Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from 1 Kings 17
-19. Chapter 17 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. Then the word of the Lord came to
him, saying, Get away from here, and turn eastward,
and hide by the brook Kerit, which flows into
the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink
from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens
to feed you there. So he went and did according
to the word of the Lord, for he went and stayed
by the brook Kerit, which flows into the Jordan.
The ravens brought him bread and meat in the
morning, and bread and meat in the evening. And
he drank from the brook. And it happened after
a while that the brook dried up, because there
had been no rain in the land. Then the word of
the Lord came to him, saying, Arise, go to Zarephath,
which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See,
I have commanded a widow there to provide for
you. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when
he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow
was there gathering sticks. And he called to
her and said, Please bring me a little water
and a cup that I may drink. And as she was going
to get it, he called to her and said, Please
bring me a morsel of bread in your hand. So she
said, As the Lord your God lives, I do not have
bread, only a handful of flour in a bin and a
little oil in a jar. And see, I am gathering
a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare
it for myself and my son, that we may eat it
and die. And Elijah said to her, Do not fear,
go and do as you have said, but make me a small
cake from it first, and bring it to me, and afterward
make some for yourself and your son. For thus
says the Lord God of Israel, The bin of flour
shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil
run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on
the earth. So she went away and did according
to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her
household ate for many days. The bin of flour
was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry,
according to the word of the Lord. which he spoke
by Elijah. Now it happened after these things
that the son of the woman who owned the house
became sick, and his sickness was so serious
that there was no breath left in him. So she
said to Elijah, What have I to do with you, O
man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin
to remembrance and to kill my son? And he said
to her, Give me your son. So he took him out
of her arms and carried him to the upper room
where he was staying and laid him on his own
bed. Then he cried out to the Lord and said,
O Lord my God, have you also brought tragedy
on the widow with whom I lodged by killing her
son? And he stretched himself out on the child
three times and cried out to the Lord and said,
O Lord my God, I pray let this child's soul come
back to him. Then the Lord heard the voice of
Elijah and the soul of the child came back to
him and he revived. And Elijah took the child
and brought him down from the upper room into
the house and gave him to his mother. And Elijah
said, See, your son lives. Then the woman said,
Elijah, now by this I know that you are a man
of God and that the word of the Lord in your
mouth is the truth. Chapter 18 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. So Elijah went to present himself
to Ahab, and there was a severe famine in Samaria.
And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge
of his house. Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly,
for so it was when 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. 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.
So they divided the land between them to explore
it. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah
went another way by himself. 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? And he answered them, It is I.
Go tell your master Elijah is here. So he said,
How have I sinned that you are delivering your
servant into the hand of Ahab to kill me? 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. And now you say,
go tell your master, Elijah is here and 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.
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? And now you say, Go tell your master Elijah
is here, he will kill me. Then Elijah said, As
the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand,
I will surely present myself to him today. So
Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab
went to meet Elijah. Then it happened, when Ahab
saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, Is that you,
O troubler of Israel? 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. Then Elijah said to
the people, I alone am left a prophet of the
Lord, but Baal's prophets are 450 men. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. So they cried aloud and
cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives
and lances, until the blood gushed out on them.
And when midday was passed, they prophesied until
the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice,
but there was no voice, no one answered, no one
paid attention. 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. 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.
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 sayers of
seed. And he put the wood in order. cut the bowl
in pieces and laid it on the wood and said, Fill
four water pots with water and pour it on the
burnt sacrifice and on the wood. 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. So the water ran all around
the altar and he also filled the trench with
water. 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. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that these people
may know that you are the Lord God, and that
you have turned their hearts back to you again.
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. 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. And
Elijah said to them, Seize the prophets of Baal,
do not let one of them escape. So they seized
them, and Elijah brought them down to the brook
Kishon and executed them there. Then Elijah said
to Ahab, Go up, eat and drink. for there is the
sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to
eat and drink, and Elijah went up to the top
of Carmel. Then he bowed down on the ground and
put his face between his knees and said to his
servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. So he
went up and looked and said, There is nothing.
And seven times he said, Go again. Then it came
to pass the seventh time that he said, There
is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising
out of the sea. So he said, Go up, say to Ahab,
prepare your chariot, and go down before the
rain stops you. Now it happened in the meantime
that the sky became black with clouds and wind,
and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away
and went to Jezreel. Then the hand of the Lord
came upon Elijah, and he girded up his loins
and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
Chapter 19 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah
had done, also how he had executed all the prophets
with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger
to Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me and
more also, if I do not make your life as the
life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.
And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his
life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to
Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself
went a day's journey into the wilderness, and
came and sat under a broom tree. And he prayed
that he might die and said, It is enough. Now,
Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my
father's. Then as he lay and slept under a broom
tree, suddenly an angel touched him and said
to him, Arise and eat. Then he looked, and there
by his head was a cake baked on coals and a jar
of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again.
And the angel of the Lord came back the second
time and touched him and said, Arise and eat,
because the journey is too great for you. So
he arose and ate and drank, and he went in the
strength of that food forty days and forty nights
as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. And there
he went into a cave, and spent the night in that
place. And behold, the word of the Lord came
to him, and he said to him, What are you doing
here, Elijah? So he said, I have been very zealous
for the Lord God of hosts. For the children of
Israel have forsaken your covenant, torn down
your altars, and killed your prophets with the
sword. I alone am left, and I seek to take my
life. Then he said, Go out and stand on the mountain
before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed
by, and a great and strong wind tore into the
mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before
the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. And
after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was
not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake
a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And
after the fire a still small voice. So it was
when Elijah heard it that he wrapped his face
in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance
of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him and
said, What are you doing here, Elijah? And he
said, I have been very zealous for the Lord God
of hosts, because the children of Israel have
forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars,
and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone
am left, and they seek to take my life. Then
the Lord said to him, Go, return on your way
to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you arrive,
anoint Hazael as king over Syria. Also you shall
anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel.
So he departed from there and found Elisha the
son of Shaphat. who was plowing with twelve yoke
of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth.
Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle
on him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah
and said, Please let me kiss my father and my
mother, and then I will follow you. And he said
to him, Go back again, for what have I done to
you? So Elisha turned back from him and took
a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled
their flesh using the oxen's equipment and gave
it to the people and they ate. Then he arose
and followed Elijah and became his servant. I
hope you enjoyed today's reading as much as I
did and I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow
to continue on our journey. God bless you and
have a great day.