1 Kings 18:18

1 Kings 18:18

And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim.

a. ASV: And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of Jehovah, and thou hast followed the Baalim.

b. YLT:  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;

c. Amplified Bible Classic: Elijah replied, I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, by forsaking the commandments of the Lord and by following the Baals.

d. Septuagint: And Eliu said, I do not pervert Israel; but it is thou and thy father’s house, in that ye forsake the Lord your God, and thou hast gone after Baalim.

e. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/Writings: He said [to him], “Not I have troubled Israel, rather you and your father’s house [have], by your forsaking the commandments of HASHEM; and you have gone after Baalim!

1. “And he answered, I have not troubled Israel;

a. And he answered [Strong: 559 ʼâmar, aw-mar'; a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude):—answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, × desire, determine, ×expressly, × indeed, × intend, name, × plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), × still, × suppose, talk, tell, term, × that is, × think, use (speech), utter, × verily, × yet.]

b. [I have] not [Strong: lo' lo or lowi {lo}; or loh (Deut. 3:11) {lo}; a primitive particle; not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles (as follows):--X before, + or else, ere, + except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), (X as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, + surely, + as truly as, + of a truth, + verily, for want, + whether, without.]

c. troubled [Strong: 5916 ʻâkar, aw-kar'; a primitive root; properly, to roil water; figuratively, to disturb or affict:—trouble, stir.]

d. Israel [Strong: 3478 Yisrâʼêl, yis-raw-ale'; from H8280 and H410; he will rule as God; Jisraël, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity:—Israel.]

2. “...but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD…”

a. [but] thou [Strong: 859 'attah at-taw' or (shortened); aatta {at-taw'}; or wath {ath}; feminine (irregular) sometimes nattiy {at-tee'}; plural masculine attem {at- tem'}; feminine atten {at-ten'}; or oattenah {at-tay'naw}; or fattennah {at-tane'-naw}; a primitive pronoun of the second person; thou and thee, or (plural) ye and you:--thee, thou, ye, you.]

b. [and thy] father’s [Strong: 1 ʼâb, awb; a primitive word; father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote application:—chief, (fore-) father(-less), × patrimony, principal.]

c. house [Strong: 1004 bayith, bah'-yith; probably from H1129 abbreviated; a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etc.):—court, daughter, door, + dungeon, family, + forth of, × great as would contain, hangings, home(born), (winter) house(-hold), inside(-ward), palace, place, + prison, + steward, + tablet, temple, web, +within(-out).]

d. [in that you] have forsaken [Strong: 5800 ʻâzab, aw-zab'; a primitive root; to loosen, i.e. relinquish, permit, etc.:—commit self, fail, forsake, fortify, help, leave (destitute, off), refuse, × surely.]

e. [the] commandments [Strong: mitsvâh, mits-vaw'; from H6680; a command, whether human or divine (collectively, the Law):—(which was) commanded(-ment), law, ordinance, precept.]

f. [of the] LORD [Strong: 3068 Yᵉhôvâh, yeh-ho-vaw'; from H1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God:—Jehovah, the Lord.]

3. “...and thou hast followed Baalim.”

a. [and thou] hast followed [Strong: 3212 yâlak, yaw-lak'; a primitive root (compare H1980); to walk (literally or figuratively); causatively, to carry (in various senses):—× again, away, bear, bring, carry (away), come (away), depart, flow, follow(-ing), get (away, hence, him), (cause to, made) go (away, -ing, -ne, one's way, out), grow, lead (forth), let down, march, prosper, pursue, cause to run, spread, take away (-journey), vanish, (cause to) walk(-ing), wax, x be weak.]

b. followed [Strong: 310 ʼachar, akh-ar'; from H309; properly, the hind part; generally used as an adverb or conjunction, after (in various senses):—after (that, -ward), again, at, away from, back (from, -side), behind, beside, by, follow (after, -ing), forasmuch, from, hereafter, hinder end, + out (over) live, + persecute, posterity, pursuing, remnant, seeing, since, thence(-forth), when, with.]

c. Baalim [Strong: 1168 Baʻal, bah'-al; the same as H1167; Baal, a Phoenician deity:—Baal, (plural) Baalim.]

1). When people depart from God they begin to look at those who are faithful to God as troublemakers, yet it is they themselves who are the troublemakers. The truth of the matter is when we forsake God we bring trouble on ourselves, individually, or as a family or as a church or as a nation.

a). 1 Kings 9:9  And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil

b). 2 Chronicles 15:1, 2 And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:

15:2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.

2). Timewise we are looking at  96 years from David to Ahab. Solomon reigned for 40 years; after the kingdom divided Jeroboam reigned for 21 years; Nadab reigned for 1 year; Baasha reigned for 23 years; Elah Zimri reigned for less than a year; Omri reigned for 11 years. In 96 years Israel went from a God fearing nation to a nation that served the devil and killed God’s prophets.  Most if not all of the problem our nation is experiencing is because we are forcing God out of the public square.