Liberty University: School of Divinity
Bible: 105 – Old Testament Survey
Professor Jordan Ballard
October 25, 2023
I. Observation
A. I have read 1 Kings 18 in both a formal translation (KJV, NKJV, NASB, ESV, or CSB)
and a functional translation (NIV, NLT, or NCV). Highlight the correct answer. You can
find various Bible translations by searching for them online (EBS ch. 16).
o Yes
o No
B. Identify the basic elements of the story you are studying (EBS ch. 15).
1. Main characters: (List them)
Elijah, Obadiah, and King Ahab
2. Plot: (50–100 words)
Obadiah had run into Elijah who told him that he had returned. It had not rained in Israel for
almost 3 years. King Ahab believed that Elijah had caused this problem for Israel. Elijah explains
to explain it to Ahab that it is because they have begun to worship false gods. Elijah then
challenges the false prophets to a test to see who the one true God is.
3. Story structure: (50–100 words)
Introduction: Ahab blames Elijah for their problems of famine. Elijah claims it is because of their
false gods.
Inciting incident: Elijah challenges them to see which God is the one true God who would
answer the call.
Rising action: Baal’s followers went first chanting from morning to noon and cut themselves.
But they heard no answer.
Climax: God’s fire then licked up all of the burnt sacrifice and the people confessed he was
Lord.
Resolution: Elijah told Ahab to eat and drink because the famine was about to end and it began
to thunder and rain.
C. List basic observations about this passage using the Key Questions from EBS ch. 17.
1. Who:
Elijah
King Ahab
False prophets of Baal
The Lord
2. What:
Naboth had inherited land from Ahab because God forbade him from doing so. The vineyard was
his inheritance, and he was not allowed any selling or trading. He said to Ahab, “TheALordAforbid
that I should give you the inheritanceAof my ancestors.”
Historically, the inheritance Naboth is alluding to is the method through which God distributed
land to the Israelites in the book of Joshua, which is how they came to possess the country. It was
to always be in the possession of the family and tribe.
The vineyard owned by Naboth was also agricultural land. Old Testament law stipulated that
only a limited lease arrangement could allow the transfer of farms. Up to the year of Jubilee, land
may be rented. God forbade Naboth from trading or selling it as a result, according to Old
Testament law.
Because Naboth will not give Ahab the land, he is angered and plots with Jezebel to kill him or
claim it for himself. The plan succeeds and he is killed, but Ahab is not able to possess it
because Elijah sends him God’s message of judgment on the two murderers.
3. Where:
Samaria
4. When:
Third year of famine
During the reign of King Ahab
During the ministry of Elijah, the prophet
5. Why:
Why had there been a famine in the land for the last three years?
The people had turned to worshipping false idols.
Why did Elijah challenge the Israelites?
Elijah challenged the Israelites to prove to them who was the one true God.
Why did God then send down thunder and rain?
God sent down thunder and rain to end the famine because the Israelites were convinced and
confessed that He was God.
6. How:
How did Obadiah feel regarding Elijah?
Obadiah was ill toward Elijah because the King had been searching for him for three years.
How did God make himself known to the Israelites?
God sent his fire down upon Elijah’s sacrifice.
II. Interpretation
A. Determine the author’s main point. In 1–2 paragraphs (100–400 words) explain what you
think the author is trying to communicate in this passage. Remember, the Old Testament
narratives frequently communicate truth by showing it to us in story form instead of
telling it to us by way of teaching or sermon. See EBS ch. 28.
1 Kings 18 explains the fact that the Israelites have left the faith and have begun to worship false
idols. What the author is translating in this story firstly is the fact they are experiencing a famine
because of their separation from faith. Then when Elijah enters the scene, we can see how he
challenges the people of Israel to see who the one true God is. The author shows us the non-
existence of these false gods that the people are cutting themselves over and worshipping. Then
he illustrates how the one true God sends fire down from heaven and completely eats up the
sacrifice. Elijah prays that God will prove himself to the people and He does, and they bow down
and confess he is Lord.
B. Based on your answer above, write out one principle from this passage. You should be able
to express this principle in 1-3 sentences. See EBS ch. 33.
The false gods or idols will disappoint and never provide for you, instead, our eyes will be
opened to the one true God.
III. Correlation
A. How does this Old Testament narrative fit within the metanarrative of the Bible? State
what type of story you believe this to be (creation, fall, redemption, or new creation) and
explain why you believe this to be so. Your explanation should be 1 paragraph (100–200
words) in length. See EBS chs. 1–2.
This type of story illustrates the picture of redemption in my opinion. At the beginning of
the story, we see very clearly the fall of man. The Israelites have fallen very far from God even to
the point of worshipping a false god. But God being good in grace allows the people to see
clearly who He is and calls them to Himself. Here we see the metanarrative of redemption
through the way that God provides them a second chance at seeing His character. I believe God
does this to show us a picture not only of what He can do but the grace that He can offer His
people.
B. How does your principle fit with the rest of the Scripture? This principle is the one you
have written out in 1-3 sentences in the Interpretation section. If your principle is a true
Biblical principles will be reflected throughout the Scriptures. Where is the principle
discovered in this Old Testament narrative found elsewhere in the Scriptures? Your
explanation should be 1 paragraph (100-200 words) in length. See EBS ch. 29.
