THE
1 Kings 18:16-46
One of the greatest gifts my
parents ever gave to me was the teaching of the stories of the Bible. From an early age, I was brought up on those
historical narratives of the Bible.
David and Samson and Joseph and Daniel were my boyhood heros. As a young boy, I was fascinated by the
stories of those great men. Their deeds
were wonderful. They seemed larger than
life.
Especially intriguing were
those men of God known as the prophets.
They were the men who stood before the people of God and declared the words
of the Lord. Their message was often
unpopular. But they spoke with a
boldness that was borne of their faith in God.
Elijah was such a man. He lived in a land that was on the
skids.
In all of this, Elijah stood
in the gap. He stood before the king and
queen and the hostile mob and he remained faithful. It was not a comfortable place to stand. It was not pleasant to make a stand for God
in that generation. It never is.
CALL TO MOUNT
16 So Obadiah went to meet
Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When
Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is this you, you troubler
of
18 He said, “I have not
troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, because you have
forsaken the commandments of the Lord and you have followed the Baals .19 Now then send
and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal
and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's
table.”
20 So Ahab sent a message
among all the sons of
Ahab has been searching for
Elijah these past three years. He has
sent envoys to every surrounding kingdom and has even gone so far as to solicit
oaths from surrounding kings to the effect that they have no knowledge of his
whereabouts. Finally his enemy stands
before him. Notice the accusation.
|
Ahab |
“Is this you, you troubler of |
|
Elijah |
“I have not troubled |
Ahab felt that Elijah was a troubler because his prayer had brought a drought. But the real troubler of
|
Ahab |
Elijah |
|
King of |
Prophet of God |
|
A man of the world |
A man of the Word |
|
Walked independently of God
in open rebellion |
Walked dependently on the
Lord in humble submission |
|
Angry and frustrated. |
Bold and effective. |
How about you? In what way would you fit into such a
contrast? Are you walking in the way of
Ahab or Elijah?
Elijah gives certain
instructions to Ahab. He
who has searched far and wide for the prophet now finds himself obeying the
instructions of that prophet. All
of
The place of this
confrontation would be
Imagine the scene. A national holiday has been declared. People from all over
On one side the bleachers are
packed. A total of 450 prophets are
gathered. Around the neck of each of
these prophets hangs a piece of metal designed to reflect the rays of the sun,
for they are sun worshipers. Sitting in
the best seat is King Ahab himself amid all of his servants and royal retinue. On the other side stands Elijah. He is dressed in simple clothes, his hair
blown in the wind. He is alone.
A CALL TO COMMITMENT
Elijah came near to all the people
and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God,
follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.”
But the people did not answer him a word. (1 Kings 18:21).
The people of
“No one can serve two masters;
for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and
despise the other. You cannot serve God
and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24).
Is God the complete and total
Lord of your life? If not, then I ask
you the same question that Elijah asked: “How long?” What are you waiting for?
CHALLENGE OF THE GODS
22 Then Elijah said to the
people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are 450
men. 23 Now let them
give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and
place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox
and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. 24 Then
you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and
the God who answers by fire, He is God.”
And all the people said, “That is a good idea.”
25 So Elijah said to the
prophets of Baal, “Choose one ox for yourselves and prepare it first for you
are many, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” (1 Kings
18:22-25).
Here is the way in which the
battle will be fought. Two altars will
be erected. Two animals will be killed
and placed upon the altars. Then each
group will pray that fire might come down from heaven and consume the
sacrifice. Whichever altar begins to
burn will be considered to be the winner.
1. In the
Old Testament fire was used as a sign of the presence and supply of the Lord.
·
The Burning Bush
(Exodus 3:2)..
·
The Pillar of
Fire (Exodus 13:21-22).
2. Fire
from heaven was a sign that God had accepted the priests, their sacrifices, and
their service.
When the first
sacrifices were offered upon the Tabernacle altar in the wilderness, fire came
down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering (Leviticus 9:23-24).
When the first
sacrifices were offered in Solomon’s
In
the same way, fire from heaven would now demonstrate the Lord’s acceptance of
Elijah’s offering.
3. Fire
was a sign of divine judgment and wrath against sin and rejection of God’s plan.
·
The flaming sword
at the entrance to the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:24).
·
The destruction
of
The people are in favor of
this test. They think that it is a fair
test. If anything, it is possibly rigged
in favor of the prophets of Baal. You
see, the Canaanites believed Baal to be the storm god. He made the lightning and the thunder. He is the fire god. If there is anything that a fire god should
be able to do, it is to make fire.
ROUND #1 - BAAL
26 Then they took the ox which
was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning
until noon saying, “O Baal, answer us.”
But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the
altar which they made.
