To The Word – Day 115

₁The LORD spoke to the prophet Jehu son of Hanani and gave him this message for Baasha: ₂“You were a nobody, but I made you the leader of my people Israel. And now you have sinned like Jeroboam and have led my people into sin. Their sins have aroused my anger, ₃and so I will do away with you and your family, just as I did with Jeroboam. ₄Any members of your family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and any who die in the open country will be eaten by vultures.”

₅Everything else that Baasha did and all his brave deeds are recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel. ₆Baasha died and was buried in Tirzah, and his son Elah succeeded him as king.

₇That message from the LORD against Baasha and his family was given by the prophet Jehu because of the sins that Baasha committed against the LORD. He aroused the LORD's anger not only because of the evil he did, just as King Jeroboam had done before him, but also because he killed all Jeroboam's family.

₈In the 26th year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he ruled in Tirzah for two years. ₉Zimri, one of his officers who was in charge of half the king's chariots, plotted against him. One day in Tirzah, Elah was getting drunk in the home of Arza, who was in charge of the palace. ₁₀Zimri entered the house, assassinated Elah, and succeeded him as king. This happened in the 27th year of the reign of King Asa of Judah.

₁₁As soon as Zimri became king he killed off all the members of Baasha's family. Every male relative and friend was put to death. ₁₂And so, in accordance with what the LORD had said against Baasha through the prophet Jehu, Zimri killed all the family of Baasha. ₁₃Because of their idolatry and because they led Israel into sin, Baasha and his son Elah had aroused the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel. ₁₄Everything else that Elah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.

₁₅In the 27th year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, Zimri ruled in Tirzah over Israel for seven days. The Israelite troops were besieging the city of Gibbethon in Philistia, ₁₆and when they heard that Zimri had plotted against the king and assassinated him, then and there they all proclaimed their commander Omri king of Israel. ₁₇Omri and his troops left Gibbethon and went and besieged Tirzah. ₁₈When Zimri saw that the city had fallen, he went into the palace's inner fortress, set the palace on fire, and died in the flames. ₁₉This happened because of his sins against the LORD. Like his predecessor Jeroboam he displeased the LORD by his own sins and by leading Israel into sin. ₂₀Everything else that Zimri did, including the account of his conspiracy, is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.

₂₁The people of Israel were divided: some of them wanted to make Tibni son of Ginath king, and the others were in favour of Omri. ₂₂In the end, those in favour of Omri won; Tibni died and Omri became king. ₂₃So in the 31st year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he ruled for twelve years. The first six years he ruled in Tirzah, ₂₄and then he bought the hill of Samaria for 6,000 pieces of silver from a man named Shemer. Omri fortified the hill, built a town there, and named it Samaria, after Shemer, the former owner of the hill.

₂₅Omri sinned against the LORD more than any of his predecessors. ₂₆Like Jeroboam before him, he aroused the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, by his sins and by leading the people into sin and idolatry. ₂₇Everything else that Omri did and all his accomplishments are recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel. ₂₈Omri died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Ahab succeeded him as king.

₂₉In the 38th year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for 22 years. ₃₀He sinned against the LORD more than any of his predecessors. ₃₁It was not enough for him to sin like King Jeroboam; he went further and married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of Sidon, and worshipped Baal. ₃₂He built a temple to Baal in Samaria, made an altar for him, and put it in the temple. ₃₃He also put up an image of the goddess Asherah. He did more to arouse the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, than all the kings of Israel before him. ₃₄During his reign Hiel from Bethel rebuilt Jericho. As the LORD had foretold through Joshua son of Nun, Hiel lost his eldest son Abiram when he laid the foundation of Jericho, and his youngest son Segub when he built the gates.

₁A prophet named Elijah, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to King Ahab, “In the name of the LORD, the living God of Israel, whom I serve, I tell you that there will be no dew or rain for the next two or three years until I say so.”

₂Then the LORD said to Elijah, ₃“Leave this place and go east and hide yourself near the brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan. ₄The brook will supply you with water to drink, and I have commanded ravens to bring you food there.”

₅Elijah obeyed the LORD's command, and went and stayed by the brook of Cherith. ₆He drank water from the brook, and ravens brought him bread and meat every morning and every evening. ₇After a while the brook dried up because of the lack of rain.

₈Then the LORD said to Elijah, ₉“Now go to the town of Zarephath, near Sidon, and stay there. I have commanded a widow who lives there to feed you.” ₁₀So Elijah went to Zarephath, and as he came to the gate of the town, he saw a widow gathering firewood. “Please bring me a drink of water,” he said to her. ₁₁And as she was going to get it, he called out, “And please bring me some bread, too.”

