THE SOUND OF ABUNDANCE OF RAIN!

THE SOUND OF ABUNDANCE OF RAIN!

1 Kings 18:36-44

36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord  God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.

37 Hear me, O Lord , hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord  God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.

38 Then the fire of the Lord  fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord , he is the God; the Lord , he is the God.

40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.

41 And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.

42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,

43 And 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.

44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.

          Elijah was not in a battle – he was in a campaign against the wickedness of Baal’s prophets and King. Many things are taking place all at the same time. First, it had not rained for over three years! Drought was the natural result along with anger at the prophet who caused it. Ahab had searched high and low for Elijah and now he shows himself in a contest. The God who could and would respond with fire to consume a sacrifice would be God indeed. Baal failed to appear!

          Elijah makes things difficult for Jehovah to act by drenching his sacrifice with hard to find water. He does this more than once! Now the sacrifice and the wood is wet and hard to kindle. Any real God would not have a problem with this and Jehovah proves Himself worthy by consuming not only the sacrifice, the wood, and the water, but also the dust around the altar. The conclusion of the onlookers might have been involuntary but it was earnest: “Jehovah, He is God alone!” It was a bad day for the losers who were rounded up and killed.

          Now Elijah makes a prediction purely by faith. The sound of abundance of rain was not heard except in his heart and his imagination because he goes away and buries his face between his knees.  Soon he would either be vindicated or shamed. He sends his to go and look at the cloudless sky.

          Just a little cloud was seen the size of a man’s hand. Certainly this was a bleak forecast but it was enough for Elijah. I am amazed at how little encouragement Elijah seemed to need and how much I demand before moving forward. His apparent faith puts me to shame. The little cloud became a blackened sky full of rain.

          Great faith always stands against great doubt! It requires selfless courage that is willing to risk failure. It requires a firm trust in the existence and willingness of an unseen God to act. It is mentally and, sometimes, physically exhausting. Elijah would soon feel spent and used up. But the rains came!

Dear Lord, we are in a drought of righteousness. Wickedness prevails and the oppressive heat of evil bakes us on every side. The encouraging signs of relief seem as small as a man’s hand and our faith is challenged. Let us announce, by faith, your kindness and mercy. Let us hear the sounds of abundance of rain. AMEN