1 Kings 18:44

1Ki 18:44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare [thy chariot], and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.

Ver. 44. Behold, there ariseth a little cloud.] This little cloud shall ere long overmask the whole heaven. Every former mercy is a pledge and forerunner of a future and greater, if it be well improved; only we must pray on, and not faint. {Luk 18:1} Gregorius Turonensis relateth {a} the like to have fallen out once at Orleans, upon the prayer of Anianus, bishop there; at what time that city was almost taken by Attilus, king of Hunns, but seasonably rescued, and the siege raised by Aetius and Theodoricus, helped by abundance of rain at that time falling, after the sight of a little cloud, arising out of the earth.

{a} Lib. ii. cap. 7.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki 18:44. There ariseth a little cloud like a man’s hand — Which presently overspread the heavens, and watered the earth. Great blessings often rise from small beginnings, and showers of plenty from a cloud of a span long: let us therefore never despise the day of small things, but hope and wait for greater things from it.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand--The clearness of the sky renders the smallest speck distinctly visible; and this is in Palestine the uniform precursor of rain. It rises higher and higher, and becomes larger and larger with astonishing celerity, till the whole heaven is black, and the cloud bursts in a deluge of rain.

Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not--either by the river Kishon being suddenly so swollen as to be impassable, or from the deep layer of dust in the arid plain being turned into thick mud, so as to impede the wheels.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 44. There ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand.] איש ככף kechaph ish, like the hollow of a man's hand. In the form of the hand bent, the concave side downmost. I have witnessed a resemblance of this kind at sea previously to a violent storm, a little cloud the size of a man's hand first appearing, and this increasing in size and density every moment, till at last it covered the whole heavens, and then burst forth with incredible fury.

Mr. Bruce mentions a similar appearance in Abyssinia: - "Every morning, in Abyssinia, is clear, and the sun shines. About nine a small cloud, not above four hundred feet broad, appears in the east, whirling violently round, as if upon an axis; but arrived near the zenith, it first abates its motion, then loses its form, and extends itself greatly, and seems to call up vapours from all opposite quarters. These clouds, having attained nearly the same height, rush against each other with great violence, and put me always in mind of Elijah foretelling rain on Mount Carmel." - Travels, vol. v., page 336, edit. 1806.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

44. there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand] R.V. a cloud out of the sea as small as a man’s hand. This is more in accordance with the Hebrew construction. The statement was not meant to describe the shape of the cloud, but the size of it. The servant returns as soon as there appears the smallest token of a rain-cloud. The Hebrew word here employed, כף, is sometimes used for the ‘sole of the foot’ (see Jos_1:3). Josephus therefore gives here οὐ πλέον ἴχνους ἀνθρωπίνου ‘not bigger than the sole of a man’s foot.’

Prepare [R.V. make ready thy chariot] The change is introduced from 2Ki_9:21, where the word for ‘chariot,’ which is here understood, stands in the text.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah,.... Giving him more than common strength of body, as well as courage and fortitude of mind; so the Targum, the spirit of strength from the Lord was with him:

and he girded up his loins; gathered up his long loose garment, and girt it about him, that he might be more fit for travelling:

and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel; reckoned about sixteen miles from Carmel (l); this showed his humility, that he was not elated with the wonderful things God had done by him, and that he bore no ill will to Ahab, but was ready to show him all honour and respect due to him as a king; and that it were his sins, and not his person, he had an aversion to; and that he was not afraid of Jezebel, and her prophets, but entered into the city where she was, to instruct the people, and warn them against her idolatries; though some think he went no further than the gate of the city, prudently avoiding falling into her hands.

(l) Bunting's Travels, &c. p. 204.

Next: 1 Kings Chapter 19

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

A little cloud ... - Sailors know full well that such a cloud on the far horizon is often the forerunner of a violent storm.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Sea, the Mediterranean, which could be seen from Carmel. (Haydock) --- Hence the rain commonly came in that country, Luke xii. 54.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

44. Go up, say unto Ahab — The king was yet on the lofty summit; the prophet still remained in his nook of prayer.

That the rain stop thee not — By causing the streams to rise so suddenly, and to such a degree, as to prevent all crossing.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And it came to pus at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man"s hand. pK lit., palm, hollow of hand. Cf. Luk_12:54, "When ye see the cloud (Gr. thlhn) arise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is." "Still in autumn the Utile cloud comes up like a man"s hand and swells till huge thunder pillars are piled black and high above the mountains" (Condor). But it is not in Palestine alone that a little cloud on the horizon is frequently the harbinger of rain. And he said, Go up see note on ver. 42, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot Heb. bind, and get thee down Keil, Stanley, and others assume that Ahab"s chariot was waiting at the foot of the mountain. But it is to be noticed that the command to harness the horses precedes that to "go down." The writer rode down from El Murahkah to the plain, and it is quite conceivable that the royal chariot may have conveyed Ahab to the plateau of sacrifice and have waited for him there, that the rain stop thee not, After heavy rain ( the Kishon, which "collects the whole drainage of this large basin" (Conder), the Great Plain, soon becomes an impassable Swamp.(Jdg_5:21), "I can tell you from experience that in wet seasons it (the Wady) is extremely muddy, and then the Kishon causes great tribulation to the muleteers. Rarely indeed do they get over it without some of their animals sticking fast in its oozy bottom" (Thomson, L. and B. 2. p. 218).

