chapter 18. Last week we looked at the early ministry of Elijah the prophet in chapter 17. We will return, God willing, to our studies in James. And just one other thing before I actually read the Scripture.
It occurred to me late this afternoon that not only the Wednesday night Bible study people have heard 1 Kings 18, but I alluded to it heavily in a sermon on prayer from Matthew 6. So I don't want you to think you're crazy tonight. If some of these things do sound familiar, there's a reason why. But I want to read beginning in chapter 18 at verse 1, hear now the word of the living and true God.
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?' And 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, "'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 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 bull 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, free is a God.
Either he's meditating or he's busy or he's 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 seals of sea.
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 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 Kishon and executed them there.
Opening Prayer
Amen. Well, let us pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for the scriptures of the Old and the New Testaments. We thank you for your God-breathed Word.
May you indeed fill us now with your Holy Spirit. May you teach us the lessons learned at Carmel. Help us, God, to see that you are the true and the living God, that idolatry is indeed futility. Idolatry is a wretched disposition in the hearts of men.
And may you keep us and help us to guard our hearts. As John the Apostle tells us, little children, keep yourselves from idols. We know there is a proneness to wander, there is a proneness to leave the God that we love. So we would ask, Most High, that You would keep us by the power of Your Spirit, by Your Word.
And even now we pray that You would forgive us for our sins and our transgressions. Wash us in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Be glorified in this glad hour. and cause us, God, to reflect upon your goodness on these Sabbath days, that you give us this foretaste of heaven, that you give us the society of saints to sing praises to the God of heaven and earth, that you give us your presence as you have promised in the new covenant setting. You dwell in the midst of your saints in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in this we greatly rejoice, Lord God most high.
Grant us help now, we pray and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Introduction
Well, as I said, this may be familiar ground to many of you, but if there is something to be re-reminded again, it is this section in 1 Kings. Very specifically, the ministry of Elijah is something wonderful to behold. He's a larger-than-life figure, as we saw last time. He comes out of nowhere to reprove Ahab, the wicked king of Israel.
Remember that Ahab had married Jezebel, and he not only went after Baal himself, but he actually constructed a temple and an altar to Baal in Samaria, which was the capital city of the northern tribes. We see the animosity increase in chapter 18 as Jezebel begins to murder the true prophets of Yahweh. You see that religion or religious commitments have consequences. Who we worship affects how we will live.
And that's why Elijah's question, for instance, in verse 21, is so important. Theology matters. If Yahweh is God, serve Him. And if that is the case, then your life ought to manifest that, your life ought to evidence that, your life ought to demonstrate fidelity to the living and the true God.
Well, as we look at this particular chapter,
Meeting with Ahab (vv. 1–19)
we'll notice in the first place this meeting with Ahab in verses 1 to 19, and then secondly, the specific contest at Carmel in verses 20 to 40. In the first place, note the situation. We saw how chapter 17 is preparatory for this. In fact, the entirety of the section, beginning in chapter 17, verse 1, to the life, or rather to the death of Elijah, shows us Elijah's opposition to idolatry and oppression.
Well, chapter 17 set the stage with the drought. Elijah had predicted, he prophesied, he stated that there shall not be dew nor rain these years except at my words. We see the continuity here in 18.1. It came to pass after many days 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 the word of God directs Elijah. We have grown accustomed to this in our studies on Wednesday night. Note as well the specific message that God would end the drought. Remember the specific issue in view is that Baal is the alleged storm god and God the living, God the true, says that he will end the drought.
Baal's not going to do it because Baal can't do it. This contest at Carmel is to underscore the primacy of the God of Israel, the solitariness of the God of Israel. These people were so hardened and so committed to Baalism that when it did finally rain, they would probably ascribe glory to Baal. Well, this whole contest at Carmel is designed to shut their mouths, to make it such that they were not able to ascribe this to Baal, but they must ascribe it to Yahweh.
And then we notice how this affected Samaria, the very capital of the northern kingdom. Verse 2, Elijah went to present himself to Ahab, and there was a severe famine in Samaria, which obviously would happen as a result of drought. And then we see the particular situation. What we have with reference to Jezebel.
Obadiah, verse 3, 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. There's this one faithful man, he's over the house of Ahab, but he is a man that does fear God. And thankfully, the Lord has this man in place to provide protection for these hundred prophets of Yahweh. And now notice, specifically, Obadiah's meeting with Elijah in verses 7 to 15.
