And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man's hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’”
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.
Why the rain could come now
One writer connects Israel's repentance with the returning rain:
The Bible TreasuryBut 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.
Praying for what God has already promised
God had told Elijah plainly that He would send rain. Elijah still prayed — and that exposes a common excuse:
A J PollockMany 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 nothing
Six times the servant comes back with nothing. Elijah's answer speaks straight into ordinary prayer:
Hamilton SmithIf 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:
Scripture QuarterlyIf 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.
A cloud the size of a hand
The seventh report is still, to the eye, nothing worth mentioning. Faith measures it differently:
Hamilton SmithHe 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.
The seventh time, and a man's hand
Both the number and the shape carry meaning. One writer points to a Man whose hand holds what God gives:
W. W. FeredaySeven 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:
Leslie M. GrantBut 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!
Acting on the cloud
Elijah does not wait for the sky to darken before sending word to the king:
A J PollockMany 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."
Summary
- 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.