On the Road with Elijah
On The Road With Elijah To Carmel
(part 2)
1 Kings 18:17-40
In our last study we began our journey with Elijah to Carmel. In this study we arrive at Carmel and visit with Elijah in one of the most thrilling scenes in the Word of God. I like to think of the account as a mountain-top revival. For three years, God had kept Elijah in seclusion, but when He brought him into public light it was with great effects.
Roy Hession in The Calvary Road said, "The world has lost its faith, because the Church has lost its fire." The present need of the Church is to regain its fire. In order for to regain its fire, there is a need for the fire to fall. The Church will never impact this world for Christ by adopting the methods of the world or by adjusting it message to better appeal to the world. The only hope is that it regains its fire—a divine fire from heaven. How well we need to learn that it is, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts" (Zech. 4:6).
Arthur Wallis said that revival is God revealing himself to man in awful holiness and irresistible power. Elijah's experience on Mount Carmel was such a revival. When Elijah confronted Ahab he said, "Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table. So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel" (18:19-20).
Gathered at Mount Carmel, God was about to reveal Himself in awful holiness and irresistible power.
One writes, "The presumed site of the contest is called El-Muchraka, the "Place of Burning," or the "Burnt Place," a flat shelf about 1600 feet above sea level. No spot could have been better adapted for the thousands of Israel to have stood drawn up on those slopes. The rock shoots up in an almost perpendicular wall of more than 200 feet in height, on the side of the Plain of Esdraelon. No more commanding site could have been chosen where all could see the miraculous demonstration and power of the true God.
On Mount Carmel with Elijah we see:
1. A Story of Compromise
When all were gathered on Mount Carmel, Elijah first directed his words to the people.
18:21
Elijah was on a mission to not only confront wickedness of Ahab, but the compromise of the people of Israel as well.
Dwight D. Eisenhower said, "People talk about the middle of the road as though it were unacceptable. Actually, all human problems, excepting morals, come into the gray areas. Things are not all black and white. There have to be compromises. The middle of the road is all of the usable surface. The extremes, right and left, are in the gutters."
That may be true for politics (although I disagree there also), when it comes to serving God we there is no middle of the road. There is no gray area. There is a black and white and the gutter in such compromise is in the middle of the road. The sin of the people was in taking the middle of the road.
Elijah asked, "How long halt ye between two opinions?" The word "halt" literally means to limp. One writer translated the words, ""How long will you keep hopping from one leg to the other between these two opinions. The statement literally means, 'How long hop ye about upon two boughs?' This is a metaphor taken from birds hopping about from bough to bough, not knowing on which to settle.
The idea is that they kept bouncing from one to the other, wavering, and indecisive about which to serve; God or Baal. As we would say in Oklahoma, they were fence straddlers. As for Elijah, there was no middle of the road. If God was God, He was to be wholly and exclusively followed. If Baal was God, he was to be followed. There could be no following both. One or the other must be the sole object of their worship.
James said, “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways”.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
Our wavering is not between God and Baal, but more a wavering between the world and God. The mammon Jesus spoke of refers to the wealth and possessions of the world. Many Christians limp between the two. They, as we used to say, have one foot in the world, and one foot in the things of God.
God has a part in their life, but He is not preeminent. I believe it was Hudson Taylor who said that if He is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all. There cannot be two masters in life. We can't halt between two opinions. We cannot love the world and love God. You cannot worship God and Baal at the same time.
So Elijah confronted the people for their sin and then called for a decision on their part. How long would they bounce back and forth? He then called for a clear and definite decision on their part.
18:21
It was a call to make up their minds who they were going to worship. There was to be no more wavering between the two.
How did the people respond to Elijah's call for a definite decision on their part? We read that "the people answered him not a word" (18:21). Their silence is deafening! They just stood there looking at him. Were they going to turn their backs on the false religion of Baal? Were they going to return to the true and living God? There was no response on their part. Just silence.
Was their silence an indication of their fear of Ahab? Did they fear what he would do to them if they decided for the true and living God?
