The Berean Pursuit
Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As surely as the LORD lives-the God of Israel before whom I stand-there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!"
Then a revelation from the LORD came to Elijah: "Leave here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan. And you are to drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there."
So Elijah did what the LORD had told him, and he went and lived by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan. The ravens would bring him bread and meat in the morning and evening, and he would drink from the brook. Some time later, however, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: "Get up and go to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."
So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering sticks. Elijah called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, so that I may drink." And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a piece of bread."
But she replied, "As surely as the LORD your God lives, I have no bread-only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. Look, I am gathering a couple of sticks to take home and prepare a meal for myself and my son, so that we may eat it and die."
"Do not be afraid," Elijah said to her. "Go and do as you have said. But first make me a small cake of bread from what you have, and bring it out to me. Afterward, make some for yourself and your son, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be exhausted and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain upon the face of the earth.'"
So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and there was food every day for Elijah and the woman and her household. The jar of flour was not exhausted and the jug of oil did not run dry, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through Elijah.
Later, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill, and his sickness grew worse and worse, until no breath remained in him. "O man of God," said the woman to Elijah, "what have you done to me? Have you come to remind me of my iniquity and cause the death of my son?"
But Elijah said to her, "Give me your son."
So he took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. Then he cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on this widow who has opened her home to me, by causing her son to die?" Then he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, please let this boy's life return to him!"
And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah, and the child's life returned to him, and he lived. Then Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. "Look, your son is alive," Elijah declared.
Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is truth."
After a long time, in the third year of the drought, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: "Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the face of the earth."
So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria, and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace.
(Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD, for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)
Then Ahab said to Obadiah, "Go throughout the land to every spring and every valley. Perhaps we will find grass to keep the horses and mules alive so that we will not have to destroy any livestock."
So they divided the land to explore. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself.
Now as Obadiah went on his way, Elijah suddenly met him. When Obadiah recognized him, he fell facedown and said, "Is it you, my lord Elijah?"
"It is I," he answered. "Go tell your master, 'Elijah is here!'"
But Obadiah replied, "How have I sinned, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death? As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, 'He is not here,' he made that kingdom or nation swear that they had not found you. And now you say, 'Go tell your master that Elijah is here!'
I do not know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off when I leave you. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth. Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them with food and water. And now you say, 'Go tell your lord that Elijah is here!' He will kill me!"
Then Elijah said, "As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will present myself to Ahab today."
So Obadiah went to inform Ahab, who went to meet Elijah. When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is that you, O troubler of Israel?"
"I have not troubled Israel," Elijah replied, "but you and your father's house have, for you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals. Now summon all Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel's table."
So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. Then Elijah approached all the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him."
But the people did not answer a word.
Then Elijah said to the people, "I am the only remaining prophet of the LORD, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let the prophets of Baal choose one bull for themselves, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood but not light the fire. And I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood but not light the fire. Then you may call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The God who answers by fire, He is God."
And all the people answered, "What you say is good."
Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Since you are so numerous, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first. Then call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire."
And they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, shouting, "O Baal, answer us!"
But there was no sound, and no one answered as they leaped around the altar they had made.
At noon Elijah began to taunt them, saying, "Shout louder, for he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or occupied, or on a journey. Perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened!"
So they shouted louder and cut themselves with knives and lances, as was their custom, until the blood gushed over them.
Midday passed, and they kept on raving until the time of the evening sacrifice. But there was no response; no one answered, no one paid attention.
Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So all the people approached him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down.
And Elijah took twelve stones, one for each tribe of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come and said, "Israel shall be your name." And with the stones, Elijah built an altar in the name of the LORD. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed.
Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, placed it on the wood, and said, "Fill four waterpots and pour the water on the offering and on the wood."
"Do it a second time," he said, and they did it a second time.
"Do it a third time," he said, and they did it a third time.
So the water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command. Answer me, O LORD! Answer me, so that this people will know that You, the LORD, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back again."
Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water in the trench.
When all the people saw this, they fell facedown and said, "The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!"
Then Elijah ordered them, "Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape." So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.
And Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain."
