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Turn in your Bibles to 1 Kings 
chapter 18. I know that in the past, the 
recent past, I have alluded to this section of Scripture. I 
wanted to look at it in more detail tonight. I doubt you're 
going to learn anything new. Hopefully it is a reminder. Elijah 
and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. I wanted to take a look 
at Elijah because as we saw this morning in the prophet Malachi, 
He likens John the Baptist, or says that John the Baptist comes 
in the spirit of Elijah the prophet, or the Lord Jesus says that concerning 
him. There's several places, there's 
several parallels between Elijah and between John the Baptist. 
Remember that the prophet would ultimately sound the warning 
and call Israel to repentance. We see that here in 1 Kings chapter 
18. Well, that's precisely what John 
the Baptist does. He warns the people concerning 
the coming of God's holy kingdom and he calls them to repentance. As well, the prophet Elijah modeled, 
in a righteous way, stubborn faithfulness. stubborn faithfulness. It's an interesting thing that 
Ahab actually has the gumption to call Elijah the troubler of 
Israel. Just the opposite was the case. Ahab was the troubler of Israel, 
but rather what Elijah models is stubborn faithfulness. And 
John the Baptist shows that as well. Also, the prophet Elijah 
operated outside the power structure. He was not looked approvingly 
upon by the king. In fact, the prophets of Baal 
and the prophets of Asherah almost had state-sanctioned status. If you look for just a moment 
at verse 19 in chapter 18. Now, therefore, send and gather 
all Israel to be on Mount Carmel, the 450 prophets of Baal and 
the 400 prophets of Asherah. Notice, who eat at Jezebel's 
table. So they're being fed with the 
coffers that are being given to Ahab and to Jezebel. The royal couple is using their 
money to supply vittles, or food, for the prophets of Baal and 
Asherah. So Elijah operates outside of 
the power structure in Israel, as does John the Baptist. He is the voice of one crying 
in the wilderness. As well, the prophet Elijah preached 
the law of Moses as God's covenant messenger, and this is precisely 
what the Baptist does as well. He preaches the law of God. He 
calls men to repentance. He calls men to look unto the 
Lord Jesus Christ. So, when the prophet speaks of 
the coming of Elijah, and when the Lord Jesus describes or explains 
that John the Baptist is the embodiment of the prophet Elijah, 
we see those strong parallels that exist between the two men. So let's just pick up reading 
at First Kings chapter 18. We'll read from verse 20 all 
the way to verse 40, and then we'll look at this exchange between 
Elijah and the prophets of Baal. 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, How long will you falter 
between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him. But if Baal, follow him. 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 four hundred and fifty 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 bowl 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 siahs of seed. And he put the 
wood in order, cut the bull 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 it 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 
Tishon and executed them there. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, 
how we thank you for this wonderful example, this display of your 
power, of your glory, of your majesty. May this encourage the 
Church of Jesus Christ. May we see that you are a great 
God. May we see that you are a holy 
God, a wondrous God, and a God who answers the prayers of his 
people. As James says, the effective, 
fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. He uses Elijah 
as his example. We just pray, God in heaven, 
that we would come to you with big petitions, that we would 
come to you with big requests, and that we would present these 
things unto you, knowing that you are great and wondrous. And 
our Father, may you show us from this passage the serious sin 
of seeking to serve two gods. Help us, Father, to give you 
our hearts, to give you our soul, our mind, our strength completely 
and absolutely. And for any and all who here 
are serving the bales of this generation, we just pray that 
you would cause them to repent, cause them to believe on the 
Lord Jesus, cause them to serve Him and Him alone. And we ask 
these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, Elijah gets a very 
interesting introduction into redemptive history. It's almost 
as if he sort of pops out of nowhere. After recounting several 
kings that were ungodly, several kings that engaged in futility, 
in chapter 17, verse 1, the first mention of Elijah the Tishbite. It says in chapter 17, verse 
1, And Elijah the Tishbite of the inhabitants of Gilead said 
to Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there 
shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word." What 
a wonderful description of this particular man of God. He says, 
As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand. So, Elijah lived quorum Deo. He always lived in the presence 
of God. His daily life was marked in 
such a way that he's able to describe himself as the one, 
or as God, as the one before whom I stand. One commentator 
says, whenever evil flourishes, this is a reflection upon the 
wicked kings that were mentioned in chapter 16. He says, whenever 
evil flourishes, it is always a superficial flourish. For at 
the height of the triumph of evil, God will be there, ready 
with His man and His movement and His plans to ensure that 
His own cause will never fail. the wonderful description of 
the role of Elijah the Tishbite in this reign of Ahab when the 
nation went a-whoring from God. We have 450 prophets of Baal, 
we have 400 prophets of Asherah, and we have the one lone prophet 
of Yahweh, and he challenges all comers and he sets forth 
this particular contest to demonstrate that Yahweh truly is the God 
of heaven and earth and Israel itself. So I want to look at 
this passage of Scripture under three brief considerations. I 
say brief there so that you can slow down your fanning. We won't 
be here all night. We'll notice first the challenge 
of Elijah in verses 20 to 25. Secondly, the response of the 
prophets in verses 26 to 29. And then thirdly, the victorious 
display of God's power. in verses 30 to 40. So, notice 
first the challenge of Elijah. Again, it's not just the 450 
prophets of Baal, but it's also the 400 prophets of Asherah. 
