ELIJAH BREAKS THE DROUGHT

1 Kings 18:41-46 

Famine and Death

During the reign of King Ahab of Israel there was a terrible drought.

Nowadays this need not be catastrophic: food supplies and drought relief can be shipped from neighboring countries, and relief agencies can help those worst affected.

But in biblical times a drought meant widespread famine. Thousands of people died a slow death from malnutrition. 

Because they depended so much on the annual rains, people prayed to the 'power' of rain - in this case, the god Baal, who was Water of all kinds: rain, streams, springs, rivers, etc.

Jezebel, queen of Israel at this time, seems to have been a high priestess of Baal. She supported the ancient rites that many of her subjects believed brought fertility to the land. (See Archaeology: Ancient Religion for more information)

The priests of Yahweh opposed this, and insisted on prayers being offered only to the spirit-god Yahweh. In the desperate situation of famine - there had been no good rain for seven years - the country divided into two camps:   those for Baal, and those for Yahweh.

The 'Fire of the Lord'

Elijah the prophet was for Yahweh. He confronted the priests of Baal and won a contest in which, clearly, both sides used magic tricks. The practice of 'magic' was common in the ancient world.

Elijah's offering was consumed by fire, and the sacrifice of Baal's priests was not - see 'RESOURCES'  (Elijah Breaks the Drought) for the story.

When the priests of Baal failed to produce rain, they were driven down to the Wadi Kishon by Elijah's followers, and murdered.

Black clouds rolled in and torrential rain began to fall, so that both Elijah and King Ahab had to scamper back to Jezreel while the roads were still passable. Elijah's god Yahweh had clearly won the contest.

This was a major political blow for King Ahab, but even more so for his queen. Jezebel was losing her grip on power, and had to assert herself.