Spitting in a god's Face
1/27/26 Bible Thought (1 Kings 17)
Main Idea: There is no god more powerful than the true and living God.
A Look at the Text:
As we concluded yesterday’s reading, we were introduced to the most infamous king of the divided kingdom—Ahab.
He is unanimously remembered as being the greatest idolater of the time. The Scripture says his father was more evil than all who preceded him, and then the same is said again of Ahab! (1 Kings 16:30).
As we turn the page to chapter seventeen, we are introduced to someone entirely new—Elijah. Elijah was a faithful messenger of Yahweh during a time when Baal worship was on the rise once again. With this, the prophet went before the king and pronounced by a word from the true and living God that there would be a drought:
“As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word” (1 Kings 17:1).
As modern readers, we probably read this and first think about how amazing it is that God turned off the spigot. He’s God, He’s all-powerful. He controls everything in creation—including the weather. What an awesome God!
While this is certainly true, there is an essential background detail that we need to know in order to see just how truly awe-inspiring this passage is. The idol god, Baal, was the chief of the Canaanite pantheon and was known as a storm god who would bring rain.[1]
In the land of Israel (formerly Canaan), they required rain for their crops to grow. They couldn’t depend upon the Nile as the Egyptians could. They were utterly reliant upon rainfall for their sustenance and survival. To this, the Canaanites served Baal, who would supposedly provide for them.
This was the god that Ahab, king of Israel, served.
So, Yahweh’s prophet showed up with a power move: It’s not going to rain until I say so. What an insult! Ahab was confronted with the harsh truth that his idol god was a phony. He was an imposter. He was masquerading as Lord of all when truthfully, he wasn’t lord at all.
Yahweh turned off the water supply, effectively spitting in his face, and there was nothing that Baal could do about it. Yahweh rules over His creation. He is the Chief. He is the One who calls the shots.
Bringing it Home
The Christian can be encouraged that the God we serve isn’t the product of man’s invention and that He is the true sovereign reigning over the heavens and the earth.
He does as He pleases. No god, no man, nothing can overcome the One who works all things according to the counsel of His will (see Eph. 1:11). As David once observed, “The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all” (Ps. 103:19, emphasis added). God is God.
He alone is the Almighty, and there is nothing too hard for Him.
Challenge: Do I ever struggle to believe God’s sovereign power is sufficient in my life? Let us rest assured that He is God alone, and He does as He pleases.
[1] Winfried Corduan, “Baal,” in The Lexham Bible Dictionary, ed. John D. Barry et al. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).