Elijah and the Prophets of Baal (Bible Stories Explained)

god called elijah during one of the most terrible times in israel in those times israel had one of the worst kings and his name was ahab ahab married a phoenician princess from tia her name was jezebel it was clear that she used ahab to achieve her own evil lens and that he needed little persuading jezebel persuaded ahab to accept bale a nature god after they married as a woman desiring greater power she wanted to eliminate those who dared to question her and she had most of yahweh's prophets slain at her request she is the first

and most powerful agitator of persecution against god's saints she shared no pains to keep idolatry in all its glory around her guided by no principle controlled by no fear of either god or man infervent in her allegiance to her heathen worship it was her scheming for example which arranged the death of a neighbor naboth so that ahab could take the possession of his vineyard it was this event which marked the start of the prophet elijah's ministry he was a tishbite from gilead in the trans-jordan region and was regarded as one of the finest of israel's

prophets although there is no book written in his name kings covers more of his life than most of the kings themselves he is best known for his confrontation with the prophets of baal on mount carmel this story is well known now elijah the tishbite from tishbe and gilead said to ahab as the lord the god of israel lives whom i serve there will be neither do nor rain in the next few years except in my word first kings 17 verse 1. after a lengthy period of drought god sent elijah to ahab to tell him that

he would send rain the prophet did as he was told and on his route to samaria he met ahab's servant obadiah the palace was in the hands of obadiah but he was also a devout believer who feared the lord so much that he took a hundred prophets and hid them from jezebel and nourished them like joseph daniel and nehemiah obadiah held a position of trust and responsibility in the palace of an unbelieving ruler only in obadiah's case the ruler was the king of israel whose queen had slaughtered the true prophets of the true god elijah

sent obadiah to inform ahab that he had returned and wished to meet with him as obadiah was walking along elijah met him obadiah recognized him bowed down to the ground and said is it really you my lord elijah yes he replied go tell your master elijah is here 1st kings 18 verses 5 through 8. obadiah on the other hand was afraid that elijah was about to deliver his death sentence elijah's life had been put at risk by ahab if obadiah told the king that he had found elijah and then the prophet did not show ahab

would undoubtedly execute his servant but elijah promised ahab's servant that he would make an appearance declaring his confidence the two foes met and ahab immediately cast the blame for israel's woes on elijah according to ahab the prophet was ruining israel because he had proclaimed there would be no reign except at his command in truth elijah had spoken on behalf of god ahab on the other hand vented his rage on the prophet who was supposed to represent god the evil king refused to take responsibility for his country's misery elijah on the other hand was not a

timid prophet he was unafraid to say what was on his mind ahab and his father's family were ruining israel because they had abandoned god's commands and followed the bales then elijah issued a challenge summon all israel to meet me at mount carmel along with the 450 prophets of baal in the 400 prophets of asherah these numbers indicate the extent to which jezebel had plunged israel into gross idolatry it was time for a face-off i have not made trouble for israel elijah replied but you and your father's family have you have abandoned the lord's commands and

have followed the bales now summon the people from all over israel to meet me on mount carmel and bring the 450 prophets of baal in the 400 prophets of asherah who eat at jezebel's table first kings 18 verses 18-19 king ahab had mixed idolatry into his system that was deemed to be run on god's agenda because the israelites were his people israel was suffering as a result of poor governance but elijah on the other hand represented a different kind of dominion he didn't have any ties to the royal family or any political party without being

co-opted or corrupted he could speak truth to earthly power elijah was an outspoken individual who was loyal to the truth regardless of who is in power he was a representative of a very different kingdom with a completely different goal at mount carmel ahab gathered all the israelites in the prophets he accepted elijah's challenge indicating that he was confident in the outcome even though elijah was a strong prophet 950 to 1 was a pretty solid bet this mass gathering set the stage for one of the most important questions in all of scripture who is the true

god the lord had declared to israel that he alone was god now the people were going to have to make up their minds would they believe in the god of their fathers or would they continue to follow the gods of the nations so ahab sent word throughout all israel and assembled the prophets on mount carmel first kings verses 18-20 elijah asked how long will you waver between two opinions you can't have it both ways when it comes to spiritual concerns you can't have it both ways israel was like a drunken man who couldn't walk straight

but woe from side to side it was the time to choose if the lord is god follow him but if baal follow him there is no such thing as neutrality when it comes to the true god and his demand for exclusive worship surprisingly the people did not respond to elijah's passionate challenge the descendants of abraham isaac and jacob the people of israel couldn't even agree that the lord is the only real god they didn't answer because they had lost all conviction by failing to choose they had already made their decision elijah went before the people

and said how long will you waver between two opinions if the lord is god follow him but if baal is god follow him but the people said nothing first kings verses 18-21 elijah set the parameters of the upcoming combat after the contestants and audiences had gathered on one hand bale's 450 prophets would be given a sacrifice bowl on the other hand elijah would be the sole recipient of the other bull each side would prepare its bowl on the altar and each would call to set their offering ablaze the god who answers with fire elijah said

he is god did the people truly expect a supernatural response on that particular day or did they get into it with no expectations regardless it's unlikely that they expected elijah who was outmanned to win they just said that's okay then elijah said to them i am the only one of the lord's prophets left but baal has 450 prophets get two bulls for us let bale's prophets choose one for themselves and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it i will prepare the other bowl and put

it on the wood but not set fire to it then you call in the name of your god and i will call on the name of the lord the god who answers by fire he is god then all the people said what you say is good first kings 18 verses 22-24 the false prophets got to go first they slaughtered their bull and called on bail from morning until noon but no one answered so they danced around the altar they eventually became so eager for an answer that they started screaming and slashing themselves the heavens remained

