Beginning
18 Many days passed, and the word of the Eternal visited Elijah during the third year of the drought.
Eternal One: Go now, and reveal yourself to Ahab. When you do, I will bring rain on the earth.
2 Elijah then went to reveal himself to Ahab.
During this time, there was a dangerous shortage of food in Samaria, 3 and Ahab had summoned Obadiah to come to him. Obadiah was the coordinator of Ahab’s palace and was wholly devoted to the Eternal. 4 Back when Jezebel was murdering all the prophets of the Eternal, Obadiah had given 100 prophets refuge. There were two caves in which he hid the prophets—50 prophets in each cave. He provided them with food and water during this time.
Ahab (to Obadiah): 5 Search through the land, and visit all the springs and streams that run through the ravines; see if you can find any grass on which we can allow our horses and mules to graze, so that they may stay alive for as long as possible. Do this so that we don’t have to kill our own beasts.
6 Ahab and Obadiah split up the regions they were going to explore, and they both traveled in different directions to save time.
7 While Obadiah was exploring the land, suddenly Elijah came upon him. Obadiah knew who he was—a prophet—and he fell on his face before Elijah.
Obadiah: I can’t believe it’s really you, master Elijah.
Elijah: 8 Yes, it is I. Go now, and give this message to your king: “Elijah has arrived.”
Obadiah: 9 What is the purpose of this? Have I wronged you or God? Why do you put your servant in a dangerous spot with Ahab? Ahab will most certainly kill me. 10 As surely as your True God, the Eternal lives, there is not a single country or kingdom that Ahab has not searched for you. Whenever a country said that you were not there, Ahab made them swear an oath that you were nowhere to be found. 11 Now you are asking me to give him your message: “Look, Elijah has arrived.” 12 I don’t know where the Spirit of the Eternal is going to lead you after I depart from you. In fact, I am certain if I tell Ahab that you have arrived, He will take you somewhere else; and if you are nowhere to be found, then I will be put to death. Since I, your servant, was young, all of my worship and devotion has gone to the Eternal One. 13 Don’t you know, my master, what I did during the time that Jezebel was murdering all the Eternal One’s prophets? I gave 100 prophets refuge. I hid them away in 2 caves—50 prophets in each cave—and I provided them with food and water. 14 Even after all that I have done for the Eternal One, you ask me to give my king the message, “Look, Elijah has arrived.” He will surely kill me!
Elijah: Do not fear for your life. 15 As certain as the life of the Eternal One, Commander of heavenly armies, whom I serve, I will reveal myself to Ahab on this very day. You have nothing to worry about.
16 Obadiah approached Ahab and gave him Elijah’s message. Ahab immediately went to find Elijah.
Ahab (seeing Elijah): 17 There you are. I thought I perceived a troublemaker in Israel.
Elijah: 18 Hypocrite! I have caused no mischief in Israel. It is you and your family who are guilty of the very thing you accuse me of. You have turned your back on the laws of the Eternal and abandoned your devotion to Him. Instead you have given yourselves to the Baals, the masters of pagan nations. 19 Now I want you to gather the entire community of Israel and send them to Mount Carmel to meet with me. I have a message for them. Be sure to gather the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of the goddess Asherah—the ones who fill their mouths and stomachs with food from Jezebel’s table.
20 Ahab did as Elijah asked, sent word throughout the entire community of Israel, and gathered all the prophets atop Mount Carmel.
Elijah (approaching the people): 21 How much longer will you sit on the fence, refusing to make a decision between the Lord and Baal? If you believe the Eternal One is the True God, then devote yourselves entirely to Him. If you believe Baal is your master, then devote yourselves entirely to him.
All the people who were gathered together atop Mount Carmel were completely silent. They didn’t know what to say to this.
Elijah: 22 I am the last remaining prophet of the Eternal. Baal has 450 prophets. Let us do a test to reveal the true quality of our deities. 23 Bring us two young bulls, the common sacrifice to your master whom you depict as a bull. The prophets of Baal may choose first which bull they want. They will kill it, chop it up, and prepare it for a fire by placing it above wood; but they will not light it. I will do the same with the other bull and prepare it for fire and place it above wood, but I will not light it. 24 Then you call upon your god, Baal, and I will call upon the Eternal. The God who answers with fire is the one True God.
