River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1911-02-09


y He word of the Lord came to
" Elijah in the third year in
structing him to manifest himself TO
King Ahab, with view to the tern1-
nation of the drouth. This may have
been the third year of the Prophets
soiourn at Zarephath, or it may
have been the third year after Eli
iah's announcement to Ahab. The
land of Israel may already have been
experiencing six-months' drouth
when Elijah announced TO the King
that no rain, was to be expected until
he, as Gods servant, would an
nounce it or bring it. In any event
we have the assurance that the en-
tire period of drouth was three and
a half years. Luke 4:25; James
SIT.
When the time was fulfilled God
directed Elijah to present himself to
King Ahab, because the time had
come when God was willing to re-
lieve the drouth-When sufficiency
of punishment had come upon the
Israelites for their inquities when
at least some of them had been call
ed to their senses, reminded of their
| Covenant with the Lord and his en-
gagement to give them blessings or
adversities, according to their
obedience. On arriving at the pal
ace Elijah called for the Royal SUI
perintendent, or Prime Minister,
Obadiah. He was a godly man and
of course, distressed by the idol
atrous course Of the King and
Queen. If he was not sufficiently
courageous to protest openly, he
was, nevertheless, courageous, for,
| in a time when the servants of Je-
hovah were being prosecuted to
death by Queen Jezebel, Obadiah
| hid one hundred of them and sup
piled them with the necessities of
| life-evidently at the risk of his all.
When Obadiah met Elijah and was
told to tell the King that Elijah was
there to see him, Obadiah feared to
do so. He declared that himself
and others had searched the entire
country over most carefully and
| found him not. He realized that
the Lord had hidden him. He pro-
tested that if now he would declare
that Elijah was ready to see the
King, the probabilities were that,
by the time the King got there, the
spirit or power of the Lord would
somehow carry Elijah away. Then
the King, Infatuated, would cause
! Obadiah's death; but Elijah reas-
sured him.
When the King met Elijah his
first word was, Art thou he that
troubleth Israeli" This is the
worldly custom. The fearless min
lister who tells the Truth and relates
the Divine prophecy respecting the
rewards Of evil-doing is held ac-
countable, as though he had caused
the trouble. But Elijah was not in
undated. He promptly answered, |
have not troubled Israel, but thou
and thy parents house, in that ye
have forsaken the commandments
of the Lord and followed Baal.
Three years before the King would
have probably ordered the execu-
ton of Elijah; but the fulfillment of
his word and the pangs of hunger
! had humbled him. He was anxious
that the blight should be removed
and responded to the demands of
Elijah that the eight hundred and
fifty prophets of idolatrous Baalism
should meet at Mt. Carmel and that
thither all the people of Israel, rep
resented by their chief men, should
also assemble. The design, evil
IDENTIFY, was a contest between Eli
jah, the representative of God, and
these murderous priests of Baal,
proteges of Jezebel.