Study Desk

But she said, "As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread. I only have enough flour in the jar to fill a hand, and a little oil in the jar. See, I am gathering a few sticks so I may go in and make it ready for me and my son. Then we will eat it and die."

Elijah said to her, "Have no fear. Go and do as you have said. But make me a little loaf of bread from it first, and bring it out to me. Then you may make one for yourself and for your son.

And after I have left you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you where I do not know. So I will go and tell Ahab, and he will not be able to find you. Then he will kill me. But I your servant have honored the Lord since I was young.

Elijah said, "I have not brought trouble to Israel. But you and your father's house have. Because you have turned away from the laws of the Lord, and have followed the false gods of Baal.

Elijah came near all the people and said, "How long will you be divided between two ways of thinking? If the Lord is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, then follow him." But the people did not answer him a word.

Then Elijah said to the people, "I am the only man left who speaks for God. But here are 450 men who speak for Baal.

Bring two bulls to us. Let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it up and put it on the wood. But put no fire under it. I will make the other bull ready and lay it on the wood. And I will put no fire under it.

So Elijah said to the men who spoke for Baal, "Choose one bull for yourselves and make it ready first. For there are many of you. Then call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it."

So they took the bull which was given to them and made it ready. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, "O Baal, answer us." But there was no voice. No one answered. They jumped and danced around the altar they had made.

When noon passed, they cried out until the time for giving the evening gift. But there was no voice. No one answered. No one listened.

So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of Carmel. He got down on the ground and put his face between his knees.

But he himself traveled for a day into the desert. He came and sat down under a juniper tree. There he asked that he might die, saying, "It is enough now, O Lord. Take my life. For I am not better than my fathers."

So the angel said, "Go and stand on the mountain before the Lord." And the Lord passed by. A strong wind tore through the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind the earth shook. But the Lord was not in the shaking of the earth.

After the earth shook, a fire came. But the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a sound of gentle blowing.

But I will leave 7,000 in Israel whose knees have not bowed down in front of Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him."

But I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time. They will look through your house and the houses of your servants. And they will take away all that is of worth to you.'"

So Ahab said to Benhadad's men, "Tell my lord the king, ‘I will do all that you first asked of your servant, but this I cannot do.'" The men left and returned again with news for him.

Now the servants of the king of Syria said to him, "Israel's gods are gods of the mountains. So they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and for sure we will be stronger than they.

The people of Israel were called together and given what they needed, and went to meet them. The people of Israel gathered in front of them like two little flocks of goats. But the Syrians filled the country.

Then a man who spoke for God came to the king of Israel and said, "This is what the Lord says. ‘The Syrians have said, "The Lord is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys." So I will give all these many people to you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.'"