Everyone liked this idea and said, “This sounds like a worthy plan.”
Elijah (to the prophets of Baal): 25 You have the pick of the bulls. Take the one you want, and prepare it first because there are many of you. Call upon your god, but do not set fire to the wood.
26 The prophets of Baal picked out their bull and prepared it. They called upon Baal from dawn till noon, crying out, “Baal, answer us with fire!” But there was no voice, no reply. Nothing happened. All they did was dance around the altar they had built and cry out to an elusive god.
27 At about midday, Elijah began provoking them.
Elijah: You have to shout louder than that! The one to whom you cry out certainly must be a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming or napping or away from his heavenly throne. Perhaps he is in a deep sleep, and you must wake him up. Shout louder!
28 So all the prophets of Baal began to shout at the top of their lungs pleading with all their might. They cut themselves with knives and swords and spears until they were covered in their own blood. 29 Midday passed by, and the prophets of Baal kept on with their antics until it was time for the evening sacrifice. But still, there was no voice, no reply. No god heard them.
Elijah (to the people): 30 Gather around me.
So all the people gathered around him, and he fixed the Eternal’s altar that had been torn down. 31 Elijah gathered 12 stones, one for each of Jacob’s tribes. Jacob was the one who wrestled with God and whom the word of the Eternal One visited, saying, “Your name will be Israel.”
32 Elijah took the 12 stones and constructed an altar in honor of the Eternal One and carved a ditch out around it large enough to hold 13 quarts of seed. 33 He set up the wood, chopped up the bull, and placed it on top of the wood.
Elijah (to the people): Go get four big jars, and fill them all up with water. Then pour the water out over the burnt offering and the wood. 34 Now, do the same thing again.
And so they did it a second time.
Elijah: All right, now do the same thing a third time.
And so they did it a third time. 35 The water covered the altar and even filled up the ditch. 36 When it was time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah called out to the Eternal.
Elijah (praying): Eternal One—God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel—reveal Yourself on this day as Israel’s God. Make it known that I serve You and have done all this because You commanded it of me. 37 Answer me, Eternal One. Reveal Yourself so that everyone here will know that You, Eternal One, are the True God—the only God. Do it so that everyone knows You are turning the gaze of their hearts back to You again.
38 Right then the Eternal One’s fire landed upon the altar. The flames consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the ground. The flames even drank up all the water in the ditch. 39 When everyone witnessed this extraordinary power, they all put their faces to the ground in fear and awe and wonder.
People: The Eternal One is the True God! The Eternal One is the True God!
Elijah: 40 Seize all the prophets of Baal. Don’t let a single one of them escape!
So everyone grabbed hold of the prophets of Baal, and Elijah gave instruction for them to be taken to the Kishon Valley and killed immediately—no exceptions.
Elijah (to Ahab): 41 You should go fill your belly with food and water. I hear a heavy rain coming.
42 Ahab did as Elijah instructed and went to eat and drink. Elijah journeyed to the peak of Mount Carmel. There he bowed down on the ground and placed his head between his knees.
Elijah (to his servant): 43 Go now, and look in the direction of the sea.
Servant (returning to Elijah): I did as you asked, and there is nothing in the direction of the sea.
Elijah gave him the same instruction seven times, “Go back, and look in the direction of the sea.” 44 The servant did as Elijah requested each time; and on the seventh time, he told Elijah, “A minuscule cloud, as tiny as the hand of a man, is ascending from the sea.”
Elijah: Go quickly, and give a message to Ahab for me: “Prepare your chariot, and leave quickly before the rain gets torrential and keeps you from traveling.”
45 The sky became filled with dark monstrous clouds, the wind grew wild, the heavy rain fell, and Ahab traveled quickly in his chariot to Jezreel. 46 The strength of the Eternal filled Elijah. The prophet pulled up his garment around his thighs and sprinted ahead of Ahab the entire way to Jezreel.
19 When Ahab arrived in Jezreel, he told Jezebel about everything that had taken place. He told her how Elijah had executed all the prophets of Baal with a sword, and she became furious. 2 Jezebel sent an urgent message to Elijah.
Jezebel’s Message: May the gods kill me and worse, if I haven’t killed you the way you killed their priests by this time tomorrow. Your end is near, Elijah.
