Study Desk

For three years no rain fell in Samaria, and there was almost nothing to eat anywhere. The Lord said to Elijah, "Go and meet with King Ahab. I will soon make it rain." So Elijah went to see Ahab.

At that time Obadiah was in charge of Ahab's palace, but he faithfully worshiped the Lord . In fact, when Jezebel was trying to kill the Lord 's prophets, Obadiah hid one hundred of them in two caves and gave them food and water. Ahab sent for Obadiah

and said, "We have to find something for our horses and mules to eat. If we don't, we will have to kill them. Let's look around every creek and spring in the country for some grass.

I swear to you in the name of the living Lord your God that the king has looked everywhere for you. He sent people to look in every country, and when they couldn't find you, he made the leader of each country swear that you were not in that country.

Then he used twelve stones to build an altar in honor of the Lord . Each stone stood for one of the tribes of Israel, which was the name the Lord had given to their ancestor Jacob. Elijah dug a ditch around the altar, large enough to hold about thirteen quarts.

When it was time for the evening sacrifice, Elijah prayed: Our Lord , you are the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. Now, prove that you are the God of this nation, and that I, your servant, have done this at your command.

Elisha stopped plowing and ran after him. "Let me kiss my parents good-by, then I'll go with you," he said. "You can go," Elijah said. "But remember what I've done for you."

he replied, "I'll completely destroy Samaria! There won't even be enough of it left for my soldiers to carry back in their hands. If I don't do it, I pray that the gods will punish me terribly."

For seven days the two armies stayed in their camps, facing each other. Then on the seventh day the fighting broke out, and before sunset the Israelites had killed one hundred thousand Syrian troops.

The prophet left and put a bandage over his face to disguise himself. Then he went and stood beside the road, waiting for Ahab to pass by.

One day, Ahab said, "Naboth, your vineyard is near my palace. Give it to me so I can turn it into a vegetable garden. I'll give you a better vineyard or pay whatever you want for yours."

"Aren't you the king of Israel?" Jezebel asked. "Get out of bed and eat something! Don't worry, I'll get Naboth's vineyard for you."

And as for Jezebel, dogs will eat her body there in Jezreel.

When Ahab heard this, he tore his clothes and wore sackcloth day and night. He was depressed and refused to eat. Some time later, the Lord said, "Elijah, do you see how sorry Ahab is for what he did? I won't punish his family while he is still alive. I'll wait until his son is king." No one was more determined than Ahab to disobey the Lord . And Jezebel encouraged him. Worst of all, he had worshiped idols, just as the Amorites had done before the Lord forced them out of the land and gave it to Israel.

For the next three years there was peace between Israel and Syria.

Ahab sent for about four hundred prophets and asked, "Should I attack the Syrians at Ramoth?" "Yes!" the prophets answered. "The Lord will help you defeat them."

"We could ask Micaiah son of Imlah," Ahab said. "But I hate Micaiah. He always has bad news for me." "Don't say that!" Jehoshaphat replied.

Meanwhile, the messenger who went to get Micaiah whispered, "Micaiah, all the prophets have good news for Ahab. Now go and say the same thing."

The Lord asked, "Who can trick Ahab and make him go to Ramoth where he will be killed?" They talked about it for a while,

Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled from Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.