Participants: Kelly Mowrer
Series Code: HWAL
Program Code: HWAL000549
|
00:16 Hello, and welcome to His Words are Life.
00:18 I'm Kelly Mowrer and today we're going to be reading the story of 00:22 Ahab, and Jezebel, and Elijah; but before we get into 00:27 that story, let's pray together. Dear Lord, thank you so much 00:31 for an opportunity to sit in your presence, 00:34 especially right now, and to hear your word. Please may 00:38 the lessons that you have for each of us in this story today, 00:42 bear fruit in our lives, to your Glory. Thank you for loving us 00:46 and we love your so much. Amen, We're picking up in the book of 00:50 1st Kings, chapter 16, verse 34. This is the King James Version. 00:55 In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: 01:00 he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, 01:04 and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, 01:08 according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Joshua 01:11 the son of Nun. Continuing now in 1st Kings, 01:15 chapter 17, King James Version. 01:18 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, 01:23 said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, 01:28 before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain 01:31 these years, but according to my word. 01:34 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, 01:37 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself 01:41 by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 01:44 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; 01:47 and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 01:50 So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: 01:53 for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, 01:56 that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and 02:00 flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; 02:03 and he drank of the brook. And it came to pass after a while, 02:07 that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain 02:10 in the land. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, 02:14 Arise, get the to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, 02:17 and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there 02:21 to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath. 02:24 And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow 02:28 woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, 02:31 and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, 02:35 that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, 02:38 he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel 02:42 of Bread in thine hand. And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth 02:48 I have not a cake but an handful of meal in a barrel, 02:52 and a little oil in a cruse: and behold, I am gathering 2 sticks 02:56 that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, 02:59 that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, 03:04 Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof 03:10 a little cake first, and bring it unto me and after make for 03:14 thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, 03:18 The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse 03:22 of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain 03:27 upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying 03:30 of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. 03:37 And the barrel of meal wasted not neither did the cruse of oil 03:42 fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake 03:44 by Elijah. And it came to pass after these things, that the son 03:49 of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick: 03:52 and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in 03:57 him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, 04:01 O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin 04:04 to remembrance, and to slay my son? And he said unto her, 04:08 Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried 04:13 him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him on his own 04:17 bed. And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, 04:21 hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, 04:25 by slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child 04:30 three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, 04:35 I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. 04:40 And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the 04:45 child came into him again, and he revived. 04:48 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the 04:52 chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: 04:56 and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the woman said 05:02 to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, 05:07 and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth. 05:11 We're continuing with 1st Kings chapter 18, 05:15 and this is the King James Version. 05:17 And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord 05:23 came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself 05:28 unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. 05:31 And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore 05:37 famine in Samaria. And Ahab called Obadiah, which was 05:42 the governor of his house. Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly: 05:47 for it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, 05:52 that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty 05:56 in a cave, and fed them with bread and water. 05:58 And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land unto all fountains 06:05 of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass 06:09 to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the 06:12 beasts. So they divided the land between them to pass 06:16 throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went 06:21 another way by himself. And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, 06:26 Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, 06:30 Art thou that my lord Elijah? And he answered him, I am: 06:36 go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. 06:39 And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy 06:44 servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? As the lord thy God 06:48 liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord 06:51 hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, 06:54 The is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, 06:57 that they found thee not. And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy 07:02 lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And it come to pass, as soon 07:06 as I am gone from thee, that the spirit of the Lord shall 07:08 carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab 07:11 and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: 07:13 but I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth. 07:16 Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the 07:21 prophets of the Lord, how I hid an hundred men of the Lord's 07:24 prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? 07:27 And now thou sayest, Go tell thy lord, Behold Elijah is here? 07:31 and he shall slay me. And Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts 07:36 liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto 07:41 him today. So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: 07:46 and Ahab went to meet Elijah. And it came to pass, when Ahab 07:50 saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth 07:54 Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, 08:00 and thy father's house in that ye have forsaken 08:04 the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim. 08:06 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto the mount 08:11 Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, 08:15 and the prophets of the groves 400, which eat at Jezebel's 08:19 table. So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered 08:24 the prophets together unto mount Carmel. And Elijah came 08:27 unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between 08:31 two opinions? if the Lord be God follow him: but if Baal, 08:37 then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. 08:42 Then said Elijah unto the people I, even I only, remain a prophet 08:50 of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. 08:54 Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose 08:59 one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on 09:03 wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock 09:08 and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: And call ye on the 09:13 name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: 09:17 and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. 09:22 And all the people answered and said, it is well spoken. 09:26 And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you 09:31 one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; 09:34 and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. 09:39 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed 09:43 it and called on the name of Baal from morning even until 09:46 noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, 09:51 nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was 09:56 made. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, 10:01 and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking 10:05 or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he 10:10 sleepeth, and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and cut 10:15 themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, 10:18 till the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass, 10:23 when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the 10:27 offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was 10:31 neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. 10:36 and Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. 10:41 And all the people came near unto him. 10:43 And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. 10:48 And Elijah took 12 stones, according to the number of the 10:52 tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord 10:55 came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: And with the stones 11:00 he built an altar in the name of the Lord: and he made a trench 11:04 about the altar, as great as would contain two measures 11:07 of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in 11:11 pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill 4 barrels 11:16 with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood. 11:18 And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second 11:22 time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it 11:26 the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; 11:30 and he filled the trench also with water. 11:32 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening 11:36 sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, 11:40 Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this 11:45 day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, 11:51 and that I have done all these things at thy word. 11:54 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou 11:59 art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back 12:03 again. Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the 12:08 burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, 12:13 and licked up the water that was in the trench. 12:16 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: 12:20 and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God 12:27 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; 12:32 let not one of them escape. And they took them: 12:35 and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, 12:38 and slew them there. And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, 12:43 eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain. 12:48 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the 12:53 top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, 12:56 and put his face between his knees and he said to his servant 13:00 Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, 13:04 and said, There is nothing. And he said Go again, seven times. 13:09 And it came to pass at the 7th time, that he said, Behold, 13:14 there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, 13:17 like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, 13:22 Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain 13:25 stop thee not. And it came to pass in the mean while, 13:29 that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was 13:33 a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. 13:38 and the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his 13:42 loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. 13:46 Reading in 1st Kings, chapter 19. 13:49 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal 13:54 how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. 13:57 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, 14:01 So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy 14:05 life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. 14:08 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, 14:13 and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, 14:17 and left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey 14:21 into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper 14:24 tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; 14:27 and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; 14:31 for I am not better than my fathers. 14:33 Please join me again next time. Goodbye. |
Revised 2014-12-17