16:11 - When people with authority and power (i.e. fathers, mothers, leaders, etc.), they don't only affect their own lives, but the lives of the people in realtionships with them. These kings have the blood of their children on their hands because of their failure to lead as godly men. Out lives and choices are not simply about ourselves - we have to remember that the consequences of our actions an choices are far reaching and involve far more than ourselves.
16:24 - The king makes a pretty shrewd strategic move. He moves to a place that he has built up (so nobody is goin to try to kill him). Samaria is on high ground overlooking a major trade route. This is the Samaria that eventually gets overrun and destroyed by foregin armies and eventually becomes the home to the half-Jewish, half-Gentile Samaritan people often referred to in the NT.
16:30ff - Ahab is the worst king yet. The text says that he views the sins of the kings that came before him as nothing - he easily walks in rebellion against the Lord with no regrets. That is dangerous ground to tread. There are many times that I see Christians (myself included) who are more willing to make excuses for sin in their lives than they are willing to combat it with everything they have. Again, dangerous ground to tread.
16:34 - The curse given by Joshua after the conquest of Jericho falls harshly on the family of Hiel who is rebuilding the destroyed city at the order of Ahab. All his children are killed during the building process. It is possible (Though not proven) that Hiel may have even used the pagan building practice of placing his infant children in jars and cementing them into the foundation of Jericho, to ward off evil spirits. If it is true - it is just another example of how far the leadership in Israel had fallen.
17:1 - "Tishbe" means settler. This verse basically tells us that Elijah, one of the greatest prophets in Israel's history, was not an Israelite! Very cool. When Elijah calls down the drought in the name of the Lord, he is directly challeneging the false god Baal. Baal was known as the "rider of clouds" - he was the god of fertility and rain...God has thrown down the gauntlet.
17:5ff - God takes care of Elijah like he did the Israelites in the desert.He looks out for his faithful.
17:8-9 - Another challenge to the Baal worshippers. Elijah is told to go to Zarephath which is in the heart of Baal country. There the prophet of the one and only God is kept alive by a foreign woman in the land of Baal worship. Clearly, God is in control.
17:15-16 - The widow trusts the Lord so much, that she is willing to give out of her poverty and she is rewarded for her faith - God takes care of her.
17:21 - Elijah stretches himself out over the boy. This is not a magic trick or anything...he is interceding for the boy. He is going against Israelite law and touching a dead body - he is associating himself with the boy's death and offering himself to God in the boy's place (metaphorically). It is similar to the time when Moses asked God to blot his name out from the book of life so that the other Hebrew people would be saved. It is also a picture of the death that Jesus was willing to take on for all of our sins. It is clear from these passages that God is the giver of water, food and life...Baal is nothing.
18:17-18 - Ahab blames Elijah for the problems that his own sins have brought upon the kingdom. Typical, huh? He lives in denial seraching for someone to shift the blame to other than himself. We would never do anything like that, would we? It also shows that Ahab is faithless even in his rebellious worship of Baal...because if Baal was real (And if Ahab actually believed that) Elijah would have no power, right? He has put his trust in a god he knows is false and will let him down. Again, doesn't sound like soemthign we would ever do, right? Oops.
18:21 - I love that verse! My version says, "How long will you go limping between two different opinions?" The people are being spiritually crippled because they are trying to serve two masters. Elijah makes it clear that you cannot serve God and anyone else...trying to do so destroys your worship, your life, your heart - everything!
18:27 - LOL! Is your god going to the bathroom? Is your god taking a little nap? Elijah's reference to Baal sleeping is a sarcastic way of saying that Baal is dead. Elijah mocks their foolishness. How can a god that never existed be dead - he was never alive!
18:30-37 - 12 stones...12 jars of water poured on top. What could that possibly represent? Everything Elijah is doing points towards a restoration of the nation of Israel. God is about to destroy the Baal worship cult and set his people free from their bondage. Very similar to the freedom he offered them from the Egyptians - this time they are freed from spirutal bondage.
18:40 - They act decisively to destroy the sinful influences in their lives. There are times when you and I need to act decisively and harshly in removing sin from our own lives (I wouldn't suggest slaughter though). If you struggle with porn - get rid of the internet. If you keep have sex with a boyfriend/girlfriend, break up with them. Be willing to act decisively in the best interest of your realtionship with God.
18:46 - There are some people that think that Elijah hiked of his robes and ran off with super-human - God-given speed, outrunning Ahab's chariot. Thsi could be the case and it would be really cool (God created the universe with a few words...I think he can make a guy run fast!). But the phrase "ran before" and "go before" is a term referring to servants who would go before their masters. It seems like Elijah is willing to go before Ahab and serve as his advisor is restoring Israel to God worship. Unfortunately Jezebal has a little something to say about that in the next chapter!
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