Elijah"s Prayer for Rain.

The wonders which accompanied the ministry of Elijah were not meaningless prodigies. Those who question the wisdom of miracles should remember that the condition of those for whom they were intended rendered them necessary. Sensuous men must learn through their senses, and worshippers of material force must be met by physical displays of power. We do not try to instruct a child by an essay, or to convince a savage by a syllogism. God could speak directly to the devout patriarchs; but when the worshippers of Baal were to know that there was a living God, they saw the fire from heaven, and heard the bursting of a storm after years of drought. Idolatry had just been swept away by a whirlwind of popular execration. The time had therefore come for the curse to be removed. Elijah with a premonition of the distant rain bade king and people eat of the sacrificial feast, while he went up the mountain to pray. Six times his servant ascended the loftiest peak of Carmel, and came back to say that there was no sign of change; but the seventh time, gazing over the blue expanse of the Mediterranean, he saw a cloud tiny as a man"s hand, which was the pledge of answered prayer, for soon the heavens were "black with clouds," and over the thirsty land there was "a great rain." In dealing with events of Old Testament history, we must guard ourselves against giving a fanciful interpretation which cannot be reasonably justified; but we must not forget, on the other hand, that such incidents reveal great principles which run through the whole economy of God, in the moral as well as in the physical world.

I THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BLESSING SOUGHT. The New Testament justifies us in regarding the rain which Elijah prayed for as a type of the Holy Spirit, without whom our hearts are barren, and the moral world is dead. See, for instance, how boldly the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews evolves from the tabernacle what those who constructed it little imagined. Take as another example the allusion which Paul makes to the rock in the wilderness, in which he says emphatically, "That rock was Christ." Recall passages in which the descent of the Spirit is likened to the failing of rain and the distilling of dew. Points of analogy: the grounds on which the heavenly blessing is withheld; the misery that follows its absence; the preparation and prayer for its coming; the subsequent fertility of the barren land, etc. The sins of our age are not unlike those of Elijah"s time, though they are less gross in form. The enervating luxuries of civilization, the indifference of many to the decline of religion, the deification of force and of lust, are examples. There has been a forsaking of the Lord on the part of His people, and hence this barrenness of good, in spite of all our toil; because there is a withholding of the gracious influences of the Divine Spirit. May He "come down as rain upon the mown grass, and as showers that water the earth.

II THE SPIRITUAL PREPARATION FOR THE BLESSING PROMISED.

1. Self forgetfulness. Elijah was personally provided for, and would lack nothing. His heart bled, however, for the suffering people. For them he prayed. We want more of such soul burdening on the part of parents and pastors.

2. Reformation. By the execution of the false prophets, Elijah had done all that in him lay to put away evil. Sins are obstacles in the way of descending blessings. We cannot win the Holy Spirit by good conduct, but we may hinder His work by our sin. Sin is a bar across the sluice gates of benediction, and must be removed or broken before the dry channel can be flooded.

3. Prayer. It is in the Epistle of James that we are told that Elijah"s prayersbrought both the drought and the rainfall. The fact that the prophet heard the sound of abundance of rain stimulated his supplication, and did not prevent it. He did not argue that God would send the storm whether he prayed or not, but believed that the reception of blessing was inseparably connected with the offering of prayer. Similarly the Holy Spirit was promised to the disciples, but they met to pray till He came. "Ask, and you shall receive.

4. Watchfulness. Elijah was so sure of God"s fidelity and goodness that he sent his servant seven times to look for the faintest sign of rain. We need watchfulness for the following reasons:

(1) The answer to prayer does not always come when and how we expect it. E.g., we ask for holiness, and God sends an illness, in which our murmuring closes our heart against the very blessing that is then nearing us. Or we pray for spirituality, and have the possibility of it presented to us in some unexpected joy, which too often makes us more worldly than grateful. Or we entreat God for the salvation of our child; and because we do not watch, we fail to recognize the sign and pledge of the Holy Spirit"s work in the child"s eager questioning and simple prayer.

(2) The answer to prayer may be long delayed. Elijah was not discouraged even by the sixth repetition of the despairing phrase, "There is nothing." Yet on that very day his one earnest cry had instantaneously brought down fire from heaven. How often like the Psalmist we say," Hath God forgotten to be gracious?.... Wait on the Lord, wait patiently for him.

(3) The answer to prayer may begin in what seems trifling. A cloud the size of a man"s hand, hardly describable on the horizon, was enough to transfer Elijah"s prayer into praise. Little in itself, it was the beginning of a glorious blessing. The baptism of the Holy Spirit will not suddenly fill the world with worshippers; but it will be seen, perhaps, in the turning to God of one lad, who shall prove the Elijah of his age; or in the new light given to one who has long been under the shadow of doubt; or in some holy resolve, some noble thought that shall presage blessing to the world. Slight and insignificant as it may seem, gratefully welcome it, and still hope, and wait, and pray, till He "come and rain righteousness upon us. A.R.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Like a man's hand - Great blessings often rise from small beginnings, and showers of plenty from a cloud of a span long. Let us therefore never despise the day of small things, but hope and wait for greater things from it.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Harness your [horses to the carriage] and go down. Harness your [horses to] your chariots and go down quickly from Mount Carmel, to return to your house, otherwise the rain will press you on the way.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.