By the 9th century BC, the Kingdom of Israel, once united
under King Solomon, was divided into the northern Kingdom of Israel and
southern Kingdom of Judah, which retained the historic seat of government and
focus of the Israelite religion at the Temple in Jerusalem. Omri, King of
Israel, continued policies dating from the reign of Jeroboam, contrary to the
laws of Moses, that were intended to reorient religious focus away from
Jerusalem: encouraging the building of local temple altars for sacrifices,
appointing priests from outside the family of the Levites, and allowing or
encouraging temples dedicated to the Canaanite god, Baal.
Omri achieved domestic security with a marriage alliance
between his son Ahab and princess Jezebel, a priestess of Baal and the daughter
of the king of Sidon in Phoenicia. These solutions brought security and
economic prosperity to Israel for a time, but did not bring peace with the
Israelite prophets, who were interested in a strict deuteronomic interpretation
of Mosaic law.
As King, Ahab exacerbated these tensions. Ahab allowed
worship of a foreign god in the palace, building a temple for Baal, and
allowing Jezebel to bring a large entourage of priests and prophets of Baal and
Asherah into the country. It is in this context that Elijah is introduced in 1
Kings 17:1 as Elijah "The Tishbite". He warns Ahab that there will be
years of catastrophic drought so severe that not even dew will fall, because
Ahab and his queen stand at the end of a line of kings of Israel who are said
to have "done evil in the sight of the Lord."
