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the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, "O Baal, hear us." But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And 30 they leaped about the altar which was made. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, "Cry aloud; for he is a god: either he is musing, or he is gone aside, or he is on a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth and must be awaked." And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with 35 knives and lances, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it was so, when midday was past, that they prophesied3 until the time of the offering of the evening oblation; but there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.

And Elijah said unto all the people, “Come near unto me," and 40 all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of

Jehovah that was thrown down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of Jehovah came, saying, Israel shall be thy name. And with the stones he built an altar in the name of Jehovah; and 45 he made a trench about the altar, as great as would be sown with two seahs.4 And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it on the wood. And he said, "Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt-offering, and on the wood." And he said, "Do it the second time," and they did it the second time. 50 And he said, "Do it the third time," and they did it the third time.

And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening oblation,5 that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, "O Jehovah, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let 55 it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am

thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Jehovah, hear me, that this people may know that thou,

*Note the irony of Elijah in his scorn of Baal, and his security in his belief that Jehovah would demonstrate not only his own superiority, but the fact that Baal was no god at all, or at least had no power in the land of Palestine.

2 *Cut themselves: in accordance with custom, in their attempts to secure the favor

of the god.

3*Prophesied: remained in the state of frenzy in which Baal was expected to speak through their persons.

4*Two seahs: 1 pecks of seed.

5 *Evening oblation: the customary sunset sacrifice.

Jehovah, art God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again." Then the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt60 offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, "Jehovah, he is God; Jehovah, he is God." And Elijah said unto them, "Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape." And they took them; 65 and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.

Jehovah, the God of the Rain.'-In the test by fire, Jehovah had triumphed. Now would the rain come and add its testimony to the superior power of Jehovah, in the land where for three years prayers to Baal for relief had been unavailing? The faith of Elijah did not quail. Boldly he bade Ahab break his fast, because rain was about to come. Then we see the prophet retiring again to Mount Carmel, the scene of his recent victory, and bowing himself to the earth, with his head between his knees, addressing himself in an agony of appeal to Jehovah. Once and again, and many times, his messenger is sent to scan the sky, and at last the cloud appears. Quickly the word went to Ahab, "Make ready thy chariot and get thee down to Jezreel,' that the rain stop thee not." The storm came-rain in abundance, with thunder and lightning, the special manifestations of Jehovah's power. Elijah, out-distancing Ahab in his race to Jezreel, meets him in triumph at the city gate. Jehovah is vindicated. What is this to mean to Israel? is the unspoken demand of the prophets.

Elijah Strong in Defeat.-Jezebel, infuriated by the death of the priests of Baal, but fearing to kill Elijah, drove him from the land. Straight to the traditional home of Jehovah, Mount Horeb3

The water supply of Palestine depended entirely upon the rainfalls. The streams became dry for a large portion of the year if the rainy seasons were too short or if the amount of the rainfall was too scant. In ancient times famines were therefore

common.

2 Jezreel: Locate on map; at the head of a rich valley and commanding territory of great strategic value. It was the site of Ahab's summer palace.

3 Mount Horeb: another designation of Mount Sinai, where Israel camped on the first stage of the journey from Egypt, and where Jehovah was supposed to have had his origin' dwelling-place.

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(Sinai), he went, and there in a cave waited for some explanation of this seeming defeat, some word of reassurance from Jehovah, whom he had so nobly served. Standing upon the mountain side he was shaken by a storm which broke the rocks with its fury. Again an earthquake rent the side of the mountain, and fire followed in its wake, but it was no longer a message of the power of Jehovah over Nature which Elijah sought. Finally the revelation came.

And Elijah went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him and said, "What doest thou here, Elijah?" And he said, "I have been very jealous for Jehovah the God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken 5 thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away."

And Jehovah said unto him, "Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, thou shalt anoint 10 Hazael' to be king over Syria; and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room."

In the assurance that Jehovah holds sway over men as well as over nature Elijah finds his satisfaction, and bides his time.

Elijah, the Defender of the Rights of the People.-Fundamental in the essence of the Hebrew religion was the doctrine of individual rights. Ideals of justice between man and man had taken the shape of crude laws very early in Israel's history. Custom had increased the strength and the adaptability of these laws. The kings, reigning by virtue of ability rather than blood succession, were of their own or the people's creation, and rebellion against tyranny meant sooner or later vengeance upon the reigning dynasty. Once more we find Elijah and Jezebel arrayed against each other in connection with the stern refusal of Naboth to sell his ancestral estate to King Ahab for a royal garden near the summer palace at Jezreel.

1 Hazael, Jehu, Elisha: the first promising a weakening in the Syrian kingdom the second, the restoration of the royal favor toward the prophets in Israel, the third, a continuation of the work of the prophets in a worthy representative.

to us.

2 See Exod., chaps. 20–23, the oldest of the formal codes which have come down

The Story of Naboth and His Vineyard1, 2

And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying,

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Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, 5 because it is near unto my house; and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it: or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money." And Naboth said to Ahab, "Jehovah forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee." And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased 10 because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, "I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers." And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.

But Jezebel his wife came to him and said unto him, “Why is 15 thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?" And he said unto her, "Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard." And Jezebel his wife said unto him, 20 "Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thy heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite." So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, and that dwelt with 25 Naboth. And she wrote in the letters, saying, "Proclaim a fast,

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and set Naboth on high among the people: and set two men, base fellows, before him, and let them bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst curse God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him to death."

And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who dwelt in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, according as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. And the two men, the base fellows, came in and sat before him; and 35 the base fellows bare witness against him, even against Naboth, in

1 I Kings 21:1-21, 23, 24, 27–29 (Am. Standard Rev. Ver., by permission).

2 * In connection with the story of Naboth note his pride in the ancestral estate, the picture of the method of trying a case, the false witnesses, the death penalty, immediately executed according to custom in cases of blasphemy and treason.

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