3 Terrified, Elijah quickly ran for his life. He traveled the length of Israel in one day and finally arrived at Beersheba, the southern point of God’s territory, which is in Judah. When he arrived, he instructed his servant to remain there while he sought solitude. 4 He journeyed into the desert for one day and then decided to rest beneath the limbs of a broom tree. There he prayed that his life would be over quickly and that he would die there beneath the tree.
Elijah: I’m finished, Eternal One. Please end my life here and now, even though I have failed, and I am no better than my ancestors.
5 Elijah then laid himself down under the broom tree and entered into a deep sleep. While he was sleeping, a heavenly messenger came and touched him and gave him instructions.
Messenger: Get up, and eat.
6 Elijah looked and found a breadcake sitting over charcoal near his head. There was also a jar of water. He ate the food and drank the water, and then he lay back down.
Often the only thing growing in the desert, the small broom tree has enough substance to save Elijah. This bush, whose limbs grow straight up like a broom standing on its end, offers meager shade; but its oil-rich branches and roots make excellent fuel and charcoal; the thick roots travel deep into the ground and offer both water and fire. God provides for Elijah’s needs—nothing more, and nothing less.
7 The Eternal’s messenger visited him again, touched him, and gave him more instructions.
Heavenly Messenger: Get up, and eat. Your journey ahead is great, and you need plenty of nourishment.
8 Elijah got up and ate the food and drank the water. His body felt strong again, and he journeyed for 40 more days and 40 more nights to Horeb, God’s mountain where Moses received the Ten Directives. 9 When he arrived at Horeb, he walked into a cave and rested for the night.
Eternal One (to Elijah): Why are you here, Elijah? What is it that you desire?
Elijah: 10 As you know, all my passion has been devoted to the Eternal One, the God of heavenly armies. The Israelites have abandoned Your covenant with them, they have torn down every single one of Your altars, and they have executed by the sword all those who prophesy in Your name. I am the last remaining prophet, and they now seek to execute me as well.
Eternal One: 11 Leave this cave, and go stand on the mountainside in My presence.
The Eternal passed by him. The mighty wind separated the mountains and crumbled every stone before the Eternal. This was not a divine wind, for the Eternal was not within this wind. After the wind passed through, an earthquake shook the earth. This was not a divine quake, for the Eternal was not within this earthquake. 12-13 After the earthquake was over, there was a fire. This was not a divine fire, for the Eternal was not within this fire.
After the fire died out, there was nothing but the sound of a calm breeze. And through this breeze a gentle, quiet voice entered into Elijah’s ears. He covered his face with his cloak and went to the mouth of the cave. Suddenly, Elijah was surprised.
Eternal One: Why are you here, Elijah? What is it that you desire?
Elijah: 14 As you know, all my passion has been devoted to the Eternal God of heavenly armies. The Israelites have abandoned Your covenant with them, they have torn down every one of Your altars, and they have executed all who prophesy in Your name by the sword. I am the last remaining prophet, and they now seek to execute me as well. They won’t stop.
Eternal One: 15 Travel back the same way you traveled here, but continue north to the desert of Damascus. There, I want you to anoint Hazael as Aram’s king, 16 Jehu (Nimshi’s son) as Israel’s king, and Elisha (Shaphat’s son from Abel-meholah) to replace you as prophet. 17 Jehu will execute anyone who escapes from Hazael, and Elisha will execute all who escape from Jehu. 18 I will keep for Myself the 7,000 Israelites who have not bowed down to Baal or offered him kisses.
19 Elijah journeyed to find Elisha (Shaphat’s son). He found Elisha in the field where 12 pairs of oxen were being worked. Elisha was with the last pair. Elijah wrapped his cloak, his token of spiritual power, around Elisha, 20 and Elisha abandoned his oxen and chased after Elijah.
Elisha: Before I leave, allow me to tell my parents goodbye, and then I will journey with you.
Elijah: Go then. Tell them goodbye. What have I done to you?
Elisha realizes that Elijah is questioning his devotion—will he stay with his parents or become a prophet? Elisha demonstrates his devotion to God by destroying his livelihood.
21 Elisha returned, but not to his parents. He killed his oxen, then he used the equipment (harness, yoke, and reigns) to prepare a fire and cook all the ox meat. He offered the food to everyone, and they feasted. Elisha then joined Elijah and became his apprentice.
