1Kings 14:1 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam I fell sick.

1Kings 14:2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise I pray thee and disguise yourself, that you be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam and get yourself to Shiloh. Behold, there is Ahijah the prophet.(1Kings 11:29-32), which told me that I should be king over this people.

1Kings 14:3 And take with you ten loaves and cracknels.(original 'things easily crumbled', like crackers).and a cruse of honey and go to him. He shall tell you what shall become of the child. 

1Kings 14:4-6 And Jeroboam's wife did so and arose and went to Shiloh and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see for his eyes were set by reason of his age. And the Lord said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam comes to ask a thing of you for her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shall you say unto her, for it shall be when she comes in that she shall feign herself to be another woman. And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came in at the door that he said, Come in you wife of Jeroboam. Why feign yourself to be another? for I am sent to you with heavy tidings. 

1Kings 14:7 Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus says the Lord God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted you from among the people and made you prince over my people Israel.

1Kings 14:8,9 And rent the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you and yet you have not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes, but have done evil above all that were before you, for you have gone and made thee other Gods and molten images, to provoke me to anger and have cast me behind thy back.

1Kings 14:10,11 Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam I and will cut off from Jeroboam I him that pisseth against the wall and him that is shut up and left in Israel and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone. Him that dieth of Jeroboam.(his posterity).in the city shall the dogs eat and him that dies in the field shall the fowls of the air eat, for the Lord has spoken it.

1Kings 14:12 Arise thou therefore, get you to your own house and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die.

1Kings 14:13 And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.

1Kings 14:13 And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave.(be properly buried; he was the only one of Jeroboam's family who would receive a proper burial in a grave, as the rest would be eaten by dogs; comprised with.JFB Commentary:.far be it from God to destroy the righteous with the wicked; God respects even a little good, because it is a seed from himself, as, the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed.".Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary:."Families and kingdoms are ruined by sin. If great men do wickedly, they draw many others, both into the guilt and punishment.(reap what you sow). The condemnation of those will be severest, who must answer.(2Corinthians 5:10), not only for their own sins, but for sins others have been drawn into and kept in, by them"), because in him there is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.

1Kings 14:14 Moreover the Lord shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam I that day. But when? even now!

The words 'even now', meaning his son will soon be dead and the other pronouncements will follow.

1Kings 14:15 For the Lord shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the Lord to anger.

1Kings 14:16 And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam I, who did sin and who made Israel to sin.

1Kings 14:17 And Jeroboam's wife arose and departed and came to Tirzah.(1Kings 16:23) and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died.

1Kings 14:18 And they buried him and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah.(1Kings11:29-32).the prophet.

1Kings 14:19 And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam I, how he warred and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.(?)...(see note on verse 29 below) 

1Kings 14:20 And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years and he slept with his fathers and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.

1Kings 14:21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess.

1Kings 14:22-24 And Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done. For they also built them high places and images and groves on every high hill and under every green tree.(where they placed their physical idols included places where travelers would stop to rest). And there were also sodomites.(male temple prostitutes, not necessarily from the city of Sodom).in the land and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.

1Kings 14:25 And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem.

1Kings 14:29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam and all that he did, are they not written in the book.(?).of the chronicles of the kings of Judah

Jamieson, Fausett, Brown Commentary."not the book so called and comprehended in the sacred canon.(the.Bible), but the national archives.(here referring to the books of Shemaiah and Iddo the prophet:.2Chronicles 12:15).of Judah."

1Kings 14:30 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam I all their days.

1Kings 14:31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother's name was Naamahan Ammonitess. And.Abijam his son reigned in his stead.

1Kings 14:31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his.(Rehoboam).mother's.(actually his grandmother as Naamah was one of the many wives of Solomon:.1Kings 11:1).name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And.Abijam.(also known as Abijah).his son reigned in his stead.

1Kings 15:1 Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam I, who was the son of Nebat; the king reigning in Judah at this time was Abijam.

1Kings 15:2,3 Three years reigned he in Judah in the city of Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father.

1Kings 15:2,3 Three years reigned he in Judah in the city of Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah.(obviously not a good mother; both her and her husband Rehoboam were bad ass parents {*}, even though Rehoboam was good at first for many years, until he got into the Ammonite ways of his mom), the daughter of Abishalom.(another way of spelling 'Absalom' who was a son of David:.2Chronicles 11:20). And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father.

