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We can't make any individual in the Bible a hero or villian... David is complicated, Solomon is complicated, etc etc.
Golden calf (Jeroboam) makes a ton of sense from the viewpoint of a king seeking for political power and peace - the bull was the sign of Baal... the surrounding nation's god
Elijah
Biblical Text: 1 Kings 17
- There is very little info about Elijah - he comes from Tishbe
- Elijah calls for no rain before the word of Yahweh comes to him
- Might show that Elijah has some hutz-pah
- Deuteronomy 11: 16-18
Deuteronomy 11:16–18 (LEB): 16 Take care so that your heart is not easily deceived, and you turn away, and you serve other gods, and you bow down to them. 17 And then the anger of Yahweh will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, and there shall not be rain, and so the ground will not give its produce, and you will perish quickly from the good land that Yahweh is giving to you. 18 “And you shall put these, my words, on your heart and on your inner self, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be as an emblem between your eyes.
- Elijah knows the Bible and calls king Ahab out for his disobedience
- Yahweh gives Elijah some instructions
- Sustained by crows
- Women and dying son sustain him
- Yahweh gives another word 3-3.5 years later in 1 Kings 18
- Yahweh tells Elijah to tell Ahab it's going to rain but not how to tell Ahab it's going to rain
- Elijah in his hutz-pah decides to make a show of it (I like this point)
- Elijah goes with Yahweh against Baal
- The contest is full of strikes against Baal and their mythology
- Baal and Ashera were lovers and once a year Baal would pursue Ashera and just before their sexual relationship reaches climax Ashera pulls away and the rain on the harvest is Baal's seed.
- Elijah baits the Baal priests in all kinds of trash-talking ways
- Elijah repairs the existing altar to Yahweh
- The drenching of the altar is not Elijah making it more difficult - this is a very modern take
- Elijah is calling back on the festival of succot. At the end of succot there is a water ceremony where you pour water on the altar to ask Yahweh to answer the prayer for rain. Elijah pours the water 3 times (one for every year without rain?) to petition Yahweh to answer