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Listen to today's reading by Tom Dooley © MasterMedia Ministries/Tyndale.
This content from World English Bible (public domain)
After many days, Yahweh’s word came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab; and I will send rain on the earth.”
Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria. Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared Yahweh greatly; for when Jezebel cut off Yahweh’s prophets, Obadiah took one hundred prophets, and hid them fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land, to all the springs of water, and to all the brooks. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, that we not lose all the animals.”
So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. As Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. He recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”
He answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your lord, ‘Behold, Elijah is here !’”
He said, “How have I sinned, that you would deliver your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? As Yahweh your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. When they said, ‘He is not here ,’ he took an oath of the kingdom and nation that they didn’t find you. Now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here .”’ It will happen, as soon as I leave you, that Yahweh’s Spirit will carry you I don’t know where; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he can’t find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared Yahweh from my youth. Wasn’t it told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed Yahweh’s prophets, how I hid one hundred men of Yahweh’s prophets with fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water? Now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here ”.’ He will kill me.”
Elijah said, “As Yahweh of Armies lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.” So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
He answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house, in that you have forsaken Yahweh’s commandments and you have followed the Baals. Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel to Mount Carmel, and four hundred fifty of the prophets of Baal, and four hundred of the prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together to Mount Carmel. Elijah came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you waver between the two sides? If Yahweh is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.”
The people didn’t say a word.
Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left as a prophet of Yahweh; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under; and I will dress the other bull, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under it. You call on the name of your god, and I will call on Yahweh’s name. The God who answers by fire, let him be God.”
All the people answered, “What you say is good.”
Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves, and dress it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.”
They took the bull which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, “Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice, and nobody answered. They leaped about the altar which was made.
At noon, Elijah mocked them, and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is deep in thought, or he has gone somewhere, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he sleeps and must be awakened.”
They cried aloud, and cut themselves in their way with knives and lances until the blood gushed out on them. When midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the evening offering; but there was no voice, no answer, and nobody paid attention.
Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me !”; and all the people came near to him. He repaired Yahweh’s altar that had been thrown down. Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom Yahweh’s word came, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” With the stones he built an altar in Yahweh’s name. He made a trench around the altar large enough to contain two seahs [1 seah is about 7 liters or 1.9 gallons or 0.8 pecks ]of seed. He put the wood in order, and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” He said, “Do it a second time;” and they did it the second time. He said, “Do it a third time;” and they did it the third time. The water ran around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.
At the time of the evening offering, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Hear me, Yahweh, hear me, that this people may know that you, Yahweh, are God, and that you have turned their heart back again.”
Then Yahweh’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust; and it licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces. They said, “Yahweh, he is God! Yahweh, he is God!”
Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Don’t let one of them escape!”
They seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and killed them there.
Elijah said to Ahab, “Get up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.”
So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bowed himself down on the earth, and put his face between his knees. He said to his servant, “Go up now and look toward the sea.”
He went up and looked, then said, “There is nothing.”
He said, “Go again” seven times.
On the seventh time, he said, “Behold, a small cloud, like a man’s hand, is rising out of the sea.”
He said, “Go up, tell Ahab, ‘Get ready and go down, so that the rain doesn’t stop you.’”
In a little while, the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. Yahweh’s hand was on Elijah; and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. (WEB)
This content from Berean Standard Bible (public domain)
The apostles and brothers throughout Judea soon heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers [Literally those of the circumcision ]took issue with him and said, “You visited uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
But Peter began and explained to them the whole sequence of events: “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision of something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came right down to me. I looked at it closely and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air. Then I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat.’
‘No, Lord,’ I said, ‘for nothing impure [Literally common; similarly in verse 9 ]or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
But the voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’
This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into heaven.
Just then three men sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. The Spirit told me to accompany them without hesitation. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s home. He told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He will convey to you a message by which you and all your household will be saved.’
As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He had fallen upon us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, as He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ [Or ‘John baptized in water, but in a few days you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit.’ Acts 1:5 ] So if God gave them the same gift He gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to hinder the work of God?”
When they heard this, their objections were put to rest, and they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”
Meanwhile those scattered by the persecution that began with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the message only to Jews. But some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks [Or the Hellenists ]as well, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
When news of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to abide in the Lord with all their hearts. Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.
In those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a great famine would sweep across the whole world. [Or the entire Roman world ](This happened under Claudius.) So the disciples, each according to his ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gifts to the elders with Barnabas and Saul. (BSB)
This content from World English Bible (public domain)
Praise Yah!
Praise Yahweh’s name!
Praise him, you servants of Yahweh,
you who stand in Yahweh’s house,
in the courts of our God’s house.
Praise Yah, for Yahweh is good.
Sing praises to his name, for that is pleasant.
For Yah has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel for his own possession.
For I know that Yahweh is great,
that our Lord is above all gods.
Whatever Yahweh pleased, that he has done,
in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.
He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightnings with the rain.
He brings the wind out of his treasuries.
He struck the firstborn of Egypt,
both of man and animal.
He sent signs and wonders into the middle of you, Egypt,
on Pharaoh, and on all his servants.
He struck many nations,
and killed mighty kings —
Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan —
and gave their land for a heritage,
a heritage to Israel, his people.
Your name, Yahweh, endures forever;
your renown, Yahweh, throughout all generations.
For Yahweh will judge his people
and have compassion on his servants.
The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of men’s hands.
They have mouths, but they can’t speak.
They have eyes, but they can’t see.
They have ears, but they can’t hear,
neither is there any breath in their mouths.
Those who make them will be like them,
yes, everyone who trusts in them.
House of Israel, praise Yahweh!
House of Aaron, praise Yahweh!
House of Levi, praise Yahweh!
You who fear Yahweh, praise Yahweh!
Blessed be Yahweh from Zion,
who dwells in Jerusalem.
Praise Yah! (WEB)
This content pulled from bible.org.
It is better for a person to meet a mother bear being robbed of her cubsthan to encounter a fool in his folly. As for the one who repays evil for good,evil will not leave his house.
(NET)