I'll just give the gist of it. Essentially, the issue is this. Obadiah says to Elijah, why are you here? If I tell Ahab that you are here and then the spirit spirits you away and Ahab can't find you, then Ahab is going to kill me.
Now I think at times we are very hard on biblical characters and we think some things like, oh come on Obadiah, stand up to Ahab. Well, brethren, he doesn't want to die any more than you and I want to die. We wouldn't want to just stand up to Ahab and put our necks on the chopping block. Obadiah's interests here are legitimate and we ought not to castigate the man.
His interests are also legitimate in the sense that Ahab has been scurrying the countryside looking for Elijah. So Elijah appears to Obadiah and says, tell Ahab I want to talk to him. Again, I don't think it's misguided interest on the part of Obadiah. Elijah assures Obadiah that he will meet with Ahab and he calms Obadiah and gives him the ability to stand fast.
Now before we move on, I want us to appreciate the differences in the servants of God. Not every servant of God is a larger-than-life Elijah character. Not every servant of God is like the Tishbite who appears out of nowhere and puts his finger in the face of Ahab and tells him that God is going to bring judgment.
Obadiah and Elijah: Differing Servants
Obadiah worked behind the scenes. Obadiah worked by stealth. Obadiah worked in a covert manner. When Jezebel starts her campaign of liquidating Yahweh's prophets, Obadiah hides them.
He takes them to caves, 50 by 50, and he provides food for them, and he provides water for them. Brethren, we need to understand that the kingdom of God is not just made up of Elijah-type prophets. The kingdom of God also operates in accordance with or as a result of the secret, quiet, behind-the-scenes workings of men like Obadiah. If God hasn't gifted you to go preach the gospel into some place like China, for instance, don't ever fear that you cannot be used.
It may be the case that you'll be behind the scenes. It may be the case that you'll give safe haven to the prophets of God. It may be the case that you'll exercise hospitality. This is the emphasis in 3 John.
The idea being is that whether we are an Elijah or an Obadiah, the Lord God sanctifies and uses people for His glory, people with differing gifts. We ought to appreciate that as New Covenant Christians. We know that not everybody has the same function in the life and ministry of the church. Not everybody's an eye, not everybody's an ear, not everybody's a foot.
This is Paul's point in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. The whole body functions as an organic unity to promote the health and good of all. And we ought to see this in the life and ministry of Elijah and what we find here with reference to Obadiah.
Ahab and Elijah Confront Each Other
Now in verses 16 to 19, Ahab and Elijah meet. And this is an interesting meeting. Let's look at verse 16. Now I wonder at times in the biblical narrative if men would have seen, as we now see, the irony of such a statement.
I mean, Ahab didn't, obviously. He's a fool. He's a Baal worshipper. He has taken the northern kingdom and he has plunged it into the futility of idolatry.
But he actually has the gall and wherewithal to call Elijah the troubler of Israel. Now on a particular surface level, that makes a bit of sense because it was Elijah who came and told Ahab that there would be no water in Israel. So in Ahab's mind, he's the one that's troubled Israel. But notice Elijah's response to him.
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." You see, the problem, Ahab, is not with me. The problem is with you and your fathers. The problem is with those less than sterling characters that have been running the northern kingdom. These sorts of men that co-opt Baal worship from the Phoenicians and bring it right smack dab in the middle and heart of Israel.
The problem or the trouble in Israel is Ahab and his wickedness. And I think behind the scenes is Joshua 7. Remember, Achan was a troubler of Israel. Achan was the one who hid the stuff that was under the ban, and as a result, Israel lost a battle at Ai.
And so God Most High calls him out, and they deal with the Troubler of Israel. So in Ahab's mind, Elijah is the Troubler. If we can liquidate him, then everything gets back to normal in Israel. But as far as Elijah is concerned, the problem in Israel, and he is correct, is Ahab, because he is an idolater.
Now notice in verse 19, this gives us a further bit of evidence as to how widespread and how bad worship, false worship, or idolatry is in Israel. Verse 19, 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. This probably indicates that they were tax subsidized. They ate at Jezebel's table.
In other words, they were on the government payroll. There was a welfare structure in Israel and these false prophets were the ones who benefited from it. This ought to show you how bad things were in Ahab's Israel. The false prophets of Baal and Asherah are being fed with Israelite money.