Fear has kept many from taking a clear and decisive stand for the Lord; a fear for how they will be treated by others or how others will view them.
Was their silence an indication of their attraction for the idolatry of Baalism. Had they found in the worship of Baal that which appealed to their carnal self and fleshly desires?
Was their silence an indication of a hesitation to give up the life they had come to enjoy? Had they grown so attached to a worldly and ungodly lifestyle that there was a struggle to break from their sinful ways?
Was their silence an indication that they were not ready to give the true and living God to the absolute and complete devotion He desired, demanded, and even deserved?
Such indecision on their part is common among many who profess to know the Lord Jesus. Our churches are full every Sunday who only give God a place in their life. They give Him a Sunday morning service but the rest of the week their life is centered on their own desires and pleasures.
If there is a missing feature of the body of Christ in our present day, it is commitment. The attitude is, I will be in service Sunday morning, maybe Sunday night, but don't ask me to put my life aside and put eternal things at the top of my schedule.
Listen the Sunday morning crowd has never been too impressive to me. If I want to judge the spiritual well-being of a church, I look at a whole lot more than who’s coming on Sunday.
If you want to know about the spirituality of a church, take a look at the individuals the rest of the week. I’m looking for people who allow God to have more than a part of their life. We are in desperate need of people who love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.
So Elijah says, How long are you going to mess around playing footsy with Baal?
Then he turns his attention to Ahab and the false prophets, and there we find
2. A Scene of Challenge
18:19
Elijah was challenging Ahab to a showdown. He was calling for a showdown between Baal and God. His challenge was for 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the groves to meet him on Mount Carmel.
Ahab and Jezebel had their own individual religion and deities. Ahab and his servants worshipped Baal who was known as the supreme lord and master of the world and sun. He had four hundred and fifty priests (prophets) that served his religion and Baal worship.
Jezebel worshipped Asherah (the meaning of the word "groves") and had four hundred priests (prophets) who served her and her deity. These ate "at Jezebel's table." They held a high honor as being a part of her household. Asherah was known as the female consort of the god Baal.
When Elijah and the eight hundred and fifty prophets were assembled on Mount Carmel, after calling for the people to make a decision, he shared with them his challenge.
18:22-24
Got the picture? Very clear terms; no misunderstanding. Let’s just see who answers.
And everyone agrees to the terms of the contest.
18:25
Now Elijah from the first took steps to make sure no one will be able to dispute the outcome of the challenge. He told the prophets to choose the bullock they preferred to for a sacrifice. After choosing a bullock, they were to dress it, or cut it in pieces and lay it in order upon the altar. There was one stipulation. They could not start the fire to burn the sacrifice. They were to pray to their gods and ask them to send the fire that would ignite the wood by which the sacrifice would be consumed.
The prophets did as Elijah commanded.
18:26
They began to pray to their gods to send down fire. It turned into a lengthy prayer for they prayed "from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us." Morning was normally around sunrise, the word "morning" meaning "the breaking forth of light." Noon would be 12:00 o'clock. For five to six hours they prayed that Baal would send down fire.
And the result?
18:26c
18:26d
The word "leaped" means to dance. Their dance was a kind of cultic dance performed as part of the sacrifice and its aim was to get their god's attention.
For all these hours Elijah watched and listened.
18:27
Elijah began to taunt them after the long and futile attempt to get Baal to answer. There were several aspects of his taunting.
First, he said, "Get louder!" Elijah was saying, "Maybe you need to cry louder. He may not have heard you."
Secondly, Elijah said "for he is a god." Unlike the LORD, pagan gods were seen as being subject to and possessing basic human functions such as sleeping, eating, drinking, loving, having children, etc.
Thirdly, Elijah said that there was a possibility "he is talking." "Maybe he is talking to someone," Elijah was saying, "and did not hear you while you have been praying."
Fourthly, there was the possibility "he is pursuing." The word "pursuing" speaks of withdrawing. Elijah was saying that it was possible that he was having his quiet time and had been in a place where he could not hear them.
Some suggest that Elijah was saying that he might be out hunting.
