17 and it cometh to pass at Ahab's seeing Elijah, that Ahab saith unto him, 'Art thou he—the troubler of Israel?' 18 And he saith, 'I have not troubled Israel, but thou and the house of thy father, in your forsaking the commands of Jehovah, and thou goest after the Baalim; 19 and now, send, gather unto me all Israel, unto the mount of Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the shrine, four hundred—eating at the table of Jezebel.'

The Contest on Mount Carmel

20 And Ahab sendeth among all the sons of Israel, and gathereth the prophets unto the mount of Carmel;

Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Kings 18:17-20

Commentary on 1 Kings 18:17-20

(Read 1 Kings 18:17-20)

One may guess how people stand affected to God, by observing how they stand affected to his people and ministers. It has been the lot of the best and most useful men, like Elijah, to be called and counted the troublers of the land. But those who cause God's judgments do the mischief, not he that foretells them, and warns the nation to repent.