deafeningly silent no one responded and no one was paying attention this is what happens to those who put their faith in anyone or anything other than the genuine god while this was happening elijah offered sarcastic commentary on the proceedings he derided both the prophets and their deities saying perhaps he's contemplating it or perhaps he's wandered away perhaps he's dozing off elijah sought to make it apparent that ahab and his prophets had led the people of israel astray in that their false god and religion were a lie in disgrace that had caused the lord to judge

his people elijah said to the prophets of baal choose one of the bowls and prepare it first since there are so many of you call on the name of your god but do not light the fire so they took the bull given them and prepared it then they called on the name of baal from morning till noon baal answer us they shouted but there was no response no one answered and they danced around the altar they had made at noon elijah began to taunt them shout louder he said surely he is a god perhaps he

is deep in thought or busy or traveling maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened so they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears as was their custom until their blood flowed midday passed and they continued their frantic prophesizing until the time for the evening sacrifice but there was no response no one answered no one paid attention first kings 18 verse 25 finally elijah put an end to the folly by summoning the people to the lord's altar elijah used 12 stones for it one for each of israel's 12 tribes to the onlookers this

was a powerful object lesson despite the fact that the country was divided at the time they were still god's one people made up of the descendants of jacob's twelve sons in other words by calling the israelites to unity elijah was preparing them to see their god action then elijah said to all the people come here to me they came to him and he repaired the altar of the lord which had been torn down elijah took twelve stones one for each of the tribes descended from jacob to whom the word of the lord had come saying

your name shall be israel first kings 18 verses 30-31 elijah's meticulous altar preparations were intended to prove without a shadow of the doubt that the lord is the only real god the prophet went so far as to work against himself by pouring an abundance of water on the sacrifice and altar he was making it impossible for the soggy wood and offering to be burned with the stones he built an altar in the name of the lord and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seals of seed he arranged the wood cut

the bowl into pieces and laid it on the wood then he said to them fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood do it again he said and they did it again do it a third time he ordered and they did it the third time the water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench first kings 18 verses 32-34 elijah nelton prayed what a prayer too elijah's main wish was for israel's god to honor himself in front of all the people on that particular day what

would the reward be people would understand that the lord is god and that elijah is his prophet and their hearts would come back to him as a result a prayer for god's glory and the edification of his people is the kind of prayer that god answers at the time of sacrifice the prophet elijah stepped forward and prayed lord the god of abraham isaac and israel let it be known today that you are god in israel and that i am your servant and have done all these things at your command answer me lord answer me so

these people will know that you lord are god and that you are turning their hearts back again first kings 18 verses 36-37 god's dramatic response to elijah's prayer was heightened by the fact that it was now evening it's the ideal time for a spectacular fireworks display the offering the wood the stones and the dust were all consumed by the fire that reigned from heaven even the water was sucked up by the flames everyone present would have recognized that the supernatural had invaded the natural world that the spiritual had touched the physical and that eternity had

infiltrated history so israel's people did the only thing they could think of they went to their knees and declared the lord he is god he is god the lord and with such a disproportionate result the baal prophets were exposed as the charlatans that they were their fate had already been decided then the fire of the lord fell and burned up the sacrifice the wood the stones and the soil and also licked up the water in the trench when all the people saw this they fell prostrate and cried the lord he is god the lord he

is god then elijah commanded them seized the prophets of baal don't let anyone get away they seized them and elijah had them brought down to the kishan valley and slaughtered them first kings 18 verses 38-40 with the greatness and uniqueness of the lord vindicated and confessed it was time to lift the drought and famine from the land the prophet informed ahab that a rainstorm was approaching and went to the summit of carmel to pray elijah persisted in his intercession until the lord answered with a downpour in other words he took the mental position of a

woman in the travail of childbirth as he kept praying the answer arrived after seven attempts the number of completion he was also blessed with incredible power which allowed him to outrun ahab's chariot to jezreel elijah was clearly captivated by the lord's might he was on the crest of a spiritual ridge however he was about to enter the valley of death shadow and elijah said to ahab go eat and drink for there is the sound of a heavy rain so ahab went off to eat and drink but elijah climbed to the top of carmel bent down

to the ground and put his face between his knees go and look toward the sea he told his servant and he went up and looked there was nothing there he said seven times elijah said go back the seventh time the servant reported a cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea so elijah said go and tell ahab hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you meanwhile the sky grew black with clouds the wind rose a heavy rain started falling and ahab rode off to jezreel the power of

the lord came on elijah and tucking his cloak into his belt he ran ahead of ahab all the way to jezreel 1st kings 18 verses 41-45 lessons from elijah and the prophets of baal the first lesson is that there is a true god jesus said i am the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the father except through me john 14 6 lesson two activity and enthusiasm are not always signs of spirituality there is no doubt that the baal prophets on mount carmel were full of zeal and activity they were earnest

in their efforts but how many of you are aware that you can be sincere in your errors that was amply demonstrated by mount carmel faith can be misplaced faith is not the important thing that may strike you as an odd or blasphemous statement but faith is not paramount faith isn't the most crucial factor the most crucial aspect of faith is the object of faith those who followed baal had to have some type of faith they had spent their entire lives worshiping this god they had faith in baal they believed in baal their faith however was

worthless since their faith's object was worthless this lesson teaches us that only those who believe in jehovah end up on the winning side there is no other in which to place your faith god always protects his own people to watch the story of david and goliath click here you