Elijah—Prophet of Fire
Part 3
“Showdown on the Mountaintop”
1 Kings 18:21-39 “Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing. 22 Then Elijah said to them….23 ‘Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God.’ Then all the people said, ‘What you say is good.’
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This story marks the high point of Elijah’s ministry.
It tells of the ultimate display of God’s power in dramatic fashion in order to call Israel back to God.
Under the influence of their wicked king, Ahab, and his even more wicked queen, Jezebel, Israel had fallen into the worship of the false god, Baal.
They believed he was the god of the sun, and thus worshiped the sun.
They said that Baal rode the thunderclouds and sent down lightning.
They also believed Baal had the power to control the weather.
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So God raised up Elijah as a one man wrecking crew to bring Baalism down and reintroduce the true God of the universe to Israel.
In 1 Kings 17:1 he appears from nowhere to inform Ahab it won’t rain a single drop until he says so.
He doesn’t tell him why a drought is coming, just that it’s coming.
Then God leads him about ten miles away to the Brook Cherith to hide from Ahab.
There, he drinks from the water of the brook and is fed by Ravens twice a day.
—Interestingly, ravens are scavengers that regularly feed on dead things for their food.
It was completely against the nature of a raven to be a provider—they are by nature takers.
So God literally changed the nature of the raven in order to take care of His man!
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After one year at the brook Cherith the brook dried up and God sent Elijah to the town of Zarephath where he dwelt with a widow and her son under supernatural provision for over 2 years.
Then after 3.5 years, God tells Elijah its time to face Ahab again!
Now, I want to look at Elijah’s actions and words once he reemerges from seclusion.
First:
I. He spoke truth to Ahab
We read that God told Elijah after many days, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.”
Elijah obeyed, and when he meets Ahab, Ahab says, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”—1 Kings 18:17
But it was in fact Ahab and Jezebel that had brought judgment on Israel!
Elijah responded, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals.”—vs. 18
For the first time, Elijah informs Ahab WHY the judgment of God was upon Israel.
“The problem is not me, but your abandonment of God’s word to chase after false gods has brought this judgment!”
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Then next,
II. Elijah challenged Israel’s hypocrisy
He instructed Ahab to gather all the people of Israel and all the false prophets of Baal—850 false prophets in all!
Once gathered, he asked them a piercing question:
“How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.”—vs. 21
The Message Bible puts it: “How long are you going to sit on the fence? If God is the real God, follow him; if it’s Baal, follow him. Make up your minds!”
Israel was torn by a double mind, a double loyalty, a divided faith.
James tells us this is a terrible place to be: “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.”—1:8
He’s like a wave in the ocean that is driven and tossed—no rest, no stability, no peace.
Israel had one foot in and one foot out.
With their lips they professed allegiance to God, but with their actions they were with Baal.
Then next,
III. Elijah rebuilt the altar
The altar of the Lord was in shambles.
Either through neglect, or someone had intentionally broken it down—likely Jezebel.
The altar was supposed to be a place of worship.
It was a centerpiece of Israeli life.
The Patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—built an altar everywhere they went in their long journeys.
It was their way of acknowledging the supremacy of God in their life.
The altar was where the people were to remember what God had done.
It was where they acknowledged and worshiped Him.
And now it was a total wreck!
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So Elijah starts repairing it using twelve stones.
These stones represented the twelve tribes of Israel.
They were to remind the people that they had a destiny to fulfill for God as a nation.
He had called them out as His chosen people.
The broken altar they were looking at symbolized a broken nation adrift from God.
They were no longer united, and had turned away from the One who had given them the land.
But a rebuilt altar was the symbol of Israel getting their act together as a unified nation under God again!
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Then, after confronting their divided mind:
III. He challenged them to a showdown
Elijah said, “Let’s see who the real god is!”
You kill a bull and I’ll kill a bull.
We’ll both put the sacrificial bulls on top of some wood.
Then we’ll both call on the name of our god, and the god that answers by fire is the true God!
The people responded, “It is well spoken.”
Since they believed that Baal was the god of the sun, sending fire down on the altar would be a piece of cake for him!
And don’t forget—King Ahab was standing right there watching all this go down!
Vs. 26-29 “So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made. 27 And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.”
28 So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. 29 And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.”
They have by now cried out to Baal all day long…
—first calling out,
—then screaming,
—then doing a dance around the altar,
—then cutting themselves till the blood flowed out.
But there was no answer, no voice, no one paid attention.
Baal was proven a fraud in front of them all!
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But what about Elijah’s God?
IV. Elijah prayed in front of them all to the true God
Vs. 36-37 “At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: ‘LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.’”
Notice his motive—that the people might return to God!
And God heard his prayer!
‘…the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.’
It burned up everything!
Nothing was left.
They didn’t need a cleanup crew.
It was all gone.
God proved once and for all that He was the true and living God!
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In a flash the people of Israel saw they’d been deceived.
The false gods of stone and wood were dead and useless!
Vs. 39 “Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”
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So, like Elijah, are we:
—Boldly speaking God’s truth to error?
—Refusing to sit on the fence?
—Praying for God to fall in revival fire?
LET’S PRAY