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First Kings chapter 18. First 
Kings chapter 18. Last week in chapter 17, we were 
introduced to Elijah the prophet. He comes basically out of nowhere 
and he rebukes or he says to Ahab that there would be no dew 
nor rain these years except at my word. In chapter 17, verse 
one, we saw him sustained or provided for by God through ravens 
and through a widow at Zarephath. And then we saw the power of 
God displayed in answer to prayer. in the raising of this widow's 
son from the dead. So beginning in chapter 18 at 
verse 1, And it came to pass after many days that the word 
of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go present 
yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth. So Elijah 
went to present himself to Ahab, and there was a severe famine 
in Samaria. And Ahab had called Obadiah, 
who was in charge of his house. Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, 
for so it was while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the Lord that 
Obadiah had taken 100 prophets and hidden them, 50 to a cave, 
and had fed them with bread and water. And Ahab had said to Obadiah, 
go into the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks. 
Perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive 
so that we will not have to kill any livestock. So they divided 
the land between them to explore it. Ahab went one way by himself, 
and Obadiah went another way by himself. Now as Obadiah was 
on his way, suddenly Elijah met him. And he recognized him and 
fell on his face and said, Is that you, my lord, Elijah? So 
he answered him, It is I. Go tell your master, Elijah is 
here. So he said, how have I sinned 
that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab 
to kill me? As the Lord your God lives, there 
is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone 
to hunt for you. And when they said he is not 
here, he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could 
not find you. And now you say, Go tell your 
master, Elijah is here, and it shall come to pass, as soon as 
I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the Lord will carry 
you to a place I do not know. So when I go and tell Ahab, and 
he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have 
feared the Lord from my youth. Was it not reported to my Lord 
what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how 
I hid 100 men of the Lord's prophets, 50 to a cave, and fed them with 
bread and water? And now you say, go tell your 
master, Elijah is here. He will kill me. Then Elijah 
said, As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely 
present myself to him today. So Obadiah went to meet Ahab 
and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. Then it happened, 
when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, Is that you, O troubler 
of Israel? And he answered, 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. Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me on Mount 
Carmel, the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah 
who eat at Jezebel's table. So Ahab sent for all the children 
of Israel and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. And 
Elijah came to all the people and said, ìHow long will you 
falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him, 
but if Baal, follow him.î But the people answered him not a 
word. Then Elijah said to the people, I alone am left a prophet 
of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are 450 men. Therefore, let them 
give us two bulls and let them choose one bull for themselves, 
cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under 
it. And I will prepare the other 
bull and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. Then 
you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the 
name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, He is God. So all the people answered and 
said, it is well spoken. Now Elijah said to the prophets 
of Baal, choose one bowl for yourselves and prepare it first, 
for you are many, and call on the name of your God, but put 
no fire under it. So they took the bowl 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. 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. So they cried aloud and cut themselves, 
as was their custom, with knives and lances until the blood gushed 
out on them. And when midday was passed, they 
prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. 
But there was no voice, no one answered, no one paid attention. 
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 that was 
broken down. And 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, Israel shall 
be your name. Then 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 sails of seed. And he put the 
wood in order, cut the bowl in pieces and laid it on the wood 
and said, fill four water pots with water and pour it on the 
burnt sacrifice and on the wood. Then 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. 
So the water ran all around the altar. And he also filled the 
trench with water. And it came to pass at the time 
of the offering of the evening sacrifice that Elijah the prophet 
came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, 
let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and I 
am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your 
word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me. that this people may know that 
you are the Lord God, and that you have turned their hearts 
back to you again.' Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed 
the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, 
and licked up the water that was in the trench. 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! And 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 executed them there. Well, as we continue in this 
section of the book of 1 Kings, the emphasis is upon the northern 
kingdom, specifically under the reign of Ahab, and the book will 
stay there until the latter part of chapter 22. It will go back 
to Jehoshaphat and the southern kingdom to close out the book. 
But this Elijah comes now to meet with Ahab. We see that in 
verses 1 to 19. And then we see this contest 
at Carmel in verses 20 to 40. Now essentially what God says 
is that He is going to indeed send rain on the earth. This 
is what's stipulated there specifically in verse 1. But God the Lord 
knows the hearts of men. If He just sends rain upon the 
earth, then no doubt the Baal apologists will say He's come 
back after a three-year hiatus and He has brought rain upon 
the land. So praise Baal from whom all 
blessings flow. So God uses Elijah to engage 
in this particular contest at Carmel to show the supremacy 
and the singularity and the glory of the living and the true God 
and to show that Baal is no god whatsoever. So it is a means 
by which he brings judgment to bear upon those who had given 
their hearts to Baal in obedience and in worship and in service. 
So let's look first at the meeting with Ahab in verses 1 to 19. 
There is the word of God that is the driving force in the narrative. 
