And Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed down on the earth, and put his face between his knees.
Two men go up the same mountain on the same day, and they go to two different things. One goes to a meal; the other drops to the ground and prays for rain that God has already promised.
God had already said He would send rain. That promise did not make the prophet's prayer needless. It made him lean harder on the One who gave it.
"I will send rain upon the earth." This does not stop Elijah from praying for rain (v. 42). He is in full fellowship with the Lord, and God has shown him His thoughts and His purpose. But to be an instrument for carrying out His ways in grace, he must depend on Him. God could easily give rain without Elijah, or through someone else. But He never puts His seal on disobedience or independence. That is what so often leaves the work of God's children barren.
The coming rain moved the two men in opposite directions.
The effect on the man of God is completely different. He hears the sound of coming rain, and he knows this is no time for feasting with the world. It is time to draw apart from people — to get alone with God at the top of the hill. When the world goes up to feast, it is time for God's people to go up to pray. Nature might say that if there is the sound of rushing rain there is no need to pray. But for the spiritual man it is a call from God to pray.
Elijah's climb up the hill sets a pattern for anyone who prays.
First, prayer that gets an answer means pulling away from the hurry and pressure of this world to be alone with God. Like Elijah we must go up to the top of the hill. As the Lord Himself instructs us, "when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father" (Matt. 6:6). How often our prayers achieve nothing because we lack the "shut door." To know we are in God's presence we need to settle our spirits, call in our wandering thoughts, and shut the door on the world.
The crowds are gone. Now the prophet takes the lowest place himself, with no one watching.
He reaches the top of the hill, and there he goes down into the valley of humiliation… In front of all Israel, God will support and honour His servant. But alone with God, he must learn how small he is next to God's greatness… He too must remember that he is only dust, and depends completely on the mercy of God… An old teacher has said, "The lower the heart goes down, the higher the prayer goes up. God accepts broken words when they come from broken hearts."
Elijah had been through the same long day as the king.
Surely Elijah needed to eat and drink as well as Ahab! The day had been exhausting, and the servants of God get hungry and tired like other men. But the spiritual rises above the physical… Elijah rose above his bodily needs and gave himself to prayer… He who stood bold and upright before king, prophets and people now takes the lowest place he can before God. His success had not gone to his head.
The prayer on that hilltop was not a quick one.
Elijah now says to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain." Yes, but no ear of man on earth heard that sound but Elijah's. "The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him." And Elijah goes up as well as the king, throws himself down on the earth, puts his face between his knees, and sends his servant to look. He had heard the sound, but he wanted the testimony of sight from his servant. His servant goes and looks, but sees nothing. "Go again seven times," he says — patience must have its perfect work in every case.
Power like this in prayer does not appear overnight.
"Elijah was a man with a nature like ours," and yet he had such power with God that God sent both judgment and blessing in answer to his cry. "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working"; but this only comes after long inner dealing with God, much private communion with Him, and a close walk with Him. Not all are called to be Elijahs, but all may seek grace to become diligent in prayer and intercession.
- Up to pray. God had promised the rain, yet Elijah still went up and prayed — God's promise is a call to depend on Him, never a licence to act alone.
- Up, away. The climb to the hilltop is the shut door: prayer that reaches God starts by shutting out the rush of the world.
- Down, low. He climbed the hill in order to go down in the dust. The man who had given orders to a nation took the lowest place, and success had not gone to his head.
- Up, again. He prayed with his face hidden and sent his servant to look again and again — patience must have its perfect work.
- Rain for all. The prophet had a nature like ours. God does not call everyone to be an Elijah, but anyone may ask for grace to be diligent in prayer.
And he said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked, and said, [There is] nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.
Elijah has just seen fire fall on Carmel, and he has already told Ahab that rain is coming. Yet here he lies face down, sending a servant to scan an empty sea — so why pray for what God has already promised?
God had told Elijah He would send rain, and Elijah prayed anyway. One writer points to a common mistake: treating God's certainty as a reason to do nothing.
Many Christians throw their responsibilities and privileges overboard because of God's sovereignty. God in His sovereignty was about to bless Israel, to remove the curse that had for so long dried up her streams. The prophet might have said, "Why do I need to pray, when God has told me He is going to send the rain?" But not so. He went to Mount Carmel — a place of expectancy. From there he could scan the whole seaward horizon.
The same pattern appears elsewhere: God states His purpose, then invites His people to ask Him for it.
The knowledge that God means to give does not make prayer unnecessary. So in Ezekiel 36–37 the Lord declared His purposes of grace for Israel in a very full way. Then He said, "this also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them."
The same news moved Elijah and the world in opposite directions.
He hears the sound of coming rain. He knows it is no time for feasting with the world. It is time to draw apart from men — to get alone with God at the top of the hill. When the world goes up to feast it is the time for God's people to go up to prayer. Nature might say that if rain is already on the way, there is no need to pray. But for the spiritual man that sound is a call from God to pray.