So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the summit of Carmel, bent down on the ground, and put his face between his knees. "Go and look toward the sea," he said to his servant.
So the servant went and looked, and he said, "There is nothing there."
Seven times Elijah said, "Go back."
On the seventh time the servant reported, "There is a cloud as small as a man's hand rising from the sea."
And Elijah replied, "Go and tell Ahab, 'Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.'"
Meanwhile, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and a heavy rain began to fall. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.
And the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the Law of the LORD.
Blessed are those who keep His testimonies
and seek Him with all their heart.
They do no iniquity;
they walk in His ways.
You have ordained Your precepts,
that we should keep them diligently.
Oh, that my ways were committed
to keeping Your statutes!
Then I would not be ashamed
when I consider all Your commandments.
I will praise You with an upright heart
when I learn Your righteous judgments.
I will keep Your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to Your word.
With all my heart I have sought You;
do not let me stray from Your commandments.
I have hidden Your word in my heart
that I might not sin against You.
Blessed are You, O LORD;
teach me Your statutes.
With my lips I proclaim
all the judgments of Your mouth.
I rejoice in the way of Your testimonies
as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on Your precepts
and regard Your ways.
I will delight in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word.
Deal bountifully with Your servant,
that I may live and keep Your word.
Open my eyes that I may see
wondrous things from Your law.
I am a stranger on the earth;
do not hide Your commandments from me.
My soul is consumed with longing
for Your judgments at all times.
You rebuke the arrogant-
the cursed who stray from Your commandments.
Remove my scorn and contempt,
for I have kept Your testimonies.
Though rulers sit and slander me,
Your servant meditates on Your statutes.
Your testimonies are indeed my delight;
they are my counselors.
My soul cleaves to the dust;
revive me according to Your word.
I recounted my ways, and You answered me;
teach me Your statutes.
Make clear to me the way of Your precepts;
then I will meditate on Your wonders.
My soul melts with sorrow;
strengthen me according to Your word.
Remove me from the path of deceit
and graciously grant me Your law.
I have chosen the way of truth;
I have set Your ordinances before me.
I cling to Your testimonies, O LORD;
let me not be put to shame.
I run in the path of Your commandments,
for You will enlarge my heart.
Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes,
and I will keep them to the end.
Give me understanding that I may obey Your law,
and follow it with all my heart.
Direct me in the path of Your commandments,
for there I find delight.
Turn my heart to Your testimonies
and not to covetous gain.
Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
revive me with Your word.
Establish Your word to Your servant,
to produce reverence for You.
Turn away the disgrace I dread,
for Your judgments are good.
How I long for Your precepts!
Revive me in Your righteousness.
May Your loving devotion come to me, O LORD,
Your salvation, according to Your promise.
Then I can answer him who taunts,
for I trust in Your word.
Never take Your word of truth from my mouth,
for I hope in Your judgments.
I will always obey Your law,
forever and ever.
And I will walk in freedom,
for I have sought Your precepts.
I will speak of Your testimonies before kings,
and I will not be ashamed.
I delight in Your commandments
because I love them.
I lift up my hands to Your commandments, which I love,
and I meditate on Your statutes.
Remember Your word to Your servant,
upon which You have given me hope.
This is my comfort in affliction,
that Your promise has given me life.
The arrogant utterly deride me,
but I do not turn from Your law.
I remember Your judgments of old, O LORD,
and in them I find comfort.
Rage has taken hold of me
because of the wicked who reject Your law.
Your statutes are songs to me
in the house of my pilgrimage.
In the night, O LORD, I remember Your name,
that I may keep Your law.
This is my practice,
for I obey Your precepts.
The LORD is my portion;
I have promised to keep Your words.
I have sought Your face with all my heart;
be gracious to me according to Your promise.
I considered my ways
and turned my steps to Your testimonies.
I hurried without hesitating
to keep Your commandments.
Though the ropes of the wicked bind me,
I do not forget Your law.
At midnight I rise to give You thanks
for Your righteous judgments.
I am a friend to all who fear You,
and to those who keep Your precepts.
The earth is filled with Your loving devotion, O LORD;
teach me Your statutes.