Elijah and Elisha are not the only prophets demonstrating God’s will in Israel. At all times, but especially during wars, kings seek the advice of prophets and men of God. The messages delivered may not always guarantee God’s favor, but the words are always reliable and true.
20 Meanwhile, Ben-hadad, Aram’s king, gathered his entire army to lay siege to Samaria. He was accompanied by 32 other kings as well as a large group of horses and chariots. He waged war against Samaria. 2 Ben-hadad then instructed his messengers to travel to see Ahab, Israel’s king, inside the city.
Messengers (to Ahab): This is a message from Ben-hadad: 3 “All of your treasures—your silver and your gold—belong to me. Your finest wives and healthiest children belong to me as well.”
Ahab’s Response: 4 It is exactly as you say, my lord and king. My life and everything that belongs to me are in your possession.
5 The messengers came back to Ahab and gave him a new message.
Messengers: This is the reply from Ben-hadad to your submission: “Did I or did I not tell you to give me all your treasures—your silver and gold and your finest wives and healthiest children? None of it belongs to you. It’s all mine. 6 Now I am sending some of my servants to do a search of your house and the houses of your servants. They will be there in about 24 hours, and they will take everything that catches their eyes.”
7 Israel’s king gathered up all the elders of Israel and explained the situation to them.
Ahab: I need your help figuring out what to do. King Ben-hadad is trying to cause problems. He demanded that my finest wives and healthiest children and all my silver and gold become his possession, and I submitted to his wish.
Elders and Israelites: 8 Don’t do what he says. Ignore him.
9 Ahab then gave a new message for the messengers to take back to Ben-hadad.
Ahab’s Message: Tell my lord the king, “Everything you asked at the beginning I will do, but I cannot do this new thing you ask of me; it is too much.”
The messengers left and gave Ahab’s message to Ben-hadad.
Ben-hadad’s Response: 10 I will forfeit my life to the gods (to do whatever they please with me) if I leave even enough of the dirt on the ground of Samaria to support those who serve and follow me.
Ahab: 11 Give Ben-hadad this message: “It is foolish for a man who is putting on armor to brag like a man who has won a battle and is taking off his armor.”
12 When Ben-hadad received this message, he was drinking with other kings in the camp. He gave urgent instructions to his servants: “Get the army ready immediately. I’ve had enough of Ahab.” The army prepared for battle against the city. 13 About this time, a prophet entered into the presence of Ahab, who was Israel’s king.
Prophet: This is the Eternal’s message: “Have you laid eyes upon the great army that has risen up against you? They look like an impossible opponent, but observe what is about to take place. I am going to give you victory over them on this day. Then you will know that I am the Eternal One.”
Ahab: 14 I can’t comprehend how such a victory could occur. Their army is massive. How is this going to happen?
Prophet: This is the Eternal’s message: “The young officers of the provincial leaders will do it for you.”
Ahab: Who is going to begin the fight and lead us into battle?
Prophet: You are.
15 Ahab then gathered up all the young officers of the provincial leaders, and there were 232 in all. Then he gathered together everyone else, including the Israelites. There were 7,000 in all. 16 They set out at noon. While they did this, Ben-hadad was drinking alcohol excessively in the camp with the other 32 kings who served him. 17 The young officers of the provincial leaders approached first. When a patrol of scouts Ben-hadad had sent out came back, they reported to him.
Scouts: Men have traveled here from Samaria.
Ben-hadad: 18 I don’t care whether they come in peace or with motives of war. Take them all as captives, and keep them alive!
19 The young officers of the provincial leaders had left the city with their army following them. 20 They proceeded to crush each man they faced. All the Arameans ran for their lives, and the Israelites went after them. Ben-hadad, Aram’s king, escaped on horseback with some of his horsemen. 21 Israel’s king pursued the Arameans, defeating their horses and chariots, crushing many Arameans.
22 The prophet approached Israel’s king.
Prophet: Go, and keep yourself fit because at the end of the year, Aram’s king is going to come back and wage war against you. Prepare for what is to come.
Ben-hadad’s Servants: 23 When we fought them in the mountains, they won because their gods are the mountain gods. But if we fight them on flat land, then we are sure to win. 24 Therefore evacuate the royal leaders, place all the civilian military leaders in place of the ineffectual royalty, 25 and assemble an army exactly like the one you lost. Replace every lost horse with a new horse and every lost chariot with a new chariot. We will battle on flat land, and we are sure to win because we will be stronger than they will be.