God the Lord speaks through the prophet Elijah. Very specifically, 
he speaks to the prophet Elijah and he tells them, go present 
yourself to Ahab and I will send rain on the earth. So this was 
in the third year. Remember, Elijah appears before 
Ahab in chapter 17, verse 1. He then goes and lives with this 
widow at Zarephath, and so now three years later, he comes back 
on the scene. Now, it tells us that there are 
certain meetings, specifically with Ahab and Obadiah, Obadiah 
and Elijah, and then finally Ahab and Elijah. But note first 
Ahab and Obadiah in verses 3 to 6. It says, verse 3, Ahab had 
called Obadiah who was in charge of his house. So he was the man, 
the master, the governor of the king's palace or the king's royal 
quarters. And then it tells us Obadiah 
feared the Lord greatly. And then it gives us a reason, 
or it gives us a result of that fear of the Lord. In other words, 
he feared God, and as a result of the fear of God, it led him 
to do these sorts of things for the glory of God and the good 
of God's people. It says, "'For so it was, while 
Jezebel massacred the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah had 
taken 100 prophets and hidden them, 50 to a cave, and had fed 
them with bread and water.'" We ought to appreciate, not in 
a positive way, but the murderous rage of Jezebel at this particular 
time, and the complicity of Ahab. Ahab has not only allowed Baal 
worship, but Ahab has built a temple and an altar for Baal. And now 
that Jezebel wants to purge the real prophets of the living and 
true God, she engages in this massacre, and Ahab not only doesn't 
do anything, but he's actually supportive of this. But Obadiah, 
however, because he fears God, he serves in the capacity as 
the ravens in chapter 17 and the widow in chapter 17. He becomes 
the one that provides for these hundred displaced prophets, these 
men that Jezebel wanted to rid the earth of. And then when we 
look at Obadiah in more detail, we ought to appreciate that he's 
not the same sort of guy as Elijah. He is not this larger-than-life 
sort of figure that just sort of pops onto the scene out of 
nowhere and basically puts his finger into the face of Ahab 
the king. This man is sort of behind the 
scenes and this man is sort of in an inconspicuous manner serving 
the kingdom of God. And I think we ought to appreciate 
that with reference to Elijah and Obadiah. God's servants are 
not all the same. You get an Elijah once in a while 
that stands before the king and says, thou art the man. But for 
the most part, the people of God will find more affinity with 
a fellow like Obadiah, serving behind the scenes, seeking to 
be faithful, doing those sorts of things that are pleasing to 
the Lord God. Davis says sometimes Yahweh attacks 
evil with the in-your-face style of an Elijah, and sometimes he 
frustrates it by the simple subversion of an unobtrusive agent. And 
that's what we have in this man Obadiah. Now note the plan of 
Ahab with Obadiah in verses 5 and 6. Ahab says to Obadiah, go into 
the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks. 
Perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive 
so that we will not have to kill any livestock. Now the contrast 
here is absolutely incredible. He doesn't mind whatsoever when 
Jezebel is massacring the prophets of the living God. but here he 
wants to make sure that they have grass in order to keep the 
horses and the mules alive. The economy first with reference 
to Ahab and his regime. He doesn't care one whit about 
the true prophets. He doesn't care one bit about 
his murderous, wretched wife Jezebel who's engaged in such 
lawlessness. What is most important for Ahab 
is that we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive 
so that we will not have to kill any live stock. Matthew Henry 
says he took a deal of pains to seek grass, but none to seek 
the favor of God. And so he divvies up the land. 
Ahab will take one portion. Obadiah, his trusted servant, 
will take another portion. And this serves to get Obadiah 
away from Ahab, so that Elijah can now converse with Obadiah. We see that in verses 7 to 15. 
Verses 7 to 8, Elijah says, go tell Ahab that I am here. In 
other words, he is looking for me, he is surveying, he is scurrying 
the countryside in search for Elijah. Go tell him, it is I. Go tell your master, Elijah is 
here. Now note the hesitancy of Obadiah 
in verses 9 to 14. Some come down a bit hard on 
Obadiah here, and perhaps you might be likely to think the 
same sort of thing. It almost sounds like he's afraid 
of dying. Yeah, how dare him be afraid 
of dying? I mean, isn't that just incredible? It's easy for us in a Bible study 
room in a safe place on a Wednesday night to be a Monday morning 
quarterback and say, Obadiah, stand with Elijah shoulder to 
shoulder and rebuke Ahab. Sort of seems like he's trying 
to navigate and please his earthly master, Ahab, but on the other 
hand, he does fear the Lord. Well, this is again where the 
people of God oftentimes find themselves. We ought to believe 
the author, according to verse four, that Obadiah is indeed 
a good man. He has hidden the prophets from 
the murderous rage of massacring Jezebel. But we see that he is 
suspicious that he had sinned and that he is going to be punished 
for it. Notice in verse nine, have I sinned that you are delivering 
your servant into the hand of Ahab to kill me? Now, as you 
follow his train of thought, here is the jest, or here is 
the point. Obadiah knows that Ahab is searching 
for Elijah. And Elijah has said, go tell 
Ahab that I am here. Now, Obadiah fears that the Spirit 
of the Lord is going to take Elijah away, like he did when 
he went to the widow at Zarephath's house, when he was out of commission 
for those three years. And so Obadiah's fear is that 
he'll tell Ahab that Elijah's here, but the Spirit of the Lord 
will sweep Elijah away. And when Ahab says, where is 
Elijah? And there's no Elijah, then Obadiah 
will be murdered by Ahab. I think that's a legitimate fear 
that he had at this particular time. He says that there was 
indeed a diligent search by Ahab and we see in that his impotence. I think all over this chapter 
it shows the impotency or the ineffectiveness of Ahab. Chapter 18 verse 10, he searches 
all over but he couldn't find him. I mean, come on, this is 
the king of Israel. He ought to be able to find one 
lone prophet. As well, we see when these 450 
prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah, only 450 prophets 
of Baal face off against Elijah. What happened to the 
400 prophets of Asherah? Probably they are under Jezebel's 
command and Ahab couldn't get her to deliver them up so that 
they would face off against Elijah on Mount Carmel. So the impotence 
of Ahab is everywhere seen in this particular chapter. But 
notice verse 11, he says, Now you say, Go tell your master, 
Elijah is here, and it shall come to pass as soon as I am 
gone from you that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to 
a place I do not know. So when I go and tell Ahab and 
he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have 
feared the Lord from my youth." He's not boasting here. He's 
simply stating the facts. He is simply highlighting the 
reality. In other words, Elijah, you have 
a partner with me. You have somebody that is an 
affinity with you. You have somebody that's sort 
of on the inside that can help hide prophets and make sure that 
Ahab doesn't do his thing to all of the prophets of God. Verse 
13, he rehearses the fact that he hid the prophets, and then 
in verse 14 he says, now you say, go tell your master Elijah 
is here, he will kill me. Davis makes this observation 
concerning the difference between Obadiah and Elijah. Obadiah is 
obviously very different from Elijah. Elijah's ministry is 
more public and confrontational. You'd have to admit that, right? 