Elijah had certainty in his ears before anyone had seen a thing.
No ear of man on earth heard that sound but Elijah's. "The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him." Elijah goes up, as the king does, and sends his servant to look. He had heard the sound, but he wanted to get the testimony of the sight from his servant. His servant goes, and looks, but sees nothing.
The older translation Kelly quotes reads, "The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him."
Anyone who has prayed and then seen nothing change knows this report. One writer says the waiting itself is God's teaching.
We must not only pray but watch and pray. As the apostle urges us, "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." In Elijah's prayer we see this watching. He heard the sound that summoned him to prayer, and he prayed, and he watched, but at first he sees nothing. How often it is like this with God's people today. God has lessons to teach us, and so for a while He may keep us waiting at His door. We watch to see God's hand at work, and we see nothing. Is it not to teach us that we see nothing of God because something of self fills our vision? We must learn our own nothingness before we see God at work. God will also teach us that prayer is not some secret charm we can use at any moment to get what we ask. Its power lies in the One to whom we pray.
Elijah's reply to the empty report is not a new prayer but the same one, repeated.
If then we pray and watch, and yet have to own with Elijah's servant, "There is nothing," what more can we do? This question receives a very definite answer from Elijah. He says, "Go again seven times." In other words, we must persevere. We cannot hurry God. We think of what is agreeable to ourselves; God thinks of what is for His glory and our profit.
The silence between the first look and the seventh is not what it seems.
God may seem indifferent, as Elijah found on Mount Carmel ("Go again seven times"). But it only seems so. Human friendship may break down under too much strain. We honour God when we count on Him like this.
- Promise → prayer. A settled purpose of God is a call to pray, not an excuse to stop; Elijah prayed for the rain God had already guaranteed.
- Prayer → separation. Ahab went to the feast, Elijah went up the hill alone. The moment the world relaxes is the moment for God's people to pray.
- Prayer → watching. He did not only ask; he sent someone to look. Real prayer expects an answer and keeps its eyes open for it.
- Watching → waiting. "There is nothing" is a normal report. God may keep us at His door until self stops filling our view of Him.
- Waiting → perseverance. "Go again" is the answer to an empty horizon. God's indifference is only apparent, and we honour Him by counting on Him.
And it came to pass at the seventh time that he said, Behold there is a cloud, small as a man's hand, arising out of the sea. And he said, Go up, say to Ahab, Harness and go down, that the pour of rain stop thee not.
The contest on Mount Carmel is over. Elijah lies face-down on the mountain top, praying for the rain God has already promised. What comes back, after six empty reports, is almost nothing — and Elijah treats it as everything.
One writer connects Israel's repentance with the returning rain:
But now the people have acknowledged their evil and turned again to the Lord. Elijah has vindicated the truth by executing the pretenders. So God will remove the judgment. God afflicted the people with drought so that they would learn. The God they slighted was the only source and fountain of all their blessings. Having learned this, in God's gracious way, the affliction will cease. God always removes chastisement once it has done the work He sent it to do.
God had told Elijah plainly that He would send rain. Elijah still prayed — and that exposes a common excuse:
Many Christians throw their responsibilities and privileges overboard because of God's sovereignty. God in His sovereignty was about to bless Israel. He would remove the curse that had for so long dried up her streams and turned the country "flowing with milk and honey" into a dry wilderness. The prophet might have said, "Why do I need to pray, when God has told me He is going to send the rain?" But it was not so. He went to Mount Carmel, a place of expectancy. From there he could scan the whole seaward horizon.
Six times the servant comes back with nothing. Elijah's answer speaks straight into ordinary prayer:
If we pray and watch, and yet have to admit with Elijah's servant, "There is nothing," what more can we do? This question gets a very definite answer from Elijah. He says, "Go again seven times." In other words, we must persevere. The apostle urges us not only to pray, but to watch for it "with all perseverance." We cannot hurry God. We think of what suits us; God thinks of what is for His glory and our profit.
Another writer shows what instant answers would do to us:
If the door of God's treasure house always opened at our first knock, we should feel self-contained. We would seem to be commanders, grow arrogant, and forget that we depend on Him. We would be in danger of idolising prayer, and thinking that in it we have a legal claim on God's bounty. We must always remember that the door swings on the hinges of His mercy.
The seventh report is still, to the eye, nothing worth mentioning. Faith measures it differently:
He knew God was about to answer his prayer, though to sight there was only "a little cloud" no bigger than "a man's hand." But behind that likeness of a man's hand, faith could discern the hand of God. The sky was perfectly clear except for that one small cloud. But faith knew that God was behind the cloud, and when God is working a little goes a long way. A handful of flour and a little oil with God can feed a household for a full year. Five barley loaves and two small fish with God can feed five thousand people. A little cloud with God behind it can cover the whole heavens.