Now, it's important for us to remember that these were pagan 
deities. The children of Israel weren't 
supposed to worship these idols. They weren't supposed to follow 
after Baal. They weren't supposed to follow 
after Asherah. And the way that Baal and Asherah 
worship worked was like this. If you notice in the text, the 
prophets attempt to prime the pump. For those of you who don't 
know what that means, let me just try to explain. When I was 
growing up, my cousin, or my uncle, had a cabin in Oregon. And we would go there a couple 
of times, or I went there a couple of times. Well, they had one 
of these hand pumps. that got water out. That's one of these 
things, kids, that you have to actually do like this. Kind of 
like a digital clock. We don't even know how to read 
those old things anymore. But you had to prime the pump. 
You had to put a little bit of water in it, and then you started 
to move this handle, and then the water flow would get going. 
I don't absolutely know all the science involved, but just suffice 
it to say you had to prime the pump, and then the water would 
flow. Well, if you notice how these 
men call upon their God, they have to prime the pump. They 
had to try and rouse him to service. And the way they rouse him to 
service, very specifically here, is they leap around the altar, 
they cut themselves, they bleed all over themselves. But another 
way that they would prime the pump with reference to Baal worship 
was through sexual immorality, was through fornication. The 
idea specifically was that the worshippers, this is really bizarre, 
but the worshippers would fornicate with the intention of priming 
the pump so that Baal and Asherah would come together and as a 
result of that would send rain and would send benefit upon the 
ground and would produce fertility. So it's a bizarre sort of a way 
to go about worship. And unfortunately, understanding 
the carnal heart of man, you could see why some Israelites 
would get caught up in that. If they were not committed to 
Yahweh, if they were not committed to the gospel, if they were not 
believing the promises of God, unfortunately, they would go 
astray. And they would be perfect prey 
to come along or to come under this sort of a worship. and approach 
to Baal and to Asherah. So that's sort of the religious 
context of what is going on in the passage. You see, Elijah 
doesn't come along and say, well, you've got Baal and you've got 
Asherah. Yahweh's not really a jealous God, like he says in 
the second commandment. You go ahead and you just worship 
any old way you want, or you worship any old thing you want. 
No, he doesn't do that. You see, for Elijah, as a prophet 
of the living and true God, this is sin. This is evil. This is 
wickedness. And it's as a result of this 
that Elijah offers this challenge. Verse 20, 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, How long 
will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal, follow him. You see, it's an absolute commitment, 
this whole idea of religion. You see, you cannot pick a little 
Jesus and a little Baal. You can't have a little bit of 
Yahweh and a little bit of Asherah. You don't get to pick and choose 
like you're at a buffet. Well, I want three parts this 
and four parts this to complete my religious being. You know, 
I sort of like the pomp and the circumstance of this particular 
aspect. I sort of like this in this particular 
area of religion. And I like this carnality that's 
involved in Baalism and in Asherah. So I'm going to sort of meld 
all those things together. No, you can't do that. The prophet 
issues forth this question. He sounds just like his Lord 
Jesus. He who is not with me is against 
me. The question is penetrating. 
The question is as relevant today as it was then. How long will 
you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him. 