1Kings 15:4 Nevertheless for David's sake did the Lord his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him and to establish Jerusalem

1Kings 15:4 Nevertheless for David's sake did the Lord his God give him a lamp.(1Kings 11:36; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown Commentary:."a lamp in one's house is an Oriental phrase for continuance of family name and prosperity").in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him and to establish Jerusalem.

1Kings 15:5 Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

1Kings 15:6 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam I all the days of his life.

1Kings 15:7 Now the rest of the acts of Abijam.(the son of Rehoboam, elsewhere called Abijah).and all that he did, are they not written in the book.(?).of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?.(see note on Chapter 14, verse 29 above).And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam I.

1Kings 15:8 And Abijam slept with his fathers and they buried him in the city of David and Asa his son reigned in his stead.

1Kings 15:9,10 And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam I king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah. And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.

1Kings 15:11 And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did David his father.

Father by lineage, not by direct descent.

1Kings 15:12,13 And he took away the sodomites out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove and Asa destroyed her idol and burnt it by the brook Kidron.

1Kings 15:12,13 And he took away the sodomites out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. And also Maachah his mother.(a different Maachah than the one who earlier had become one of David's wives and different from another Maachah who was David's son Absalom's daugher), even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove and Asa destroyed her idol and burnt it by the brook Kidron.

1Kings 15:14 But the high places were not removed.(he probably figured those who worshipped these inanimate objects were stupid, so he let them be:.Hosea 4:17). Nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect with the Lord all his days.

1Kings 15:16 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

1Kings 15:17 And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.

1Kings 15:17 And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah.(stone walls or mounds around Ramah, a town on the road to Asa's kingdom), that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.

Asa had such a good reputation that those from Baasha's kingdom wanted to leave and go to Asa's.

1Kings 15:20 So Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel and smote Ijon and Dan and Abelbethmaachah.(2Samuel 20:16-18).and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.

1Kings 15:21-23 And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building of Ramah and dwelt in Tirzah. Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah, none was exempted and they took away the stones of Ramah and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah. The rest of all the acts of Asa and all his might and all that he did and the cities which he built are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet.

1Kings 15:24 And Asa slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his forefather and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead. 

1Kings 15:25,26 And Nadab.(there was also another Nadab, mentioned here, so one doesn't confuse them).the son of Jeroboam I began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah and reigned over Israel two years. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.

1Kings 15:27 And Baasha the son of Ahijah.(this Ahijah was Baasha's father, not a king and not the prophet Ahijah in verse 29 below), of the house of Issachar, conspired against him.(Nadab).and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, for Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon. 

1Kings 15:28 Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha slay him and reigned in his stead.

1Kings 15:29 And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam I. He left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according unto the saying of the Lord, which he spake by his servant, the prophet.Ahijah the Shilonite..(there was a Jeroboam II but he was not of the house of Jeroboam I)

1Kings 15:30 Because of the sins of Jeroboam I which he sinned and which he made Israel sin by his provocation wherewith he provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger.

1Kings 15:31 Now the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

1Kings 15:32 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

1Kings 15:33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah.(this was Baasha's father and not the prophet Ahijah in verse 29 above)to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty and four years.

1Kings 15:34 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of Jeroboam I and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.

1Kings 16:1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jehu the prophet, the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying,

1Kings 16:2 Forasmuch as I exalted you out of the dust.(it's God that sets those in power who He wants in power at the time).and made you prince over my people Israel and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam I and have made my people Israel to sin.(followed the leader to their ruin), to provoke me to anger with their sins;

1Kings 16:3-5 Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha and the posterity of his house and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam I the son of Nebat. Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat. Now the rest of the acts of Baasha and what he did and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

1Kings 16:6 So Baasha slept with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah and Elah his son reigned in his stead.

1Kings 16:7 And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of the Lord against Baasha and against his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam I and because he killed him.

1Kings 16:7 And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of the Lord against Baasha and against his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands.(Baasha was also into idolatry with his calf worshipping practices), in being like the house of Jeroboam I and because he killed him.(Baasha killed Jeroboam I's son Nadab, so ending the line of evil of Jeroboam I {1Kings 15:25-27 and verses 11 to 14 below}; Baasha then reigns in place of Nadab, Jeroboam I's son and continues evil; as Baasha was, so was his son Elah).

1Kings 16:8 In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of.Judah.began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over.Israel.in Tirzah, two years.

1Kings 16:9 And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him as he was in Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, steward of his house in Tirzah.

