1 Kings 18:20

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 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. 1. Ahab, like himself, basely accused Elijah. He durst not strike him, remembering that Jeroboam's hand withered when it was stretched out against a prophet, but gave him bad language, which was no less an affront to him that sent him. It was a very coarse compliment with which he accosted him at the first word: Art thou he that troubleth... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 18:20

So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel ,.... By messengers, requiring their attendance at Mount Carmel at such a time, at least their chief and principal men: and gathered the prophets together unto Mount Carmel ; the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, but not the four hundred prophets of the groves; for of them we have no account afterwards, only of the former; it may be they were not at the command of Ahab, only of Jezebel, at whose table they ate, who would not suffer them... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 18:1-46

Elijah and the Prophets of Baal. Elijah is now prepared for his work. He who had sent him into the desert now commands him to enter into open conflict with idolatry. God makes His will known to him in two ways. I. BY AN INWARD IMPULSE . II. THROUGH HIS MEETING WITH THE YOUNG OBADIAH , the protector of the prophets, and the faithful servant of God in the midst of the impure court of Ahab. Let it be ours to seek such a twofold assurance of the will of God. Let... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 18:17-20

The King and his Master. For three and a half years king- and prophet have not met ( Luke 4:25 ). For three and a half years, forty and two months, twelve hundred and sixty days ( Revelation 11:2 , Revelation 11:8 ; Revelation 12:6 ; Revelation 13:5 ; Daniel 7:25 ), the mystical period of persecution and blasphemy, the plague of drought has afflicted the land. But now the time—God's "fulness of time"—has arrived for its removal. The time to favour Israel is come, and king and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 18:19-21

Christ or Belial! Here is a curious phenomenon. A monarch, who had searched all kingdoms for a prophet that he might reek anger upon his life, now sought out and confronted by that prophet, and submitting to his orders to call an assembly of the nation! How God can turn about the hearts of princes! Conspicuous in this vast concourse are the idolatrous priests with gnashing teeth. Elijah stands alone undaunted, a witness for Jehovah, and, appealing to the multitude, he accuses them of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 18:20

So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto Mount Carmel, ["The persecuting king became a passive instrument in the hand of the persecuted prophet" (Stanley). His ready compliance with Elijah's request, notwithstanding the bitter hatred of the man which he had just betrayed, is easily explained. It was not so much that "he bowed before the spiritual supremacy of the prophet, which impressed him" (Bähr), as that he hoped, from his reappearance, that... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 18:20

Local tradition places the site of Elijah’s sacrifice, not on the highest point of the mountain (1,728 ft.), but at the southeastern extremity (1,600 ft.) of the ridge, where a shapeless ruin, composed of great hewn stones, and standing amid thick bushes of dwarf-oak, in the near vicinity of a perennial spring, is known to the Arabs as “El-Maharrakah,” “the burning,” or “the sacrifice.” All the circumstances of the locality adapt it for the scene of the contest. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Kings 18:20

1 Kings 18:20. So Ahab sent, &c. He complied with Elijah’s motion, because the urgency of the present distress made him willing to try all means to remove it; from a curiosity of seeing some extraordinary events; and, principally, because God inclined his heart. read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 18:1-46

Elijah and the prophets of Baal (18:1-46)After three years unbroken drought, God told Elijah that the time had come to make Ahab and Israel decide clearly whether they would follow him or Baal (18:1-2). Ahab was concerned about the effect of the drought on Israel’s trade and defence (for he was in danger of losing his valuable transport animals), but he was not so concerned about the religious condition of the country. He still tried to serve both God and Baal. While his queen attacked God’s... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 Kings 18:20

children = sons. read more

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