But if Baal, follow him. If the Lord Jesus Christ is God, 
follow Him. If Mammon is God, then follow 
it, but don't try to play them both. Don't try to entertain 
Christ in the parlor and the devil in the basement, because 
you will most certainly fail. Ralph Davis says this is no mere 
academic question. Elijah's formulation assumes 
that theology leads to discipleship. Commitments have consequences. You say you're a Christian. You 
say you believe on the Lord Jesus. You say that you've trusted in 
him alone. Does that have consequences in 
your life? Are you easily led astray? Do you follow Mammon? Do you 
follow Baal? Do you follow the world? Elijah's 
challenge is as relevant as I've said then as it is today, or 
now as it was then. But the people answered him not 
a word. Then Elijah said to the people, 
verse 22, I alone am left the prophet of the Lord. But Baal's 
prophets are 450 men. Therefore, let them give us two 
bowls and let them choose one bowl for themselves. Cut it in 
pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. I will 
prepare the other bowl and lay it on the wood, but put no fire 
under it." It's a great challenge, isn't it? I kind of wish you 
were there. I think we are when we actually 
pay attention to the text. You know, you can kind of see 
what's going on. This one man. does not care about 
the numbers involved. Oh, there's 450 prophets of Baal. There's 400 prophets of Asherah. 
I'm the one lone prophet of Yahweh. There's no way I'm going to make 
it. This morning, Pastor Cam read a portion of a message from 
C.H. Spurgeon on the necessity, basically, 
to defend the truth. It reminded me of a quote from 
John Calvin. John Calvin said that as a little 
dog barks to protect its master, He says, how long would it be 
of me if I didn't bark to protect the truth of the living God? We need to bark, not in a sinful, 
wretched, whiny way. We need to defend the truth. 
That's what we find in Elijah. Elijah does not cower before 
numbers. It intrigues me. There are some 
men today that seem to be so enamored with numbers. Elijah 
wasn't. I don't care if there's 450 prophets 
of Baal. I don't care if there's 400 prophets 
of Asherah. You collect the bullock, you 
lay it down, you put the wood under it, and then you call upon 
your gods and let's see him act. If he is God, then this is certainly 
not a difficult task for him. If He is God, then certainly 
He can consume one bullet. This is the challenge. This is 
the contest. This is the issue. You call on 
the name of your gods, verse 24, and I will call on the name 
of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, He is God. That met with acceptance. Yeah, 
everybody agreed. This is a good test. This is 
a good contest. Certainly the God of heaven and 
earth, the One who has absolute sovereignty, the One who can 
bring fertility upon the land, can certainly consume with fire 
the bull that we offer up to Him. Yeah, that was agreeable 
to them. Now notice the response of the 
prophets. Verse 25. 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 he allows them to go first. 
You've got the order. Everything's stacked in your 
position. You go right ahead. You've got the numbers. You've 
got the people. You've got the resources. Elijah 
says, I want you to go. Verse 26, so they took the bowl 
which was given them and they prepared it and called on the 
name of Baal. Notice, from morning even till noon saying. Something 
conspicuous about prayer jumps out from this passage. We'll 
just introduce the thought here. Elijah's prayer is quite simple, 
isn't it? Isn't it? He prays, God do this. What happens? God does this. What are we supposed 
to understand here? We're supposed to understand 
that prayer isn't technique. Prayer isn't manipulation. Prayer 
isn't reward. Well, you prayed for six long 
hours, so I'm going to deliver the goods. The text is conspicuous 
from morning till noon. These guys prayed. Have you ever 
prayed from morning till noon? Don't answer. I don't want anybody 
to hold their head in shame. Oh no, six hours. I struggle 
at times with six minutes. I'm not justifying small prayers, 
big prayers, whatever kind of prayers. But it's the approach 
to prayer and it's the idea of praying that we need to check. Prayer is not technique. Prayer 
is not manipulation. Prayer is not some sort of a 
thing that we insert this amount and out comes this response from 
the living and true God. See, the pagans, the idolaters, 
The heathens, that was their relationship to their gods. You 
see, if we prime the pump, then our God will bless us. If we 
pray for hours on end, then our God will bless us. Sounds a lot 
like what happens in evangelical churches today. If we do this, 
then God will bless us. If we pray and fast for 40 days, 
then God will bless us. If you want to pray and fast 
for 40 days, by all means, do so. But check your heart. Is it technique? Is it manipulation? Is it an attempt to put God's 
arm behind his back and make him bless you? Are you going 
to come out of that 40 days of prayer and fasting and say, well, 
he didn't bless me the way I thought he should have, so it was a waste 
of time? That betrays an improper approach 
to the whole act of prayer. It's more pagan and heathen and 
Baalistic and Asherah-like than it is the prayer that is modeled 
for us in Matthew chapter 6. Jesus gives us heads. He gives 
us points. He gives us specifics. He says, 
in this manner, pray. Pray that God's glory would be 
had. His name would be Hallel. Pray 
that His kingdom would come. Pray that His will would be done. 