₁₂She answered, “By the living LORD your God I swear that I haven't got any bread. All I have is a handful of flour in a bowl and a drop of olive oil in a jar. I came here to gather some firewood to take back home and prepare what little I have for my son and me. That will be our last meal, and then we will starve to death.”

₁₃“Don't worry,” Elijah said to her. “Go ahead and prepare your meal. But first make a small loaf from what you have and bring it to me, and then prepare the rest for you and your son. ₁₄For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The bowl will not run out of flour or the jar run out of oil before the day that I, the LORD, send rain.’ ”

₁₅The widow went and did as Elijah had told her, and all of them had enough food for many days. ₁₆As the LORD had promised through Elijah, the bowl did not run out of flour nor did the jar run out of oil.

₁₇Some time later the widow's son fell ill; he got worse and worse, and finally he died. ₁₈She said to Elijah, “Man of God, why did you do this to me? Did you come here to remind God of my sins and so cause my son's death?”

₁₉“Give the boy to me,” Elijah said. He took the boy from her arms, carried him upstairs to the room where he was staying, and laid him on the bed. ₂₀Then he prayed aloud, “O LORD my God, why have you done such a terrible thing to this widow? She has been kind enough to take care of me, and now you kill her son!” ₂₁Then Elijah stretched himself out on the boy three times and prayed, “O LORD my God, restore this child to life!” ₂₂The LORD answered Elijah's prayer; the child started breathing again and revived.

₂₃Elijah took the boy back downstairs to his mother and said to her, “Look, your son is alive!”

₂₄She answered, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the LORD really speaks through you!”

₁After some time, in the third year of the drought, the LORD said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab, and I will send rain.” ₂So Elijah started out.

The famine in Samaria was at its worst, ₃so Ahab called in Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Obadiah was a devout worshipper of the LORD, ₄and when Jezebel was killing the LORD's prophets, Obadiah took a hundred of them, hid them in caves in two groups of fifty, and provided them with food and water.) ₅Ahab said to Obadiah, “Let us go and look at every spring and every riverbed in the land to see if we can find enough grass to keep the horses and mules alive. Maybe we won't have to kill any of our animals.” ₆They agreed on which part of the land each one would explore, and set off in different directions.

₇As Obadiah was on his way, he suddenly met Elijah. He recognized him, bowed low before him, and asked, “Is it really you, sir?”

₈“Yes, I'm Elijah,” he answered. “Go and tell your master the king that I am here.”

₉Obadiah answered, “What have I done that you want to put me in danger of being killed by King Ahab? ₁₀By the living LORD, your God, I swear that the king has made a search for you in every country in the world. Whenever the ruler of a country reported that you were not in his country, Ahab would require that ruler to swear that you could not be found. ₁₁And now you want me to go and tell him that you are here? ₁₂What if the Spirit of the LORD carries you off to some unknown place as soon as I leave? Then, when I tell Ahab that you are here, and he can't find you, he will put me to death. Remember that I have been a devout worshipper of the LORD ever since I was a boy. ₁₃Haven't you heard that when Jezebel was killing the prophets of the LORD I hid a hundred of them in caves, in two groups of fifty, and supplied them with food and water? ₁₄So how can you order me to go and tell the king that you are here? He will kill me!”

₁₅Elijah answered, “By the living LORD, whom I serve, I promise that I will present myself to the king today.”

₁₆So Obadiah went to King Ahab and told him, and Ahab set off to meet Elijah. ₁₇When Ahab saw him, he said, “So there you are — the worst troublemaker in Israel!”

₁₈“I'm not the troublemaker,” Elijah answered. “You are — you and your father. You are disobeying the LORD's commands and worshipping the idols of Baal. ₁₉Now order all the people of Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel. Bring along the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of the goddess Asherah who are supported by Queen Jezebel.”

₂₀So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and the prophets of Baal to meet at Mount Carmel. ₂₁Elijah went up to the people and said, “How much longer will it take you to make up your minds? If the LORD is God, worship him; but if Baal is God, worship him!” But the people didn't say a word. ₂₂Then Elijah said, “I am the only prophet of the LORD still left, but there are 450 prophets of Baal. ₂₃Bring two bulls; let the prophets of Baal take one, kill it, cut it in pieces, and put it on the wood — but don't light the fire. I will do the same with the other bull. ₂₄Then let the prophets of Baal pray to their god, and I will pray to the LORD, and the one who answers by sending fire — he is God.”