I mean, he comes out of nowhere, 17-1, and he tells Ahab there's 
going to be a drought. And he, you know, wants to go 
and meet him. He calls Ahab the troubler of 
Israel. He says, Obadiah works quietly 
in behind-the-scenes fashion and yet is faithful in the sphere 
where God has placed him. We ought to appreciate the differences 
in the servants of the Lord and not expect or demand that everybody 
be an Elijah. Not everybody is an Elijah. Not 
everybody's a Spurgeon. Not everybody's an Amy Carmichael. 
God has different people doing different things with the same 
goal, the same focus, and the same purpose. And we should see 
that in scripture, and we should see that in the church, and it 
should guard us against the tendency to say, well, I'm doing thus 
and thus, why isn't anybody else? Because they're doing a different 
thus and thus that serves the same focus, kingdom, and kingdom 
purpose, and yet it's different than what you are entrusted with. 
Let us not be the sorts of people that demand everybody be an Elijah-like 
figure like me, or an Elijah-like figure like them, or be a C.H. Spurgeon. Be faithful where God 
has planted you with the gifts and the resources and the abilities 
that He has given you. It might be an Obadiah that's 
governor over the house of Ahab. It might be Elijah the Tishbite 
who's fed by ravens at the brook Carinth. It may be, you know, 
an apostle Paul. It may be who knows who, but 
just serve God where God has placed you. Now notice when they, 
or just verse 15 quickly. Then Elijah said, as the Lord 
of hosts lives before whom I stand. He said that in chapter 17, verse 
one as well. It's a beautiful description, 
isn't it? Elijah's conscious of the reality that he stands 
before God. You know, God is in the heavens 
and he does his sovereign will. Elijah's on earth. Nevertheless, 
he stands before God each and every moment. I will surely present 
myself to him. Now note the meeting with Ahab 
and Elijah. They both battle over the identifier 
of the troubler of Israel. Ahab has the gall to say to Elijah, 
you are the troubler of Israel. No doubt, because Elijah had 
prayed and prophesied concerning the drought. So Ahab looks around 
at the brown, he looks around at the dearth, and he looks around 
and he says, you are the one that brought this to pass. It's 
your fault. Well, if you go back in the book 
of Joshua, in Joshua chapter 6 and 7, remember there was a 
man by the name of Achan, and he troubled Israel. Perhaps Ahab 
is thinking that if we remove this Achan, this Elijah, this 
troubler from Israel, if we remove him from the land, then God will 
heal the land, and we will get rain, and everything will be 
hunky-dory. But Elijah does not agree with him, as we would expect. Elijah doesn't say, yes, you're 
right, Ahab, I am the troubler of Israel. No, he says, you are 
the troubler of Israel, and he gives specific reasons why. Verse 
18, 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. Proven says, the trouble has 
religious roots, the abandonment of the Lord's commands and the 
worship of the Baals. And it is Ahab, not Elijah, who 
is the Achan of this narrative. So it's not Elijah that's the 
problem in Israel, it is rather Ahab. And then in verse 19 he 
says essentially to gather everybody up at Mount Carmel, 450 prophets 
of Baal, 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel's table. Now 
Jezebel was the queen. So if these prophets are sitting 
at our table, that means they are subsidized by the government. That means they are feeding based 
on tax dollars. They are state-sponsored false 
prophets in Israel at this particular time. Again, we often make this 
observation that when we look out around us, we see wickedness, 
and we see a secular society, and we see animosity toward the 
people of God, and we see, I think, increased animosity toward Christianity. But there is nothing new under 
the sun. I mean, Jezebel was trying to murder the true prophets 
of God, the very queen of Israel. The very queen of Israel is trying 
to murder the prophets of Israel. And the same sort of thing is 
seen in this particular section. Now let's look at this contest 
at Carmel. And there's three sections that 
I want to cover. First, the challenge issued by 
Elijah. Second, the response by the false 
prophets. And third, the display of God's 
power. But the first thing, the challenge 
issued by Elijah, notice in verse 20, Ahab sent for all the children 
of Israel, gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. Remember 
when Elijah goes to Zarephath, we said that it was Baal country. 