27 It came about at noon, that
Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god;
either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is
asleep and needs to be awakened.”
28 So they cried with a loud
voice and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until
the blood gushed out on them.
29 When midday was past, they
raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no
voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention. (1 Kings 18:26-29).
The people watch as the 450
prophets of Baal begin to cry out to their god.
An hour passes, then two and then three. The sun climbs into the sky and the shrieks
of the prophets of Baal echo over the mountain.
But nothing happens. Finally, in
the heat of the day, Elijah decided to have some fun.
“Call out
with a loud voice, for he is a god...”
Perhaps
the batteries in his hearing aid need recharging and he can’t hear you. Cry a little louder.
“Either he
is occupied or gone aside.”
He
is indisposed and can’t take any incoming calls at the moment.
“Or is on a journey.”
Maybe
he has packed his bags and taken a vacation to the
“Or
perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.”
Perhaps
he took a couple of sleeping pills and you will have to pray really loud if you
are going to wake him up.
Elijah’s words have the
effect of driving these prophets into a wild religious frenzy. They begin to cut themselves with swords and
spears.
There is a principle
here. It is that sincerity is no
substitute for truth. These false
prophets were completely sincere in their belief - but they were sincerely
wrong. I know a lot of people who do not
believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. They
are very sincere in their beliefs. Some
are even willing to die for their beliefs.
But such sincerity is not a proof that they are right in their beliefs. It is possible to be sincerely wrong.
You might be thinking, “This
has no relevance to me. I have never bowed
down before an idol or prayed to Baal.”
But there are other forms of idolatry.
·
Pleasure and
comfort.
·
Business and the
making of money and the security which comes from such activity.
·
Social standing.
·
Covetousness
(Colossians 3:5 equates covetousness with idolatry).
ROUND #2: JEHOVAH
The day was far spent and now
it was past time of the offering of the evening sacrifice - in the late
afternoon with the sun heading for the horizon.
The prophets of Baal have exhausted themselves with their prayers and
their sun god is heading for the sea. It
is now that Elijah prepares to pray.
1. A
Rebuilt Altar.
30 Then Elijah said to all the
people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the
altar of the Lord which had been torn down.
31 Elijah took twelve stones
according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of
the Lord had come, saying, “
32 So with the stones he built
an altar in the name of the Lord, and he made a trench around the altar, large
enough to hold two measures of seed. (1 Kings 18:30-32).
Elijah
calls the people to come near. There is
a reason for this. It is so that they
can learn from what is about to take place.
He is going to have them involved in the offering of this sacrifice.
Elijah
takes great care in the building of this altar.
It is constructed with 12 stones.
These 12 stones represent the 12 tribes of
2. Anointing
with Water.
33 Then he arranged the wood
and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four pitchers with water
and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.”
34 And he said, “Do it a
second time,” and they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time,”
and they did it a third time.
35 The water flowed around the
altar and he also filled the trench with water. (1 Kings 18:32-35).
As
Elijah gives his instructions for the soaking of the altar, I imagine the
people looking at one another in amazement.
Has the sun finally gotten to this old prophet of God? The contest is to be won by producing
fire. The last ingredient you need to
produce fire is water.
In
obedience to his command, they carry four pitchers of water down the mountain
to the
Elijah
looks at the result, shakes his head, and says, “No, it isn’t wet enough. Do it again!”
A second time and then a third time the process is
repeated until the altar is soaked in water.
Why
the water? Because Elijah wanted there
to be no mistake in the people’s understanding that a miracle was about to take
place. He was making certain that any
skeptics in the crowd would be silenced.
The miraculous nature of what was about to take place would be obvious
to all.
3. A
Prayer for the Divine Response.
36 At the time of the offering
of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, the
God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in
Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your
word.
37 “Answer me, O Lord, answer
me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have
turned their heart back again.” (1 Kings 18:36-37).
Now
Elijah prays. He is not praying for his
own benefit. He is praying that God
might bring glory to Himself. He is
praying that God might show these people that He is the living God.
Notice
also that this is a PUBLIC prayer. He
prays in this manner so that the PEOPLE would know that it is God who is
supplying this miracle. What is there in
your life that can only be explained in terms of the supernatural? If you can’t think of anything, then you go
back to God and ask Him to do a work in your life, not merely for your own
sake, but to His glory and so that others may see and know Him.
This
prayer is BRIEF. It is given in two
verses. Elijah did not put the people to
sleep with his prayer. Neither did he
attempt to preach a sermon in the midst of his prayer. It was specific and to the point.
4. The
Divine Response.
Then the fire of the Lord fell
and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and
licked up the water that was in the trench. (1 Kings 18:38).
The
fire that came from the Lord was special.
It not only consumed the offering, it also consumed the wood and the
stones and the dust and the water. It
was an all-consuming fire.
