And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria.
A severe famine gripped Samaria during the continued, prolonged drought in which dew and rain were withheld after Elijah's announcement. The drought and famine were God's judgment on Israel's widespread idolatry and departure from God, to last until Israel turned from its sins, repented, and reformed. The famine lasted three years and a half, during which Elijah watched and waited for Israel to repent while warning against national idolatry. The land and its vegetation withered and were parched, streams and brooks dried up, livestock wandered in distress, and hunger and thirst caused many people and animals to die.
The shortage of water and pasture affected even Ahab's household, leaving its flocks and herds starving, so that Ahab sent Obadiah to search for pasture and water for the cattle. With no safety for Elijah in Israel, God sent him to Zarephath in a heathen land for refuge. In obedience to God's command and commission, Elijah went toward Samaria to show himself to Ahab to deliver a message to the king after the prolonged drought and his time in hiding.
He was commissioned to return to Israel and confront Ahab and the idolatrous priests on Carmel; his later flight into the wilderness was not the errand God had given him. At Carmel his faith enabled him to overthrow idolatry, and the rain that followed his stand testified to the blessings awaiting Israel. Afterward, fear of Jezebel's threats led Elijah to flee, and his failing faith cut short the work he had begun, so God appointed another prophet to succeed him; Elijah was later taken to heaven rather than dying in the wilderness.
A severe famine gripped Samaria during the continued, prolonged drought in which dew and rain were withheld after Elijah's announcement. The drought and famine were God's judgment on Israel's widespread idolatry and departure from God, to last until Israel turned from its sins, repented, and reformed. The famine lasted three years and a half, during which Elijah watched and waited for Israel to repent while warning against national idolatry. The land and its vegetation withered and were parched, streams and brooks dried up, livestock wandered in distress, and hunger and thirst caused many people and animals to die.
The shortage of water and pasture affected even Ahab's household, leaving its flocks and herds starving, so that Ahab sent Obadiah to search for pasture and water for the cattle. With no safety for Elijah in Israel, God sent him to Zarephath in a heathen land for refuge. In obedience to God's command and commission, Elijah went toward Samaria to show himself to Ahab to deliver a message to the king after the prolonged drought and his time in hiding.
He was commissioned to return to Israel and confront Ahab and the idolatrous priests on Carmel; his later flight into the wilderness was not the errand God had given him. At Carmel his faith enabled him to overthrow idolatry, and the rain that followed his stand testified to the blessings awaiting Israel. Afterward, fear of Jezebel's threats led Elijah to flee, and his failing faith cut short the work he had begun, so God appointed another prophet to succeed him; Elijah was later taken to heaven rather than dying in the wilderness.