Aug-8 Liturgical Study Nineteenth Sunday
Nineteenth Sunday Kings 19:4-8 Jezebel was the daughter of the priest-king Ethbaal, ruler of the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon, who married King Ahab of Israel (ruled c. 874–853 BCE). She persuaded Ahab to turn away from Yahweh and worship the Tyrian nature-god Baal-Melkart. Most of the prophets of Yahweh were killed at Jezebel's command and she had threatened Elijah with dire consequences in Kings 19:1-3, causing Elijah to flee for his life to Beersheba in the neighbouring kingdom of Judah, deep in the desert, far away from the reach of Jezebel. At this point Elijah seems to have reached the end of his tether and is asking Yahweh to relieve him of his duties, much like previous prophets like Moses. Instead an angel wakes him from his sleep and orders him to eat and drink the food; he was given the same food given to Isiah, and he is sent to go on a 200 mile long journey from Mount Carmel to Mount Horeb (aka Mt Sinai or Jebel Mousa) where Moses first saw the burning bush an...