As the Lord Lives

“As Yahweh, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”

Elijah spoke those words in 1 Kings 17:1. His audience was the evil King Ahab and his wicked wife Jezebel. We may well be familiar with this biblical account that displayed God’s power over the elements; He proved His sovereignty to the nations, while feeding Elijah from the beaks of ravens, and soon through the never-ending supply of oil with the widow of Zarephath. We understand why Elijah pronounced the withholding of rain, but what about the first part? Why did he begin by stating that God lives?

To understand why that was crucial, we need to understand what the Canaanites believed about Baal. In the old city of Ugarit a clay tablet was discovered that sheds light on the Mesopotamian mindset of the ancient Near East. Baal was believed to be the god of rain (as well as storms and lightning; his association with rain caused him to be thought of as a fertility god as well). His nemesis, Mot (whose name means death), was believed to have killed Baal, causing a stoppage of rain. The legend goes that Baal came back to life and sent the rain, but the struggle with Mot never ended. During the rainy season Baal was thought to be alive and in control, but during droughts it was believed that Mot had once again killed Baal.

To the average Canaanite, sometimes Baal was alive, and that was good, and sometimes he was dead, and that was bad. Now going back to Elijah’s pronouncement against the Northern Kingdom of Israel, we see why he began by invoking the living God Yahweh. His point was not only that God is always alive, but also that He is stronger than Baal or Mot, sending and withholding the rain as He pleases. He is El Gibbor, the Mighty God of whom Isaiah prophesied (9:6). Isn’t it great to trust in the eternal, all-powerful God of the universe? We do not need to worry if He is alive or prevailing in a cosmic struggle. We can say with Elijah, “As the Lord lives…”