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Prophets and Kings
ruling forces of nature, and that it was through the creative energy of
the sun that the earth was enriched and made to bring forth abundantly,
the curse of God was to rest heavily upon the polluted land. The
apostate tribes of Israel were to be shown the folly of trusting to the
power of Baal for temporal blessings. Until they should turn to God
with repentance, and acknowledge Him as the source of all blessing,
there should fall upon the land neither dew nor rain.
To Elijah was entrusted the mission of delivering to Ahab Heaven’s
message of judgment. He did not seek to be the Lord’s messenger; the
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word of the Lord came to him. And jealous for the honor of God’s
cause, he did not hesitate to obey the divine summons, though to obey
seemed to invite swift destruction at the hand of the wicked king. The
prophet set out at once and traveled night and day until he reached
Samaria. At the palace he solicited no admission, nor waited to be
formally announced. Clad in the coarse garments usually worn by the
prophets of that time, he passed the guards, apparently unnoticed, and
stood for a moment before the astonished king.
Elijah made no apology for his abrupt appearance. A Greater than
the ruler of Israel had commissioned him to speak; and, lifting his
hand toward heaven, he solemnly affirmed by the living God that the
judgments of the Most High were about to fall upon Israel. “As the
Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand,” he declared, “there
shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”
It was only by the exercise of strong faith in the unfailing power of
God’s word that Elijah delivered his message. Had he not possessed
implicit confidence in the One whom he served, he would never have
appeared before Ahab. On his way to Samaria, Elijah had passed by
ever-flowing streams, hills covered with verdure, and stately forests
that seemed beyond the reach of drought. Everything on which the eye
rested was clothed with beauty. The prophet might have wondered how
the streams that had never ceased their flow could become dry, or how
those hills and valleys could be burned with drought. But he gave no
place to unbelief. He fully believed that God would humble apostate
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Israel, and that through judgments they would be brought to repentance.
The fiat of Heaven had gone forth; God’s word could not fail; and at
the peril of his life Elijah fearlessly fulfilled his commission. Like a
thunderbolt from a clear sky, the message of impending judgment fell
upon the ears of the wicked king; but before Ahab could recover from