Who is the Troubler of the Israel?

By Dan & Brenda Cathcart

The video version of this teaching is available at: https://youtu.be/ZkICXxbM-2I

The scripture reading is 1^st Kings 18:1-39

The time period of this week’s Haftarah reading is a rough one for the prophets of the God of Israel.  Ahab was king and we are hard pressed to determine whether he or his wife Jezebel are the worst of the pair.  Undoubtedly king Ahab was one of the most powerful and successful kings of the northern kingdom.  He expanded the political and commercial interests of the kingdom during his twenty-two year reign. However, Ahab also earned the reputation of being the most sinful and evil king to rule the nation of Israel.

Ahab brought idolatry in the Northern kingdom to an entirely new level by greatly expanding the worship of Baal.  He ordered the death of many hundreds of the prophets of the God of Israel.  But when such an evil king, and in such times as these rise up, the LORD God of Israel raises to the challenge and brings forth greater prophets to counter the evil.

This Haftarah reading contains one of the most well-known of the many miraculous stories involving the prophet Elijah.  It is the story of the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah.  But we will see that they were no match for the one prophet Elijah and the God of Israel.

At the opening of our Haftarah reading we find the land is experiencing an extended famine because of a drought.  This drought was brought about through the prophet Elijah.

1 Kings 17:1 NKJV 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."

The worship of Baal in the kingdom of Israel was most likely introduced by Ahab’s Father Omri.  When Ahab became king, he married Jezebel the daughter of a Canaanite king.

1 Kings 16:31 NKJV 31 And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him.

After pronouncing the famine and drought before king Ahab, Elijah received word from the LORD to go into hiding.

1 Kings 17:2-4 NKJV 2 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 3 "Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 4 "And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there."

So we have set before us in this Haftarah a contrast between two central figures, not unlike a previous teaching we had done titled “The Tale of Two Kings”; the story of the on-going rivalry between Herod Antipas and Yeshua.  In this teaching we have, on the one hand Elijah, a prophet and a man of God who had appeared before Ahab some three and a half years earlier and announced the famine. And on the other hand, we have Ahab, politicly successful king of Israel but an exceedingly evil man in the sight of the LORD.

The LORD once again calls on Elijah to present himself to Ahab to announce the end of the drought.

1 Kings 18:1-2 NKJV 1 And it came to pass after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, "Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth." 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria.

Rather than looking to God to deliver Israel from the famine and drought, Ahab looked to his own solutions.  He sent his servant Obadiah out to secure food and water for the king’s livestock.

1 Kings 18:3-6 NKJV 3 And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly. 4 For so it was, while Jezebel 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.

Like Elijah, Obadiah feared the LORD God of Israel and was himself a prophet.  We had previously done a study on Obadiah which you can find in our video archives. Obadiah was on the mission that Ahab had sent him on when he met up with Elijah. Elijah told Obadiah to tell Ahab that he wants a meeting, but Obadiah is fearful because Ahab has been searching for Elijah to have him killed.

1 Kings 18:7-10 NKJV 7 Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he 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.

Obadiah is very doubtful and complains about it to Elijah!

1 Kings 18:11-14 NKJV 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 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!"

Elijah assures Obadiah that it is safe for him to tell Ahab that Elijah wants to meet.

1 Kings 18:15-16 NKJV 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.

It is apparent that not only king Ahab, but many of the people blamed Elijah for the famine and drought when it was clearly a judgment from God.  It’s the classic case of “kill the messenger.” We see it over and over again throughout the scriptures with respect to the prophets of the God of Israel. Ahab expresses this sentiment toward Elijah, and Elijah answers with a direct challenge to Ahab and his devotion to Baal.

1 Kings 18:17-19 NKJV 17 Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, "Is that you, O troubler of Israel?" 18 And he answered, "I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, 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 Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table."

This was quite the reprimand and challenge to Ahab.  Was Elijah the real troublemaker?  No, it was not Elijah, but God who brought the famine on the land as a result of the idolatry of Ahab and the rulers of the kingdom! If Elijah troubled anybody, he troubled king Ahab and his wife Jezebel through his relentless and never-ending outcry against their wickedness.  Not only their personal wickedness, but the greater sin of causing all of Israel to sin! King Ahab and his wife were the ones who forsook the commandments of God! Jezebel was a Canaanite, and Ahab’s marriage to her was a clear violation of specific commands of the Torah.

Ahab’s troubles were a direct result of his unfaithfulness to the covenant. The consequences of such actions are clearly defined in Deuteronomy chapters twenty-seven through twenty-nine.

This brings us to the central story in our Haftarah this week. Elijah challenged Ahab to a kind of final showdown.  Who was the most powerful?  The LORD God of Israel or Baal? Elijah details the challenge.

1 Kings 18:20-24 NKJV 20 So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people answered him not a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, "I alone am left a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. 23 "Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. 24 "Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God." So all the people answered and said, "It is well spoken."

The situation in Israel had come to a head and Elijah, through the guidance of the LORD, decided it was time to act. He told Ahab that he would challenge the best of the prophets and worshipers of Baal to a kind of duel.

They all gathered at Mount Carmel; the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal as well as a multitude of the people.  The Hebrew in the text indicates there were at least some representatives from every tribe of the kingdom.

