Please go back to I Kings, review the Solomon material in Chapters 1-11 and read more carefully Chapters 12-22. the sections on Elisha and Ahab. We will start Tuesday's class with a discussion of that material.Which of the stories/characters in I Kings 12-22 interests you the most? Does this story lend itself to good tragedy? Or is does it seem more like history, biography, or prophecy rather than tragedy?
If I had to choose one of the characters, I'd have to go with Elijah (not just because I share a name with him). I think that he's an excellent example of a prophet of God. I loved how he faces off with the prophets of baal and then proceeds to kill them after they failed. That being said, he's not perfect. Even after he kills the prophets he flees when Jezebel is after him. You would think that anyone that had enough faith to believe his God would light a wet alter would also believe that God would protect him, but I can kind of see his point of view. This story wasn't really a tragedy though, because Elijah ultimately goes up to heaven in a chariot of fire. This is more like a prophetic piece than a tragedy. And, I've always been fond of happy endings.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely adore the story of how Elijah mocks a pagan group of worshipers by asking them to summon their god to light a sacrifice. They dance and wobble their hands but nothing happens. Elijah proceeds to moisten down his own sacrifice and prays to God and it immediately goes up in flame.
ReplyDeleteI know this is supposed to be serious subject matter regarding how God is the one true God but I can't help but think that Elijah must have felt rather smug about hid preparations. Elijah in general seems like an interesting fellow but his absolute crazy adventures mixed with his calm, and cool attitude really seals the deal for me. the story is one of many examples of this and I can't help but feel a temptation to chuckle every time I read him putting water on his sacrifice. He's not just confidant, he is blasted at ease in this situation and its hard to find him in any situation where he is screaming in rage or running in fear. Indeed he seems to take everything in stride.
I found the part in 1 Kings 19 that is the turning point in Elisha following Elijah to be interesting symbolism, the part in which Elisha plowing the fields with twelve oxen, but that could be just me. This part, in my opinion, is less tragedy and more prophecy.
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