If you go up north and east over toward the Mediterranean Sea, 
you've got this region called Phoenicia. And this was the hub 
of Baalism. And this was where Zarephath 
was. And so Elijah goes and he lives 
right in the heart of Baal's country. Well, Mount Carmel is 
just south of Phoenicia. I mean, it's just right there 
on the border. And it is intriguing that some of the sorts of reports 
about Mount Carmel in the earlier history. Mount Carmel was close 
to Phoenicia, which was Baal country, and had had an altar 
to Yahweh in disrepair. Notice in verse 30, it says, 
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 that was 
broken down. So at one time, Carmel had a 
particular altar that was in operation. in service to Yahweh. It probably had been co-opted 
and been used now for Baal worship. But Davis goes on to say, in 
Egyptian records from the second millennium B.C., Mount Carmel 
is called Holy Head, suggesting it was a sanctuary. In the annals 
of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III in 841 B.C., Mount Carmel 
appears as, quote, the mountain of Baal of the promontory. So 
essentially, the same thing is happening again. Elijah beat 
Ahab when he stayed at the widow at Zarephath's house for those 
three years. Elijah is going to beat Ahab 
and Baal again right in Baal's own hometown. And if you were 
to read this chapter not knowing sort of the outcome, you might 
actually think that Elijah was trying to stack the deck against 
the God of Israel. He gives the false prophets the 
home field advantage. He gives the false prophets the 
first crack at the sacrifice. He gives the false prophets just 
about everything they could ever imagine, and then, to make his 
task even more difficult, he douses his sacrifice in water. He stacks the deck against Yahweh 
so that when Yahweh does bring fire down to consume the offering, 
no one will ever make the mistake of having to say, well, that 
couldn't have been God. It most certainly was God. It 
was the God of Israel that rendered this victory. Now, note the particular 
challenge. As stated earlier, God had intended 
to bring rain, but God didn't want these people to say, well, 
Baal brought the rain. A three-year hiatus, having been 
in the underworld, Moth was not victorious, so ultimately Baal 
has brought the rain. No, this contest was to show 
who the true and living God was. Now note Elijah's demand in verse 
21. Elijah came to all the people 
and said, how long will you falter between two opinions? This seems 
to be the problem in Israel. This word falter could also be 
translated limped. When we see these prophets of 
Baal leaping about the altar, it's the same verb. They limped 
about the altar. I think that Elijah is making 
a play here and saying that you people who follow after Baal 
are just sort of limping along. You don't have zeal, you don't 
have earnestness, you don't have confidence because your God is 
a useless, vain thing. But he issues this challenge. 
How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is 
God, follow Him, but if Baal, follow him. Now, he's not suggesting 
that Baal is the real God or is a God. He is simply laying 
down the gauntlet and telling them they need to deal with this 
particular demand. And if we were to ask the question, 
why would anybody be tempted to follow Baal? In other words, 
why did they find themselves in this particular situation? 
I mean, admittedly, for us, don't you look at this chapter and 
say, man, what a bunch of fools. They have the living and the 
true God. Why would they follow after Baal? The government supported 
Baal. Ahab and Jezebel were pro-Baal. That would indeed increase the 
pressure to be a follower of Baal. As well, there would be 
the appeal of tradition. Remember when Israel comes into 
Canaan? What is one of the first things 
they are met with? Baal worship, as well, relevance to felt needs. What was Baal's job? Allegedly, 
supposedly, he was supposed to bring rain upon the land. That's 
a great resource for farmers, a great resource in an agrarian 
situation. And then Baal certainly appealed 
to sensual needs because Baal was worshiped through the glands. 
Baal was worshiped through copulation. Baal was worshiped in a manner 
that was absolutely wicked. So I'm not suggesting those are 
good and compelling reasons, but when you come to Mount Carmel 
and you see a whole waft of people that are serving, or a raft of 
people serving this Baal, hopefully this will inform you as to why 
he lays down this challenge. But he says, if the Lord is God, 
follow him, but if Baal, follow him. What is Elijah saying? When it comes to your religious 
life, the God you serve demands total allegiance. You don't give 
God 30%, you don't give God 40%, you don't give God even 90%. He demands total allegiance of 
everything, life, soul, mind, strength, body, everything. Davis 
makes the observation, this is no mere academic question. Elijah's 
formulation assumes that theology leads to discipleship. Commitments 
have consequences. If you and I say we serve the 
Lord Jesus Christ, then it must be evidenced. It must be manifested. There must be that total allegiance. Christ picks up that theme, that 
Elijah-like theme, when he says in Matthew 12, 30, he who is 
not with me is against me. You see, we don't have the prerogative 
to pick and choose. Well, we'll serve Jesus over 
here with, you know, 30% of our energies, but the rest of it 
we're going to give to this, that, or the other. We're going 
to give Jesus this, we're going to give Mammon this. We're going 
to give Jesus this, we're going to give this idol that. No, we 
are to engage in total allegiance to the Lord God Most High. This 
is the gauntlet that is laid down by Elijah on Mount Carmel. And perhaps it was answerable 
to the reality that the persons of Israel at this time probably 
thought they could have a bit of Baal and a bit of Yahweh. Syncretism wasn't just completely 
forsaking Yahweh and only serving Baal. I would imagine some of 
them were like that, but some of them probably had a bit of 
Baal and a bit of Yahweh. And Elijah says that's not the 
way religion works. Commitments have consequences. Theology leads to discipleship. Choose you this day whom you 
will serve. Doesn't Joshua lay down the same 
challenge in Joshua 24? You see it in Joshua, you see 
it in Elijah, you see it in the Lord Jesus Christ. And for whatever 
reason, we still have a tough time hearing it, a tough time 
responding to it, a tough time exhibiting that sort of allegiance, 
that total allegiance to God. And that's not uncommon because 
notice what happens in verse 21. But the people answered him 
