephath.
30 And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.
Elijah wanted the people that day to draw near and see him not only call on the one true God, but he also wanted them to see him repair the altar correctly and placed the 12 stones on it. They had been involved in false worship so long that they had to be taught the correct way to do everything. And the altar was a sacred place place and even how it was constructed was important. The altar-no matter how it’s made in the churches today-is still a holy place and needs to be respected! It is still a holy place today.
Living in the shadows of sin, creates a veil for truth/facts to be understood and accepted. When Ahab suggested that Elijah was seeking to do Israel harm. Elijah replied back with the truth to reverse the charge: It was Ahab who had harmed Israel by his worship of evil spirits; Baal and Asherah. Their face off was on Mount Carmel which happens to be near the coast, close to Phoenician territory (which Jezebel’s father rules) The confrontation reveals the truth conflict of Israel. Its happens to be a perfectly stategized location because God decides to whoop their tail right in the middle of the pagan’s home field. It was between Elijah, prophet of the Lord, and Ahab, but between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, between the true God and false gods. It may seem to the naked eye, or eye under the viel of the enemy that Elijah is fiercly out numbered. They had forgotten God, they forgot their origin for “In the beginging God created the heavens and the earth.” Gen 1:1. No one or thing can ever equal God.
Vs 24
And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.”
Baal was thought to be the god of fire and lightning. So if he was real why couldn’t he start a fire in the driest water forsaken place
Lev 9:24
And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
Lev 10:2
And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.
Num 16:35
And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men offering the incense.
For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone. (Psalm 86:10 KJV)
Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him. (Deuteronomy 4:35 KJV)
Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. (Isaiah 43:10 KJV)
The scripture gives a better blog than I can. God is mighty and nothing can compare to him!
Elijah was a prophet who obeyed God’s commands, He protected the prophets from Jezebel and Ahab because they wanted to kill them. Elijah placed the prophets in two caves to protect them.
God was angry at Israel because they were worshiping false god’s. Famine was a curse that God had over Israel because of their disobedience,
Lord you are the one and only God in my life. Lead me and guide me .
In this chapter, we see how Obadiah feared God and was very devout. He had risked his risked his life for protecting the prophets; yet, when he was directed by Elijah to go to Ahab he hesitated and questioned the man of God. How many times have we questioned “what’s going on” or “why are we doing this or this”, instead of getting behind the charge and pushing forward.
The end of the chapter talks about the fire of God. What an awesome sight that must have been. To see the doubt within everyone there watching Elijah ordering the altar be drenched with water, and then seeing it turn to verse 39 MSG…”All the people saw it happen and fell on their faces in awed worship, exclaiming, “God is the true God! God is the true God!”
Getting place for your miracle.
31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of theLord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:
32 And with the stones he built an altar in the name of theLord: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.
33 And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.
34 And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.
35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
Many times when God asks us to do something as a sacrifice, it doesn’t make any sence. It is for this reason, I believe,that God does what He does, because He wants to get all the glory when people talk about it. That there was no other way except for God. Elijah took 12 stones as a representation of all of Isreal, but why did God say 12 barrels of water? Because there was a famine in the land, the water that he used was a precious commodity and that is what God wanted. God will always ask for that thing that we think that we just can’t live without. I have a testimony to this statement.
God is always up to something. God knows what we are in need of ,and He will always be with you.
Good always comes out of a corporate miracle. The people acknowledged the one true God. Elijah girded his loins or actually tucked in his skirt to form pants so he could run the race even passing Ahab who may have been riding in a chariot. Praise God was He excited!! If God can dry up all the water and consume the offering with fire from heaven and then bring much needed rain. What Can He not do! Lets trust him and not our 5 senses.!
They poured 12 barrels of water on the sacrifice, in a drought, and still got results because He is The God and The Lord.
37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.
Fresh Fire Fall!!!
I believe that main reason why God honored Elijah was first because of his faith in his God and secondly he wanted to show all that was there that he was the one true powerful God. I am sure after that encounter no one left doubting…