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Episode 602: In this episode, we dive into chapter 18 of 1 Kings. We set the stage for Elijah's confrontation with King Ahab, which occurs three years after Elijah declared a drought in Israel. The episode highlights the tension between Elijah, Ahab, and the prophets of Baal, emphasizing the dire situation in Israel due to the famine and the worship of false gods.
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You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun in practical ways. Hey, everybody, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, you are welcome. Hey you did my Monday Monday Monday. Oh I know, yeah, I just wondered if you pick up on it. Yes, I did. I think you're cool and I want to be like you. Oh. Imitation is the best form of flattery, right, Yeah, that's right, Yes, that's right. So hey, we are the Bible Guys. My name is Chris, this is Jeff, and we want to welcome you, whether you're listening or watching. And we are in the middle of. This epic tale of a prophet in the Old Testament called Elijah. His name is Elijah. That's correct, I said, called, but yeah, his name is yeah. Yeah. People when they call them they say Elijah. Before we get into. That, we're going to go ahead and start off with a segment Who's most likely? And I love this segment and this is one of your favorites. Yes, and I think who's most likely? Have to The goal is for us to say immediately who we think instinctively. I haven't looked at any of these not either have an either. Okay, okay, you want to start. Sure. Number one, who's most likely to break a world record for the longest nap? I like naps. I think that'd be you. Yeah, that might be me because I Number one, I don't take naps. Number two, I don't sleep well. I just don't sleep well. The Bible says the Lord gives rest to those he loves. Oh, well, he doesn't love me. That's the case. I didn't say that. I did not say that. I didn't say the Lord doesn't love you. God doesn't love you. That's what I heard. That is not what I said. So I'm like a I'm like a professional sleeper. Yeah, I lay down and I'm asleep in like three minutes. Well and yeah, but then I don't take naps except on Sundays. On Sundays, a lot of times I'll take a nap. And this last week, I thought I'm just gonna be down for a minute. And when I woke up, it was dark outside and there was nobody in my house. Apparently they kept trying to wake me up. I didn't know it. Then they all left. Where they go I don't know they they went and did stuff. I can't remember they did that. I don't remember what they did, but they did stuff and. Sleep. That's so. Yeah? All right. Number two, Okay, who's most likely to accidentally invent something genius while trying to cook? Oh? That definitely be you because I don't cook. You don't cook. Yeah, and you are somewhat of a genius. And I'm and i'm i'm and I'm giving you. Are that's nice, somewhat accidentally invent something genius while trying to cook. And by the way, is that is that? Is that more like I spilled something accidentally? Like what was the uh uh, I'm trying to think of flubber flobber? Oh right right, yeah, these ingredients fall something amazing. Yes, that's probably it. Yeah, okay, wow flobber. I went back there tonight into the archives. All right. Number three, who's most likely they spend an entire day pretending to be a celebrity? This guy? Yeah, that guy right there? Yeah, that's right. Have you ever seen the YouTube videos where people have done this where somebody who sort of looks like Justin Bieber or something. He'll put on like sunglasses and they'll literally put an entourage around him and he'll rent a limo and he'll walk through a mall or something, and the crowds. Fall for it. And what they do is they have people they say, that's just a bieber, that's just a bieber, and they do it just for fun, just for YouTube videos, and then they get big followings and goes viral and it is hilarious. Billie Eilish, you know, she dyes her hair green and then people just die their hair green and put on sunglasses and and you know, and they have the same body type. Oh, there's Billy Eilish. It's hilarious. It's really fun. I've ever seen that. But yeah, well so you uh, you have been known on occasion to find your way backstage that awards shows and yes, different things anyways, right, so yes, you have a certain comfortability with that. Yes I have that. Yeah. And by the way, those are great stories. They're just don't do as I don't. Don't do as I do as I used to do. That's right, because I haven't. Done that in a while. Right, that's the old Chris. I'm not sure who's most likely to buy a one way ticket to somewhere random just to see what happens. Oh, that kind of sounds like both of us, but I would love to do that. Yeah, I'm gonna say me. Okay, I think so too. Yeah. I usually go places, I do things on purpose, all right? So yeah? Yeah, have you ever seen the movie Yes, man, I don't remember Jim Carrey where he says yes to everything I don't know. Yeah, and Zoe what's her name who plays in helf Zoe? