14 Days in the Company of Elijahનમૂનો

Day 6: The End of the Drought (1 Kings 18:39–46)

The prophets of Baal have been dramatically defeated and summarily executed. The people have fallen to the ground to declare (with at least temporary conviction): “The Lord, he is God! Yes, the Lord is God!” (1 Ki. 18:39, NLT). There is no word on how king Ahab responds, but the subsequent narratives make clear that even this demonstration of Yahweh’s power and truth hasn’t made a dent in his hardened heart.

Despite the combination of sheer exhilaration and sheer exhaustion that Elijah must have been feeling after the earlier events, he knows that the day is not over. He gives Ahab a command: “Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!” (1 Ki. 18:41, NLT). Even this obtuse and obstinate king perceives that, at least on this day, it’s advisable to do precisely as Elijah says! So, Ahab goes off to eat and drink. Meanwhile, Elijah trudges back up Mount Carmel, where the marks of heavenly fire still smolder, bows down to the ground with his face between his knees, and prays. We don’t know what he prayed—perhaps he was simply waiting for the sound of rain to pass from his inner, spiritual hearing into the physical realm. He is committed to lingering with the word the Lord has given him: “a mighty rainstorm is coming!”

Seven times, Elijah sends his servant to look out to sea to read the storm warnings. Six times, there is nothing for the servant to see, but on the seventh, he reports sighting “a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea” (1 Ki. 18:44, NLT). That is enough for Elijah—he sends the servant back down the mountain to tell Ahab to rush it back to Jezreel in his chariot, before he gets caught in a downpour. Elijah has eyes to see that the little cloud on the horizon will grow into a heavy wind and a fierce rainstorm, bringing a crashing end to the three-year drought.

This episode ends with a curious little scene. “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” (1 Ki. 18:46, NLT). What a day for Elijah—and what a set up for the next episode in the saga of prophet and king.