I KINGS 18: LESSONS FROM STRUCTURE

Anyone who has been reading my blog for long will probably note how much I harp on the importance of looking at the literary structure of Scripture. This fixation of mine can easily be dismissed as a scholarly hobby of mine with no real spiritual significance. So just to illustrate that there actually is some reason to consider this valuable interpretive tool, I decided to consider the very familiar story of the battle on Mt. Carmel between the prophets of Baal and the prophet Elijah.

If most Christians were asked to retell that story, they would probably zero in on the battle itself and say that it demonstrated the mighty power of God vs. the impotence of man-made gods, as if that were the sum total of the worth of this story to us today. First, let me point out that those who respond in this manner are actually half correct in their assessment. Although I will try to show that there are many additional lessons to be learned from this passage, the whole context of the rhetorical structure, shown below by my analysis, is an ABA arrangement in which the attention is meant to be drawn to the center section, the contest itself.

I. WATER (18:1-16)

A. Ahab and Elijah (1-2)

    B. Obadiah: servant of Ahab (3a)

        C. Obadiah: servant of God (3b-4)

            D. Ahab and servant Obadiah look for water (5-6)

        C'. Obadiah: servant of God (7-8)

    B'. Obadiah: servant of Ahab (9-14)

A'. Ahab and Elijah (16)

                    II. FIRE (18:17-40)

                        A. Elijah challenges the people (17-22)

                            B. The people approve Elijah's test (23-24)

                                C. Baal's prophets act (25-28)

                                    D. No response from Baal (29)

                        B'. The people obey Elijah's request (30)

                            C'. Elijah acts (31-37)

                                    D'. God responds (38)

                    A'. The people respond to the test (39-40)

I'. WATER (18:41-46)

A. Ahab and Elijah (41)

    B. Ahab (42a)

        C. Elijah (42b)

            D. Elijah and his servant look for water (43-44a)

A'. Ahab and Elijah (44b-45a)

    B'. Ahab (45b)

        C'. Elijah (46)

But let's see what other lessons can be drawn from this arrangement, assuming that it was the one intended by the (divine) author.

Still focusing attention on the three-part arrangement above, one can first see that the whole of I Kings 18 is intended to be read together, and that the contest in verses 17-40 are just part of the overall story.

If that is true, then look at the elements of water (I and I') and fire from above (II) that characterize each section. These happen to both be present in rainstorms, which is a significant fact in light of the recognition that Baal was said to be the storm-god. Now the people of Israel should have already recognized the impotence of Baal over the weather since the country had been suffering from a prolonged drought, and their professed god had been unable to do anything about it. But it would take a dramatic demonstration that God could bring down lightning before the people turned to Him.

The overall structure of this passage also explains the strange fact that the chapter begins with God telling Elijah to inform Ahab that the drought was soon ending, and yet that announcement is delayed until the end of the chapter. God indeed predicts that rain will come, but he delays that blessing until the people have turned away from Baal and turned to Him. If He hadn't done that, the rain could have easily been attributed to Baal's actions instead.

If the whole of I Kings 18 is constructed as a unified passage, then we should also expect some sort of correlation thematically between the center section and the other two. Although their emphases are somewhat different, that doesn't mean that I-I' and II are two completely different stories. One such correlation is found in the respective actions of Obadiah in I and the people in II. One can see the continual vacillations back and forth in the characterization of Obadiah as a loyal follower of God in secret and his public persona as a valuable servant to King Ahab who fears him greatly. Now look at the way Elijah characterizes the people of Israel as “limping” first one way and then the other as to whether serve Baal or Yahweh. (The same unusual Hebrew verb is used to characterize the dance of the prophets of Baal in v. 26.) Just as the events in Section I serve as a test as to how far out of the closet Obadiah is willing to come, so the contest of Mt. Carmel will help the people decide whom to follow.

Then there is the comparison which can be drawn between Elijah and Obadiah. One couldn't image two people further apart in personality. Elijah is fearless and outspoken in his opposition to Ahab and everything he stands for, and he finds his life in jeopardy as a consequence of his actions. By contrast, Obadiah is on the surface at loyal and valuable servant of Ahab who out of fear is afraid to jeopardize his status with the king in even a small way, and has to be talked into it by Elijah's reassurances. And yet both of them are effective in accomplishing God's will, Elijah through the destruction of Baal's prophets and Obadiah through preserving the lives of God's prophets. This demonstrates that there is more than one way to serve God. Some of us are meant to be Elijahs and others to be Obadiahs. Just look at Oskar Schindler during WWII, who was a valuable resource for the Nazi war machine at the same time that he was secretly smuggling Jews out of Germany and saving others from being executed.

Comparing Sections I and I', we can see some other patterns emerge. For one thing, note the very few verses describing the amount of time Elijah actually spent in conversation with Ahab. At the beginning of Section I, the prophet arrives at the palace after Ahab has already left; and at the end of I', the prophet arrives there before the king does. It is obvious that the two of them would never be close friends. This brings up the question today as to how much time a believer should spend around non-believers. Some of us are by our jobs destined to spend much more time around the latter, as was Obadiah. And then others like Elijah preferred to give his message to those who needed it most and then go on his way to spend time with those who were more receptive.

Another interesting detail is seen in the similar center sections of I and I'. Both involve a search for valuable water, but Ahab and his servant come up dry, literally, while Elijah and his servant find it in buckets. The difference didn't lie particularly in where the two pairs looked but in the hearts of the masters in both cases.

There are two occasions of bowing in this chapter. One is found in Section I in which Obadiah bows down to Elijah reverently to indicate his subservience (v. 7) and the other occurs in I' where it is Elijah himself who bows down to God (v. 42). This series demonstrates a hierarchy in which each person indicates his allegiance to one above him.

The last correspondence between I and I' appears in the stark contrast between the prophets of God barely subsisting on bread and water in a cave (vv. 4,13) versus King Ahab dining royally in v. 41.

Turning next to the all-important center section of I Kings 18, I must admit that I was immediately struck with a detail I hadn't noted before. We tend to get so wrapped up in the individual Elijah waging divine war against hundreds of Baal worshipers, that we seldom pay attention to the important role of the crowd of people watching the contest. Note that in IIA, B, B', and A' the people are the prime focus of the activity, not Elijah and the prophets. It is the crowd's positive reaction to Elijah at each crucial point that drives the story. And it is only the people's turning to God that brings about the much delayed rain at the end of the chapter. As Provan says concerning v. 39, “The words of the people, not of the prophet, are the climatic utterance.”