not a word. They probably feared Ahab, and 
they feared Elijah. They didn't want to commit. They 
were noncommittal. Let's see how this contest plays 
out, and then we'll make our decision. Typical sinners standing 
before an ultimatum. Notice, Elijah is greatly outnumbered, 
verse 22. Again, the prophets of Asherah 
are a no-show. And that's going to be fatal, 
ultimately, to Ahab. You know what happens after this 
great contest at Carmel? The prophets of Baal are slain. The prophets of Baal are seized 
and they are executed. But those prophets of Asherah 
live on to advise another day. And they tell Ahab to go into 
a battle wherein he loses his life. I mean, it's just, you 
know, beautiful irony in that whole situation, but that's for 
another time. And then the specifics of the 
contest in verses 23 to 25. It's pretty straightforward. You guys take a bowl, set it 
up for sacrifice, see what your God does in terms of consuming 
it by fire. And then when you fail, I'll 
go ahead and set up my bowl, and we'll see what my God does 
with reference to consuming it by fire. Now, this idea of consuming 
it by fire, we see it in Leviticus 9. After God gives instructions 
concerning sacrifice, we see that Israel offers up a sacrifice 
and God brings fire down to consume that sacrifice. We see it as 
well in 1 Chronicles 21 and in 2 Chronicles 7. This is a sign 
of God's acceptance of the sacrifice by way of fire, and that is precisely 
the thing that is set forth. Now, Howe says, as the storm 
god, Baal was thought to be responsible for lightning as well as rain, 
so this should be an easy contest. That's probably what they're 
thinking. It's good. This is a good plan. I mean, 
as we read it and as we know the story, we see sheep running 
right into the slaughter, don't we? We know how the story ends, 
and we know what Elijah's going to do. But at this particular 
time at Carmel, Elijah is grossly outgunned. He is grossly outnumbered. There are 450 of them against 
him and him alone. We learn from this that truth 
is not arrived at democratically. Even though 450 may say Baal 
is God, that doesn't make it true. Even though Islam is rapidly 
growing, that does not make it true. Even though there's a great 
whack of Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons, that doesn't make 
it true. Truth is not arrived at democratically. Truth is revealed to us by God 
Most High. And so Elijah stands up against 
these 450 prophets of Baal. He lays down the terms of the 
contest. They agree. They figure this 
is going to be an easy bet. We are going to have no problems 
whatsoever. Now notice the response by the 
false prophets in verses 26 to 29. They call on Baal. 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." I mean, 
this is a pathetic scene with reference to idolatry. This is 
a very pathetic scene. I mean, on the one hand, it's 
a glorious scene because we see the futility of idolatry, but 
it's a pathetic scene when you sort of drive down the streets 
of Chilliwack and you see people whacked out on drugs, people 
that are given to idols, people that will destroy their lives 
for their idols. That's what's happening right 
here before our eyes with these 450 false prophets. They keep 
escalating, they keep getting more and more, trying to invoke 
the blessing of their God to bring this fire down upon their 
altars. O Baal, hear us. And then this 
is repeated twice, here and then later, but there was no voice, 
no one answer. Well, we know why that is, don't 
we? Because Baal's a fake. Baal's a fraud. These are false 
prophets. They're not true prophets of 
a true God. They are false prophets of a 
no God. And that's why the text is specific. There was no voice, no one answer. We might say there was no voice 
because there was no one to answer. There was no bail. There was 
no target of invocation at this particular juncture. They increased 
their efforts. Then they leaped about the altar, 
which they had made, or they limped about the altar. which 
they had made. So they call on Baal. Notice, 
secondly, they are mocked by Elijah. And make no mistake about 
it, Elijah is mocking them. Elijah is scorning them. Elijah 
is browbeating them. Again, one against 450. Elijah is a larger-than-life 
sort of person. I don't care who else was in 
this passage, they wouldn't have, you know, stood shoulder to shoulder 
with Elijah. Obadiah is probably this pillar 
of majesty and glory, but standing next to Elijah, he almost seems 
a bit wimpy and a bit weak and a bit hesitant. Elijah is the 
sort of guy that mocks 450 men. You got to have confidence in 
your God in order to do something like this. Matthew Henry says, 
the worship of idols is a most ridiculous thing and it is but 
justice to represent it so and expose it to scorn. And that 
is what Elijah does. Notice at verse 27. And so it 
was at noon that Elijah mocked them and said, Cry aloud, for 
he is a God, either he is meditating, you get that sort of conception 
that there's your God sitting under a tree, you know, engaged 
with his thoughts. The next clause, or he is busy. Perhaps you have heard this explained 
as probably a reference to he's in the washroom. That's what 
it means. He's defecating. He's in the 
restroom. He's out of commission for a 
bit. So he's not going to hear you when you call on him to consume 
your sacrifice by fire. Or he is on a journey. Now, these 
are all things that were true of the gods in this particular 
context. you know, just sort of extra 
special humans, essentially. And so he is laying down this 
gauntlet upon them. Or perhaps he is sleeping and 
must be awakened. Now, when we consider our God, 
he is the direct opposite to each of those things. He is not 
busy. He is not meditating. He's not 
on a journey. And he certainly doesn't sleep 
and must be awakened. The God of Israel doesn't slumber. The God of Israel isn't ever 
caught you know, off under a tree collecting his thoughts. That's 
not the God with whom we have to do. Now they intensify their 
efforts again, verses 28 and 29. So they cried aloud and cut 
themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances until 
the blood gushed out on them. You see, at first it just looks 
a bit foolish, right? You've got these fellows singing 
and are calling upon Baal, which doesn't exist, to consume their 
sacrifice with fire. Then they leap about the altar 
and it's almost, you know, we giggle at that and certainly 
we stand right there with Elijah in verse 27 when he mocks, but 
verse 28 really is a picture of what idolatry brings a man 
to. They cried aloud, they cut themselves, as was their custom, 
with knives and lances until the blood gushed out on them." 
