Hey, this is Shelby and Paul, and today we're wrapping up the book of First Kings. We have our final three chapters, chapters 19 through 22 that we're talking through today. Paul, take us through these chapters. Yeah. So we're at the end of First Kings, but we're not really done yet because, as I mentioned in the very first episode on this book, these books are a cohesive whole, both First and Second Kings. So it doesn't really feel all that conclusive, but the story is going to continue tomorrow. But we do have a lot going on still in these chapters, and we get a few different episodes. We get the aftermath of Elijah's encounter with the priest of all and Jezebel pursuing him. And one critical thing that happens in this episode is Elisha is appointed as Elijah's successor. So we'll see more of Elisha tomorrow and in Second Kings. We also get a battle between Israel and a foreign nation of Aram. We have an episode where Jezebel does some more conniving to get ownership of this vineyard. And then three years later, that judgment that Elijah speaks upon Jezebel in that episode comes through the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat. Yeah. That is quite the list of things happening in these final three chapters. So let's start at the beginning because it starts with this encounter between God and Elijah that is often quoted and might be one of the more familiar kind of scenes that we walk through in these chapters. What's happening there? Yeah. So we just had this big moment for Elijah where he defeats the priests of all and God consumes this altar with fire and it's this crazy mountaintop moment. And then he flees and Ahab's wife, Jezebel is upset and so he's trying to run from her. But he had this big mountaintop experience and now we see he's, you know, in a word I guess depressed. You know, he even tells God, just let me die. Just leave me out here to die. But God doesn't do that. He's not done with Elijah and so he continues to provide for him. He provides food and he tells him to go to this cave. And so he has this encounter with God where he hears an earthquake and then there's a fire and wind. But God is not in any of those big things. He comes in this still small voice. That's a, you know, like you said, it's a passage that's might be familiar for some people. And really I want to point out the contrast here between God's presence in the confrontation with the priests and now God's presence in this still small voice. And the difference is Elijah's circumstance, right? Elijah needed the powerful presence of God to defeat the priest of all. But now in this place where he's really discouraged, he just needs God's quiet presence. And I think that's such an encouragement for us in our lives that our walk with Christ and as Christians in general is not mountaintop to mountaintop. We might have mountaintop moments where we really feel God's presence and it's really powerful, but there's also more mundane moments where if we really listen for that still small voice for God's presence, we can see God and even the mundane things like washing dishes or driving to work or changing diapers, although that one might be a little bit harder. But because of God's Holy Spirit, he's always with us just like that still small voice that Elijah found and heard. Yeah, I'm glad you explained that because I do feel like the majority of my life is washing dishes or commuting to and from work in my car or to and from kids sports practices. So thank you for bringing that out. You know, you also have talked a few times throughout First Kings that the author leans on humor a little bit. And I think maybe I saw that coming out in these chapters. Did you also get that when you read through? Yeah, I'm really glad you're pointing that out. We do see kind of some humorous moments here. And the first example comes in First Kings 21, where after Jezebel helps get the owner of the vineyard that Ahab wanted killed, Elijah comes and confronts Ahab. And when Elijah enters the scene, Ahab has this line. He says, so my enemy, you found me, have you? And it's almost like a super villain, like confronting the hero in the story. Like, ah, finally we meet. Here we are. The vibes I'm getting. Yeah, for sure. For sure. And it kind of has like this boasting tone to it, right? And then the second one comes in chapter 22, verse eight, when Joseph had asks Ahab, you know, he says, Hey, I know there's this prophet of the Lord, Elijah, that could help us determine whether we should go to battle or not. And Ahab says, there is, but I hate him because he never prophesies good about me, only disaster. And, you know, I think to myself, that's the whole point of a prophet, dude, like to like call you out and help you to follow the Lord more faithfully. And, you know, it shows us that Ahab is blind to his own evil. He really thinks that these bad things only happen because Elijah says they're going to happen and not because he's actually the problem. Right. And so it's this irony that kind of you can almost cut with a knife. That's just like, you look at it, you're just like, dude, come on. You know, you kind of chuckle to yourself. And so I wanted to draw those examples out. And I'm glad you mentioned it just because, you know, it shows me that the Bible is literature and the Bible isn't boring. Right. It's not just these lifeless stories that have no tone or interest in them or intrigue, you know, here we're getting political intrigue and these interesting encounters between characters that have conflict. And so, you know, when we really look for it, the Bible is really fascinating. Yeah, it absolutely is. And I'm glad you brought out the humor because I'm not sure if I would have picked up on that naturally, but after you said it in the beginning, I started to see it popping up here and there. You know, I think that my takeaway for today and for the entire book of First Kings is just that we see God working both in his people who are faithful to him, but also reaching out to those who are disobedient toward him. And we see him just acting over and over and over and over again. And so though we've had several of those lines in there that this King did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, we see that the Lord in response, that was faithful and inviting repentance and confronting. And so here I just see a God that pursues. And that's really encouraging to me in my own life for times that I am failing. And also, you know, even people that I love who I see living in ways that really just sadden me or cause heartbreak. I see that the Lord pursues his people and what an encouragement that is. And so we're going to jump into the book of Second Kings tomorrow, which is really just a continuation of the book of First Kings, but there's so much more to learn there. So we'll talk about that tomorrow. Excited for it. Yeah, you too.
