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to pay with his life for Elijah's escape; would not suspicious Ahab or bloodthirsty
Jezebel wreak their vengeance on him as an abettor of the prophet? Most groundless
fears these, as all which are prompted by the faint-heartedness of partially
enlightened piety; and so Elijah hastened to assure him, not, as it seems to us,
without a touch of pitying reproof. The meeting which followed between the king of
Israel and the representative of Jehovah was characteristic of each. It is a mistake to
suppose, as interpreters generally do, that the words with which Ahab accosted
Elijah, "Art thou the one^2 who troubleth Israel?" were intended to frighten the
prophet by a display of authority.
Even Ahab could not have imagined that such would be their effect. It seems rather
like an appeal. See what thou hast done; and what now? In truth, a man such as Ahab
must have felt it difficult to know how to address the prophet. But Elijah was not,
even momentarily, to be drawn into a personal controversy. With a sharp reproof,
which pointed out that it was not he but the sin of Ahab and of his house which had
brought trouble upon Israel, he directed the king to gather unto Mount Carmel the
representatives of all Israel, as well as the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets
of Astarte who enjoyed the special favor of the queen.
Putting aside for the moment the thought of the overruling guidance of God in the
matter, it is not difficult to understand why Ahab complied with Elijah's direction.
Naturally he could not have anticipated what turn matters would take. Certain it was
that the land was in a terrible strait from which, if any one, Elijah alone could deliver
it. Should he provoke him to fresh judgments by a refusal? What was there to fear
from one unarmed man in presence of a hostile assembly? If Elijah could remove the
curse, it was worth any temporary concession; if he refused or failed, the controversy
with him would be easily settled, and that with popular approbation. Besides these,
there may have been other secondary reasons for Ahab's compliance. As we have
noticed, Jezebel was not then in Samaria; and Ahab may have felt that secret
misgiving which is often the outcome of superstition rather than of partial belief.
Lastly, he may at
the moment have been under the influence of the overawing power of Elijah. It could
scarcely have been otherwise in the circumstances.
That day Carmel witnessed one of the grandest scenes in the history of Israel. Three
such scenes on mountain-tops stand out before the mind: the first on Mount Sinai,
when the Covenant was made by the ministry of Moses; the second on Mount
Carmel, when the Covenant was restored by the ministry of Elijah; the third on "the
Mount of Transfiguration," when Moses and Elijah bare worshipful witness to the
Christ in Whom and by Whom the Covenant was completed, transfigured, and
transformed. In each case the scene on the Mount formed the high point in the life
and mission of the agent employed, from which henceforth there was a descent, save
(^)