Still others believe the word means that Baal had stepped out and gone to the celestial men's room. You have to love Elijah's sense of humor!
Fifthly, there was the possibility that "he is in a journey." The Phoenician sailors believed Baal traveled with them on the Mediterranean Sea as well as other places. Elijah was saying that maybe he was gone on other business and was not available.
Sixthly, "peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked." Maybe he's in bed and you need to wake him up.
In all these, Elijah was sarcastically saying that their god was so small that he could not do two things at once. You talk about pouring salt into a wound, Elijah was doing so. They became even more desperate.
18:28-29
It was a scene of utter chaos. In their desperation they lost all control. But all was to avail. They prayed and prayed earnestly for fire, but there was an absence of fire.
A.W. Pinks writes, "The prophets of Baal reared their altar and placed upon it the sacrifice, and then called upon their god for the space of six hours to evidence his acceptance of their offering. But in vain. Their importunity met with no response: the heavens were as brass. No tongue of fire leapt from the sky to lick up the flesh of the slain bullock. The only sound heard was the cries of anguish from the lips of the frantic priests as they maltreated themselves till their blood gushed forth."
Isn’t that a sad scene? How picturesque of the way people live their lives today. All of their energy, time and time is spent of trying to find as answer to life and prove they are right and at the end of the day, nothing but grustration.
The eight-hundred and fifty prophets had their chance, but now it was Elijah's turn.
18:30
Elijah brought them close so they could observe his every move. There would be no trickery or deception as was common in pagan worship. His every action had one intention and that was to let God prove that He was indeed God and there was no other.
First, we see the revelation of God.
With the people gathered around, Elijah "repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down" (18:30).
The altar of the Lord had been desecrated and destroyed in their worship of Baal. In the past, it had been a place where the people had worshipped the true God but had abandoned it for the gods of this world. The broken altar was a testimony that the people had forsaken God.
Revival always begins at the "altar of the LORD." If revival is to become a reality, the "altar of the LORD" must be repaired and restored. The altar is the place of worship and communion with God. The restoration of the altar by Elijah was a rebuke of the people's sin and a call to return to God. Revival begins when God's people turn back to God.
When Abraham returned from Egypt, the Scripture says that he returned "unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at first: and Abram called on the name of the LORD" (Gen. 13:3-4). A return to God was signified by a return to the altar. The altar is the place of "beginning." This is where revival starts.
18:31
The twelve stones were symbolic of the twelve tribes of Israel. His actions were a call for the nation, all the people, to turn to God. Even though the tribes had been divided into two nations, they were still one people in God's purposes and covenant. Under God, "Israel shall be thy name." They were to be as one and turn to God as one people.
Revival is a work of God in the lives of His people. Revival is not the saving of the lost, although revival always results in people being saved. The salvation of the lost is the fruit of revival. Revival is a work in saved people. It is a turning of God's people back to Him.
18:32
The altar was dedicated to God. It was erected by God's authority and for His glory. Revival is a return of God's people whereby they submit themselves to His authority and live for His glory.
Revival always results in the altars of Baal being destroyed and the "altar of the LORD" being restored.
The nature of any real revival is a demonstration and revelation of God's power and person. After repairing the altar, Elijah took steps that would give God a platform on which He would reveal Himself.
First, "he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed" (18:32). Two measures of seed (two seahs) equaled about one-third of a bushel or 12-13 quarts.
After digging a trench around the altar, "he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood" (18:33).
The water was to soak the wood and sacrifice to remove any doubt about the outcome.
To add further credibility to the outcome,
18:34-35
The challenge was about who was God. Elijah was setting the stage so God could reveal Himself in such a way there would be no doubt who was God.
Once everything was in order we read
18:36-37
The people had watched and listened to the eight-hundred and fifty worshippers of Baal cry out for hours.
They had seen their desperation as they prayed. In contrast, Elijah at the time of the Jewish evening sacrifice (3 pm) lifted his voice to God and prayed a short prayer of 63 words.