Ask Him for food. Ask Him for forgiveness. Ask 
Him for protection. And then give Him the glory and 
the praise that is due Him. And then go from your closet 
into your workplace and shine His lights in that particular 
area. It really isn't magic. It really isn't manipulation. 
It really isn't formulaic. And it really isn't technique 
motivated. That's how Baal worshippers went 
about their particular task. They took the bull, verse 26, 
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. Notice the conspicuousness of 
the text. But there was no voice, no one 
answered. Then they leaped about the altar 
which they had made." Again, if you're looking at this in 
your mind's eye, this looks pretty whacked up, doesn't it? They're leaping about the altar. Why? Because they think that 
for their effort, for their leapingness, for their earnestness, for their 
vigilance and persistence and their attempt to get Baal to 
blast, that he's going to do it. This is technique driven. If we leap about the altar, then 
our veil will bless us. That's not the way we ought to 
pray. We pray because we worship. We 
pray because we're commanded. We pray to align our will to 
the will of the Father. We don't pray to manipulate God. 
That's how veil worshipers pray. So at this point, they just look 
silly, don't they? I mean, imagine that. Imagine, 
kids, if instead of prayer, we just, you know, the Sunday morning 
prayer meeting, instead of sitting there and hearing some requests 
and then bowing our head and closing our eyes and praying, 
we sort of leaped around the tables. Hear us, Lord, hear us, 
Lord, and sort of did a little jig. That would look silly, wouldn't 
it? You say, why would you do that? 
Should God need to be manipulated? Does the Pope need to be primed? 
He's not sovereign? He doesn't? You don't have his 
ear? So if it was silly, it then becomes grizzly, horrific. Notice. Well, let's just stop 
for a moment, look at Elijah's response. And so it was at noon, 
verse 27, 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. Now, maybe Elijah was a much 
better man than all of us. I'm sure that he was. But if 
he said that straight faced, I would be amazed. Absolutely amazed. He's mocking 
them. He's saying, where's your God? 
Where is he? You pray from six to noon. Your 
sacrifice is laid out. The wood is in place. You've 
called upon Him. Look at the language that is 
used here. Cry aloud. It might be hard of 
hearing. You need to raise your voice. 
Nowhere are we told that our prayers, the effective, firm, 
and prayer of a righteous man are loud. You've got to pray 
loud so that God will hear you. Not necessarily. You pray silently 
and the Lord God in sovereignty hears. But he says, cry aloud 
for he is a God. Either he is meditating. Again, 
this is an affront to the idea of God. What does the prophet 
Isaiah say concerning God? He doesn't sleep. He doesn't 
take time off. We need the Sabbath. God didn't 
institute Sabbath in the garden because he was weary and he needed 
to put his feet up. He set forth a pattern for his 
creatures. We get weary and we need to put 
our feet up and we need to come apart and rest for a while. God 
doesn't need Sabbath in terms of being able to recharge his 
batteries or refresh himself. But the pagan God isn't acting. And so, Elijah says 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. Again, that doesn't strike you 
funny at some level. You've got to wonder about your 
theology. We're talking about God. God 
doesn't sleep. God doesn't go on vacation. God 
doesn't meditate. God doesn't have to take a week 
off in the summertime so that He can come back refreshed. God 
doesn't need a boost in the arm. God doesn't need energy drinks. 