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, anyway, there's a there's a scene where he just shows up the airport and he goes, I want your first available ticket to wherever it is that's available. Oh, and he says, and that's what we're going on vacation. It was like Lincoln, Nebraska. And he goes, well that's where we're going on vaking. Okay, it's funny, okay. And then number five, who's most likely to spend an entire day trying to teach their pet how to dance? I think it's probably gonna be you. I think it's gonna be me too. You like dancing and you like your pets. Yeah, but Mike pet is a cat, So. Then that's why it's gonna take all day. Cats, So I guess. So, although I could buy a new pet. I could buy a dog, you could, or you could get a monkey. A monkey probably likes to dance. Oh well that would be something. Yeah. Yeah, so I would definitely say me, but it's not very likely. It's just more and more most likely most likely you than me. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah, okay, very odd questions. They are very odd, Yeah, but very enlightening. We learned a lot about you today, Chris. Listen. Just because I'm more likely does not mean that my tendency, propensity. Or my wish is to get a pet monkey to get him to dance. Well, okay, maybe just to. Be clear, okay, hey, and speaking of dancing, there's gonna be an incredible dance back and forth between Elijah and the prophets. Of Profits of bel are going to be dancing. Yes, yes, that's what I should have said. Yeah, yeah, yes, yes, that's great. Yes, well, this is the great contest on Mount Karma, yes, right, and we're gonna start it, but we're not going to finish it today, Chris, so we can't. Here's the ground rules. I'm gonna give you the ground rules for the for this episode yesterday. I am not I'm just saying sometimes you're tempted to tell everybody all the stuff that's coming tomorrow and not finish the stuff we're supposed to talk about today. All right, today's today, Tomorrow's tomorrow, everybody, all right. So we're gonna go halfway through the story and then we're gonna stop at a weird spot. Well, and then we're gonna pick up tomorrow. Well, I don't know if it's the climax, it's it's sort of like the it's the gauntland has been thrown. That's where we stop, right, Okay, okay, So here it goes. All right, this is one of my favorite stories in the Bible. And I've been there. I've been to this place. You've been to. The Bible, to Mount Carmel, oh I see yea, yeah, yeah, okay, okay. It says in One Kings, chapter eighteen, verse one. Later on in the third year of the drought, remember, Elijah went to Ahab and said. This is three years later years that's the Ahab confrontation. Later on, in the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, go and present yourself to King Ahab and tell him that I will soon send reins. So Elijah went to a peer before Ahab. Meanwhile, the famine had become very severe in Samaria, so Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. Obadiah was a devoted follower of the Lord. Once, when Jezebela had tried to kill all the Lord's prophets, Obidi had hidden one hundred of them in two caves. He put fifty profits in each cave and supplied them with food and water. Ahab said to Obadiah, we must check every spring and valley in the land to see if we can find enough grass to save at least some of my horses and mules. So they divided the land between them, and Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah won another by himself. As Obediah was walking along, he suddenly saw Elijah coming toward him. Obadi I recognized him at once and bowed low to the ground before him. Is it really you, my Lord Elijah? He asked, Yes, it is, Elijah replied, Now go and tell your master Elijah is here, Oh sir, Obadiah protested, what harm have I done to you that you are sending me to my death at the hands of Ahab? Fright swear by the Lord your God, that the King has searched every nation and kingdom on earth from end to end to find you. And each time he is told Elijah is not here. King Ahab forced the king of that nation to swear to the truth of this claim. And now you say, go to tell your master Elijah is here. But as soon as I leave you, the spirit of the Lord will carry you away to who knows where. When Ahab comes and cannot find you, he will kill me. That i'd been a true servant of the Lord all my life. Has no one told you, my Lord, about the time when Jezebel was trying to kill the Lord's prophets. I hid one hundred of them in two caves and supplied them with food and water. And now you say, go and tell your master Elijah's here, Sir, If I do it. If I do that, Ahab will certainly kill me. But Elijah said, I swear by the Lord Almighty, and whose presence I stand, that I will present myself to Ahab this very day. So Obadiah went to tell Ahab that Elijah had come, and Ahab went out to meet Elijah. When Ahab saw him, he exclaimed so it is really you, you trouble maker of Israel. I