That was in order to try and provoke Baal to come to their 
rescue. But certainly that's the devotion people have to their 
idols, isn't it? And maybe we're not thinking 
through this, brethren, but all around us there are people that 
are engaged in idolatry. And they may not be, you know, 
cutting themselves and bleeding all over themselves to invoke 
the blessing of their idol, but they're losing houses or they're 
losing families or they're, you know, given over to some sort 
of lust or wickedness that completely ruins their lives. I mean, that's 
the sort of picture that we have here in verse 28. I mean, here's 
somebody's father cutting himself and bleeding on himself, invoking 
Baal to come and bless. That's a pathetic scene, and 
it is a clear scene of what idolatry reduces a man to. Verse 29, when 
midday was passed, they prophesied until the time of the offering 
of the evening sacrifice. This was an all-day event for 
them. This frenzy, this madness, this calling upon Baal, this 
prayer time was extended for the entirety of the day. But 
the author tells us once again in verse 29, but there was no 
voice, no one answered, no one paid attention. A.W. Pink says, the altar stood cold 
and smokeless, the bullock unconsumed. The powerlessness of Baal and 
the folly of his worshippers were made fully apparent. The 
vanity and absurdity of idolatry stood completely exposed. No 
false religion is able to send fire down upon a vicarious sacrifice. No false religion can put away 
sin, bestow the Holy Spirit. or grant supernatural answers 
to prayer. Tested at these three vital points, 
they one and all fail, as Baal's worship did that memorable day 
on Carmel. Now, brethren, you've got to 
appreciate the total depravity of man. You would think that 
after this display, Baalism would be removed from the land, wouldn't 
you? We get to 2 Kings 10, and guess what Jehu's mission is? 
Jehu's mission is to rid the land of Baalism. This is idolatry. Persons see the ruin that, say, 
drug abuse brings, or they see the ruin that adultery brings, 
or they see the ruin that love of money brings, and they nevertheless 
go out and do the same thing. This is a case study in the wretchedness 
and the wickedness of idolatry and the depravity of man who 
sees these instances multiply. I think about this often with 
reference to sexual infidelity in the pastoral ministry. This 
is the sorts of things we hear more often than not, how pastors 
leave the ministry. It's because of sexual infidelity. We've got to wake up and smell 
the coffee and realize that this sin never brings blessing in 
your lives or whatever your particular career, whatever your particular 
bent or issue is. You see things in your life, 
people perpetuating sinfulness and pursuing idols not to their 
benefit, Does idolatry ever bring blessing, goodness, joy, happiness? It brings ruin. It brings despair. It brings men, you know, gashing 
themselves and bleeding on themselves, calling to someone that's not 
even there. They could have done this for 
a million years and verse 29 would have been as strong. There 
was no voice, no one answered, no one paid attention. Now, notice the display of God's 
power in verses 30 to 40, the preparation by Elijah. He repairs 
the altar in verse 30, and then he sets up these 12 stones. This is an intriguing thing that 
Elijah does. By implication, he's saying to 
the northern kingdom, you are not legit. You are not a legitimate 
kingdom because Israel is 12 tribes. It's a confederation 
of tribes. We are one body. We are one unified 
whole. And you 10 are in rebellion against 
the living God. And when you did that, you then 
embraced Baalism and all manner of wickedness. Elijah setting 
up these 12 stones is essentially saying to Israel, we got to get 
back together, we got to get right before God, and we got 
to do those things that he has commanded us in his law. We're 
not supposed to be divided, and we're not supposed to be separated. Now, when he douses the sacrifice 
in the wood, persons say, well, how come in a drought he would 
take these 12 jugs of water and pour it all over? They were right 
near the Mediterranean Sea. No one was drinking sea water. 
There was an abundance of water to cover this sacrifice and this 
wood. So I mentioned earlier, Elijah 
could be understood to be working against Yahweh. The God in question, 
Baal, has authority over lightning. Seems like a sure bet that he's 
going to win this whole fire-consuming thing. Secondly, the false prophets 
have the home field advantage. Third, they got to go first. 
Fourth, the dousing of the sacrifice. Davis says Israelites were not 
witless. They knew wet stuff doesn't burn. 
Elijah had stacked a deck against Yahweh so that when His fire 
came, there could be no other explanation except that it was 
an act of God. You see, we use that today, our 
insurance companies use that today with reference to a tornado 
or a hurricane or whatever. Elijah set it up such that no 
one could not say it was an act of God. Everybody would see that 
Yahweh answered by fire and Yahweh was indeed the true and the living 
God. Now note, the prayer offered 
by Elijah, the very opposite of these false prophets. Now 
Elijah was a man of zeal. Elijah was a man of earnestness. 
Elijah was indeed sort of a larger-than-life figure. But Elijah knew something 
about the true God. He didn't need to be manipulated. 
He didn't need to be coerced, as if he could even be. You see, 
these false prophets are trying to manipulate and coerce Baal 
to bless them. If we pray enough, if we say 
enough, if we leap enough, if we bleed enough, then Baal will 
come to our aid. You see, Elijah recognizes that 
God, Yahweh, is not Baal. He is not a super slot machine. You put the quarter in, pull 
back the handle, and get the blessing out. That's not the 
way God operates. God is in absolute control. So he earnestly, fervently, and 
zealously prays, but he doesn't seek to manipulate or coerce 
God. And note the blessedness of his 
prayer. It says in verse 26, Lord God 
of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, the God of the covenant. Let 
it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and I am your 
servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 
Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that you 
are the Lord God, and that you have turned their hearts back 
to you again." So three particulars with reference to his prayer. 
