Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Kings 15-17.

In Israel, the Northern Kingdom, king after king fails to establish a truly stable government.  Jeroboam turned over the throne to his son, who was overthrown by Baasha after reigning for two years.  Baasha ruled in a similar manner to Jeroboam, including encouraging his people to worship the golden calves which Jeroboam had installed.  After Baasha’s death, his son ruled for a little over two years before being overthrown by Zimri, who killed all of Baasha’s family.  However, Zimri was unable to hold the throne and killed himself rather than be killed by Omri.  Omri, we are told, followed the ways of Jeroboam but sinned more than those who preceded him.  Nevertheless, his son, Ahab, was able to rule after him and turn the throne over to his son, the grandson of Omri.  Ahab married a princess of Sidon, Jezebel, and, at her instigation, made Baal worship the official religion of Israel, the Northern Kingdom.

In response to Ahab’s reign, God raised up the prophet Elijah.  God sent Elijah to Ahab to tell him that it would not rain until Elijah said otherwise.  As James writes, “Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.” James wrote that to remind us of the power of prayer.  While we are often called upon to pray for healing, or other good things, for those who are suffering, sometimes, like Elijah, we are called upon to pray that people receive the consequences of their sin.  We need to remember that while the Holy Spirit healed many through Peter, He also struck down Ananias and Saphira through Peter.  So, let us remember that God calls us to pray for redemption of sinners, and sometimes that means praying for them to reach the end of their rope.

I, also, want to point out that during the drought which Elijah prayed upon Israel and the surrounding region, God sent Elijah to a widow of Sidon.  Because that woman provided a meal to Elijah in faith, God provided for that woman for the duration of the drought.  Today, I noticed for the first time, that this widow was from Sidon, just as Jezebel, who led Ahab into Baal worship, was from Sidon.  Jezebel, a woman from Sidon, led many in Israel to abandon worship of God, and God sent Elijah to a woman from Sidon to care for her through the drought which resulted.  I am not sure of the significance of the connection between Jezebel being from Sidon and the widow being from Sidon, but I hope to look into that more in future years.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.