HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 689
page 319
brook. 7 But after a while the brook dried up, for
there was no rainfall anywhere in the land.
The Widow at Zarephath
8 Then the Lord said to Elijah, 9 “Go and live in
the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon.
I have instructed a widow there to feed you.”
10 So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at
the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please
bring me a little water in a cup?” 11 As she was
going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite
of bread, too.”
12 But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God
that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the
house. And I have only a handful of flour left
in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of
the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook
this last meal, and then my son and I will die.”
13 But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go
ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a
little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to
prepare a meal for yourself and your son. 14 For
this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says:
There will always be flour and olive oil left in
your containers until the time when the Lord
sends rain and the crops grow again!”
15 So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many
days. 16 There was always enough flour and olive
oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had
promised through Elijah.
17 Some time later the woman’s son became
sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he
died. 18 Then she said to Elijah, “O man of God,
what have you done to me? Have you come here
to point out my sins and kill my son?”
19 But Elijah replied, “Give me your son.” And
he took the child’s body from her arms, carried
him up the stairs to the room where he was staying, and laid the body on his bed. 20 Then Elijah
cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, why
have you brought tragedy to this widow who has
opened her home to me, causing her son to die?”
21 And he stretched himself out over the child
three times and cried out to the Lord, “O Lord
my God, please let this child’s life return to
him.” 22 The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer, and the
life of the child returned, and he revived! 23 Then
Elijah brought him down from the upper room
and gave him to his mother. “Look!” he said.
“Your son is alive!”
24 Then the woman told Elijah, “Now I know
for sure that you are a man of God, and that the
Lord truly speaks through you.”
The Contest on Mount Carmel
Later on, in the third year of the drought,
the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will
18
18:19 Hebrew who eat at Jezebel’s table.
1 KINGS 18
soon send rain!” 2 So Elijah went to appear
before Ahab.
Meanwhile, the famine had become very severe in Samaria. 3 So Ahab summoned Obadiah,
who was in charge of the palace. (Obadiah was
a devoted follower of the Lord. 4 Once when
Jezebel had tried to kill all the Lord’s prophets,
Obadiah had hidden 100 of them in two caves.
He put fifty prophets in each cave and supplied
them with food and water.) 5 Ahab said to Obadiah, “We must check every spring and valley
in the land to see if we can find enough grass to
save at least some of my horses and mules.” 6 So
they divided the land between them. Ahab went
one way by himself, and Obadiah went another
way by himself.
7 As Obadiah was walking along, he suddenly
saw Elijah coming toward him. Obadiah recognized him at once and bowed low to the ground
before him. “Is it really you, my lord Elijah?”
he asked.
8 “Yes, it is,” Elijah replied. “Now go and tell
your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”
9 “Oh, sir,” Obadiah protested, “what harm
have I done to you that you are sending me to
my death at the hands of Ahab? 10 For I swear by
the Lord your God that the king has searched
every nation and kingdom on earth from end to
end to find you. And each time he was told, ‘Elijah isn’t here,’ King Ahab forced the king of that
nation to swear to the truth of his claim. 11 And
now you say, ‘Go and tell your master, “Elijah
is here.”’ 12 But as soon as I leave you, the Spirit
of the Lord will carry you away to who knows
where. When Ahab comes and cannot find you,
he will kill me. Yet I have been a true servant
of the Lord all my life. 13 Has no one told you,
my lord, about the time when Jezebel was trying
to kill the Lord’s prophets? I hid 100 of them
in two caves and supplied them with food and
water. 14 And now you say, ‘Go and tell your master, “Elijah is here.”’ Sir, if I do that, Ahab will
certainly kill me.”
15 But Elijah said, “I swear by the Lord Almighty, in whose presence I stand, that I will
present myself to Ahab this very day.”
16 So Obadiah went to tell Ahab that Elijah
had come, and Ahab went out to meet Elijah.
17 When Ahab saw him, he exclaimed, “So, is it
really you, you troublemaker of Israel?”
18 “I have made no trouble for Israel,” Elijah
replied. “You and your family are the troublemakers, for you have refused to obey the commands of the Lord and have worshiped the
images of Baal instead. 19 Now summon all Israel to join me at Mount Carmel, along with the
450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of
Asherah who are supported by Jezebel.*”
20 So Ahab summoned all the people of Israel and the prophets to Mount Carmel. 21 Then