the actions of His mercy as being a proof of His death or non-existence. At other times men interpret Divine mercy as an approval of evil. They will say, “If what I did was wrong then surely God would have punished me.” Any delay in punishment is interpreted perversely as justification and exoneration of evil. Seldom do sinners see the delay in punishment as Divine mercy giving the sinner time to repent of his sin. But Elijah had come to straighten out Israel’s thinking, and to correct their misinterpretation