Day 171 – Ahab (Northern King 22 years)

• Continuing in the line of kings of Israel, today we’re introduced to Ahab. How does the Bible introduce us to him?
• Who does Ahab marry? You may have heard her name. We’ll hear more about her over the next few days. What was wrong about the marriage?
• In the final verse of 1 Kings 16, we read what looks like an seemingly inconsequential piece of information about the walls of Jericho being rebuilt (remember Jericho? It was the first city to be defeated by Joshua). Joshua 6:26 warns against anyone rebuilding the walls, and says that whoever does rebuild the city (or the walls of it) would lose his son. This indeed happens, as we’ll find out soon.
• In chapter 17, the major part of our readings today, the camera moves away from Ahab to Elijah, who we meet for the first time. Chances are that you might have heard about him, and may even know a few stories about him. Elijah is a major prophet in the bible, and we’ll be spending time over the next week learning about him, alongside reading about the kings he prophesied to. A prophet, if you need a reminder, is a messenger sent by God.
• What message did God give Ahab through Elijah’s words?
• How did God protect Elijah through the time of drought?
• What happened when Elijah met the woman at Zarephath?
• If you were the woman, would you have trusted Elijah, a man she had never met, with your last piece of food? What happens when she does? Are there ways that you could be extravagantly generous with what you have, like this lady, both to other people and to God?
• What do we learn about the power of prayer towards the end of 1 Kings 17? The text shows us a powerful example of God working through Elijah to save the widow’s son. Be sure to see that it was God who healed, not some magic ritual involving Elijah lying on top of the child!
• How do the words in James to add more context to the power of prayer?

If you have a few more minutes, think a little more about the way Elijah was sustained by God in the difficult years of drought. It came from some extraordinary sources, didn’t it? As Christians, we might not be fighting drought, but we are fighting sin, and on our own it’s a losing battle. Think about how God has rescued us from that situation – and in an extraordinary way too!