1 K 18:41-46
Chapter 18
So Ahab went up to eat and drink. In the meantime, Elijah went to the top of Carmel, bowed to the ground, and put his face between his knees.
Then he said to his servant: “Go up and look in the direction of the sea.” The man looked up and said: “There is nothing.” Then Elijah said: “Go again.” And seven times he went.
At the seventh time, he perceived a little cloud, the size of a man’s hand, rising out of the sea. Elijah told him: “Go, tell Ahab: Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.”
A little later, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and an intense rain fell. Ahab was riding on his way to Jezreel.
As for Elijah, the hand of the Lord was on him, and tucking his cloak in his belt, he ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
Commentaries
God’s Judgment on Mount Carmel.
Baal was considered the god of rain and, therefore, the protector of fertility and successful harvests. Elijah challenges Baalism directly, attributing to the Lord the same titles and actions that the idol-worshipers ascribe to Baal. This was part of a major effort to defend the Yahwist faith from collapse. The showdown between Elijah and Baal reaches its dramatic climax on Mount Carmel’s summit, where the futility of Baal and the power of the Lord are made clear. Elijah boldly faces the truth and urges the people to choose sides. You can’t serve both Baal and the Lord simultaneously, nor can you have a divided heart. He orders the prophets of Baal to be seized and executed at the brook Kishon. From the eastern peak of Mount Carmel, where the story suggests the event occurred, the Mediterranean Sea is visible on the distant horizon, the only source of clouds and rain in the Syrian-Palestinian area. After seven tries, Elijah’s servant finally spots a small cloud, signaling that the drought has ended.