Transcript
A (0:00)
Foreign.
B (0:05)
Hey, this is Shelby and Paul, and today we're wrapping up the Book of First Kings. We have our final three chapters, chapters 19 through 22, that we're talking through today. Paul, take us through these chapters.
A (0:19)
Yeah, so we're at the end of First Kings, but we're not really done yet because, as I mentioned in the very first episode on this book, these books are cohesive whole, both first and Second Kings. So it doesn't really feel all that conclusive. But the story is going to continue tomorrow. But we do have a lot going on still in these chapters, and we get a few different episodes. We get the aftermath of Elijah's encounter with the priests of BAAL and Jezebel pursuing him. And one critical thing that happens in this episode is Elisha is appointed as Elijah's successor. So we'll see more of Elisha tomorrow. And in Second Kings, we also get a battle between Israel and a foreign nation of Aram. We have an episode where Jezebel does some more conniving to get ownership of this vineyard. And then three years later, that judgment that Elijah speaks upon Jezebel in that episode comes through the King of Judah, Jehoshaphat.
B (1:13)
Yeah, that is quite the list of things happening in these final three chapters. So let's start at the beginning, because it starts with this encounter between God and Elijah that is often quoted. It might be one of the more familiar kind of scenes, scenes that we walk through in these chapters. What's happening there?
A (1:30)
Yeah, so we just had this big moment for Elijah where he defeats the priests of baal and God consumes this altar with fire, and it's this crazy mountaintop moment. And then he flees. And Ahab's wife, Jezebel is upset, and so he's trying to run from her, but he had this big mountaintop experience. And now we see he's, you know, in a word, I guess, depressed. You know, he even tells God, just let me die. Just leave me out here to die. But God doesn't do that. He's not done with Elijah. And so he continues to provide for him. He provides food, and he tells him to go to this cave. And so he has this encounter with God where he hears an earthquake, and then there's fire and wind. But God is not in any of those big things. He comes in this still small voice that's a. You know, like you said, it's a passage that might be familiar for some people. And really, I want to point out the contrast here between God's presence in the confrontation with the priests and now God's presence in this still small voice. And the difference is Elijah's circumstance. Right. Elijah needed the powerful presence of God to defeat the priests of baal. But now in this place where he's really discouraged, he just needs God's quiet presence. And I think that's such an encouragement for us in our lives that our walk with Christ and as Christians in general is not mountaintop to mountaintop. Right. We might have mountaintop moments where we really feel God's presence and it's really powerful. But there's also more mundane moments where if we really listen for that still small voice for God's presence, we can see God. And even the mundane things like washing dishes or driving to work or changing diapers, although that one might be a little bit harder. But because of God's Holy Spirit, he's always with us. Just like that still small voice that Elijah found and heard.