Month: January 2026

The Lord Speaks to Elijah, 1 Kings Chapter 20

But the Lord said to Elijah, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with You, torn down Your altars, and killed every one of Your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”

“Go out and stand before Me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, an a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, there was fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

He replied again, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with You, torn down Your altars, and killed every one of Your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”

Then the Lord told him, “Go back the same way you came, and travel to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive there, anoint Hazael to be king of Aram. Then anoint Jehu grandson of Nimishi to be king of Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from the town of Abel-meholah to replace you as My prophet. Anyone who escapes from Hazael will be killed by Jehu, and those who escape Jehu will be killed by Elisha! I will preserve 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him!” (vv. 9b-18, NLT)

Elijah Prays for Rain, 1 Kings, Chapter 18

Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a might rainstorm coming!”

So Ahab went to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees.

Then he said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea.”

The servant went and looked, then returned and said, “I didn’t see anything.”

Seven times Elijah told him to go and look. Finally the seventh tine, his servant told him, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.”

Then Elijah shouted, “Hurry, to Ahab and tell him , ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!'”

And soon the sky was black with clouds. A heave wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel. Then the Lord gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his coat into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel. (vv. 41-46, NLT)

The Contest at Mount Carmel, Part II, 1 Kings Chapter 18

Then Elijah called to the people, “Come over here!” They crowded around him as he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down. He took twelve stones, one to represent each of the twelve tribes of Israel, and he used the stones to rebuild the altar in the name of Lord. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold about three gallons. He piled the wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces, and laid the pieces on the wood.

Then he said, “Fill four large jugs with water, and pur the water over the offering and the wood.”

After they had done this, he said, “Do the same ting again!” And when they were finished, he said, “Now do it a third time.” So they did as he said, and the water ran around the altar and even filled the trench.

At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, prove today that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that You, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to Yourself.”

Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The Lord-He is God! Yes, the Lord is God!”

Then Elijah commanded, “Seize all these prophets of Baal. Don’t let a single one escape!” So the people seized them all, and Elijah took them down to the Kishon Valley and killed them there. (vv. 30-40, NLT)

The Contest at Mount Carmel, Part 1, Kings Chapter 18

So Abab summoned all the people of Israel and prophets to Mount Carmel. Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waiver, hobbling between to opinions? IF the Lord is God, follow Him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent. (vv. 29-21, NLT)

Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal,” You go first, for there are may of you. Choose one of the bulls, and prepare it and call on the name of your god. But do not set fire to the wood.”

So they prepared one of the bulls and placed on the altar. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noontime, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” They danced, hobbling around the altar they had made.

About noontime Elijah began mocking them , “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, ‘for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be awakened.!

So they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out. They raved all afternoon until the the evening sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply, no response. (vv. 25-29, NLT)

The Widow at Zarephath, Part II, 1 Kings, Chapter 17

Sometime later the woman’s son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he died. Then she said to Elijah, “O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?”

But Elijah replied, “Give me your son.” And he took the the child’s body from her arms, carried him upstairs to the room where he was staying, and laid the body on his bed. Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, why have You broght tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?”

And he stretched himself out over the child three times, and cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, please let this child’s life be returned to him.” The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer and the life of the child returned, and he revived! Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. “Look!” he said. “Your son is alive!”

Then the woman told Elijah, “Now I know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the Lord truly speaks through you.” (vv. 17-24, NLT)

The Widow at Zarephath, Part I, 1 Kings Chapter 17

Then the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.”

So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he was a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” s she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.”

But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.”

But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”

So she did what Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough, just at the Lord had promised though Elijah. (vv. 1-16, NLT)

Elijah Fed by Ravens, 1 Kings, Chapter 17

Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, “As surely as teh Lord, the God of Israel, lives-the God I serve-there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word.”

Then the Lord said to Elijah, “Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River. Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.”

So Elijah did as the Lord told him and camped beside Kerith Brook, east of the Jordan River. The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and each evening, and he drank from the brook. But after the brook dried up, there was no rainfall in the land. (vv. 1-7, NLT)

Solomon’s Many Wives, 1 Kings Chapter 11

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon and from among the Hittites. The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.” Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord.

In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David, had been. (vv. 1-4, NLT)

The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heard had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord’s command. So now the Lord said to him, :Since you have not kept My covenant and disobeyed My decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. But for the sake of your father, David, I will not do this while you are still alive. I will take away the kingdom from your son. And even so, I will not take away the entire kingdom; I will let him be king of one tribe, for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, My chosen city.” (vv. 9-13, NLT)

The Visit of the Queen of Sheba, 1 Kings, Chapter 10

When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, which brought honor to the name of the Lord, she cam to test him with hard questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a large group of attendants and a great caravan of camels loaded with spices, large quantities of gold, and precious jewels. When she met with Solomon, she talked with him about everything she had on her mind. Solomon had answers for al her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. When the queen of Sheba realized how very wise Solomon was, and when she saw the palace he had built, she was overwhelmed. She was also amazed at the food on his tables, the organization of his officials and their splendid clothing, the cup-bears and the burnt offerings Solomon made at the Temple of the Lord.

She exclaimed to the king, “Everything I heard in my country about your achievements and wisdom is true! I didn’t believe what was said until I arrived here and saw with my own eyes. In fact, I had not heard that half of it! Your wisdom and prosperity are far beyond what I was told. How happy your people must be! Praise the Lord your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne of Israel, He has made you king so you can rule with justice and righteousness.” (vv. 1-9, NLT)

The Lord’s Response to Solomon, 1 Kings, Chapter 9

So Solomon finished building the Temple of the Lord, as well as the royal palace. He completed everyting he had planned to do. Then the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had done before iat Gibeon. The Lord said to him,

“I have heard your prayer and your petition. I have set this Temple apart to be holy-this place you have built whey My name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to My heart.”

“As for you, if you will follow Me with integrity and godliness, as David your father did, obeying all my commandments, decrees, and regulations, then I will establish the throne of your dynasty over Israel forever. For I made a promise to your father, David: ‘One of your descendants will always sit on the throne of Israel.””

“But if your descendants abandon Me and disobey the commandments and Decrees I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, the I will uproot Israel from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor My name. I will make Israel an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations. And though this Temple is impressive now, all who pass by will be appalled and will shake their heads in amazement. They will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?”

“And the answer will be, ‘Because this people abandoned the Lord their God who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead and bowed down to then. That is why the Lord has brought all these disasters on them.'” (vv. 1-9, NLT)