There are a number of literary peculiarities in the way the story of Elijah is presented in Scripture. I believe that Biblical “peculiarities” are intentional on the part of the Divine Author, serving as hints that there is an opportunity for the seeker of truth to search further and dig deeper to find hidden gems that the surface level text points at with varying degrees of subtly.

One of the more striking peculiarities with the Elijah narrative is how it begins: “Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, `As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.’” Many an attentive reader is left a bit whiplashed. My own internal dialogue upon reaching 1 Kings 17 is, “Ok, wait, slow down Mr. Narrator! Hold on a second here. I need some more backstory! Is this Elijah fellow a prophet? Did God tell him to issue this drought threat? How did he get a hearing with King Ahab? Was he already known to royal court or did he just walk up to the palace as a random guy and start speaking?”

Right now, though, we just want to address one peculiarity: why no rain? Elsewhere in Scripture, we’ve seen God send floods of rain in judgment. We’ve seen Him send plagues, beasts, bees, enemy armies, etc. A prolonged draught is not the most common mechanism for Biblical judgment, so why does this particular form of discipline—like Elijah himself—suddenly appear here seemingly out of nowhere?

James 5:16b-18 adds further intrigue. There it sounds likely that Elijah was “fervently praying” for a stoppage of rainfall before it happened. That is, it seems that God didn’t tell Elijah that drought was coming, but rather such outcome was the result of Elijah’s own prayers. Second to air, water is the most essential element to daily and long-term life on earth. What evil in the world would motive Elijah to pray for such a terrible scourge on his own nation? And why “no rain” in particular? I believe both of those questions can be answered in one word: Baal.

In those days the major spiritual problem in Israel was Baal worship (1 Kings 18:18ff) which King Ahab had introduced via his marriage to Baal-worshipping Jezebel (16:31-32) whose father’s name “Ethbaal” means “Baal is with him.” But guess what kind of god Baal was supposed to be? “As the storm god and bringer of rain, Baal was recognized as sustaining the fertility of crops, animals, and people” (Lexham Bible Dictionary, emphasis added).

Elijah saw that the major deception of his day was worship of a false rain-god, so he prayer earnestly for no rain. The result was to show that YHWH is not just a “greater god” than Baal in general, but He even beats Baal on Baal’s own turf, so to speak. And a rainless year or two should have been a strong provocation for Israel to question whether this new Baal character was really adequate to meet their needs in a partner worthy of divine adoration.

Lex Talionis, where “the punishment fits the crime,” is a central principle in God’s justice system. If, prior to 1 Kings 17, Elijah was in tune with God’s law and the demonic spirit of the age in which he lived, the flow of the narrative and the decision to pray for drought actually make perfect sense. Put your trust in Baal for rain; lose your rain.