39...ENTER ELIJAH
Based on 1Kings Chs. 12-18...Read more there

At this point, the kingdom united under David unravels quickly. Solomon's son & successor Rehoboam (N1) has none of the wisdom his father was noted for early in his reign. He foolishly takes the advice of equally foolish young friends to treat his people harshly, with the result that the Northern tribes walk out on him leaving him only the Southern tribe of Judah. Jeroboam (N1) who had earlier unsuccessfully rebelled against Solomon now returns & is proclaimed king of Israel by the breakaways. Not only is there now political schism, but Jeroboam causes religious schism too by having two golden calves (N2) cast & set up one in Bethel & one in Dan, diverting attention from the Temple in Jerusalem. There is an odd story in Ch.13. Make of it what you will - but the way it's told, few of us would want much to do with the sneaky God portrayed in it! Like many accounts of the way things happen, it is an interpretation & we may well reject it in the light of the God Jesus later reveals! There follow accounts of the reigns of kings in both Judah & Israel. One of many low points in Jeroboam's reign in Judah is a raid on Jerusalem by an Egyptian Pharaoh who loots the Temple. Jeroboam's reign in Israel is summarised too, Then their successors on both sides of the newly created borders are reviewed. Only one of those listed gets the tick of approval from God & their subjects! Most of it isn't edifying, least of all the reign of Ahab in Israel (N4). Ahab, married to the legendary Jezebel, goes further than anyone else when he supplants the worship of YHWH with worship of the pagan god Baal. But Ahab will meet his match & get his comeuppance when the great Prophet Elijah (N3) comes on the scene in Ch.17.

Enter Elijah, who appears on the scene [Ch.17:1] confronting Ahab, & warning him of a severe drought. The implication is clearly that this is a punishment from YHWH for Ahab's apostasy & his people's. YHWH instructs Elijah to hide east of the Jordan & arranges for ravens to feed him out in this wilderness (N5). As the drought intensifies, Elijah is sent to a foreign widow & her son in Zarephath in today's Lebanon. Let's call them Zara & Zaron. Everyone deserves a name! There a miraculous stretching of their meagre resources of a little flour & a little oil takes place (N6) so the three of them have enough to live on till the drought breaks. While Elijah is there Zaron dies, but in another foreshadowingof a Jesus event, Elijah restores him to life. Any lingering doubt Zara has that Elijah is genuinely a man of God is dispelled. In Ch.18 with the drought still biting the scene shifts to Ahab's palace where we find his steward, still faithful to YHWH, has sheltered & saved many 'small p' prophets from Jezebel's vendetta against anything smacking of YHWH! Ch.18:13 tells us Jezebel has already 'slaughtered the prophets of YHWH' (NJB). However, Elijah confronts Ahab  again & sets up a contest between himself & the hundreds of 'prophets' of Baal on top of Mt. Carmel. Each side is given a bullock & the object of the competition is to call down fire from your god or God to burn the animal as a sacrifice. The prophets of Baal call on 'him' for hours & hours with Elijah mocking them a treat. When they end in total failure, Elijah rebuilds an old destroyed altar to YHWH & proceeds to douse it & its surrounds & of course his bull liberally with water. Fire from heaven - no doubt a well-timed lightning strike - burns the sacrificial bull & YHWH wins! Then in a gesture we must be glad Jesus doesn't repeat, Elijah has all the 'prophets' of Baal put to death. He then taunts Ahab into driving his chariot back to the city before the enveloping storm clogs his wheels leaving him stuck in the mud! To add insult to injury, Elijah runs ahead of Ahab all the way back to his palace! Here endeth the drought! But not Jezebel's burning hatred of both Elijah & YHWH!... But that's another story...40 Sounds of Silence

(N1) For some unknown reason both Rehoboam (4.5.lit.) & Jeroboam (3 lit.) had large bottles of bubbly named after them. Maybe it's a joke - neither of them being 'full bottle'! (N2) See EX 32.(N3) Jesus will be hugely influenced by Elijah & his successor as Prophet, Elisha. (Don't get those two mixed up!) (N4) Ahab reigns in Israel 874-853 B.C. (N5) Some suggest 'ravens' is a translating mistake for 'arabs', but opinion is in favour of 'ravens' - whatever we make of that. (N6) A kind of fore-shadowing of Jesus' later feeding a great crowd with minute resources (MT 14: 15-21 et al.) (N7) By the time of the last of the Prophet Malachi, early in the 400s BC, Hebrews came to believe Elijah would re-appear before the Messiah came [MAL 3:23]. Jesus later makes it clear [MT17:10-13] John the Baptiser was that expected 'Elijah'.  Question: Whose responsibility is it to challenge today's rulers?