21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, How long will you go on balancing between two opinions? if the Lord is God, then give worship to him; but if Baal, give worship to him. And the people said not a word in answer.
No man is able to be a servant to two masters: for he will have hate for the one and love for the other, or he will keep to one and have no respect for the other. You may not be servants of God and of wealth.
And if it seems evil to you to be the servants of the Lord, make the decision this day whose servants you will be: of the gods whose servants your fathers were across the River, or of the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living: but I and my house will be the servants of the Lord.
Do not keep company with those who have not faith: for what is there in common between righteousness and evil, or between light and dark? And what agreement is there between Christ and the Evil One? or what part has one who has faith with one who has not? And what agreement has the house of God with images? for we are a house of the living God; even as God has said, I will be living among them, and walking with them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people.
So these nations, worshipping the Lord, still were servants to the images they had made; their children and their children's children did the same; as their fathers did, so do they, to this day.
Then Samuel said to all Israel, If with all your hearts you would come back to the Lord, then put away all the strange gods and the Astartes from among you, and let your hearts be turned to the Lord, and be servants to him only: and he will make you safe from the hands of the Philistines.
It is not possible for you, at the same time, to take the cup of the Lord and the cup of evil spirits; you may not take part in the table of the Lord and the table of evil spirits. Or may we be the cause of envy to the Lord? are we stronger than he?
I have knowledge of your works, that you are not cold or warm: it would be better if you were cold or warm. So because you are not one thing or the other, I will have no more to do with you.
And the worshippers of the army of heaven on the house-tops, and the Lord's worshippers who take oaths by Milcom,
Are you not conscious that you are the servants of him to whom you give yourselves to do his desire? if to sin, the end being death, or if to do the desire of God, the end being righteousness. But praise be to God that though you were the servants of sin, you have now given yourselves freely to that form of teaching under which you were placed; And being made free from sin you have been made the servants of righteousness. I am using words in the way of men, because your flesh is feeble: as you gave your bodies as servants to what is unclean, and to evil to do evil, so now give them as servants to righteousness to do what is holy. When you were servants of sin you were free from righteousness. What fruit had you at that time in the things which are now a shame to you? for the end of such things is death. But now, being free from sin, and having been made servants to God, you have your fruit in that which is holy, and the end is eternal life.
And when the people saw it, they all went down on their faces, and said, The Lord, he is God, the Lord, he is God.
Then, he said, put away the strange gods among you, turning your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel. And the people said to Joshua, We will be the servants of the Lord our God, and we will give ear to his voice.
And now, O Lord, you are God, and you have said you will give this good thing to your servant:
All this he let you see, so that you might be certain that the Lord is God and there is no other.
Then Laban and Bethuel said in answer, This is the Lord's doing: it is not for us to say Yes or No to you.
And after that, Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and said, The Lord, the God of Israel, says, Let my people go so that they may keep a feast to me in the waste land. And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, to whose voice I am to give ear and let Israel go? I have no knowledge of the Lord and I will not let Israel go.
And the day came and, turning to his disciples, he made a selection from among them of twelve, to whom he gave the name of Apostles;
And he says to him, Friend, how came you in here not having a guest's robe? And he had nothing to say.
Be certain that the Lord is God; it is he who has made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep to whom he gives food.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 1 Kings 18
Commentary on 1 Kings 18 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 18
We left the prophet Elijah wrapt up in obscurity. It does not appear that either the increase of the provision or the raising of the child had caused him to be taken notice of at Zarephath, for then Ahab would have discovered him; he would rather do good than be known to do it. But in this chapter his appearance was as public as before his retirement was close; the days appointed for his concealment (which was part of the judgment upon Israel) being finished, he is now commanded to show himself to Ahab, and to expect rain upon the earth (v. 1). Pursuant to this order we have here,
It is a chapter in which are many things very observable.
1Ki 18:1-16
In these verses we find,
1Ki 18:17-20
We have here the meeting between Ahab and Elijah, as bad a king as ever the world was plagued with and as good a prophet as ever the church was blessed with.
1Ki 18:21-40
Ahab and the people expected that Elijah would, in this solemn assembly, bless the land, and pray for rain; but he had other work to do first. The people must be brought to repent and reform, and then they may look for the removal of the judgment, but not till then. This is the right method. God will first prepare our heart, and then cause his ear to hear, will first turn us to him, and then turn to us, Ps. 10:17; 80:3. Deserters must not look for God's favour till they return to their allegiance. Elijah might have looked for rain seventy times seven times, and not have seen it, if he had not thus begun his work at the right end. Three years and a half's famine would not bring them back to God. Elijah would endeavour to convince their judgments, and no doubt it was by special warrant and direction from heaven that he put the controversy between God and Baal upon a public trial. It was great condescension in God that he would suffer so plain a case to be disputed, and would permit Baal to be a competitor with him; but thus God would have every mouth to be stopped and all flesh to become silent before him. God's cause is so incontestably just that it needs not fear to have the evidences of its equity searched into and weighed.
1Ki 18:41-46
Israel being thus far reformed that they had acknowledged the Lord to be God, and had consented to the execution of Baal's prophets, that they might not seduce them any more, though this was far short of a thorough reformation, yet it was so far accepted that God thereupon opened the bottles of heaven, and poured out blessings upon his land, that very evening (as it should seem) on which they did this good work, which should have confirmed them in their reformation; see Hag. 2:18, 19.