They are being fed with taxation raised from Israelite people. The situation is bleak. The situation is grim. The situation is indeed one of state-sponsored idolatry.
And it is to this that Elijah responds. Now
The Contest at Carmel (vv. 20–40)
notice the contest at Carmel. First, there is a challenge issued by Elijah in verses 20 to 25. Now, we're not going to develop every jot and diddle along the way, but suffice it to say that Elijah really is stacking the deck against Yahweh in this particular section. He is stacking the deck against Yahweh.
In other words, once God sends fire to consume his bull, it will be without controversy the work of the true and living God. He gives these men the home field advantage. Note the location. He says in verse 20, it says in verse 20, Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel.
Now this was very close to Phoenicia. This is Baal's homeland. It had an altar there to Yahweh in disrepair. One commentator says, in Egyptian records from the second millennium BC, Mount Carmel is called Holy Head, suggesting it was a sanctuary.
In the annals of Assyrian King Shalmaneser III, Mount Carmel appears as the mountain of Baal of the promontory. So it was, in fact, Baal's homeland and probably Ahab's desire is to humiliate Elijah and then execute him as a means by which the trouble would be removed from Israel. Now note, very specifically, Elijah's challenge. Verse 21,
Elijah's Challenge: Two Opinions
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. This is absolutely crucial for us to consider here because this is the hub, isn't it? This is the challenge, this is the issue.
How long are you gonna literally limp between these two options or these two opinions? Theology matters. Theology produces consequences. If you choose Baal, then follow him.
Plunge yourself headlong into the futility of idolatry. But if you're going to choose Yahweh, you need to stand for him. You need to not support state-sponsored idolatry. You need to make sure you stand with godly men like Obadiah, Godly men like Elijah, godly men like these hundred prophets that Obadiah hid.
This is no academic question. Rather, it gets to the hub of the situation. Now, if we ask the question, why would these people of Israel be attracted to Baal? I mean, have we ever considered that?
Have we ever thought through that? I don't think I broached this on the Wednesday night study. I don't know that I alluded to this in the Matthew six study. So perhaps this is some new ground for some of us, but
Why Israel Followed Baal
why in the world would Israel follow Baal? Well, it's simple, really pragmatism. Y'all know what pragmatism is, right? It works.
Baal works, and if Baal works, then we will follow him. That's pragmatism. You see, the Bible presents to us the absolute importance of the truth. The Bible presents to us not that we shouldn't ask the question, does it work?
But rather, is it true? Consider in this particular situation the attractiveness of Baal to the common folk of Israel. First of all, Baal had royal sanction. Baal had royal sanction at this particular point.
Ahab had indeed built an altar and a temple to Baal in the northern kingdom. So Ahab was certainly on board with Baal. Jezebel was certainly on board with Baal. In fact, arguably, Jezebel's the power behind the throne.
She's on board so much so that she's actually killing the true prophets of Yahweh. But you've got to understand, brethren, that royal sanction doesn't legitimize idolatry. If the government says, OK, we announce by decree that today everybody's going to bow to Baal, we must obey God rather than men. That instance in Daniel chapter 3 that we read last week, what do you think that image was that Nebuchadnezzar set up on the plains of Dura?
I would submit it was most likely an image of himself. It was an image of himself. I mean, Nebuchadnezzar thought he was the cock of the walk. I mean, he thought he was everything.
So he erects this statue, and he tells people that they must bow to it, that they must worship it. Thankfully, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel said, there's no way we're going to bow. We don't care about royal sanction. We care about what is true.
You see, we need to adopt that mentality. I realize this isn't North Korea. I realize this isn't Saudi Arabia. I realize this isn't communist China.
I realize we do enjoy a great deal of liberty and benefit and blessing, but brethren, increasing secularization is affecting the church of the living God. The fact is that it's becoming illegal to speak out about genders. It's becoming illegal to speak out against sodomy. Well, it already is.
We cannot kowtow to a government and we cannot kowtow to their gods. We must stand fast. So an attraction with reference to Baal in Ahab's Israel is that it had indeed royal sanction. But as well, there was an appeal to tradition.
What happened with the children of Israel as soon as they crossed into the land of Canaan? They maintained fidelity and worshipped Yahweh. Is that the message of the book of Judges? No, that's not the message of the book of Judges.