have made no trouble for Israel. Elijah applied you and your family are the troublemakers, for you've refused to obey the commands of the Lord and have worshiped the images of Bail instead. Now some in all Israel to join me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Bale and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who were supported by Jezebel. So there are a little pause there. The gauntlet is thrown. There it is and so really most of this setup is a conversation between Obadiah and Elijah. That's right. And what's interesting about this is, you know, it's a good reminder that sometimes we feel like we're the only one. Elijah in different times throughout his life references and says, oh, I'm the only one, you know, the only prophet to serve God and uh, and yet sometimes we don't realize It's like, no, man, you're not the only one. I remember when I. Was in high school, I uh, I moved. So I moved from the west side to the south side of Youngstown, Ohio. And you have to understand that's like moving like from the other side of the railroad tracks to two sets beyond. The railroad tracks. It's like, it's not it's not a it's not a good move to start with. From from worse to worser, Yeah. Worse to worser and and uh but but nobody wanted to go to Wilson High School. And uh, you know they you know, they had to go to high school. They had metal detector machines to walk through in my high school. Back in the old days, back in the old days. Yeah, because old schools have now. Back in the old days, oh they do now. Yeah, back in the old days that nobody. Nobody had it. So anyway, back in the. Old days, theydn't even locked the doors came they have security except at Wilson High School. Except at Wilson. And uh. And it was you know, obviously I was the minority and uh and it was a really rough town. And so what I did is I just said, God, I am not I am not gonna go to this, to this high school. And so what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna easily lie. I'm gonna put my father's address down he lived in Austin Town, and I'll and I'll go to I'll still go to Cheney, and and it was all planned out, and everybody said, Okay, no big deal, and well, no big deal. But everybody I knew I could. I could name you five people off the top of my head that did it right. They just put their parents address down. And and so I was. Coming out of church one day. And my my pastor confronted me and said, hey, I'm excited. I heard you're going to transfer to Wilson High School. And I said, well, to be honest, I said, I'm gonna just put my dad's address down. I'm going to go to Cheney. I'm gonna stay at Cheney. And he looked at me and said, but that's lying, and I said, yes, yes it is, but it's also my life. And he said, I was really looking forward to you being at Wilson because we don't have anybody from our youth group that goes to that school. And you're a really strong evangelist, and I would really love for us to have like a bright light in a really dark place. And I was like, really, you got to be kidding me. So I went home, I prayed about it, and I was like fine, and I confronted my brother, and my brother's like, yeah, that's fine, let's do it. So we did it, and so we didn't lie. And we went to Wilson High School and there was no Bible study. So I just announced that I was going to start a Bible study and because students had to, and come to find out, all these people started flocking to the Bible study. And come to find out, there was plenty of Christians at Wilson High School. It's just that nobody was there to lead a bobble study. Yeah, so I thought I was alone, but it turns out I wasn't alone at all. And then our youth group grew because I am an evangelist. And so that first year, and this is going to selling I'm bragging, and maybe I am, but I brought seventy guests well, from that school to our youth group in one year. Yeah. It's amazing what God does when circumstances in your life changed. I wonder had you stayed in Cheney, I wonder if you would have brought seventy kids. Yeah, well I don't think so, right, I'm not saying they came to Jesus, but they came to church, right. And you know, a lot of times when our life gets disrupted, we have a different way of approaching things than when we just stay in the normal way our life is, right, and so you had less to lose when you go into this new place. Right. You had all these friends at Cheney, You had all this circumstance in your life in Cheney, and maybe you say a little less, you invite less often, and yeah, you stay in your group and with your group of friends, you don't reach out to other groups of friends. But now you're the new kid, and so sometimes that is enough to make you kind of just be friendly with everybody, kind of right, And yeah, you wind. Up having more opportunity. It's it's interesting how God will sometimes disrupt our lives to make us more, to put us in a situation where we can be more effective. Yeah. Thanks, it's the way. The reason why I know it's seventy, because