Both the number and the shape carry meaning. One writer points to a Man whose hand holds what God gives:
Seven is God's number of perfection. The "man's hand" is also suggestive. Belshazzar saw the fingers of a man's hand writing on the plaster of his palace wall, and it announced his doom (Dan. 5:5). There is a Man into whose hand God has committed both judgement and blessing for men: judgement later, blessing now (Acts 17:31).
Another writer names the Man the cloud pictures:
But the small cloud pictures the hand of the Man Christ Jesus, who is the one Mediator between God and man. When He intervenes, how wonderful are the results!
Elijah does not wait for the sky to darken before sending word to the king:
Many might think that was a poor and insignificant answer to prayer, but not Elijah. He sent a message of urgent haste to Ahab — "Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you."
- Cleared — the drought taught Israel where their blessings came from. Once they learned it and judged the evil, God lifted the chastening.
- Asked — God's promise of rain did not cancel prayer for rain. Elijah climbed the mountain because he believed God meant to act.
- Delayed — "Go again seven times" sets the pattern. We cannot hurry God, and waiting keeps us leaning on His mercy instead of claiming His bounty.
- Small — a cloud the size of a hand is nothing to sight and everything to faith. With God behind it, a little goes a long way.
- Answered — Elijah acted on the small sign while the sky was still clear. He sent word to Ahab: get moving before the rain stops you.
And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heavens became black [with] clouds and wind, and there was a great pour of rain. And Ahab got on the chariot, and went to Jizreel.
Fire had fallen on Mount Carmel, and Elijah was praying at the top while his servant watched the sea seven times for a sign. This verse is the answer arriving: rain at last after three and a half years of drought, and a king driving home through it.
The drought had a purpose. One writer explains why it could now end:
The people suffered drought so that they might learn one thing. The God they slighted was the only source and fountain of all their blessings. Once they had learned it, in God's gracious way, the affliction would stop. God always removes chastening once it has done the work He sent it to do. And the servant who has held to the truth in the face of opponents becomes, in the same measure, a channel of God's mercies to His people.
Elijah acted on a sign so small it would have convinced nobody else:
To natural sight there was no sign of rain. The sky was clear except for a little cloud no bigger than a man's hand. But faith knew that God was behind the cloud, and when God is working a little goes a long way. A handful of flour and a little oil with God can feed a household for a full year. Five barley loaves and two small fish with God can feed five thousand people. A little cloud with God behind it can cover the whole sky. So while Ahab was getting his chariot ready, "the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain."
Elijah prayed for rain that God had already decided to send. One writer shows this is God's usual way:
Knowing that God means to give does not make prayer unnecessary. In Ezekiel 36-37 the Lord declared His purposes of grace for Israel in full. Then He said, "This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them."
That kind of praying is not reserved for prophets:
Here we are given the prophet's prayer for others. James draws our attention to it: "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain… Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain" (James 5:17-18). A cloud "like a man's hand" at first soon fills the whole sky: the prayer is answered.
The same rain that refreshed the people also soaked the king who had led them into idolatry. One writer asks how grace could reach a man like that:
In 1 Kings 18:44-46, in connection with "the hand," we have the triumph of grace that follows the acceptance of Elijah's burnt offering… "they shall be showers of blessing" (Ezekiel 34:26) — even towards someone like that. Are you surprised at this?… But there is one who can stand between God and man, and lay His hand on both. "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all" (1 Timothy 2:5-6).
Ahab rides off to Jezreel. Elijah goes down the mountain under another power:
"And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel." But "the hand of the LORD was on Elijah." The hand of the Lord was with the man who had been with God on the top of the hill. And when the hand of the Lord is on a man, he will do everything rightly and at the right time. Guided by the Lord, Elijah had stood before the king to rebuke him for his idolatry. Now, still guided by the Lord, he runs before the king to honour and uphold the king's authority in the eyes of the people. Elijah is taught to hold to what is due to God while showing man proper respect. At the right time he will show his fear of God, and at the right time he will honour the king.
Commentators differ about that run. One writer weighs it against Elijah's earlier moves:
The express word of the Lord took Elijah to Cherith, to Zarephath, and twice into Ahab's presence. But the word of the Lord is not mentioned in connection with his run to Jezreel.
- Judgment first. The drought stayed until the people learned that God alone was the source of their blessing. Chastening ends when it has done its work.
- Prayer next. A promise of rain did not replace praying for rain — God meant to send it, and still waited for Elijah to ask.
- A small sign. A cloud the size of a hand was enough, because God was behind it; a little with God fills the whole sky.
- Rain for everyone. The downpour fell on Ahab as well as on the repentant nation — grace reaching even the man who had caused the ruin.
- Two roads down the mountain. The king rode home to his palace; the prophet went on under the hand of the Lord — the same rain, two very different men.