As soon as they get into the land, they start bowing to Baal. So you could perhaps hear people at Carmel that day saying, well, you know, there is a long tradition among our people of worshipping Baal. You see, that's another thing that's tough to break from time to time. Well, my father this and my mother this.
Now, insofar as your father and your mother are right, then by all means toe the line. But if they're wrong, if they have compromised biblical truth, again, we must obey God rather than men. Another reason why persons would be subject or rather would indeed bow to Baal was relevance to felt needs. relevance to felt needs. What was Baal's job?
To send rain. I mean, that's a felt need every one of us have. We don't feel it as much in Chilliwack, but perhaps on a day like this, we're longing for that lush rain to fall again. I hope it's not that quickly lost here.
But there is that relevance to felt needs. Bale gets the job done. Again, pragmatism. We don't subscribe to a God because He does what we want Him to do.
We subscribe to the true and living God because He has revealed Himself in His Word and by and through the Lord Jesus Christ, He has affectionately called us unto Himself and He has given us life and light eternal in the Lord of Glory. So this whole idea of relevance, and I think that this to some degree affects the church today. We are appealing to persons based on relevance to felt needs rather than the proclamation of the truth. And then there is just the base element as well, an appeal to sensuality.
Why worship Baal? Well, because at a Baal worship center, copulation was the order of the day. Basically, the worshipers would engage in copulation, that means sexual fornication, in an attempt to get Baal to have relations with one of his girlfriend gods, so that he would reign on the earth. It was a means by which the worshipper sought to manipulate Baal in order to get him to deliver.
So that basic appeal to sensuality. I mean, the religion of Yahweh is heady stuff, isn't it? Yahweh forbid the making of images. Yahweh forbid anything that would typify or rather picture Him, because it's a religion based on the truth.
It's a religion based on the Word. You saw no form, but rather you heard the voice of the living God. Well, if you are dealing with carnal people, you are dealing with base people, you are dealing with unregenerate people, and one crowd is hearing the Word of God proclaimed and the other crowd is copulating in order to get Baal to perform, you can see where the goats might tend to wander to. You see, there was an appeal with reference to Baal.
It's wrong, it's base, it's wretched, and it works with the unregenerate, but it does answer the question, why the contest at Carmel? Because there were persons in Israel following after Baal. Now notice, Elijah proposes a particular contest, a God contest, if you will. Look at verse 22.
He says, I alone am left a prophet of the Lord. Some see Elijah as this self-centered, self-pitying man. A bit of a narcissist. They really do a number on him in 1 Kings chapter 19.
He is not self-pitying. He is not self-centered. He is not disregarding the hundred prophets that Obadiah hid. But he's the only one that's standing toe-to-toe in the public square.
The others are ahead. The others are in caves. The others are safe. But Elijah alone is the one that is standing before them on this particular day.
That's the idea. It's not that he's got this Elijah complex and that he's the only guy. No, that's not it at all. I alone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are 450 men.
Therefore, let them give us two bulls, let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. I will prepare the other bull, lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. Then you call on the name of your gods, I will call on the name of the Lord, and the one who answers by fire, the God who answers by fire, He is God. So all the people said, it is well spoken.
This makes sense if you're a Baal worshiper. You see, the God of Baal who sends rain also sends lightning. So this ought to be an easy job for Baal. If Baal is real, if Baal is God, if Baal is the one from whom all at least natural blessings flow, then this ought to be an easy job for Baal.
So they say, sure, sign us up. This sounds like a good gig. It will evidence, it will demonstrate, it will prove with reference to this God contest who indeed was the true and living God.
The False Prophets' Failure
Now note the response of the false prophets in verses 26 to 29. It's a pathetic scene here. I know I developed this on the Wednesday night and in the Matthew 6. It's a pathetic scene when you see false religion engaged in.
I mean, there ought to be a sense where our hearts are drawn out in compassion because if, apart from the grace of God, there we go. That's the sort of thing man does when he's left to himself. And these false prophets of Baal are men of great zeal. These false prophets of Baal do mean business.
I mean, they continue from morning until evening trying to get Baal to bless. Notice how they proceed. Verse 26, they took the bull which was given them, they prepared it, called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon saying, O Baal, hear us. I love this refrain, but there was no voice, no one answered.