The people shouted their approval.

₂₅Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since there are so many of you, you take a bull and prepare it first. Pray to your god, but don't set fire to the wood.”

₂₆They took the bull that was brought to them, prepared it, and prayed to Baal until noon. They shouted, “Answer us, Baal!” and kept dancing round the altar they had built. But no answer came.

₂₇At noon Elijah started making fun of them: “Pray louder! He is a god! Maybe he is daydreaming or relieving himself, or perhaps he's gone on a journey! Or maybe he's sleeping, and you've got to wake him up!” ₂₈So the prophets prayed louder and cut themselves with knives and daggers, according to their ritual, until blood flowed. ₂₉They kept on ranting and raving until the middle of the afternoon; but no answer came, not a sound was heard.

₃₀Then Elijah said to the people, “Come closer to me,” and they all gathered round him. He set about repairing the altar of the LORD which had been torn down. ₃₁He took twelve stones, one for each of the twelve tribes named after the sons of Jacob, the man to whom the LORD had given the name Israel. ₃₂With these stones he rebuilt the altar for the worship of the LORD. He dug a trench round it, large enough to hold almost fourteen litres of water. ₃₃Then he placed the wood on the altar, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the offering and the wood.” They did so, ₃₄and he said, “Do it again” — and they did. “Do it once more,” he said — and they did. ₃₅The water ran down round the altar and filled the trench.

₃₆At the hour of the afternoon sacrifice the prophet Elijah approached the altar and prayed, “O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove now that you are the God of Israel and that I am your servant and have done all this at your command. ₃₇Answer me, LORD, answer me, so that this people will know that you, the LORD, are God, and that you are bringing them back to yourself.”

₃₈The LORD sent fire down, and it burnt up the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones, scorched the earth and dried up the water in the trench. ₃₉When the people saw this, they threw themselves on the ground and exclaimed, “The LORD is God; the LORD alone is God!”

₄₀Elijah ordered, “Seize the prophets of Baal; don't let any of them get away!” The people seized them all, and Elijah led them down to the River Kishon and killed them.

₄₁Then Elijah said to King Ahab, “Now, go and eat. I hear the roar of rain approaching.” ₄₂While Ahab went to eat, Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel, where he bowed down to the ground, with his head between his knees. ₄₃He said to his servant, “Go and look towards the sea.”

The servant went and returned, saying, “I didn't see anything.” Seven times in all Elijah told him to go and look. ₄₄The seventh time he returned and said, “I saw a little cloud no bigger than a man's hand, coming up from the sea.”

Elijah ordered his servant, “Go to King Ahab and tell him to get into his chariot and go back home before the rain stops him.”

₄₅In a little while the sky was covered with dark clouds, the wind began to blow, and heavy rain began to fall. Ahab got into his chariot and started back to Jezreel. ₄₆The power of the LORD came on Elijah; he fastened his clothes tight round his waist and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

₁King Ahab told his wife Jezebel everything that Elijah had done and how he had put all the prophets of Baal to death. ₂She sent a message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me dead if by this time tomorrow I don't do the same thing to you that you did to the prophets.” ₃Elijah was afraid, and fled for his life; he took his servant and went to Beersheba in Judah.

Leaving the servant there, ₄Elijah walked a whole day into the wilderness. He stopped and sat down in the shade of a tree and wished he would die. “It's too much, LORD,” he prayed. “Take away my life; I might as well be dead!”

₅He lay down under the tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said, “Wake up and eat.” ₆He looked round, and saw a loaf of bread and a jar of water near his head. He ate and drank, and lay down again. ₇The LORD's angel returned and woke him up a second time, saying, “Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.” ₈Elijah got up, ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to walk forty days to Sinai, the holy mountain. ₉There he went into a cave to spend the night.

Suddenly the LORD spoke to him, “Elijah, what are you doing here?”

₁₀He answered, “LORD God Almighty, I have always served you — you alone. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed all your prophets. I am the only one left — and they are trying to kill me!”

₁₁“Go out and stand before me on top of the mountain,” the LORD said to him. Then the LORD passed by and sent a furious wind that split the hills and shattered the rocks — but the LORD was not in the wind. The wind stopped blowing, and then there was an earthquake — but the LORD was not in the earthquake. ₁₂After the earthquake, there was a fire — but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was the soft whisper of a voice.

₁₃When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, “Elijah, what are you doing here?”

₁₄He answered, “LORD God Almighty, I have always served you — you alone. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed all your prophets. I am the only one left — and they are trying to kill me.”