I believe the principle that “the false gods or idols will disappoint and never provide for
you, instead our eyes will be opened to the one true God” is shown throughout Scripture. We see
this in many different aspects including our worship of idols. Many are “false gods” to us that we
hope will provide things such as happiness, safety, or contentment that never can. God says in
Exodus 20:3-6 “You shall have no other gods before Me.” This is God’s first commandment in
the 10 commandments because it is the most important one. God goes on to describe that He “is
a jealous God” even “punishing the children for the sin of the parents”.
C. How does this Old Testament narrative reflect the person and work of Jesus Christ?
State and explain at least one way that the principle of this narrative can be identified in the
person and work of Jesus Christ. Your explanation should be 1 paragraph (100–200
words) in length. See EBS ch. 30.
This Old Testament narrative reflects the person and work of Jesus Christ because it
reveals God’s glory. It does this by giving the people a second chance at redemption. They have
chosen to fall away from their faith. Instead of leaving them dead in their sins, God reveals
Himself to them illustrating who He is and the mercy He has which He will show them later with
the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. The sacrifice on the cross is the ultimate reveal of the
glory of God and this miracle of mercy is only a sliver of the mercy He will show.
IV. Application
What points of application can be made using the Four Questions for Application (EBS ch.
31)? State and explain 1 point of application for each of these four questions. Your explanation
for each of these points should be 1 paragraph (100–200 words) in length.
A. The question of duty
In this passage, Elijah had the duty of opening the eyes of the Israelites to their sins. This
was not an easy job to take on because he did not know how they were going to respond. But He
knew that God had called him to come back after three years of famine to reveal it to them. He
has an obligation of duty to remind God’s people of who He was and to make it very clear to the
Israelites that they were the reason they were in a famine – because they were in a spiritual
drought.
B. The question of character
Through the character of the Israelite people, we see the character that God does not want
us to have, a character of weak faith, falling away from God in the face of hardships. Instead, He
wants us to have the character of Elijah who is strong in his faith. He also goes out of his comfort
zone to share the awe of who God is and what He can do. Lastly, we should have the character of
God. God shows us that we ought to have mercy on others. He shows us how He had mercy on
the ones who had turned away from Him.
C. The question of goals
The goal of the King was to end the famine in his land because it had been three years
that his people had faced it. The goals of the Israelites were that they wanted to prove to Elijah
that their gods were real and that their gods would provide for them they just needed to worship
and to cut themselves. Lastly, we saw the goals of Elijah, his goal was to shed light on the power
and might of the one true God and to prove to the people that their gods could never save them.
This was done through the burnt sacrifices by God.
D. The question of discernment
There is a question of discernment first regarding how King Ahab and Obadiah view the
return of Elijah and if they believe it is from God or not. They will either realize it is all in God’s
perfect timing or be selfishly angry. We see that they are angered at Elijah for not coming sooner.
Then there is a question of discernment regarding Elijah and how he feels he should reveal to the
people the glory of God. He does this in the way that God commands him to and whether he
likes it or not he has mercy on the people because it was God’s command and tells the people to
be relieved because the famine will end.
V. Teaching
Create an opportunity to teach this passage in a Bible-study setting of your choosing.
Examples could include a church setting, a family Bible study, or discussing the passage with a
friend or roommate. Use the interpretive method learned above to study the passage (Observe),
derive a principle (Interpretation), compare with other Scriptures (Correlation), and apply to
everyday living (Application). Write a report below of at least 250 words. Comment on what
went well, what was challenging, and what you learned overall through this experience.
For this teaching opportunity, I am choosing to do a setting with my roommate to discuss the
passage.
For my teaching opportunity, I chose to do a family devotion with my parents and six siblings,
who are all different ages ranging from six years old to 20 years old. We did our daily game night
together and then started our Bible study before we all went to bed. My dad brought the Bible
over and I opened it up to share what I had learned in my daily reading. Since it was my study, I
read through the story before we began. I read very slowly to help my younger siblings
understand better. It was interesting to see what they thought of the Bible reading from their
perspective. I asked my family questions as I went along to make it easier asking them the
questions involving the how, why, and where. This allowed my younger and older siblings to
really understand what they are observing and how to interpret it. We all came to the same
conclusion that it was important to recognize that we cannot create idols out of other “gods” or
idols because it will never take care of us how the one true God takes care of us. We talked about
how in Exodus 20:3 God says, “You shall have no other gods before me.” We understand here
that God is a jealous God and He does not want us to worship false idols such as they were
worshipping Baal. Another takeaway from the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal is how
Elijah felt that everyone was against him, and they had separated themselves from God. In
Psalms 56:1-4 it describes how “when you feel like everyone is against you, remember, God is
for you!” Elijah was shown by God that when he stood strong in his faith, he could know that
God was for him and that he needed only to rest in Him. The rest God would handle. This was a
great Bible lesson to teach because it showed Elijah’s testimony and was a testament to how
strong and faithful our God is.
Reference:
Bible Gateway passage: 1 Kings 18 - New International Version. Bible Gateway. (n.d.).
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1Kings+18%A1&version=NIVA
Bible Gateway passage: Exodus20:3-6 - New International Version. Bible Gateway. (n.d.).
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search= Exodus20+3-6%A1&version=NIVA
Bible Gateway passage: Psalms 56:1-4 - New International Version. Bible Gateway. (n.d.).
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search= Psalms56+1-4%A1&version=NIVA