Then they leaped about the altar which they had made. You see, we go from this sort of frenzy or rather this foolishness to frenzy. That's the progression in idolatry. You see, we become what we worship.
This is G.K. Beal's whole thesis in his book. It's by that title, We Become What We Worship. It's a biblical theology of idolatry.
And he says, what we revere, we resemble, either for ruin or redemption. Brethren, that is a biblical, biblical concept. Psalm 115a, what happens to those who worship idols? They become like them.
That is precisely the situation. Whatever you revere, you resemble, either for ruin or redemption. In other words, what you worship affects the way that you function. What you worship affects the way that you live.
And these men, though they have zeal, it is certainly misguided. They leaped about the altar which they had made. And now notice, Elijah mocks them in verse 27. Do not miss the significance here.
Elijah mocks them. It is absolutely appropriate. Matthew Henry said, the worship of idols is a most ridiculous thing, and it is but justice to represent it so and expose it to scorn. Notice, at noon, Elijah mocked him and said, cry aloud, for he is a god.
Either he is meditating or he is busy. The he is busy probably reflects he is defecating. He's in the god bathroom. He is tending to his business.
Elijah is indeed mocking these men. This is how we ought to respond to false religion. This is how we ought to respond to idolatry. Now, I'm not suggesting you go stand on Mount Sham and, you know, throw out banners and do this sort of thing, but brethren, it's not pluralism.
The Bible doesn't say, okay, you know, respect all religions. We respect image bearers. We don't gun people down in the streets and, you know, we don't trample on their rights in a civilized society, but we don't respect idolatry. We have no truck with the sorts of things that are played out before us in terms of rebellion against the living and the true God.
We cannot sanction that. We cannot come alongside of that. Again, we are friendly, we are kind, we engage kindly with image bearers and all that sort of thing. But it's not the case that we are to entertain the validity of false religion.
Elijah doesn't do that. He is a God. Either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he's on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened. I give you, I submit, the faithful in Israel that day, if there were any, were laughing at this particular point.
I would have been laughing. I think we should laugh when we see this happen. Verse 27 is funny. I mean, it's not funny in the sense of, you know, three guys went into, you know, the DMV and this happened, and that's not funny that way, but it is to mock and to scorn false religion and idolatry, and that is precisely what Elijah does.
Notice, they move from foolishness to frenzy again. They cried aloud, they cut themselves, verse 28, 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 yads, no one paid attention. A.W.
Pink made this observation. 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 an all-fall, as Baal's worship did that memorable day on Carmel. Beautiful observation.
It demonstrates very clearly the situation here at Tharmel. Now, unfortunately, as we move in the narrative on to 1 Kings 19, what was at least apparently successful here, really wasn't. What appeared to be reformation and revival in Israel was indeed short-lived, but let's look at that.
God's Consuming Fire
Notice God's power in verses 30 to 40. Elijah essentially prepares the sacrifice, and as I said, he stacks the deck. They're in Baal's home turf. He lets the false prophets go first, and now he drenches his offering with water.
You say, well, where did they get water and drought? They were near a little body called the Mediterranean Sea. So don't let that throw you off. Why would they throw all that water if there was a drought?
That would be foolishness. Well, they probably fetched it out of the Mediterranean Sea. But notice how he does stack the deck. And you get what I mean by that, right?
He doesn't want anybody to leave Carmel saying, well, I'm not sure who won that day. I'm not sure who got the victory. I'm not sure who brought the noise or brought the heat, rather. No, he wants to make it absolutely sure.
Elijah said to all the people, come near to me. So all the people came near to him. He repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. Isn't that interesting?
There was an altar to Yahweh on Carmel, but it had broken down. And Elijah took 12 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. He made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seals of seed.
He put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, laid it on the wood and said, fill four water pots with water, pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood. Then he said, do it a second time. They did it a second time. 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. You see, he stacks the deck. When God consumes by fire the particular bullock that he has presented, there will be no question as to who the true God is.
You see, that's the point. And when Elijah says, how long will you falter between these two opinions, choose God. He's making it, or he's convincing them that this has to be your choice because Baal is a fake. Baal is an imposter.
Baal has ears, but he can't hear. Baal has eyes, but he can't see. Baal has a mouth, but he can't talk. Baal has a nose, but he can't smell.