God doesn't need a bedroom. God never slumbers. God never 
sleeps. God is always on duty. always completely, omnipotently 
responsive to everything in the created order. Elijah is picking 
on their theology proper. He is mocking Baal. He is mocking 
Asherah. Now notice, we go from what I've 
already mentioned. What was silly in verse 26 to 
what is grisly? What is wicked? What is horrific? Notice in verse 28, so they cried 
aloud caught themselves. Now this just gets bizarre, doesn't 
it? Imagine we go back to the prayer 
meeting room and we're kind of dancing around the table. You 
say, that's weird, that's silly, that's strange. But if then we 
stopped and we walked over to that kitchen table and we started, 
this is what they were doing. This is what the text says. They 
were cutting themselves. What's the idea? Baal will see 
our blood, he will know we mean business, he will know that this 
is a genuine contest, and as a result of that, he will bless 
us. Again, it is technique and manipulation. They cried aloud, they cut themselves, 
as was their custom. You can see who was a prayerful 
man in the service of Baal. They had dash marks, they had 
scars. It would be easy to parade one's 
piety as a Baal worshipper, wouldn't it? Oh, look at me, holy brother. 
Look at how much I pray. You see, it's carnal. It's self-will. It's all about the person. It's 
not about God. That's what's going on here. 
They cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances 
until the blood gushed out on them. Aren't you happy to be 
in the service of Yahweh? Aren't you happy to be in the 
service of Jesus Christ? He says, go into your secret 
place and in this manner pray. Our Father who art in heaven, 
he doesn't say go to the kitchen drawer and take a knife in there 
with you to cut yourself. Don't go in there trying to manipulate 
my Father. You go in there and my Father 
who sees in the secret place will hear your prayers. The Spirit will intercede. The Spirit will give you utterance. 
The Spirit is your aid and your guide and your assistance with 
reference to prayer. You don't have to cut yourselves. 
You don't have to engage in this sort of madness and falling. 
until the blood gushed out on them. And then notice in verse 
29, and when midday was passed, they prophesied until the time 
of the offering of the evening sacrifice. You see this? It's 
an entire day devoted to Baal worship. It's an entire day devoted 
to praying to Baal, begging and imploring and cutting and lancing 
and gushing and dancing and all that stuff, saying, Baal, bless 
us. and nothing happens. Again, the 
text, verse 29. There was no voice. No one answered. No one paid attention. You see, 
this is where you're supposed to think theology. You're supposed 
to realize that's not true in Yahweh's world. He has a voice. He pays attention. He is God. He is Lord. He is king. He is majestic. These idols of 
the nations are fake. They're false. They're wrong. 
A.W. Pink said it this way. The altar 
stood cold and smokeless. The bullock unconsumed. The powerlessness of Baal and 
the folly of his worshipers were made fully apparent. The vanity 
and absurdity of idolatry stood completely exposed. No false 
religion is able to send down fire 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 won and all failed, as Baal's worship did that memorable day 
on Carmel. Beautiful statement. That's why 
I hope how you read this passage of Scripture or passages like 
these, stop for a moment, reflect upon what is going on. The veil 
worshipers think their technique is going to garner blessing. 
That's simply not the case. Elijah, like that guard dog, 
barking, mocks these prophets. And now, notice the victorious 
display of God's power, picking up at verse 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 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 seers 
of seed. And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, 
and laid it on the wood, and said, Fill four waterpots with 
water." Again, I think I mentioned this several weeks ago. He said, 
but there was a drought. Why would he waste all that water? 
Because they were right near the Mediterranean Sea. It'd be 
very easy to get seawater and pour it on the sacrifice. Don't 
think that Elijah, what are you wasting water for in a drought, 
Elijah? What's the matter with you? No, it's seawater. It's 
a body of water right there called the Mediterranean Sea. So they 
would just get some water and pour it on there. But notice 
the text. It's beautiful. 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. 
What's he saying? Stack the deck in your favor, 
make it difficult, make it hard so that when God sends the fire 
and consumes the bullet, no one can scratch their head and say, 
well, you know, it was a drought condition. No one's going to 
be there from the Democratic Party to put a spin on reality. 
So, you know, it was a drought condition. or liberals that deny 
the supernatural. It was a drought condition. You 
know, the conditions were right. The sun was baking it down and 
boom, there was a spontaneous combustion. You're not going 
to be able to say that because I want you to take these four 
water pots and pour it on there. Do it. Do it a second time. So 
they did it a second time. Notice the text is almost redundant. 
