Elijah Returns to the King

Narrator: Chris Genthree
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1 Kings 18:1-201And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. 2And Elijah went to show himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria. 3And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly: 4For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) 5And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. 6So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. 7And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my lord Elijah? 8And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. 9And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? 10As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. 11And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. 12And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth. 13Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord, how I hid an hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? 14And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay me. 15And Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself unto him to day. 16So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? 18And he answered, 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. 19Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table. 20So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. (1 Kings 18:1‑20)
For three years the Lord had not let any rain or dew fall on the land of Israel, because He wanted the people to learn that their help and blessings were from Him, for instead of trusting Him, they were praying to an idol, called Baal, as their king had told them.
The king, Ahab, did not give up the idol worship, although he was troubled for fear his horses and mules would die in the dry time and sent his chief man to other parts of the land to see if there might be any low places by brooks or rivers where some grass would still be growing, where the animals could feed.
As this man was on his way, Elijah the prophet met him. He was the one who had told the king that this dry time would come, when he built the temples for the big idol. Ahab had been very angry with Elijah and tried to kill him. So God had kept Elijah hidden, but now told him to speak again to the king.
The chief servant of the king did not pray to the idol, but had believed in the true God since his youth, and had bravely hidden in a cave, many who had spoken for God, whom the king wanted to kill. Yet he feared to tell the king that Elijah had come back, for he thought the Lord might take Elijah away again. But Elijah told the servant that he would surely see the king that very day.
Then the man went to tell the king that Elijah had come, and King Ahab went to meet him. Elijah did not fear the king, but spoke to him of his sin in leading the people to pray to an idol, instead of to the Lord. And he told the king to send for all the people to meet on the mountainside, on a certain day, so the Lord could prove to them that He heard their prayers, and we learn later how He did this.
What was the name of the chief servant of King Ahab?
ML 03/05/1939