The LORD Sends Rain

Elijah tells Ahab to eat and drink because rain is near, then bows on Carmel while his servant looks toward the sea again and again. On the seventh report, a small cloud finally appears.

A⁴¹nd Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” ⁴²So 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. ⁴³“Go and look toward the sea,” he said to his servant. ⁴⁴On the seventh time the servant reported, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.”

The sky darkens, heavy rain falls, and Ahab rides to Jezreel. Empowered by the LORD, Elijah runs ahead of him all the way there.

⁴⁵Meanwhile, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and a heavy rain began to fall. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. ⁴⁶And 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.