God wants us to see this. Do it a third time. Okay, we'll 
do it a third time. He wants you to get this. How foolish 
Baal worship is and how glorious Yahweh worship is. That's the 
point of the passage. Do it a third time, and they 
did it a third time. Verse 35, So the water ran all 
around the altar, and he also filled the trench with water. 
No smoke and mirrors. This is not a trick. This is 
not an illusion. This is not some magic that Elijah 
was inclined to perform for the dazzlement of people. No. was 
orchestrated to display the victorious power of God Almighty. Now, here comes his prayer at 
verse 36. It came to pass at the time of 
the offering of the evening sacrifice that Elijah the prophet came 
near and said, and again, look at the simplicity of his prayer. 
It's beautiful. Brethren, it doesn't matter if 
you pray for hours and hours and hours. It matters if you 
pray in faith, living in true God. Sometimes people say at 
the public meeting, you know, I'm a little bit intimidated 
in praying because I don't have the words that these other brothers 
have. Pray. Just pray. Which one of you would say to 
your child, you can't speak to me until you can speak to me 
like a PhD? Hopefully you'd say, don't speak 
to me like a PhD. Just speak to me. I like to hear 
you. You're my kid. I love you. Just talk to me. 
Oh, but Father, I don't have the perfect language with which 
to address. Just speak to me. Don't use that as an argument, 
just speak to God. This is a simple prayer, brethren. These guys serving Baal gash 
themselves and dance around. They engage in all manner of 
wickedness and evil, trying to manipulate their God. Here's 
what the prophet Elijah says, 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. Amen. That's a brief prayer. It's a 
simple prayer. It is a theologically precise 
prayer. This is good theology. This is 
bang on theology. 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. 
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. Who was victorious on Mount Carmel? It was Yahweh of Israel. Not 
because Elijah dashed himself. Not because Elijah bled. Not because Elijah prayed for 
12 hours on that particular day, but because God Almighty displayed 
His glory in the midst of Israel. Everyone there understood the 
lesson. The Lord, He is God. The Lord, 
He is God. You know what is unfortunate 
at this point to observe? God even had to do this. It shows us something about the 
heart of man, doesn't it? Dale Ralph Davis in a sermon 
that he preached on this, which I highly recommend, gives a bit 
of an illustration of this particular point. I use him specifically 
because it puts it in the realm of the seminary students. Probably 
all of us at one time or another as parents, our kids aren't paying 
attention and they're, you know, jabbering away and we might have 
to raise our voice to get their attention. Well, Dr. Davis tells of a time when he 
goes to teach a seminary class. I mean, the future ministers 
of America. They're all just jabbering away, 
jabbering away. He says, all right, it's time to start. All 
right, it's time to start. No one's paying attention. No 
one's responding. They're all just sort of jabbering away. Finally, 
he screams at them. Quiet! They all stop. They all take their seats. They'll 
do what they're supposed to do. It's unfortunate that a professor 
of Old Testament has to yell at seminary students to get their 
attention. It's unfortunate that a father 
has to raise his voice with his five children to get their attention. It's unfortunate that Yahweh 
of Israel has to yell quiet to get their attention. This shows 
us something of the hardened heart of man. The utter depravity 
of man is seen as we continue in history. One would think that 
such a display of the folly of Baalism would have removed it 
from the land forever. You would think everybody tempted 
to worship Baal subsequent to this act would say, remember 
Mount Carmel? Remember that prophet Elijah? 
Remember that contest? Remember when those 450 prophets 
of Baal danced around the altar, cut themselves, cried aloud, 
and they were mocked by Elijah? Elijah offers up that one simple 
but theologically precise prayer, and Yahweh answers. You remember 
that? Why would you bow to Baal? You would think an event like 
this would eradicate Baalism from Israel forever, but it didn't. 