The place of this showdown, Mount Carmel is the northern most peak of a mountain range stretching some thirty miles from what is today, Haifa to Megiddo.  Mount Carmel rises from the valley floor to a height of about five hundred feet. The name Carmel, number 3760 in the Strong’s lexicon, means fruitful field, plentiful, garden. To this day, Mount Carmel is rich in olive groves and vineyards.

At the time of our Haftarah, Mount Carmel was also a key center of Baal worship. Even the Egyptians regarded Mount Carmel as a sacred promontory. Because of their belief system, and the practices of Baal worship, they regarded much of human life as expendable. Murder and other heinous crimes were tolerated if not out-right condoned if it was felt expedient. People were lured by the temple prostitutes and sexual acts performed in the temples of Baal as acts of worship. Farmers were often driven to sacrifice their own children in their effort to bring rain for their crops.

Elijah spelled out the challenge and let the priests and prophets of Baal have the first go.

1 Kings 18:25-26 NKJV 25 Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it." 26 So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, "O Baal, hear us!" But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made.

The show must have gone on for hours without the fire igniting. Elijah mocked their strange rituals and their god.

1 Kings 18:27-29 NKJV 27 And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, "Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened." 28 So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. 29 And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.

If it wasn’t so sad and pathetic, it would be funny. Their antics were worthy of mocking and their practices were downright vulgar. Verse twenty-eight mentions the priests and prophets cutting themselves and bleeding. Perhaps some of their other common practices were performed here as well but are not specifically mentioned. Eventually they worked themselves into a frenzy in attempting to get their god to light the sacrificial fire. But it was to no avail.

It is perhaps ironic that Baal is known, in addition to being a fertility god, was also known as a god of fire and lightning. There was no fire or lightning coming from Baal! As the time of the evening sacrifice approached, it was now Elijah’s turn and he called the attention of the people.

1 Kings 18:30-35 NKJV 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, "Israel shall be your name." 32 Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, "Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood." 34 Then he said, "Do it a second time," and they did it a second time; and he said, "Do it a third time," and they did it a third time. 35 So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.

Elijah enlisted the people to help him with rebuilding the altar of God located on Mount Carmel and to prepare the sacrifice.  Elijah had them totally drenched the sacrifice, all the wood for the burning, the altar and even filling up the trench around the altar with large amounts of water.  How was the fire to consume the sacrifice when it was so thoroughly soaked with water?  This must have confused the people.

Many of the things Elijah did in preparation are quite interesting and perhaps have some serious implications and symbolic meaning for the wayward kingdom of Israel and king Ahab.  As part of the repair of the altar, Elijah placed twelve stones on the altar representing the twelve tribes.  Although this event took place in the northern kingdom which consisted of just ten tribes, this act indicates that Elijah and God considered Israel as a single and complete kingdom of twelve tribes. But above all, the total soaking of the altar and the sacrifice with water would remove all doubt that only God could light this fire! And the miracle happened just as Elijah said it would!

1 Kings 18:36-39 NKJV 36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, "LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37 "Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again." 38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!"

This was a tremendous victory for Elijah and the God of Israel.  We are not told how many of the people ultimately turned back to God because of this miracle. Even though Elijah was among the few or even the one prophet of God declaring His word to the backslidden people of the kingdom of Israel, God promised him there would always be a remnant of faithful in Israel.

1 Kings 19:18 NKJV 18 "Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."

The apostle Paul cites this incident and the encouragement that the LORD gave to Elijah when he teaches that Israel’s rejection of the LORD is not total or final.

Romans 11:1-4 NKJV 1 I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, 3 "LORD, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life"? 4 But what does the divine response say to him? "I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal."

For Elijah and all of Israel, by the time the day was finished, God had proved that He alone was the supreme and only sovereign God of the universe!

The lesson we can take away from this Haftarah this week is that against unimaginable odds; when we find ourselves greatly outnumbered and smack in the middle of enemy territory, we can be assured that there is indeed a remnant of believers among the Jews and among the nations. There is power in standing faithful to the LORD even when it seems we are the only ones doing it. By allowing Messiah Yeshua to live in us; allowing the Holy Spirit to indwell us with power as taught and demonstrated to us through the prophets like Elijah and the apostle Paul and others, we will see many opportunities to proclaim the name of Messiah and the Holy One of Israel. The strongholds of the idols of this world cannot, and will not stand up to the God of Israel.

Study Questions:

1. Discuss the connection of this teaching to the Torah Portion Ki Tisa, Exodus 30:11-34:35.

2. Compare the rivalry between Elijah and Ahab to that of Yeshua and Herod Antipas.  What are the similarities?  How are they different?  Compare the outcomes and final disposition Ahab and Herod Antipas.  (Reference our teaching “The Tale of Two Kings” from 3-7-2018 available in our YouTube and Facebook archives.)

3. Although we did not cover Obadiah’s involvement in this Haftarah reading, why was he brought into this story? What purpose did he serve to this event? What was his relationship to Ahab and Elijah?

4. Why do you think Mount Carmel was chosen by Elijah for this challenge? What is the significance of this site?

5. Other than demonstrating the unquenchable nature of the fire sent by God, what is the significance of soaking the sacrifice and entire altar with water?

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