I know some people are like, how do you know it's seventy, like all these years later, And. It's because we had a visitor bringing contest. Oh yeah, so it was called the top five get this, the top five teenagers that brought the most visitors throughout the school year, got to go on a free vacation to Ocean City. Maryland for a week. Wow. And so it was a year long contest. Oh wow, So and so's that's how I knew. So I was number one. You always wanted to be number one, So I would if somebody surpassed me, I would. If you're not first, your last, it's y, Bobby. If you're off first your last, Ricky, that's stupid. If you ain't first, your second, third, well, Daddy had lived my whole life with that philosophy. So anyway, so yeah, I mean, so the sermon is is that you may feel like you're by yourself. You may feel like if you're in a situation you're like, hey, you know, nobody understands, nobody's been here before. I have no support. And the reality is is listen. You know, the Bible says there's no temptation that's taking you, but such as is common to every person, as there's somebody who's been through what you're going through. You're not alone. There's people around you. And if you pray that God would reveal or send you support, who knows, maybe God would you know, send you somebody that would remind you that you're not by yourself. I also think it's interesting Obadiah was afraid to go to Ahab and say, hey, I found Elijah because he said, as sure as I do that, I'm going to go, I'm going to interrupt the king. And then God is going to whisk you away somewhere. God's going to like disappear you somewhere else. So, you know, we we read these three miracles that happened in the literally in the chapter before, but Elijah's reputation went way beyond feeding a widow, raising a widow's son from the dead, stopping the rain, right. It's so his reputation at this point is, dude, I have no idea what God's going to do. You're just you're going to be here, and then you're not going to be here. You're an unpredictable man. That's right. And God's going to do it. That's what he said. He said, and God will do it. And so he's a carry where the spirit of the Lord will carry you away to who knows where, right, And. You know what, you know, what there's a sermon in here is is that there's a human side that is that is like, I think this is justifiable for Elijah or for Obadi to feel right, like like like like in other words, just because a pastor and you and I said this just the other day we were teaching that class. You know, if a pastor gets up and just says something, you shouldn't automatically just take it as gospel. You should question like is that rooted in God's word? You know? Is that is that something that's true? Right? Because you know, unless a speaker or a you know, whoever, a Christian or whoever, unless it's rooted in God's word. Listen, there's a practical side to it that says, don't just take it at face value blindly. So here's Elijah's got a great reputation. He says, go tell the king, and and the practical side of it is he's like, listen, I'm fearful because I don't know what's going to happen. This very well could happen. You know, is this from God or or you? Or are you just saying this in passing? Are you just you know, saying, hey, go tell them I'm here just to so that so that leave your presence, then you're going to leave, and God's and God's going to do something weird. And then and so he's waiting to hear the word of the Lord. And and then and then Elijah says, as surely as I'm standing here in the Lord's presence, he says, I will meet with aheb today. And then over says, that's what I needed to hear. It's from God that that is specific enough for me to risk my life. Yes, right, and so yeah, so let's let's make sure before we, you know, set our lives in a certain direction, that we're doing it based on God's work, not just the prophet of God. Right. So, Jezebel is a Phoenician woman, right, and she's what was she the daughter of some Phoenician leaders. Chriest, Right, Yeah, that's Christ. Yeah. And Ahab, who is an Israelite, marries this Phoenician woman, and you know, this is one of the reasons why God had forbidden the people of God to marry people who didn't follow the true God. Well, yeah, she was sort of the main culprit I don't worship. And in their life, Ahab is powerful, but she's the puppet master. She's running things. Jezebel is running. And by the way, it even says that it says abs influence under Jezebel, so it actually refers to that. Yeah, yeah, so he's powerful. She's the one actually running things. And then it says here that he called he said, hey, I want you to bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Bail and the four hundred prophets of a Shera who are supported by Jezebel as a matter of fact, other translations to say, who eat at Jezebel's table. Oh yeah, right, So she's funding them, is what's happening. She's the one that's making sure that this is happening. So Bail was a fertility god. We talked yesterday