1Kings 16:10 And Zimri went in and smote him and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah and reigned in his stead.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary:."Zimri was general of half the cavalry of Elah king of Israel. He rebelled against his master, killed him and usurped his kingdom. He cut off the whole family, not sparing any of his relations or friends.(he had the same demonic thinking as Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Hitler, et al, the same demonic attitude held by those who started the Bolshevik revolution and murdered the Russian Tsar and his family); whereby was fulfilled the word of God denounced to Baasha the father of Elah, by the prophet Jehu. Zimri reigned but seven days, for the army of Israel, then besieging Gibbethon, a city of the Philistines, made their general named Omri, king and came and besieged Zimri in the city of Tirzah; Zimri, seeing the city on the point of being taken, burned himself in the palace with all its riches:.1Kings 16:1-20."

1Kings 16:11-14 And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha. He left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolks nor of his friends. Thus did Zimri.destroy all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake against Baasha by Jehu the prophet, For all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their vanities. Now the rest of the acts of Elah and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 

1Kings 16:15 In the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah did Zimri reign seven days in Tirzah.(verse 23 below). And the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines.

1Kings 16:16 And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath conspired and hath also slain the king, wherefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp. 

1Kings 16:17-20 And Omri went up from Gibbethon and all Israel with him and they besieged Tirzah. And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king's house and burnt the king's house over him with fire and died for his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the Lord, in walking in the way of Jeroboam I and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin. Now the rest of the acts of Zimri and his treason that he wrought, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

1Kings 16:21,22 Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts. Half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king and half followed Omri. But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri reigned.

Tibni was slain by the followers of his rival Omri after both of them tried four years to gain the favor necessary to be king; the four year timeline is determined from the contemporaneous events at the time.

1Kings 16:23 In the thirty and first year of Asa king of.Judah began Omri to reign over.Israel, twelve years. Six years reigned he in.Tirzah.

Tirzah means 'pleasant'; Tirzah was the capital of the northern kingdom (map) where 10 of the original twelve tribes resided; the 12 tribes all were descendants of the person named Israel (whose name before was Jacob); from the time of Jeroboam I to the reign of Omri, Israel's capital was known as Tirzah; Omri expanded Tirzah and changed its name to Samaria, which now is also known as a region in Israel:.1Kings 15:33; 16:6,7; the name Tirzah is gone and is thought by scholars to be today about 11 miles northeast of the city of Nablus/Nabulus (map); the two other tribes were in the southern kingdom called Judah whose capital was Jerusalem.

1Kings 16:24 And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver and built on the hill and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria.

1Kings 16:25,26 But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the Lord and did worse than all that were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam I the son of Nebat and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger with their vanities.

1Kings 16:27 Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did and his might that he shewed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

1Kings 16:28 So Omri slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria and Ahab his son reigned in his stead.

1Kings 16:29,30 And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel. Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years. And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him.

1Kings 16:31,32 And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam I the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians.(who was known as the king of Tyrus).and went and served Baal and worshipped him. And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.

Barnes Notes:.On."as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam". Idolatries are not exclusive. Ahab, while he detested the pure worship of God and allowed Jezebel to put to death every "prophet of the Lord" whom she could find (1Kings 18:4), readily tolerated the continued worship of the "calves", which had no doubt tended more and more to lose its symbolic character and to become a thoroughly idolatrous image worship."

1Kings 16:33 And Ahab made a grove and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

1Kings 16:34 In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho. He laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub.(his temerity cost him his firstborn and youngest sons), according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun.

1Kings 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years.(that is, three years in addition to the normal six month dry season:.Luke 4:23-30; James 5:17), but according to my word.

1Kings 17:2-8 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hence and turn thee eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that you shall drink of the brook and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord, for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning and bread and flesh in the evening and he drank of the brook. And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,

1Kings 17:9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongs to Zidon and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain you.

1Kings 17:10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks. And he called to her and said Fetch me I pray you, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

1Kings 17:11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in your hand.

1Kings 17:12 And she said, as the Lord your God lives, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruse. And, behold, I am gathering two sticks.(firewood), that I may go in and dress.(fix it up as a meal).it for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.

1Kings 17:13-16 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not. Go and do as you have said. But make me thereof a little cake first and bring it unto me and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the Earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah. And she and he and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.

