After Solomon, in the era of his son Rehoboam, the Kingdom of Israel was divided into two parts. Jerusalem and southern Palestine were under the control of David’s progeny, and northern Palestine became an independent state by the name of Israel. After the marriage of Jezebel, the wicked and mischievous daughter of the king of Mila (present-day Lebanon), with Ahab, the King of Israel, idolatry and pagan worship became customary.
Baal was the greatest of all the gods of ancient Semitic nations, especially those of the Phoenicians. A statue representing the god, made of gold, was 100 feet high. It had four faces. Four hundred priests were appointed to look after this statue, which also had the goddess Ashtoreth as his wife.
In Samaria, the capital of Israel, a temple and altar of Baal was constructed, which later on became known as Baalbek—the city of Baal. In Semitic and Hebrew languages, Baal means master, owner, lord, and ruler; a husband is also called Baal by Arabs. Watching the royal interests and inclinations towards Baal, people started offering sacrifices in the name of Baal openly.
Infidelity and straying had reached their peak among the Israelites when God sent Elias to guide and preach righteousness. He resided in Galahad. He was from the lineage of Aaron. In the Bible, he has been mentioned as Elijah.
Elias preached monotheism to the Israelites and denounced all the sins. He told them that worshipping Baal instead of God is wrong because these idols can neither benefit them nor cause them any harm. So they should turn towards that God who is their and their ancestors’ Lord, and the Lord of all creatures of the earth and in the heavens.
The people of his nation had gone so far astray that they had no mind to pay attention to Elias’s teachings. Rather, they arrogantly and adamantly insisted on doing what they were practicing. Elias invited King Ahab towards monotheism and preached to him to forsake sinful acts and deeds. Otherwise, he, being the king of those people, would be even more responsible for the sins, and God may inflict His punishment upon them, and the nation would suffer the calamity of drought. But Ahab refused to pay heed to Elias’s preaching and ignored him arrogantly.
Grave Situation:
For more than three years, Israel did not receive any rain; the nation was facing the worst kind of famine. People were hunger-stricken. They started to die of starvation, and the situation grew very grave. This led Ahab to consider what Elias had told him, so he sent for him. He apologized to him for his arrogance and requested him to pray to God for rain. All the priests and Baal-worshippers, considering it their defeat, opposed the king’s request. Elias suggested that he would offer a sacrifice in the name of God, and they should offer their sacrifice in the name of Baal. Whose sacrifice would be accepted, prayer for rain would be submitted to that deity only.
In those times, it was the custom to place the sacrificial offering on a high place, and if fire from heaven burned it, it was considered a sign of acceptance of the sacrifice. If fire did not burn the sacrificial offering, it meant non-acceptance of the sacrifice by the heavenly powers. About 900 people from Baal’s side gathered on Mount Carmel. On one side, Elias was standing alone with his sacrifice, and on the other side, a mob of people was present. Both parties slaughtered their sacrificial animals and placed them on the peak of the mountain. The divine fire appeared and burned the sacrificial offering of Elias made in the name of God.
Seeing the irrefutable proof of the truth and righteousness of Elias, the king trembled and repented. He regretted his insolence, apologized to Elias, asked for his forgiveness, and ordered the killing of the priests who had misled him. Elias prayed to God for His mercy. His prayer was accepted, and it rained, and the drought was over.
Jezebel, the wicked queen of Ahab, could not tolerate the killing of the priests. She became an enemy of Elias and swore to avenge their deaths. She conspired with the aid of idolaters and trapped Ahab in her web of conspiracies so well that Elias was forced to take refuge in the Valley of Siena.
Elias supplicated to God:
“Children of Israel have forsaken their covenant with Thee, destroyed Thy altars, and slain Thy prophets. I alone have survived so far, and now they are after my life.” (Kings, 2: 12-15)
Jezebel wedded her daughter to Jehoram, the ruler of the Jewish state of Jerusalem, which resulted in the spreading of idolatrous beliefs and traditions in that part of the country as well. Elias wrote a letter to Jehoram and told him not to leave the path of his ancestors, otherwise, he would suffer a disastrous end.
It is written in the Old Testament:
“And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying:
Thus saith the Lord of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah.
But hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a-whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab.
And also slain thy brethren of thy father’s house, which were better than thyself:
Behold, with a great plague will the Lord smite thy people, and thy children and thy wives and all thy goods.
And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the disease day by day.”
(2 Chronicles, 21: 12-15)
Jehoram did not pay any attention to this advice and arrogantly followed his desires. Finally, the fate predicted by Elias seized him. Intruders overran his empire; his wives were taken as prisoners. He himself suffered from intestinal disease and finally died because of it.
Elias kept striving to accomplish the mission of spreading the word of God patiently and with perseverance. After Jehoram, the son of Jezebel came into power. But he, too, chose to follow the path suggested by his mother. Elias invited him towards the path of God, but he refused and attempted to harm Elias like his father.
When Elias finally realized that the Israelites were in no mood to come to the straight path, he submitted to God that: these people are Thy creatures, they have gone astray and are not listening to Thy prophet; now it is up to You, whether You show them the right path or punish them.
God’s punishment seized them, and the entire family of Jezebel was killed. According to the Old Testament, when the people of Elias were subjected to God’s punishment, Elias was taken to the heavens.
The Holy Quran, in this context, tells:
“So Elias was also among those sent by Us.
Behold, he said to his people, ‘Will ye not fear God?
Will ye call upon Baal and forsake the Best of creators—God, your Lord and Cherisher of your fathers of old?’
But they rejected him, and they will certainly be called up for punishment—except the sincere and devoted servants of God.
And We left his name among generations to come in later times.
Peace and salutations to such as Elias.
Thus indeed do We reward those who do right.”
(Surah 37, Verses 123–131)