His prayer was simple, but direct in its petitions. He prayed that God would make Himself known, confirm that he was His servant, that all he had done had been according to His word, and turn the people back to Him.
No sooner did he conclude his prayer,
18:38
The fire fell not only fell, but with overwhelming results. Adam Clarke says seven things occurred:
1. The fire came down from heaven.
2. The pieces of the sacrifice were first consumed.
3. The wood next, to show that it was not even by means of the wood that the flesh was burned.
4. The twelve stones were also consumed, to show that it was no common fire, but one whose agency nothing could resist.
5. The dust, the earth of which the altar was constructed, was burned up.
6. The water that was in the trench was, by the action of this fire, entirely evaporated.
7. The action of this fire was in every case downward, contrary to the nature of all earthly and material fire. Nothing can be more simple and artless than this description, yet how amazingly full and satisfactory is the whole account! (6)
Elijah has provided the opportunity for God to reveal Himself and God took that opportunity and demonstrated His power in a marvelous way. God is God and He longs for His people to give Him the chance to reveal Himself in their life. The reason we do not see more of what God can do is that we do not give Him a chance to do so.
Revival is fire falling from heaven. Revival is first and foremost a manifestation of God's power. The unusual become the usual during times of revival. What many would consider abnormal becomes normal when fire from heaven falls.
The revelation of God resulted in the revival of the people. Elijah's challenge had been that "the God that answers by fire, let him be God" (18:24). When
Elijah first called for a decision, "the people answered him not a word" (18:21). However, when the fire fell, "And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God" (18:39). When the fire fell, the people were moved!
Listen: The answer to dead services, dry singing, powerless preaching, and empty altars is the falling of the fire of God. People sit in our services week after week but are never moved or changed. Week after week it is the same routine. Things go on as usual. However, when the fire falls everything will change.
There is one last thing I want us to see:
3. A Step of Cleansing
18:40
Now that the people had turned back to God, there had to be a purging of that which had defiled both the people and the land.
The slaying of the prophets of Baal were strong and drastic measures, but it was necessary. For one thing, it was caommanded
The law stated in Deuteronomy 17:2-5, "If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant, And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die."
The law demanded that any that turned their back on God and followed and worshipped other gods were to be stoned to death. Elijah, in all he had done, had been according to the word of God. In continual obedience he carried out the law of God concerning idolater by slaying all the prophets of Baal.
Someone might call the law of God cruel and Elijah's actions murderous, yet, there could be no condoning or tolerance of sin. Such people were a cancer in the body. If not removed, their abomination would spread and infect others.
Paul said in Galatians 5:9, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." I have seen through the years how one selfish and sinful member can wreak havoc in a church. A carnal believer can be like a wet blanket on a one who is on fire for God. A bad person can pull a good person down. Therefore, one must make a clean break from everything and anyone who would hurt them spiritually.
The story is told of a ship that wrecked on the Irish coast. The captain was a careful one. Nor had the weather been of so severe a kind to explain the wide distance the ship had swerved from her course. The ship went down, but so much interest was attached to the disaster that a diver was sent down.
Among other portions of the vessel that were examined was the compass that was swung on deck, and inside the compass box was detected a bit of steel which appeared to be the small point of a pocket knife blade. It appeared that the day before the wreck a sailor had been sent to clean the compass, had used his pocket knife in the process, and had unconsciously broken off the point and left it remaining in the box.
The bit of knife blade exerted its influence on the compass, and to a degree that deflected the needle from its proper bent, and spoiled it as an index of the ship's direction. That piece of knife blade wrecked the vessel.
Thus one trifling sin, as small as a broken knife point, as it were, is able to bring destruction. God's command is death to idolatry and anything that would pull us away from God.
What God required was a complete purging
There was to be a total separation from the old life and a consecration to their new life. Anything that had to do with their idolatry had to be purged. To have left them alive was only inviting future disaster. Any evil influence had to be completely purged. Both the land and their lives had to be completely purged of all sin. Every false prophet had to be removed once and for all and not one can be allowed to remain.
Lord, let the fire fall!