Baal is nothing. So Elijah designs this whole thing in order to call the people of Israel to repentance.
Elijah's Prayer and God's Answer
Now note specifically what we find in terms of God's answer. Verse 36, it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, 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. His prayer is very specific.
The glory of God is first and foremost for Elijah. You see that in biblical prayers. You see that when men of God pray in both the Old and the New Testaments. The glory of God is paramount.
It is uppermost. That is the chief concern and that is how it is with Elijah, but as well confirmation that he is indeed God's prophet, let it be known this day that you are God and Israel, and I am your servant, and as well the well-being of the people of Israel, and that you have turned their hearts back to you again." It's a simple prayer, isn't it? I think that if you continue in the passage, you'll see that God answers prayers differently. Not differently in the sense that, you know, there's either yes or no, but here He answers right away, doesn't He?
In the next section, when God tells Elijah that the drought is going to end, Elijah has to tell his servants seven times to go and look for the cloud. You see, brethren, there's no one pat way that God answers prayer. I prayed and he didn't answer. Well, it was seven times when it came to ending the drought.
You see, we need to learn patience at the throne of grace. God isn't going to, you know, just do everything we say right when we say it. We need to be a faithful people that are earnest in prayer, that are like that importunate widow that Jesus spoke of in Luke chapter 18. She gives no rest to the judge.
The Lord Christ wants us to be importunate at the throne of grace, and I think this section with reference to Elijah indicates that such ought to be the case. Sometimes you pray a verse and a half and God answers. Other times you pray seven times and it takes a while, but God answers. And just by way of that observation, he prays a verse and a half and God answers.
I mean, long prayers aren't necessarily the best prayers. I only prayed for eight minutes today. What was a good prayer? Did you call upon God?
Did you desire His glory and His honor? There's no sort of eight minutes or 10 minutes or 20 minutes or an hour. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus says, couldn't you watch with me for an hour? Now, is he literal?
Does that mean every time we go to pray we must pray for an hour? I don't think he's talking literally. I'm not saying don't pray for an hour. There's certainly, you know, worse things you could do in a day than pray for an hour.
That's a good thing. But here is a prayer for a verse and a half. And it's about the glory of God, the confirmation of the prophet, and the good of the people of Israel. And God answers.
Notice. Verse 38, and 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. Now, the fire that consumed the burnt sacrifice.
I think there's a couple of things going on here. In the first place, when we see, say, in the Pentateuch, in the first five books of Moses, when we see God's fire consume a sacrifice, that typically means that God is pleased. That instance in Leviticus chapters 1 to 9. Leviticus chapters 1 to 8 are the laws of sacrifice.
It was very clearly spelled out how the children of Israel were to approach their holy God. So they offer up the sacrifice according to chapter 9, and the fire of the Lord comes down and consumes their offering, and the people of God shout, and I think it was a shout for joy. There are other places in the Old Testament where God consumes by fire in a favorable sense. This could be a demonstration of God's grace to these people, God's mercy, God's kindness.
He wasn't obliged to answer here. He wasn't obliged to demonstrate or confirm that he was indeed the true and the living God. He is indeed the true and the living God, whether he gives us evidences of that or not. You see, Jesus says a crooked and perverse generation seeks after a sign.
Brethren, we shouldn't need a sign, we have the written word that testifies to us. So God didn't have to, there was nothing constraining him, there was nothing putting an arm behind his holy back making him send fire. But he does so, and I think it is a sign of representation of his grace, his mercy, his kindness. It's almost a communication to the people to forsake Baal once and for all and bow before your God.
Thankfully, they make that admission or they make that confession. They say, the Lord, He is God, the Lord, He is God. But I think as well, we ought to appreciate from this particular passage that God really shouldn't have needed to do this. Have you ever been parents with your children, and they're asking you questions, and you're answering their questions, and they keep asking the same question, and you keep answering their question, and they keep asking the question, and you raise your voice at them?
Now, maybe none of you ever did this. Happened to at least some guy that I know. Or it wasn't even that sort of a scenario, where the question was asked, and you answered, and it sort of escalated, and you raised your voice. It might have been something wherein you were telling them something, and they just weren't getting the point.
So you raised your voice and said, now do it! One at least is nodding. Really? You guys are great parents.
You've never raised your voices at your kids and said, now go do it. Praise God. You know, there's two of us in this room. The rest of you are holy models of good parenting.
