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| 1 And it came to pass after many days, that the word of Jehovah came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. |
Elijah – Type of the true Church in the flesh--The Christ, Head and Body. B256; PD46/56
Third year – Either the third of Elijah's sojourn at Zarephath, or after his original announcement to Ahab. R4740:1
The entire period of the drouth was 3½ years. (Luke 4:25; Jas. 5:17) R4740:2
Shew thyself – Prefigured the coming out of the true Church of God from her wilderness hiding after the year 1799 AD. R5857:4
Unto Ahab – Type of the Roman empire. B256
Representing the governments of earth. PD46/56
I will send rain – Showing return of divine favor. A sufficiency of punishment had come upon Israel for their iniquities. R4740:2,6
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| 2 And Elijah went to show himself unto Ahab. And the famine was sore in Samaria. |
A sore famine – Typifying the spiritual famine during the Dark Ages. B256; R5741:6
For 3 ½ years, typical of the "time, times, and a half,"--1260 years, of the famine "not of bread, nor of water, but of hearing the word of the Lord." (Amos 8:11) R5993:3
Typical of the period in which the true saints of God were hidden from the eyes of the world in a wilderness condition. R4741:2
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| 3 And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared Jehovah greatly: |
Governor – Royal superintendent, or prime minister. R4740:2
Now Obadiah – Represents partially consecrated ones. R3401:5
Feared the LORD – But must have failed to let his light shine properly, else he would not have been an acceptable servant in the house of Ahab. R3401:3
He was a true worshipper of the Lord, but timid. R3401:3
Such as are ashamed of the Lord will lose the great prize. R3401:5
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| 4 for it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of Jehovah, that Obadiah took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) |
When Jezebel – Typical of the apostate church of Rome. B256
Symbolizes the great mystery of iniquity. R3399:4; PD46/56
Cut off the prophets – The first religious persecution on record. R2325:6
Hid them – Evidently at the risk of his all. R4740:2
Fifty in a cave – The experiences of God's prophets, for the most part, were far from enviable. A54
Fed them – Josephus connects Obadiah's widow with the woman of 2 Kings 4:1-7 and her debt with the fun R3430:6
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| 5 And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go through the land, unto all the fountains of water, and unto all the brooks: peradventure we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. |
Horses and mules – Apparently he was more solicitous for his beasts than for the poor of the people. R3401:2
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| 6 So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. |
Ahab went – Probably with a good retinue of servants. R3401:2
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| 7 And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Is it thou, my lord Elijah? |
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| 8 And he answered him, It is I: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. |
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| 9 And he said, Wherein have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? |
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| 10 As Jehovah 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 here, he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. |
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| 11 And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. |
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| 12 And it will come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of Jehovah will carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he will slay me: but I thy servant fear Jehovah from my youth. |
He shall slay me – He surmised that Elijah would in some manner disappear during his absence and that, in consequence, the king's anger would be against his servant. R3401:5, R4740:2
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| 13 Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of Jehovah, how I hid a hundred men of Jehovah’s prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? |
Slew the prophets – See comments on 1 Kings 18:4.
LORD'S prophets – The worthy servants of Mark 12:3-5. R1796:1
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| 14 And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here; and he will slay me. |
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| 15 And Elijah said, As Jehovah of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself unto him today. |
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| 16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah. |
Ahab went to meet Elijah – Prophetic of the great contest between Catholicism and Protestantism in the Reformation period. R5751:5
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| 17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Is it thou, thou troubler of Israel? |
Ahab – Type of worldly governments claiming to be Christ's kingdom. R5751:2[R5751:10], R389:2*
Elijah – Type of the true Church of Christ in the flesh, this side the veil. R5751:3[R5751:3]
Although the true Church is indeed represented symbolically by a woman, it is also represented sometimes by a man--when the picture includes the Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church. R5751:3[R5751:3]
Art thou he – Implying that all the trouble was properly chargeable to Elijah. R3401:6
This is the worldly custom. R4740:3
That troubleth Israel – The valiant for the truth have always been considered enemies by the nominal mass. R577:5, R234:6
We would trouble Israel by showing the Lord's people their transgressions. R234:6
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| 18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of Jehovah, and thou hast followed the Baalim. |
Baalim – Bel, type of the God of Babylon: the Pope. D40
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| 19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred, that eat at Jezebel’s table. |
Prophets of Baal – So the priests and the religious representatives of a great church system have been the obedient servants of the great false institutions, pictured by Ahab and Jezebel. R5751:3
Jezebel – A false Christian church system married to earthly governments. R5751:2, R389:2*
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| 20 So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. |
Mount Carmel – About seventeen miles from the palace at Jezreel, an ideal place for such a spectacle. R3406:1
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| 21 And Elijah came near unto all the people, and said, How long go ye limping between the two sides? if Jehovah be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. |
Elijah – Here representing Jehovah. R3402:1, R4740:3
How long halt ye – "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve." (Josh. 24:15) R2950:4,6
"Today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." (Heb 3:15) R2950:6
Coming to a positive decision is a great blessing, and a great help in the formation of character. R2950:4
Two opinions – "Ye cannot serve God and Mammon." (Matt. 6:24) R2950:3
A contrast to the present dominant religious sentiment of compromise. D190
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| 22 Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, am left a prophet of Jehovah; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred fifty men. |
