First Kings Chapters 17-18 “Like a meteor suddenly flashing across the darkened sky, Elijah appears on the scene without genealogy, without historical background, and without warning. One thunderous judgment from heaven through his lips and he disappeared without a trace” (Whitcomb p. 50). Chapter 17 17:1 Elijah whose name means “my God is Yahweh”, came from the town of Tishbe which was about eight miles north of the Jabbok river in the rugged region of Gilead. “Because his manner matched the terrain from which he came, Elijah was frequently called simply ‘the Tishbite (TISH bite)’” (Smith p. 500). Elijah suddenly appears on the scene (just like John the Baptist), the New Testament endorses the historical reality of Elijah and that he was a man just like us (James 5:17-18). 17:1 “God permitted neither debate nor dialogue between His prophet and Ahab. The king was left to stagger for three more years under the colossal judgment of an unrelieved drought” (Whitcomb p. 50). Yet centuries before the Israelite nation had been warned that one of the consequences of disobedience would be that the rains would cease (Deut. 11:17; 28:24). Israel had officially rejected God, and His providential blessings upon the land came to an end. The New Testament endorses the historical accuracy of this drought (Luke 4:25; James 5:17). 17:1 “dew nor rain”: “The inclusion of dew along with the rain is very important because in the hills of Palestine the dew falls between 100 and 180 nights per year and is a significant supplement to the rain. Elijah’s pronouncement was a slap in the face of Baal who was supposed to be a rain god and god of fertility” (Vos p. 113). Elijah’s name, “Yahweh is God”, exemplified his mission, which was to prove that Yahweh and not Baal was the true God (18:39). 17:2-5 Elijah had said that rain would come only at his word (17:1), hence God hid Elijah from Ahab, and from Israelites who would have been constantly begging Elijah to reverse this judgment. “God sent Elijah into seclusion. Not only would Ahab’s frantic search for the prophet be thwarted, but Elijah’s very absence would be living testimony of a divine displeasure” (Gaebelein p. 138). “To prevent His prophet from being besieged by the desperate entreaties of the dying
1