We shouldn't have to do that, should we? The fifth commandment demands our children's obedience and honor. We shouldn't have to raise our voices. We shouldn't have to ever get beyond a conversational tone.
We shouldn't ever have to do that because you owe us fidelity. Wow, you're going to violate their freedom and their love. No, God says obey your parents and the Lord for this is right. We shouldn't have to raise our voices.
God shouldn't have to consume with fire. This further evidences how wretched and wicked and deplorable the conditions were in Israel under Ahab. This man took the reins of the northern kingdom, he married a godless, wretched woman that would be paradigmatic for all times, of all things wicked in a woman, and he rides that kingdom right into the ground. Such that the living and the true God has to send fire from heaven to consume Elijah's bull before these people will say, Yahweh!
He is God, Yahweh, He is God. He shouldn't have to do that to get our attention. He shouldn't have to wow us. He shouldn't have to woo us.
He shouldn't have to entice us. He shouldn't have to try and please us. He has spoken and our job is to listen. Brethren, that's what we need to gather from this display of God, it at Carmel.
Execution of the False Prophets
Now the last section bothers people. It really ought not because it is the execution of biblical law. Verse 40, 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. It's the execution of God's holy justice. Deuteronomy 13, capital punishment for those who solicited Israelites to commit apostasy.
If it was a false prophet, you kill them. If it's the wife of your own bosom, if it's someone in your family, they entice you to commit apostasy, you kill them. If it's revolution within a particular city or a particular community where they have revolted against the living and true God, then you kill that. Now, I realize that I'm saying that in a very blunt and sort of way, but that was what the law demanded.
You see, God didn't say, well, it's okay to have all your religions here. The whole point of the specific command was for them to go into the land of Canaan and utterly exterminate the Canaanites, utterly dispossess the land of the Canaanites. Again, you might want to argue the ethics of that. You may want to say, well, you know, that's genocide and whatnot.
It was God's judgment upon a wicked people. That's what it was, and that's what Elijah carries out, and thus concludes the contest at Carmel.
Application
Well, in conclusion, we see the futility of idolatry. That section concerning the prophets of Baal ought to be a go-to place for all of us when we are enticed by some idol. Now, our idols may not be Baal, they may not be Asherah, they may not be Molech, but we have idols, or else the Apostle John would not have said, little children, keep yourselves from idols. False religion is an idol.
The sort of attraction that was presented earlier in terms of Baalism. It has royal sanction, long pedigree or tradition in our history as well. It appeals to those felt needs that we have and it just feels right. Little children keep yourselves from idols.
False religion is an idol. The idol of self. I suspect that this is the one that continues to perplex or to persist in most of our lives. The idol of ourselves.
We don't bow down to ourselves and worship ourselves, say, in front of a mirror, but our lives evidence such a thing. Our lives demonstrate such a thing. Another New Testament idol may not be Baal, may not be Asherah, may not be Molech, but it's certainly money. Jesus cautions us against the love of Mammon in Matthew chapter 6.
Can't love God and Mammon. Doesn't mean you can't have mammon, doesn't mean you can't have money, it means you can't love it, can't worship it. Your life can't be sort of dictated by money. You see, there are present and persistent idols that present themselves to God's people today.
If you are ever tempted or if you are ever feeling sort of that desire to have your felt needs met, go look at these poor wretches on Carmel dancing around, calling upon Baal to answer. As well, the effect of idolatry upon the worshipper. I cited Psalm 115a. Those who make them are like them, so is everyone who trusts in them.
You see, what happens is Baal wants blood. These people will cut themselves. Baal likes blood, so they'll gash themselves with knives and lances, and they'll bleed all over themselves, and they'll dance around this altar. because that's what Baal wants and they have become like Baal. And the persistence of idolatry in the hearts of men, one would think after this display of God's power on Carmel, that would be it, no more Baal worship.
That would be it, it would be eradicated. You know what happens subsequent to this? Elijah prays, the drought ends. Ahab goes back, tells Jezebel, you should have seen what happened.
It's Elijah, the Tishbite. He came out of nowhere. And the guy's a real charismatic figure. I'm kind of paraphrasing here.
How would Ahab report this to Jezebel? He set up this contest, we met at Carmel, the 450 prophets of Baal were there. They did their thing, they danced, they bled, they wet, they moaned, they this, they that. There was no voice, no one answered, no one paid attention.