1Kings 17:17-19 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick and his sickness was so sore that there was no breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with you, O you man of God? Are you come unto me to call my sin to remembrance and to slay my son?.(she was equating present circumstances to some past incident she still felt guilty about).And he said unto her, Give me your son. And he took him out of her bosom and carried him up into a loft, where he abode. Here he laid him upon his own bed.

1Kings 17:20-23 And he cried unto the Lord and said, O Lord my God, have you also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried unto the Lord and said, O Lord my God, I pray you, let this child's soul come into him again. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah and the soul of the child came into him again and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down out of the chamber into the house and delivered him unto his mother and Elijah said, See, your son lives.

1Kings 17:24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.

1Kings 18:1 And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show yourself unto Ahab.(7th king of Israel).and I will send rain upon the Earth.

1Kings 18:2 And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria.

1Kings 18:3 And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. Now Obadiah feared.(respected).the Lord greatly.

1Kings 18:4 For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets and hid them by fifty in a cave and fed them with bread and water.

1Kings 18:5 And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water and unto all brooks, peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts.

There was a dearth in the land.

1Kings 18:6-16 So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it. Ahab went one way by himself and Obadiah went another way by himself. And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him. And Obadiah recognized him and carried on to meet him and said, Are you that Elijah? And he answered him, I am. Go, tell your lord Behold, Elijah is here. And he said, What have I sinned, that you would deliver your servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord has not sent to seek you. And when they said, we can't find Elijah, he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that Elijah was nowhere to ne found. And now you are here saying, Go, tell thy lord.(Ahab), Behold, Elijah is here. And Obdiah said, It shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry you again whither I know not and so when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he shall slay me, but I your servant have respected the true Lord from my youth. Was it not told you what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord, how I hid an hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifty in a cave and fed them with bread and water? And now you say, Go, tell your lord.(Ahab), Behold, Elijah is here and he shall slay me if you disappear again. And Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself unto him today. So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.

1Kings 18:17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Are you he that troubles Israel?

1Kings 18:18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and you have followed Baalim.

1Kings 18:19 Now therefore send and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table.

1Kings 18:20 So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.

1Kings 18:21 And Elijah came unto all the people and said, How long halt you between two opinions?.(they were superstitious and wanted to be right with any god they knew of, in case of causing any offense to one of them).If the Lord be God, follow him, but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

These ancients were like many today who follow ancient pagan festivals because their religious leaders use them regularly to bring in more people to the church, calling the festivals Christmas, New Years, Easter, etc..(*). Social gatherings among likeminded people are good. It's not the name of the day, but the feeling of the heart that's important and not the fullness of the wallet due to greed.

1Kings 18:22 Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet.of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.

1Kings 18:23 Let them therefore give us two bullocks and let them choose one bullock for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on wood and put no fire under. And I will dress the other bullock and lay it on wood and put no fire under.

1Kings 18:24 And you call on the name of your gods and I will call on the name of the Lord. And the god that answers by fire, let him be God.(in other words, accept who the true God is proven to be). And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.

1Kings 18:25 And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves and dress it first, for you are many and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under.

1Kings 18:26 And they took 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 they leaped upon the altar which was made.

1Kings 18:27 And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is talking or he is pursuing or he is in a journey or peradventure he sleeps and needs to be awakened.

1Kings 18:28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.

These crackpots were trying to impress what they believed was their god, so they could get an answer from it. Story begins in verse 18.

Religious fanatics can be more than just a little nuts!.2Chronicles 28:3.

1Kings 18:29 And it came to pass, when midday was past and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.

Showing that the so-called god they stupidly worshiped had absolutely no power, that is wasn't real, except that they believed it was.

1Kings 18:30-37 And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be your name. And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord and he made a trench about the altar as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order and cut the bullock.(cow or calf).in pieces and laid him on the wood and said, Fill four barrels with water and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. 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 sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and of Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and that I am thy servant and that I have done all these things at your word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that you are the Lord God and that you have turned their heart back again.

By what was about to happen, many of the people would turn to the only true  God.

1Kings 18:38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water that was in the trench.

1Kings 18:39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces. And they said, The Lord, he is the true God; the Lord, he is really God.

1Kings 18:40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slew them there. 

1Kings 18:41-44 And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel and he laid down upon the Earth and put his face between his knees, And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again, seven times this was done. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there arises a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare your chariot and get you down, that the rain stop you not.

1Kings 18:45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel.

1Kings 18:46 And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah and he girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. 

   ....continues to Chapters 19-20

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