Therefore, since we receive a
kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to
God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; 29 for our
God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:28-29).
RESPONSE TO THE PRESENCE
OF GOD
You cannot come into the
presence of God and fail to respond. His
presence ALWAYS solicits a response.
1. A
Verbal Response.
When all the people saw it, they
fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.”
(1 Kings 18:39).
In
verse 21, Elijah had set the proposal before the people that if Yahweh is God,
then He is to be followed. They now
respond to the miracle with a statement of faith. “Yahweh, he is Elohim.” This
was in direct answer to the prayer of Elijah.
He had not only prayed that the Lord would send fire down from heaven,
he had also prayed that the people would repent and return to the Lord.
I
want you to notice something. He did not
pray for their free will. He did not
pray that they would hear the gospel and understand the issues and then make
their own decision. He specifically had
prayed that the Lord would turn their hearts back to Himself. And that is the prayer that was answered.
2. A
Response of Life and Death.
Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the
prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them
down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. (1
Kings 18:40).
The
false shepherds of Baal were taken and put to death. Why? Because they bore the responsibility of deliberately leading the
people of God in the worship of idols.
There
is a principle here. It is that leaders
are more liable. They bear a greater
responsibility. James 3:1 warns, “Let
not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall
incur a stricter judgment.”
The
scene of this execution is the brook Kishon. The brook Kishon
flows down from the Central mountain range and then meanders along the foot of
the
THE COMING OF THE RAINS
1. Prophecy
of an Impending Rain.
Now Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up,
eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower.” (1 Kings
18:41).
Elijah
tells Ahab that there is “the sound of the roar of a heavy shower.” It is a cloudless day, but Elijah is hearing
with the ears of FAITH. It has not rained
in the past 3½ years. But that is going
to change now. It is going to rain and
it is going to rain HARD. For this
reason, he is now to eat and drink.
Why? There are several
possibilities:
a. He is
to eat and drink because the curse of the drought has now been lifted from the
land due to the repentance of the people and the execution of the false priests
of Baal.
b. He is
to eat and drink because he has not had the opportunity to do so all day due to
the battle which he has witnessed on
c. He is
to eat and drink now while it is dry so that his dinner will not be disturbed
by the onset of the heavy rain.
2. Prayer
for Impending Rain.
So Ahab went up to eat and drink.
But Elijah went up to the top of
Again
we see these two men in contrast to one another. Ahab goes to eat and drink. Elijah goes to pray. It is as though his prayer supplies that
which he needs for nourishment.
We
have already seen the PUBLIC prayer of Elijah when he asked that fire might
come down from heaven. Now we see the
PRIVATE prayer of Elijah. He is praying
that the curse might be lifted. He is
praying that it might rain.
3. On Watch for Impending Rain.
43 He said to his servant, “Go
up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked and said, “There is
nothing.” And he said, “Go back” seven
times.
44 It came about at the
seventh time, that he said, “Behold, a cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming
up from the sea.” And he said, “Go up,
say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, so
that the heavy shower does not stop you.’” (1 Kings 18:43-44).
Elijah
prayed in FAITH. We know that he prayed
in faith because he had his servant watching for the answer to that
prayer. Seven times he has his servant
climb to the peak of the mountain to look for signs of impending rain. It is only on the seventh trip that he spots
a small cloud on the horizon. This cloud
is the answer to Elijah’s prayers.
4. The
Coming of the Rain.
45 In a little while the sky
grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy shower. And Ahab rode
and went to Jezreel.
46 Then the hand of the Lord
was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins and outran Ahab to Jezreel. (1 Kings 18:45-46).
This translation makes it
appear that Ahab and Elijah were in some sort of race to see who could get to
Jezreel first. But I do not believe that
this was the case. The Hebrew says that
Elijah ran before Ahab. Elijah
was serving as the footman and escort to the king. He was accompanying the king back to Jezreel.
Ahab had sinned. He had sinned in marrying a Phoenician
wife. He had sinned in worshiping an
idol. And he had sinned in leading the
nation away from God. But repentance was
possible. And Elijah’s actions show that
the forgiveness of God was available to Ahab should he repent of his sin and
return to the Lord.
There is an interesting
contrast between Elijah and John the Baptist.
Both served as the forerunner to a king.
|
Elijah |
John the Baptist |
|
Condemned Ahab
and Jezebel for their sin |
Condemned Herod
Antipas and Herodius for their adulterous
relationship |
|
Called the
nation to repentance |
Called the
nation to repentance |
|
Went before the
king to Jezreel |
Was the
forerunner of Jesus |
|
Ahab was a
sinful king who was urged to repent |
Jesus was a
sinless King who called the world to repentance |
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