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| 23 Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under; and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under. |
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| 24 And call ye on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Jehovah: and the god that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. |
Your gods – Infidelity in our day is calling upon many to worship the god of nature; and, through Higher Criticism and Evolution theories, the priests of error are misleading many. R3407:5
That answereth by fire – Elijah challenged the priests of Baal to a public test as to which god could answer prayer. PD46/56
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| 25 And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it. |
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| 26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped about the altar which was made. |
Called on ... Baal – Noted for being preeminently the sun god, the god of nature, fertility, etc. R3406:2
To accept the offering and vindicate his cause. PD46/56
If Baal were powerful enough to answer their prayers, then the people might understand that it was because Baal was offended with them that they had experienced the drouth. R2332:5
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| 27 And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud; for he is a god: either he is musing, or he is gone aside, or he is on a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth and must be awaked. |
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| 28 And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lances, till the blood gushed out upon them. |
They cried aloud – Yelling and cutting themselves, claiming they had committed sins, chastising themselves, that Baal be propitiated and answer them. R3406:3
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| 29 And it was so, when midday was past, that they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening oblation; but there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. |
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| 30 And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me; and all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of Jehovah that was thrown down. |
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| 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of Jehovah came, saying, Israel shall be thy name. |
The sons of Jacob – Typifying the twelve apostles. B246
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| 32 And with the stones he built an altar in the name of Jehovah; and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. |
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| 33 And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it on the wood. And he said, Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt-offering, and on the wood. |
Barrels – Earthen jars. R3406:3
Water – From a never-failing spring which is to be found on the slope of Mt. Carmel. R3406:3
Pour it on – No one could say that there was a secret smouldering of fire beneath. R4740:5; PD46/56
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| 34 And 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. |
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| 35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. |
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| 36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening oblation, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, O Jehovah, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. |
Came near, and said – This prayer is beautiful in its simplicity, manifesting no boastful spirit. R3406:4
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| 37 Hear me, O Jehovah, hear me, that this people may know that thou, Jehovah, art God, and that thou turnest their heart back again. |
Hear me, O LORD – Elijah prayed to God to vindicate his cause. PD46/56
Turned their heart – Recalling them again by their experiences, and by these signs, to be thy people. R2332:6
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| 38 Then the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. |
Fire of the LORD fell – The fire descended and consumed the sacrifice, licking up even the water in the trench. PD46/56
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| 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, Jehovah, he is God; Jehovah, he is God. |
All the people – Representing the world. R5629:1
Fell on their faces – A lesson for us is that the masses of Christendom are deceived today, as were the masses of Israel. By and by, when God shall open their eyes, every knee shall bow. R4740:5
The LORD – Jehovah, He is God. PD46/56
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| 40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. |
Prophets of Baal – Public teachers of idolatry. A55
And slew them there – Representing the punishments visited upon the Papacy at the end of the three and one-half symbolic "times" (1260 literal years). B256
It is not a divine command to us today to put all false teachers to death. R4740:5
It is for us to slay and utterly expose the errors and follies which are deceiving the people. R3407:5, R4211:3*
Foreshadowing the Second Death of all who work iniquity after full opportunity. R4740:6
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| 41 And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain. |
There is a sound – Might be understood better, "I hear from the Lord the message of an abundance of rain coming." R3407:1
Abundance of rain – Typifying the millions of Bibles published and issued shortly after the end of 1799. B256
Showing a return of divine favor. R4740:6
Nearly all of our great Bible Societies were organized within fifteen years after 1799. R5752:5, R4211:3*
A spiritual drouth ended in 1798. R5751:3[R5751]
From 325 AD, when the Nicene creed was promulgated, there was practically no Bible study for 12 centuries until 1526, when the art of printing had become common and Tyndale had published his manuscript. It was 1799 before the Bible came into great prominence. R5752:1-5
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| 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees. |
Down upon the earth – Elijah did not pray for rain until he understood that it was the Lord's due time for it to come. We are to pray for and confidently expect those things and only those things which the Lord has promised to give us. R3407:2-4
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| 43 And he said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. |
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| 44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a cloud out of the sea, as small as a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Make ready thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. |
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| 45 And it came to pass in a little while, that the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel: |
Great rain – Representing the wide circulation of the Bible since 1799. R5857:4
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| 46 and the hand of Jehovah was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. |
Was on Elijah – Enduing him with supernatural power. R3407:4[R3407]
Ran before Ahab – An act of courtesy, showing that he recognized Ahab as the king of the nation. R3407:4[R3407]
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