₁₅The LORD said, “Return to the wilderness near Damascus, then enter the city and anoint Hazael as king of Syria; ₁₆anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king of Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. ₁₇Anyone who escapes being put to death by Hazael will be killed by Jehu, and anyone who escapes Jehu will be killed by Elisha. ₁₈Yet I will leave 7,000 people alive in Israel — all those who are loyal to me and have not bowed to Baal or kissed his idol.”

₁₉Elijah left and found Elisha ploughing with a team of oxen; there were eleven teams ahead of him, and he was ploughing with the last one. Elijah took off his cloak and put it on Elisha. ₂₀Elisha then left his oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and then I will go with you.”

Elijah answered, “All right, go back. I'm not stopping you!”

₂₁Then Elisha went to his team of oxen, killed them, and cooked the meat, using the yoke as fuel for the fire. He gave the meat to the people, and they ate it. Then he went and followed Elijah as his helper.

₁Where do all the fights and quarrels among you come from? They come from your desires for pleasure, which are constantly fighting within you. ₂You want things, but you cannot have them, so you are ready to kill; you strongly desire things, but you cannot get them, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have what you want because you do not ask God for it. ₃And when you ask, you do not receive it, because your motives are bad; you ask for things to use for your own pleasures. ₄Unfaithful people! Don't you know that to be the world's friend means to be God's enemy? People who want to be the world's friends make themselves God's enemies. ₅Don't think that there is no truth in the scripture that says, “The spirit that God placed in us is filled with fierce desires.” ₆But the grace that God gives is even stronger. As the scripture says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

₇So then, submit to God. Resist the Devil, and he will run away from you. ₈Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners! Purify your hearts, you hypocrites! ₉Be sorrowful, cry, and weep; change your laughter into crying, your joy into gloom! ₁₀Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

₁₁Do not criticize one another, my brothers and sisters. If you criticize fellow-Christians or judge them, you criticize the Law and judge it. If you judge the Law, then you are no longer one who obeys the Law, but one who judges it. ₁₂God is the only lawgiver and judge. He alone can save and destroy. Who do you think you are, to judge someone else?

₁₃Now listen to me, you that say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to a certain city, where we will stay a year and go into business and make a lot of money.” ₁₄You don't even know what your life tomorrow will be! You are like a puff of smoke, which appears for a moment and then disappears. ₁₅What you should say is this: “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.” ₁₆But now you are proud, and you boast; all such boasting is wrong.

₁₇So then, those who do not do the good they know they should do are guilty of sin.

₁And now, you rich people, listen to me! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming upon you! ₂Your riches have rotted away, and your clothes have been eaten by moths. ₃Your gold and silver are covered with rust, and this rust will be a witness against you and will eat up your flesh like fire. You have piled up riches in these last days. ₄You have not paid any wages to those who work in your fields. Listen to their complaints! The cries of those who gather in your crops have reached the ears of God, the Lord Almighty. ₅Your life here on earth has been full of luxury and pleasure. You have made yourselves fat for the day of slaughter. ₆You have condemned and murdered innocent people, and they do not resist you.

₇Be patient, then, my brothers and sisters, until the Lord comes. See how patient a farmer is as he waits for his land to produce precious crops. He waits patiently for the autumn and spring rains. ₈You also must be patient. Keep your hopes high, for the day of the Lord's coming is near.

₉Do not complain against one another, my brothers and sisters, so that God will not judge you. The Judge is near, ready to appear. ₁₀My brothers and sisters, remember the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Take them as examples of patient endurance under suffering. ₁₁We call them happy because they endured. You have heard of Job's patience, and you know how the Lord provided for him in the end. For the Lord is full of mercy and compassion.

₁₂Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not use an oath when you make a promise. Do not swear by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Say only “Yes” when you mean yes, and “No” when you mean no, and then you will not come under God's judgement.

₁₃Are any of you in trouble? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. ₁₄Are any of you ill? You should send for the church elders, who will pray for them and rub olive oil on them in the name of the Lord. ₁₅This prayer made in faith will heal the sick; the Lord will restore them to health, and the sins they have committed will be forgiven. ₁₆So then, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you will be healed. The prayer of a good person has a powerful effect. ₁₇Elijah was the same kind of person as we are. He prayed earnestly that there would be no rain, and no rain fell on the land for three and a half years. ₁₈Once again he prayed, and the sky poured out its rain and the earth produced its crops.

₁₉My brothers and sisters, if any of you wander away from the truth and another one brings them back again, ₂₀remember this: whoever turns a sinner back from his or her wrong way will save that sinner's soul from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.