Elijah Confronts Ahab

1 Kings 18

1 And it came to pass after a many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, "Go, present yourself to Ahab, and b I will send rain on the earth." 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria. 3 And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was 1 in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly. 4 For so it was, while Jezebel 2 massacred the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.) 5 And Ahab had said to Obadiah, "Go into the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks; perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive, so that we will not have to kill any livestock." 6 So they divided the land between them to explore it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

7 Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he c recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, "Is that you, my lord Elijah?" 8 And he answered him, "It is I. Go, tell your master, 'Elijah is here.' " 9 So he said, "How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? 10 "As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you; and when they said, 'He is not here,' he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you. 11 "And now you say, 'Go, tell your master, "Elijah is here" '! 12 "And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that d the Spirit of the LORD will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth. 13 "Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, how I hid one hundred men of the LORD's prophets, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water? 14 "And now you say, 'Go, tell your master, "Elijah is here." ' He will kill me!" 15 Then Elijah said, "As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today." 16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

17 Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, e "Is that you, O f troubler of Israel?" 18 And he answered, "I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, g in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals. 19 "Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on h Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, i and the four hundred prophets of 3 Asherah, 3 who 5 eat at Jezebel's table."

  1. Cross References
    1 Kings 17:1
    And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, " As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.
    Luke 4:25
    But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land.
    James 5:17
    Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
  2. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 28:12
    The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
  3. Cross References
    2 Kings 1:6 - 8
    So they said to him, "A man came up to meet us, and said to us, 'Go, return to the king who sent you, and say to him, "Thus says the LORD: ' Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of BaalZebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.' " '
  4. Cross References
    2 Kings 2:16
    Then they said to him, "Look now, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Please let them go and search for your master, lest perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley." And he said, "You shall not send anyone.
    Ezekiel 3:12
    Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice: "Blessed is the glory of the LORD from His place!
    Ezekiel 3:14
    So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.
    Matthew 4:1
    Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
    Acts 8:39
    Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
  5. Cross References
    1 Kings 21:20
    So Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me, O my enemy?" And he answered, "I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD:
  6. Cross References
    Joshua 7:25
    And Joshua said, "Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day." So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.
    Acts 16:20
    And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, "These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city.
  7. Cross References
    1 Kings 16:30 - 33
    Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him.
    2 Chronicles 15:2
    And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: "Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
  8. Cross References
    Joshua 19:26
    Alammelech, Amad, and Mishal; it reached to Mount Carmel westward, along the Brook Shihor Libnath.
    2 Kings 2:25
    Then he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
  9. Cross References
    1 Kings 16:33
    And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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