about the fact that he was acknowledged as the one that caused rain. He always was about power and sensuality most of the time. Was built like a big bull. Is kind of the god. You know, it's interesting they still worship bulls around the world, which is really phenomenal. I was in Nepal. We were at one of the holy Hindu temples and there's I got a photo of this giant bull and people worshiping it. Right, and so it still still happens today. Millions of people, one hundreds of millions of people around the world do and it's always the same thing. It's about virility, it's about fertility, it's about sensuality, it's about power. Those are the things you know that they're going for. So that's one. And then a shara. The a share of polls were always phallic symbols, and so again that was a highly sexual kind of a religion. And so these are the two religions she's decided to fund. She has eight hundred and fifty prophets that she's or yeah, profits that she's funding that eat at her table and Elijah, and Elijah's the guy. Then he finds out Obadiah also happens to be a God follower. Great, there's two of us, says, hey, you should know there's a hundred of us hiding. That he's saved. There may be more that have been saying. Yeah, yeah, but at least one hundred, but there's one hundred that I was hiding. Right, Okay, they're not super courageous, right, even Obadiah. But hey, sometimes you have to hide. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Obadiah is nervous. So the only one that's like, all right, you know, nobody else is going to do nothing, right, and I love the nothing there's poor English again, poor grammer. But I love the boldness of Elijah that he goes nobody else is going to do. This, I'll do it. Yeah, And so I got an idea. Bring all eight hundred and fifty of your profits. It's incredible. And these are the popular gods which would make these profits the popular profits. This is a it's he is going. Literally, he's on the verge of getting canceled. This is what's going to happen, right, well, and let's not forget that. People sometimes think that it's Elijah eight and fifty profits and then royalty and that's it. But he didn't say that. He said, bring all the people Israel, right, all of Israel. And what he's saying is all all of the ten tribes. Invite the entire uh, your entire kingdom, your. Entire kingdom, to witness what I'm about to show you, because I'm about to dethrone your false god. Right, I'm about to make my God is going to throw your guy. That's right, that's right, that's right. And yeah, better said, and uh, and what's really great about this is uh. So we picture Elijah as this rough guy like uh in a lot of ways, as wild as John the Baptist, but as strong as Samson. You know, that's the way that. I picture it, right, because he's just he's a rough, rough guy and uh. And so yeah, he's so bold and uh. And what we're about to see is that he has unbelievable confidence. And we know that because again we just talked about it yesterday. Maybe that's why God had him allowed him to be able to, you know, be a part of, you know, raising a child from the dead. If there's anybody in the in the Old Testament, I think of as like an old cowboys, it's Elijah. It's Elijah. Right. He's camping out by the river. He's you know, the birds are feeding him. You can almost hear the coyotes howling in the background and the music playing right kind of that thing. And so he comes in and then you can kind of think of Ahab. Ahab and his wife were super popular, so they would be the cool ones. They'd be the sophisticated good manners all this stuff. And he comes up, and Ahab walks up and goes, oh, so you're the troublemaker Elijah. And Elijah turns on and goes, Nope, I didn't cause you any trouble. You're the troublemaker. And he just speaks truth to right. So he's this rough and tumble kind of rough around the edges profet talking to this sophisticated king and turns it back on him and goes, no, you're the troublemaker. All the problems in Israel right now are not because of me. I just announced them. They're because of you. You're the troublemaker. And there takes a tremendous amount of courage. And there is something about that, just this raw hide kind of mentality of going, you know what, uh, God is with me right now? And if I don't speak the truth to the power in front of me, then who will? Yeah? Right? And and I love that that Elijah had the guts to speak the truth. I wonder if the other prophets had confronted they have, what would have happened? You know? But because I don't see it where God says okay, oh yeah, the Lord, the Lord said Elijah. Go and present yourself to King Ahab. So God sent him, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. So Okay, anyway, kind of tough. We're gonna pick up with the UH with the rest of the story. And if you're wondering, it gets good how it gets, you know, get you up, move him in, move them out right, So buckle up. It's gonna be good tomorrow. Yeah, we'll see that hopefully next time on the Bibble guys,