SECTION A: THEMES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT (a) Highlight the religious tension in Israel during the reign of King Ahab (b) Identify three steps that can be ta...

(a) Religious tension in Israel during the reign of King Ahab (1 Kings 16-18)

• Ahab married Jezebel, daughter of the king of Sidon, and under her influence he served and worshipped Baal, erecting an altar and temple for Baal in Samaria and making an Asherah.
• This introduced the worship of a foreign god alongside, and in rivalry with, the worship of the Lord, the God of Israel, provoking severe religious conflict.
• Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord and sought to kill them; Obadiah hid a hundred of them in caves and fed them with bread and water.
• The prophet Elijah confronted Ahab and announced a drought as divine judgement, declaring there would be neither dew nor rain except by his word. Ahab regarded Elijah as the "troubler of Israel", while Elijah replied that it was Ahab and his father's house who had troubled Israel by forsaking the Lord and following the Baals.
• The tension came to a climax on Mount Carmel, where Elijah challenged the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal to a contest to determine whose God was truly God. He rebuked the people for wavering between two opinions.
• Baal failed to answer his prophets despite their frantic cries and self-mutilation, but the Lord answered Elijah with fire from heaven that consumed the sacrifice, and the people fell down and confessed, "The Lord, he is God."
• The prophets of Baal were then seized and slain, and the drought ended with rain.

(b) Three steps to minimize religious tension in society

1. Promote religious tolerance and mutual respect, allowing people freedom of worship without coercion.
2. Encourage dialogue and cooperation among religious groups on matters of common concern.
3. Enforce just laws and civic education that protect all faiths and discourage discrimination, provocation and fanaticism.