You are good to Your servant, O LORD,
according to Your word.
Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
for I believe in Your commandments.
Before I was afflicted, I went astray;
but now I keep Your word.
You are good, and You do what is good;
teach me Your statutes.
Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies,
I keep Your precepts with all my heart.
Their hearts are hard and callous,
but I delight in Your law.
It was good for me to be afflicted,
that I might learn Your statutes.
The law from Your mouth is more precious to me
than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.
Your hands have made me and fashioned me;
give me understanding to learn Your commandments.
May those who fear You see me and rejoice,
for I have hoped in Your word.
I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous,
and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
May Your loving devotion comfort me, I pray,
according to Your promise to Your servant.
May Your compassion come to me, that I may live,
for Your law is my delight.
May the arrogant be put to shame for subverting me with a lie;
I will meditate on Your precepts.
May those who fear You turn to me,
those who know Your testimonies.
May my heart be blameless in Your statutes,
that I may not be put to shame.
My soul faints for Your salvation;
I wait for Your word.
My eyes fail, looking for Your promise;
I ask, "When will You comfort me?"
Though I am like a wineskin dried up by smoke,
I do not forget Your statutes.
How many days must Your servant wait?
When will You execute judgment on my persecutors?
The arrogant have dug pits for me
in violation of Your law.
All Your commandments are faithful;
I am persecuted without cause-help me!
They almost wiped me from the earth,
but I have not forsaken Your precepts.
Revive me according to Your loving devotion,
that I may obey the testimony of Your mouth.
Your word, O LORD, is everlasting;
it is firmly fixed in the heavens.
Your faithfulness continues through all generations;
You established the earth, and it endures.
Your ordinances stand to this day,
for all things are servants to You.
If Your law had not been my delight,
then I would have perished in my affliction.
I will never forget Your precepts,
for by them You have revived me.
I am Yours; save me,
for I have sought Your precepts.
The wicked wait to destroy me,
but I will ponder Your testimonies.
I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but Your commandment is without limit.
Oh, how I love Your law!
All day long it is my meditation.
Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,
for they are always with me.
I have more insight than all my teachers,
for Your testimonies are my meditation.
I discern more than the elders,
for I obey Your precepts.
I have kept my feet from every evil path,
that I may keep Your word.
I have not departed from Your ordinances,
for You Yourself have taught me.
How sweet are Your words to my taste-
sweeter than honey in my mouth!
I gain understanding from Your precepts;
therefore I hate every false way.
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
I have sworn and confirmed
that I will keep Your righteous judgments.
I am severely afflicted, O LORD;
revive me through Your word.
Accept the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD,
and teach me Your judgments.
I constantly take my life in my hands,
yet I do not forget Your law.
The wicked have set a snare for me,
but I have not strayed from Your precepts.
Your testimonies are my heritage forever,
for they are the joy of my heart.
I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes,
even to the very end.
The double-minded I despise,
but Your law I love.
You are my hiding place and my shield;
I put my hope in Your word.
Depart from me, you evildoers,
that I may obey the commandments of my God.
Sustain me as You promised, that I may live;
let me not be ashamed of my hope.
Uphold me, and I will be saved,
that I may always regard Your statutes.
You reject all who stray from Your statutes,
for their deceitfulness is in vain.
All the wicked on earth You discard like dross;
therefore I love Your testimonies.
My flesh trembles in awe of You;
I stand in fear of Your judgments.
I have done what is just and right;
do not leave me to my oppressors.
Ensure Your servant's well-being;
do not let the arrogant oppress me.
My eyes fail, looking for Your salvation,
and for Your righteous promise.
Deal with Your servant according to Your loving devotion,
and teach me Your statutes.
I am Your servant; give me understanding,
that I may know Your testimonies.
It is time for the LORD to act,
for they have broken Your law.
Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold,
even the purest gold.
Therefore I admire all Your precepts
and hate every false way.
Wonderful are Your testimonies;
therefore I obey them.
The unfolding of Your words gives light;
it informs the simple.
I open my mouth and pant,
longing for Your commandments.
Turn to me and show me mercy,
as You do to those who love Your name.