There was a revival shortly after this, and Baalism prospered. So it was ultimately crushed 
again by Jehu. Remember Jehu and his ingenuity. He invited all those people together 
and then he slaughtered all the worshippers of Baal. Jehu was 
the man. Unfortunately, he himself didn't 
know the Lord. God used that man. It was revived 
under Adaliah. Josiah crushed a temple of Baal 
in his reign and Jeremiah pronounced his judgment against Baalism. So in the midst of this display, 
the fact that God sends forth this fire, the people all with 
one voice say, the Lord is God, the Lord is God, the hardened 
heart of man is such that we will forget the lesson at Mount 
Carmel and will bow before Baal from whom all blessings flow. It's an unfortunate reality that 
the hardened heart of man is so inclined to follow idols. Notice the response, the end 
of the narrative is verse 40. And Elijah said to them, seize 
the prophets of Baal, do not let them escape. So they seized 
them and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Tishon and 
executed them there. That offends us at times or it 
offends some within evangelicalism because it seems so severe. I 
mean, they were wrong religiously. They were idolaters, to be sure. But isn't it overkill and isn't 
it wrong for Elijah to order the execution of these false 
prophets? Again, I just want to read a 
section from Ralph Davis's commentary. He says, this Kishon slaughter 
was not an act of personal revenge, but of capital punishment. He 
says it was in line with the Torah, the law. Elijah was carrying 
out the sanctions of Deuteronomy 13. If you were here a few Wednesday 
nights ago, you saw that if the false prophet or the dreamer 
of dreams comes to you and entices you, does signs and wonders, 
and may even come to pass, and yet he says, let us go worship 
these other gods, you're not supposed to say, well, you have 
your way and I have my way. No, he is to be executed. Deuteronomy 
13, the solicitation to apostasy or idolatry. So he goes on to 
say, Elijah was carrying out the sanctions of Deuteronomy 
13. Those who would woo Israel to worship another God, whether 
a successfully wonder-working prophet, a member of one's own 
intimate circle, or the citizens of a whole town, Deuteronomy 
13, they forfeit their lives. Remember, Israel was a theocracy. What we call church and state 
functioned as one. And here Elijah simply carries 
out Israel's constitution, the provisions of Yahweh's covenant 
law relating to solicitation of apostasy. Now, notice this. He says, the problem is not God's 
lack of refinement, but our lack of sanctification. If our thinking 
were holy, we would understand such text. The nasty episode 
at the Keyshawn testifies that we have little horror of sin 
and calls evangelical Christians in particular to repentance. 
You see, before you raise your eyebrows and say how severe, 
Davis says this is holy, this is righteous, it's good, it's 
godly. This is what we ought to. Appreciate. Now, I'm not suggesting that 
the church take up the sword and execute false prophets. That 
is not her calling. That is not her role. That is 
not her job. Do not leave here saying, I'm 
going to go buy a sword. I'm going to be Calvin's watchdog 
and I'm going to cut people down for Jesus. Please don't do that. 
Don't do that at all. But at the same time, don't freak 
out at an incident like this in verse 40, where God, through 
the prophet, is executing covenant law. Well, brethren, we learned 
in closing that truth is not democratic. Isn't that beautiful? Truth is not democratic. If 450 
people believe that Baal is God, 400 believe that Asherah is God, 
and one man believes that Yahweh is God, it's not a numbers game. It really isn't. It's about truth. It's not pragmatism. If the king, 
Ahab. If the queen, Jezebel. If the 
whole land apostatizes, we must be Calvin's watchdog. We must 
bark for the truth of the glory of God Almighty. As well, we 
learn the necessity of allegiance toward God. Matthew Henry comments 
on this section in verse 21, where he says, how long will 
you falter between two opinions? Henry says, it is a very bad 
thing to halt between God and Baal. He who is not with Christ 
is against him. We cannot serve Baal and God, 
Mammon and God, ourselves and God. God alone is worthy of our 
total allegiance. Henry goes on to say 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 in that which is good. Their heart 
is divided, whereas God will have all or none. So do not play 
games tonight. Whether you're an adult or you're 
a child, you're a young person, you're a teenager, it doesn't 
matter. How long will you falter between two opinions? Yahweh 
is Lord and servant. Jesus Christ is Lord, then bow 
to Him. Jesus Christ is Lord, then follow 
Him wherever He bids you go. Believe on Him and you will be 
saved, and then pursue Him with every fiber of your being. Well, 
let us pray. Father, we thank you for this 
account of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. We thank you, Father, 
for your wonderful display of glory and power and majesty. 
We praise you as well for the display, the utter futility of 
idolatry and worshiping that which is not God. We pray that 
you would teach us this lesson, Lord. Teach us for our hearts 
are prone to wander and prone to leave the God that we love. 
Help us not to falter between two opinions. Help us not to 
be divided, but help us to love you with all our heart, soul, 
mind and strength. And we ask in the name and for 
the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it's in His name that we 
pray. Amen.