First and foremost, the glory of God. In other words, God bring 
this fire to bear upon this sacrifice so that all the earth may know 
there is a God in Israel. Secondly, to validate the prophet 
Elijah. I mean, he wants people to know 
that when he speaks in the name of Yahweh, he is in fact the 
real deal. Because up until this point, 
he's only met with resistance. That's been Elijah's lot at this 
point. And then thirdly, the well-being 
of the people. Verse 37, Hear me, O Lord, that 
this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You 
have turned their hearts back to You again. You see, this is 
Elijah's prayer, the glory of God, the validity of his office, 
and the well-being of Israel. He's not there to beat up on 
Israel. He's there to beat up on Baal. 
He's there to beat up on this godless Ahab and Jezebel. But 
the people of Israel are his concern. He's a prophet of Yahweh. He wants their recovery. He wants 
their repentance. He wants their blessing. And 
this makes its way, obviously, into his prayer. Now, note the 
power of God displayed. Verses 38 and 39. The fire of 
God consumed the burnt sacrifice. Verse 38. Then the fire of the 
Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and 
the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was 
in the trench. The false prophet spent the whole day trying to 
invoke Baal to bless. Nothing happens. No voice. No 
one answered. No one was there. No one paid 
attention. Elijah offers up what we would 
call a very short prayer, wouldn't we? I mean, if Pastor Elijah 
was in the pulpit, everybody would be happy. There's no 20-minute 
prayer coming from Elijah. I mean, it takes, what, 10 seconds 
to read those two verses? That's a prayer we can get behind, 
Elijah. You see, God is not manipulated 
and coerced to perform. He says what needs to be said. 
May you be glorified, may you validate my prophetic ministry, 
and may you bless these people. And God answers. God answers. Never get it in your head that 
20-minute prayers are certainly answered prayers. 20-second prayers 
can be answered prayers as well. So the fire licks up everything. It licked up the water that was 
in the trench. I mean, what a display. Again, 
don't you see the depravity of the people that they would ever 
go back to Baal? Why go back to Baal? You saw Baal beat on 
Mount Carmel. Yahweh handed Baal his head. 
And those false prophets, well, not only did he hand them their 
heads, He did so literally via Elijah. But then note verse 39, 
we're coming to a close here. 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. I think in this, there's probably 
an act of God's grace alongside of His display of power. Because 
as I said, Leviticus 9, when they offer up the sacrifice and 
God brings down fire to consume it, what's the point in Leviticus? The whole point in the context 
of Leviticus is that the way that Israel gets to her God is 
through a bloody knife and a smoking altar. So this fire consuming 
the sacrifice in this instance at Mount Carmel is God's act 
of grace to these people essentially saying there is a way back. There 
is redemption, there is forgiveness, there is mercy, there is grace 
to be had, and it comes through the smoking altar. In other words, 
remember what you have in the law of God. Now, they confess 
the Lord, He is God, the Lord, He is God, but as I've said, 
they fall back into Baalism. And that brings us to conclude 
with reference to the punishment imposed by God. The false prophets 
are seized and the false prophets are executed. Some would say, 
well, you know, Elijah is such a monstrous figure here. No, 
Elijah is executing the vengeance of God, the justice of God. Deuteronomy 
13 is very clear that if anyone solicits or entices you to commit 
apostasy, they deserve to die. It's a capital offense. Remember, 
this is a theocratic situation. They are ruled by Yahweh's law. So when there are those who are, 
you know, against Yahweh and against the true prophets of 
Yahweh, that's treason. They are traitors in times of 
war and even in times of peace. Nations are very harsh in terms 
of their punishment with reference to treason. This is not harsh. This is not bad. This is not 
icky. This is the justice of God displayed 
through his servant. Well, in terms of a few concluding 
lessons, first, the folly of idolatry in light of verses 26 
and 29. Look at 26 and 29. but there was no voice, no one 
answered. And then in verse 29, but there was no voice, no one 
answered, no one paid attention. In Psalm 115, verses five and 
six, it's a Psalm that mocks the idols of the nations. It 
mocks the peoples that have these idols, but it says, they have 
mouths, but they do not speak. Eyes they have, but they do not 
see. They have ears, but they do not 
hear. You see, Psalm 115 is displayed 
right here when these false prophets are calling upon Baal to come 
and consume their sacrifice. Secondly, we ought not to leave 
verse 21 without giving it serious thought. the demand for total 
allegiance. It is indeed a condemnation of 
idolatry and syncretism. You cannot serve Baal and Yahweh. You certainly can't serve Baal. The issue, the challenge, the 
declaration is you need to come to God. You need to get right 
with God. You need to come through the 
Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew Henry again says, the 
service of God and the service of sin, the dominion of Christ 
and the dominion of our lusts, these are the two thoughts which 
it is dangerous halting between. Those halt between them that 
are unresolved under their convictions, unstable and unsteady in their 
purposes, promise fair but do not perform, begin well but do 
not hold on, that are inconsistent with themselves or indifferent 
and lukewarm and that which is good. Their heart is divided, 
whereas God will have all or none." See, verse 21 lays down 
the gauntlet for all of us to come to grips with. Is it a little 
bit of Baal and a little bit of Yahweh for me, or is it by 
the grace of God, I'm following the Lord God, I love Jesus Christ, 
and I want to do what He says? Are we singing 505 really, or 
are we hypocrites when we sing? all the way my Savior leads. Is that a lie? Or is it something 
we are seeking to pursue by the grace of God? Thirdly, we ought 
to appreciate the glory of the living God displayed in this 
passage. He is not hindered by numbers. He is not hindered by numbers. If 450 people rise up and say 
that He is not, and one stands up and says He is, He is. Even if no one stands up and 
says He is. You've seen that bumper sticker 
before. It says, God said it, I believe it, that settles it. 