Order my steps in Your word;
let no sin rule over me.
Redeem me from the oppression of man,
that I may keep Your precepts.
Make Your face shine upon Your servant,
and teach me Your statutes.
My eyes shed streams of tears
because Your law is not obeyed.
Righteous are You, O LORD,
and upright are Your judgments.
The testimonies You have laid down are righteous
and altogether faithful.
My zeal has consumed me
because my foes forget Your words.
Your promise is completely pure;
therefore Your servant loves it.
I am lowly and despised,
but I do not forget Your precepts.
Your righteousness is everlasting
and Your law is true.
Trouble and distress have found me,
but Your commandments are my delight.
Your testimonies are righteous forever.
Give me understanding, that I may live.
I call with all my heart; answer me, O LORD!
I will obey Your statutes.
I call to You; save me,
that I may keep Your testimonies.
I rise before dawn and cry for help;
in Your word I have put my hope.
My eyes anticipate the watches of night,
that I may meditate on Your word.
Hear my voice, O LORD, according to Your loving devotion;
give me life according to Your justice.
Those who follow after wickedness draw near;
they are far from Your law.
You are near, O LORD,
and all Your commandments are true.
Long ago I learned from Your testimonies
that You have established them forever.
Look upon my affliction and rescue me,
for I have not forgotten Your law.
Defend my cause and redeem me;
revive me according to Your word.
Salvation is far from the wicked
because they do not seek Your statutes.
Great are Your mercies, O LORD;
revive me according to Your ordinances.
Though my persecutors and foes are many,
I have not turned from Your testimonies.
I look on the faithless with loathing
because they do not keep Your word.
Consider how I love Your precepts, O LORD;
give me life according to Your loving devotion.
The entirety of Your word is truth,
and all Your righteous judgments endure forever.
Rulers persecute me without cause,
but my heart fears only Your word.
I rejoice in Your promise
like one who finds great spoil.
I hate and abhor falsehood,
but Your law I love.
Seven times a day I praise You
for Your righteous judgments.
Abundant peace belongs to those who love Your instruction;
nothing can make them stumble.
I wait for Your salvation, O LORD,
and I carry out Your commandments.
I obey Your testimonies
and love them greatly.
I obey Your precepts and Your testimonies,
for all my ways are before You.
May my cry come before You, O LORD;
give me understanding according to Your word.
May my plea come before You;
rescue me according to Your promise.
My lips pour forth praise,
for You teach me Your statutes.
My tongue sings of Your word,
for all Your commandments are righteous.
May Your hand be ready to help me,
for I have chosen Your precepts.
I long for Your salvation, O LORD,
and Your law is my delight.
Let me live to praise You;
may Your judgments sustain me.
I have strayed like a lost sheep;
seek Your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commandments.
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,
To those who are called, loved by God the Father, and kept in Jesus Christ:
Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
Beloved, although I made every effort to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt it necessary to write and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith entrusted once for all to the saints. For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed-ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Although you are fully aware of this, I want to remind you that after Jesus had delivered His people out of the land of Egypt, He destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not stay within their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling-these He has kept in eternal chains under darkness, bound for judgment on that great day. In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal fire.
Yet in the same way these dreamers defile their bodies, reject authority, and slander glorious beings. But even the archangel Michael, when he disputed with the devil over the body of Moses, did not presume to bring a slanderous charge against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" These men, however, slander what they do not understand, and like irrational animals, they will be destroyed by the things they do instinctively. Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah's rebellion.
These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them:
"Behold, the Lord is coming
with myriads of His holy ones
to execute judgment on everyone,
and to convict all the ungodly
of every ungodly act of wickedness
and every harsh word spoken against Him by ungodly sinners."
These men are discontented grumblers, following after their own lusts; their mouths spew arrogance; they flatter others for their own advantage.
But you, beloved, remember what was foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ when they said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow after their own ungodly desires." These are the ones who cause divisions, who are worldly and devoid of the Spirit.
But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.
And indeed, have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; and to still others show mercy tempered with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh.
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy- to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord before all time, and now, and for all eternity.
Amen.