A Test of Gods

This sore famine was to be a test of true and false gods.AGP 93.2

“There is an opportunity for apostate Ahab and pagan Jezebel to test the power of their gods, and to prove the word of Elijah false. Jezebel’s prophets are numbered by hundreds. Against them all stands Elijah, alone. His word has locked heaven. If Baal can give dew and rain, and cause vegetation to flourish, if he can cause the brooks and streams to flow on as usual, independent of the treasures of heaven in the showers of rain, then let the king of Israel worship him, and the people say that he is God.” Testimonies for the Church 3:274.AGP 93.3

In their great perplexity the priests and prophets of Baal “offer sacrifices to their gods, and call upon them night and day to refresh the earth by dew and rain. But the incantations and deceptions formerly practiced by them to deceive the people do not answer the purpose now. The priests have done everything to appease the anger of their gods; with a perseverance and zeal worthy of a better cause have they lingered around their pagan altars, while the flames of sacrifice burn on all the high places, and the fearful cries and entreaties of the priests of Baal are heard night after night through doomed Samaria. But the clouds do not appear in the heavens to cut off the burning rays of the sun. The word of Elijah stands firm, and nothing that Baal’s priests can do will change it.” Testimonies for the Church 3:275.AGP 93.4

Jezebel seemed to grow more desperate and determined in her fanatical zeal for Baal, and in her hatred of Israel’s God. In her frenzy she attempted to kill all the prophets of the Lord. But Obadiah saved one hundred of the Lord’s prophets by hiding them in a cave, and secretly feeding them with bread and water. (See 1 Kings 18:4, 13.)AGP 93.5

The situation was desperate. The scorching rays of the sun continued to pour down upon men, beasts, and land until it appeared that the destruction would be complete. Then “it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.” “And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.” 1 Kings 18:1, 17, 18.AGP 94.1