God said it, that settles it. Whether you believe it or not, 
God spoke and it is true. He is not hindered by obstacles. Try as Elijah may to stack the 
deck against him, God will overcome. Pour as many gallons of water 
on that bullock, on that altar, in the trench around it, and 
God's fire will lick up the water itself. God hears and answers 
prayer. I mean, if verse 38 teaches us 
anything, we ought to pray. And notice that Elijah prayed 
as a man who had tried and proven his God in prayer. Same sort 
of thing in chapter 17. The widow's son dies. What does 
Elijah do? He takes the dead boy up into 
the upper room, he lays down on the boy, and he entreats God 
to raise him from the dead. So he prays now as a man who 
has tried and proven his God. He demonstrates His mercy and 
His grace. If we accept in verse 38 that 
this fire consuming the sacrifice also sends the message that there 
is indeed a way back, it is through the bloody knife, it is through 
the smoking altar, this is a display of His mercy and grace. He also 
demonstrates His justice and His righteousness in the execution 
of these false prophets. They deserve to die. I realize 
in our particular climate that really doesn't make any sense 
because heretics come to our door, heretics who deny the Trinity, 
you know, stand on the street corner. Heretics are all over 
the place and nothing bad ever happens to them. But again, in 
this theocratic situation, a heretic or a false prophet was an assault 
upon not only the religious order, but the civil order as well. 
And so execution was the fit punishment for it. And then God 
is not influenced by frenzies. And I want to end on this note, 
the danger of Baalism today. The danger of Baalism today, 
I suggest that there is more affinity with Baalism in some 
of our churches than there is with the worship of Yahweh. It 
is an emotional plea and ploy to get God to do things. Now, 
I hope that this isn't true of us, but just consider, the prophets 
of Baal thought they could influence Baal by their zeal. Is that what 
we think? God's going to bless me because 
I'm zealous? Now, be zealous But don't do it to get. They 
called on His name from morning till noon. Brethren, by all means, 
pray from morning till noon. But if it's only to get what 
you're after, you see, that's the essence of Baalism, doing 
what we do in order to get. No, we do what we do because 
we want to bring glory to God. We want to honor the name of 
Yahweh. We want to submit ourselves under His government and under 
His hand. They leaped about the altar. They cried aloud. They 
cut themselves until the blood gushed out. They prophesied until 
the evening. All of that was with a particular 
design to get Baal to act. Now, Davis makes the observation. He says, don't think Elijah was 
casual while the prophets of Baal were intense. Elijah was 
intense and earnest. Note the repetition in 37a. But 
he knew God's nature. He didn't have to badger, coerce, 
manipulate. He didn't need to blabber on 
and bleed half the day to secure a hearing. He then gives about 
a paragraph full of examples of things that are legit in and 
of themselves, missions trips and bake sales and all these 
things that churches do and individual Christians do. Again, not saying 
it's bad, but let's just question the motives or the rationale 
behind it. Are we doing what we're doing 
to try and manipulate God to bless us? You see, it's one thing 
to condemn Benny Hinn and the rest of the wingnuts that are 
out there preaching a health, wealth, and prosperity gospel, 
and yet be just like them, doing what we do to get from God. You see the subtlety there? Are 
we treating Yahweh as if He's Baal? So He gives all these examples 
of what Christians and churches do, and then He says, all this 
Christian busyness is as exhausting as Baal worship, even minus the 
gashes. He says most of these are not 
illegitimate activities. I'm not opposing, for example, 
more time spent in Bible study or missions trips. But might 
an illegitimate rationale drive them? Are these means of grace 
or gimmicks designed to manipulate, impress, or stir up God? You 
may not be a prophet of Baal, but you may think like one. If 
only we do this, then God will do this." You see, it's easy 
to fall into this subtle trap of Baalism, only serving God 
for what God gives us. That's as bad as Benny Hinn, 
brethren. And I suspect it happens even in reformed churches. I 
pray, I read, I do because God will reward me. God's good, God 
blesses, God's kind, God's gracious, but we aren't to be mercenaries 
in our service to God. We're certainly not to be bailists, 
gashing ourselves, cutting ourselves, or the equivalent of that, praying 
for 18 hours a day so that God will do this, that, or the other. 
By all means, pray 18 hours a day. Actually, don't. Go to work, 
work hard, do your jobs. But pray, but just don't be a 
bailist about it. Don't try to manipulate God into 
doing what you want. Rather, submit yourself to His 
cause. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for your word. We thank you for the prophet 
Elijah and the great example we learned in his boldness, his 
courage to stand up against these 450 false prophets. Thank you 
as well for the subtle servant Obadiah. Thank you most of all 
for the display of your glory and your power and your majesty 
there at Mount Carmel. God, give us grace to see idols 
or potential idols in our lives. Let us hear John's admonition, 
little children, keep yourselves from idols. Grant us grace to 
serve you, to follow you, to glorify and to honor you. And 
we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.