The Coming of Revival

INTRO

1 Kings 18 takes me back to my time of study at Gordon Cornwall Theological Seminary under Dr. Robert Coleman, who, in my opinion, is one of the most gifted and insightful teachers on revival, outreach, and discipleship. After three years under Dr. Coleman, I had to write a doctoral dissertation on this passage. Walt Kaiser wrote a book titled, Revive Us Again, a book that shaped Time to Revive. Kaiser wrote about an incredible number of revivals in both the Old and New Testaments, including one based on today’s passage, which he called, “It’s Time to Let God Be God.” First Kings 18 could be called Time to Revive's chapter, because the heart within it is the need for national revival and for God to show up. We too have to give God space to be God—to direct how He wants to revive our nation and our lives.

In 1 Kings 17—18, Israel had become divided, and two new kingdoms, Israel in the north and Judah in the south, were created. Both kingdoms experienced several kings, and all but one was evil in God’s sight. At this point, 58 years had passed since the kingdoms were divided (931 B.C.). In the northern kingdom, the kings did evil that is documented in 1 Kings: Jeroboam created two golden calves for his people to worship (1 Kings 12:28–32); Nadab, his son, continued the idol worship his father started (1 Kings 15:26); Baasha murdered King Nadab to take the throne (1 Kings 15:27); Elah, Baasha’s son, was a drunkard and a murderer (1 Kings 16:8–9); Zimri committed treason against Elah and took the throne (1 Kings 16:20); Omri led his people into idol worship (1 Kings 16:25–26); and Ahab, son of Omri, married Jezebel and did more evil than any of the kings who had gone before him (1 Kings 16:30–31.

TEACHING

1 Kings 17: There was pure evilness in the northern kingdom. In this backdrop, God sent Elijah the Tishbite to announce the coming drought that God was going to hold over the land (v. 1). After his pronouncement, Elijah had to hide for three years in the Wadi Cherith (vv. 2–7) and then with a widow in Zarephath (vv. 8–24). As we walk through 1 Kings 18, I’m going to use three statements from Kaiser as we consider letting God be God.¹

1 Kings 18:1-6: He Makes us Courageous. After three years of hiding from Ahab, God sent Elijah to appear before Ahab with the message that the rain was coming (vv. 1–2). We need to be courageous and step up to deliver God’s Word (Deuteronomy 31:6; Joshua 1:9; 1 Chronicles 28:20). Ahab called for Obadiah (not the prophet, but his name meant “servant of the Lord”), who was in charge of Ahab’s household and feared the Lord. Obadiah hid 100 of God’s prophets in two caves and provided them with food and water while Jezebel had all the other prophets slaughtered (vv. 3–4). Obadiah was sent one way throughout the land to feed the horses, mules and cattle to prevent them from dying of starvation, while King Ahab went the other direction (vv. 5–6).

1 Kings 18:7-20: While Obadiah was walking, Elijah “suddenly met him.” Obadiah recognized him immediately (v. 7) and Elijah sent Obadiah to tell Ahab he was back (v. 8). Obadiah asked Elijah why he would send him back to be killed by Ahab when he delivered his message, especially since he already risked his life taking care of God’s prophets (vv. 9–14). Obadiah obeyed and Ahab met Elijah, calling him a troubler (vv. 15–17). Elijah proclaimed that Ahab and his father had destroyed Israel by ignoring God’s commands and worshipping idols (v. 18). Elijah told Ahab to meet him on Mount Carmel along with all the prophets of Baal and Asherah (vv. 19–20).

The theological discussions about this Obadiah are fascinating. Many propose that Obadiah compromised his relationship with the Lord as a servant of Ahab. While Kaiser doesn’t accept this as a compromise, he does note inconsistencies in Obadiah’s behavior:

• He gave no evidence of delight in seeing a fellow follower of God.
• He resented being told to go tell Ahab that Elijah had returned.
• He was self-centered and concerned only for his own protection, not the welfare of God’s kingdom.
• He distrusted Yahweh’s words and didn’t fear the Lord.
• He was overly defensive about his actions from his youth.

1 Kings 18:21-29: He Shows Us His Power. Elijah asked the people how long they were going to go back and forth between Yahweh and the other gods. The people couldn’t even answer (Revelation 3:15–16). Elijah declared he was the only prophet of the Lord, even though there were other prophets at the time (v. 22). He was probably “focused on the fact that he alone stood ready to confront the 450 prophets of Baal.”²In verses 23-25, Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to see whose God would reign down fire on a sacrificed bull (Psalm 71:18; 147:4–5; Jeremiah 10:12–13). The prophets of Baal did what Elijah told them, prepared the sacrifice, and then spent hours calling down their god Baal (v. 26). At noon, Elijah mocked them for their actions, and they worked even harder (vv. 27–29). No god answered.

1 Kings 18:30-39: Elijah drew the people before him, rebuilt the Lord’s altar that had been destroyed, took twelve stones, and made a trench around it that could hold four gallons of water (vv. 30–32). Next, Elijah prepared the sacrifice and then called for four full water pots to be poured over the offering and the wood that was to be burned (v. 33). Elijah directed them to do that two more times (v. 34) and fill the trench with water (v. 35). Elijah began the evening sacrifice and called on the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (or Jacob), tapping into the history of God’s promises to the people of Israel (v. 36). Nelson’s Commentarybreaks up Elijah’s prayer (v. 37) into two parts: “First, he wished that the Lord would demonstrate clearly to the people that He alone is the living God. Second, he prayed for the full revival of God’s people.”³Yahweh’s fire fell and consumed the wood, the stones, the dust, and the water in the trench (v. 38). The people watching recognized the power had come from their God, Yahweh (v. 39).

1 Kings 18:40-46: He Answers Our Prayers. Elijah told the people of Israel to slaughter the prophets of Baal (v. 40), and he told Ahab to go eat and drink because rain was coming (v. 41). While Ahab ate, Elijah went atop Carmel and bowed in prayer (v. 42). Then, Elijah told his servant seven times to go look at the sea to see if rain was on its way (vv. 43–44a). On the seventh time, the servant saw a tiny cloud on the horizon, so Elijah told the servant to tell Ahab to get in his chariot and get off the mountain before the rains came (vv. 44b–45). As Ahab started down the mountain in the rain and headed to Jezreel, the power of the Lord was on Elijah. He ran ahead of Ahab the 13 miles to Jezreel (vv. 45–46).

CLOSING

God wants each of us to be courageous. He wants us to pray for “the rain to come down.” Do you have enough faith and courage to pray that kind of prayer (James 5:16–18)? We can pray like Elijah, and God wants to respond. Do you believe that? When you believe this, revival can actually come.