John Kitto Morning Bible Devotions: November 14

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John Kitto Morning Bible Devotions: November 14


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The Re-Appearance

1Ki_18:1-20

Elijah had long concealed himself from the search of Ahab—not because he feared, but because the hour was not yet come. When the hour had come, and he was ordered not only to care no more for concealment, but to go and present himself before the king, he conferred not with flesh and blood, but girding up his loins, set forth upon the journey. Sad were the sights that met his eye. The land lay desolate before him. All was dry, and parched, and barren, and the face of the earth seemed to have been burnt up by the wrath of God. No trace of the products or the labors of the field were to be seen; cultivation had ceased; and the eye sought in vain the groups of those who were wont to till the ground, and gather in the harvest and the vintage. All seemed solitary. Men had no business to bring them abroad, and they remained at home musing in their cottages, or crouching about the market-places, which trade had by this time almost forsaken. Even the birds had abandoned the land which afforded no nourishment—except only the screaming fowl that fed on dead creatures, and they found no lack. Even the cattle had disappeared. The shepherd tending his sheep and goats was to be seen no longer; and the herds of neat cattle, which once enlivened the scene, had altogether disappeared, for there was no more pasture.

The calamity had come to such a pass, that the king himself had determined to explore the land in one direction, in search of green herbage for the royal cattle, while Obadiah, the governor of the palace, was, at the head of another party, to search in an opposite direction. Thus was to be sought at the brooks; for it was possible that in some a little moisture might still remain, and there some herbage was likely to be found—likely, but not certainly, for such places form, in times of drought, the resort of wild herbivorous creatures, who seldom leave the place while any green thing remains. If, therefore, in the course of their researches, the king and his trusted servant did come to some slight traces of water—which is scarcely probable—the expectations raised by it must often in this way have been disappointed.

This journey of the king in person in search of herbage, is a somewhat remarkable example of the simple manners of those ancient times. It is, however, the same among the emirs of Arabia, the chiefs of central Asia, and the kings of southern Africa, at the present time. None of these high personages (and some of them have great power) think it in any way below their dignity to lead an expedition in search of grass or water. The matter is indeed of so much importance, that it is regarded as a sort of official duty in them to conduct the search; and success in it contributes very materially to their popularity among their people, who are apt to ascribe the happy result in a great measure, if not wholly, to the “fortune” of their chief.

Obadiah, who led the other party, although an officer of high rank and trust in the court of Ahab, was known to be a sincere worshipper of Jehovah—one of the few whom neither fear nor favor had induced to bow the knee to Baal. Nay further, it was now publicly known that, during the first heat of the persecution against the Lord’s servants, he had secured the safety of no less than a hundred of his prophets, Note: Probably “sons of the prophets,” or those under training in the schools of the prophets. by concealing them in caves, and there providing for their support at his own cost, until the storm had blown over. It is creditable to Ahab that he had for his most trusted servant such a man as this; and he must have been so much attached to him, that even Jezebel had not ventured to remove him from near his person. It was the policy of that evil-minded but sagacious woman not to rouse her husband to any exertion of strength by running counter to his known wishes and predilections; and she no doubt found her advantage in another way, from the concessions which this plan of action occasionally extorted from him.

Such a man as Obadiah could not but be acquainted with the person of Elijah. Yet so incredible did it seem, that he who had so long remained in such concealment as the emissaries of the king had been utterly unable to penetrate, should now appear thus openly abroad in the high road to Samaria, hastening, as it were, into the very jaws of the lion, that he could scarcely trust his own eyes when he beheld the hair-clad prophet advancing towards him. “Art thou my lord Elijah?” was the expression of his astonishment. The answer was laconic: “I am. Go and tell thy lord that Elijah is here.” This raised the perplexity and apprehension of the good governor to the utmost. The prophet was so much in the habit of rendering unquestioning obedience to the mandates he received, that he seems to have got into the habit of expecting the same from others whom he knew to be true and faithful men. The reply of Obadiah apprized him that he had made a mistake. This person explained how diligently Ahab had sought him through all lands to which he had access, and how intense was his anxiety and eagerness to gain possession of his person. He could not believe that the king’s intentions could be otherwise than intensely hostile towards one, whom he regarded as the cause of all the misery that he and his people had suffered; and such being the case, he felt persuaded that the Lord would protect his servant by withdrawing him from the face of his greatest enemy, whose rage would then be turned against Obadiah himself, as one who had deceived him. He prayed, therefore, to be excused from a task so dangerous.

The reply of Elijah convinced him that he fully intended to meet the king; and being satisfied of this, he reasoned no more about motives and consequences, but set forth in search of his master. It seems that he was not long in finding him; and soon the king and the prophet confronted each other face to face. “Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” was the salutation of the king. He was hardly prepared for the daring and faithful retort. “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.” This stern rebuke led the poor king to feel that He had his master before him, and that the hairy mantle of the prophet was a symbol of greater power than the royal robe, and his staff than of the scepter. He quailed before him; and the same facility of temper which inclined him to evil when under the influence of Jezebel, swayed him to good in the presence of Elijah. We have heard of men whose whisper could quell the rage of the wildest horse, and bend him down to sudden tameness. Power of the like kind some men possess over other men. Elijah possessed it eminently; it was the gift of God; and such a man as Ahab was a proper subject for its influence.

Besides, Ahab seems to have had some capacities for right feeling when away from under the deadly influence of his wife; and whatever may have been his first purpose when he heard that Elijah had awaited him, he had time to cool in the way to the place where he was. This, indeed, had probably been the object of the prophet in sending to him, instead of going with Obadiah, and so appearing abruptly before him.

Now, overawed by the words and demeanor of the great prophet, the king became anxious lest any untowardness on his part should obstruct that prospect of rain, the want of which was now so deeply felt in the sufferings of himself and people, and which he believed could only be brought at the intercession of Elijah. He there consented at his demand, to call together, not only the four hundred and fifty “prophets” or priests of Baal, dispersed through the land, but the four hundred priests of the groves (rather of Ashtaroth), who ate at Jezebel’s table—with a view to that trial of spiritual strength which the prophet proposed. The obvious fairness of the demand, the little there could be to apprehend from one man against a thousand, with some curiosity as to the result, together with the hope of rain, which the prophet probably held forth as the issue of the contest—concurred to secure Ahab’s compliance. It is indeed likely that more passed between the king and the prophet than has been recorded; and that the latter, as we have supposed, explained in general terms his object in making this demand. So it was, that Ahab consented, and sent forth the required summons. It is a significant fact, that although it was obeyed by the priests of Baal, the four hundred priests under the immediate influence of Jezebel were absent. In this, we cannot fail to see her hand.