And then Elijah puts down the bowl, takes water, and pours it on the bowl, takes water, pours it on the bowl, takes water. He's painting this scenario to Jezebel. You know Jezebel's response? So what?
I could care less. She goes to Elijah and says, you're going to be dead by this time tomorrow. It's hard to penetrate the hearts of men, isn't it? A display like that, and these people continue in their rebellion.
Now, you say, well, that was just Jezebel. Wait till you get to Naboth's vineyard in chapter 21. It's very easy for Jezebel to work the Israelite crowd and get them to testify against Naboth so that Ahab can expand his property holdings. You see, it is difficult to eradicate the love of Baal in the hearts of men, and this throws us back upon sovereign grace.
We can't do it. We need God. We need the Holy Spirit. When idolaters come in among us and they hear the gospel preached, it's not going to be our appeal.
It's not going to be our ability, it's not going to be our winsomeness, it's going to be the power of God unto salvation. For blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. As well, this passage sets before us the demand for total allegiance to God. It is indeed a condemnation of idolatry, but probably it's a condemnation of what's called syncretism.
And syncretism simply means a little bit of Baal and a little bit of Yahweh. A little bit of this and a little bit of that, and that will be our way of approach to God. Now, I suspect that this might live on in the hearts of people today as well. Syncretism.
We marry a little bit of this with the true religion of the living God. That's wrong. He demands total allegiance. Davis says, this is no mere academic question, the question of verse 21.
Elijah's formulation assumes that theology leads to discipleship. Commitments have consequences. Matthew Henry said, 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. I don't want to make some emotional appeal or some psychological appeal to any or all of you here this evening, but I do want us to consider, really, verse 21. If your commitment is not fully to Yahweh, then repent. The bulk of you profess saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The bulk of you are members in a Reformed Baptist church. The bulk of you have stood before others and said, I follow God. I want Christ. The bulk of you have gone into the waters of baptism.
You have identified publicly with the triune God. Is it the case that your allegiance to Him has been waning? Is it the case that you've entertained sin? Is it the case that you have dealt with a little bit of this and a little bit of that in your approach to religious worship?
Well, the good news is there is forgiveness with God that He may be feared. The good news is that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us. I don't think any of us could look at verse 21 and consider the demands of total allegiance to God and say, well, you know, my allegiance is indeed total. I follow Him all the way, all the time.
Brethren, we all stumble, we all sin, we all need to renew our repentance and we all need to forsake that wickedness and engage by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit with total allegiance to Him. No more halting between two opinions. God-self. God-money.
God-work. God-this. No, God. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, then all these things will be added unto you.
If you have stopped reading your Bible, start reading it again. If you have stopped praying, start praying again. If you have been lazy and apathetic on the Sabbath day and have stopped attending public worship, start attending again. If you have missed the Lord's Supper, if you have been to the point where you don't even consider that you've missed the Supper as something that should be grieving to your soul, then start coming to the Supper.
We have the Supper next Sunday night. This is what allegiance to God looks like. It doesn't look like going out with Elijah and putting a bowl on the altar, pouring water on it, and having fire consume it. Allegiance to God in our context and in our situation means getting up in the morning seeking God.
It means going out the door and living for God. It means doing whatever job we have been given to do in a manner that is consistent with the glory of God. It means coming home at night, loving our wives, loving our husbands, loving our children, seeking to cultivate the goodness of God in their hearts and souls, seeking to permeate our homes with the very aroma of Christ. This is what total allegiance to God looks like.
And if you have faltered or halted or limped along these two opinions, then stop. Repent, forsake it, pursue the living and the true God. He is altogether lovely. He is chief among 10,000.
There is no thing better than the service of the living God. Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank you for your word and we thank you for this contest at Carmel. We thank you for what it displays concerning your glory and your majesty and your excellence and power. We would ask God that you would cause us to walk in total allegiance and not halting between two opinions. Grant us grace to pursue those things that are pleasing in Your sight.
If we have been lazy, forgive us. If we have been lethargic or apathetic, forgive us. If we have just been rebellious, forgive us and cleanse us in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and help us to prize our Savior. Help us to delight in Him and help us to pursue those things that are pleasing in Your sight.
Go with us now, we pray, and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.