Study Desk

It was not enough for him to sin like King Jeroboam; he went further and married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of Sidon, and worshiped Baal.

He built a temple to Baal in Samaria, made an altar for him, and put it in the temple.

A 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."

She answered, "By the living Lord your God I swear that I don't have any bread. All I have is a handful of flour in a bowl and a bit 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."

"Don't worry," Elijah said to her. "Go on 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.

For 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.'"

The widow went and did as Elijah had told her, and all of them had enough food for many days.

By 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.

He took twelve stones, one for each of the twelve tribes named for the sons of Jacob, the man to whom the Lord had given the name Israel.

With these stones he rebuilt the altar for the worship of the Lord . He dug a trench around it, large enough to hold about four gallons of water.

Elijah was afraid and fled for his life; he took his servant and went to Beersheba in Judah. Leaving the servant there,

The Lord 's angel returned and woke him up a second time, saying, "Get up and eat, or the trip will be too much for you."

Then 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.

He ordered, "Take them alive, no matter whether they are coming to fight or to ask for peace."

For seven days the Syrians and the Israelites stayed in their camps, facing each other. On the seventh day they started fighting, and the Israelites killed a hundred thousand Syrians.

So they wrapped sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their necks, went to Ahab and said, "Your servant Benhadad pleads with you for his life." Ahab answered, "Is he still alive? Good! He's like a brother to me!"

Benhadad's officials were watching for a good sign, and when Ahab said "brother," they took it up at once, and said, "As you say, Benhadad is your brother!" "Bring him to me," Ahab ordered. When Benhadad arrived, Ahab invited him to get in the chariot with him.

Benhadad said to him, "I will restore to you the towns my father took from your father, and you may set up a commercial center for yourself in Damascus, just as my father did in Samaria." Ahab replied, "On these terms, then, I will set you free." He made a treaty with him and let him go.

The prophet bandaged his face with a cloth, to disguise himself, and went and stood by the road, waiting for the king of Israel to pass.

As the king was passing by, the prophet called out to him and said, "Your Majesty, I was fighting in the battle when a soldier brought a captured enemy to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if he escapes, you will pay for it with your life or else pay a fine of three thousand pieces of silver.'