Ben-hadad listened to his servants and did everything they said to do, dismissing the royal leaders and rebuilding the army.
26 In the spring of the year, Ben-hadad assembled the Arameans and waged war against Israel at Aphek. 27 All the Israelites assembled and prepared and went out to meet the Arameans for battle. The camp of the Israelites looked like two tiny herds of goats compared to the Aramean army which filled the entire land. 28 A man of God approached Israel’s king.
Man of God: This is the Eternal’s message: “The Arameans have proclaimed that the Eternal is only a mountain god and not a god of the flat land; therefore I am going to give you a great victory over them. Then you will know that I am the Eternal One.”
Just as the prophets of Baal in Israel think that only their god controls the rain, the Arameans think that the Lord is only a god of the mountains. Among their pagan neighbors, where different gods control different things, it is unthinkable that there can be one God who controls everything, such as climate and land. It is exactly this misconception that God is aiming to debunk through Israel’s victories. He is the One; He controls all.
29 They camped out across from each other for seven days; and when the seventh day arrived, the battle began. The Israelites crushed 100,000 Aramean warriors in a single day. 30 All those who escaped ran into the city of Aphek. A great wall collapsed on them and killed 27,000 men. Ben-hadad escaped to the city and hid himself in a secret chamber.
Ben-hadad’s Servants: 31 The kings of Israel have a reputation for being merciful. Allow us to dress ourselves appropriately for surrender: We will put sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads; then we will go to meet Israel’s king and hopefully salvage your life.
32 The servants dressed accordingly. They put sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads; then they approached Israel’s king.
Ben-hadad’s Servants: This is a message from Ben-hadad who proclaims he is in your service: “I beg you to leave my life untouched.”
Ahab: Ben-hadad is not yet dead? I thought he had surely been killed. He is my brother.
33 The servants watched carefully and perceived this to be a sign, and they replied with surprise.
Ben-hadad’s Servants: Yes, that’s right. Your brother, Ben-hadad.
Ahab: Bring Ben-hadad to me.
Ben-hadad came out of the city to Israel’s king, and Ahab allowed him to come up into the royal chariot.
Ben-hadad (to Ahab): 34 I will return all the cities that my father took from your father. Lay your own streets in Damascus, so you may market your goods there, just like the ones my father laid in Samaria.
Ahab: Under this covenant, I will release you.
So Ahab and Ben-hadad entered into a covenant with one another; then Ahab released Ben-hadad.
Remember that God has given Ben-hadad to Ahab. By orchestrating Ahab’s victory, the Lord reduces the power of the Arameans, whom He has used to discipline Israel, and now trusts Israel to keep Aram in check. Unfortunately, Ahab is easily bribed, tempted by Ben-hadad’s offer of land and trade opportunities in exchange for his freedom. Once again it is a prophet who shows Ahab his error in abandoning God’s plan by physically demonstrating how Ahab abused God.
35 By the word of the Eternal, one of the prophets’ sons made a request to another man.
Prophet’s Son: Hit me.
Man: No.
Prophet’s Son: 36 Because you have denied a command of the Eternal, you will be killed by a lion the moment you leave my presence.
Sure enough, the moment the man walked away, a lion killed him.
Prophet’s Son (to another man): 37 Hit me.
This man did as he was asked, and he bruised the prophet’s son. 38 The prophet left and waited on the side of the road for the king to come by. The prophet bandaged his eyes with a cloth, so that the king would not recognize him. 39 As soon as the king was near, the prophet shouted.
Prophet: Your servant entered into the heart of war, and someone gave a man over to my possession and said, “You are the guard of this man. If he escapes, then your life will replace his life. Or you may pay 75 pounds of silver instead.” 40 Your servant became busy with other work—doing this and doing that—and meanwhile, the prisoner disappeared.
Ahab: You have decided upon your own judgment, and so it shall be.
41 The prophet then removed the cloth from his eyes, and Israel’s king recognized him as one of the prophets.
Prophet: 42 This is the Eternal’s message: “You have allowed the man whom I was going to kill to escape. Your life will replace his life, and your people will take the place of his people.”
43 Israel’s king, frustrated and bad-tempered, returned to his house in Samaria.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.