Prayer and Fire

This post is part 4 of my Becoming Elijah series.

The land has been experiencing a drought for 3.5 years, (Luke 4:25) just like they had been warned by Moses. We have records of this warming and they are found in the book of Deuteronomy.

Here are a few of them:

Warnings

For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.

‘And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled.’ Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, lest the Lord’s anger be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and you perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you.
- Deuteronomy 11:10–17 NKJV

“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. (v1)

“But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: (v15)

And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron. (v23)

- Deuteronomy 28:1, 15, 23.

The children of Israel have decided to disregard God’s warning and follow after other gods. It turns out that for over three years these other gods have been powerless to provide Israel with what their God had provided them with in the past.

Time to Go

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.”
- 1 Kings 18:1 NKJV

During these three and a half years Elijah has been either alone in the wilderness and being fed by birds or living with a poor widow and her son. Elijah has faithfully done what God called him to do, he faithfully and patiently waited in what must have been difficult and uncomfortable situations. In these situations, Elijah’s faith grew. He witnessed God providing for him and the widow and her son in miraculous ways. Elijah also prayed and witnessed a resurrection. Elijah is now ready for God’s next assignment. Not only that the children of Israel are also now ready for what God wants to teach them next. God must not only prepare Elijah for his mission but also those who will be on the receiving end of his ministry. God is also preparing the children of Israel for the truths He wishes to instill in them through the ministry of His servant, Elijah.

Meanwhile in Israel

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 one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.)
- 1 Kings 18:2-4 NKJV

This short description catches the reader up with what has been happening in Israel over the past three years. The famine has been severe, Jezebel has been killing the prophets of the Lord. Obadiah has been in a difficult situation serving a ruler that was not ideal but also using his position to protect some of God’s prophets.

I strongly recommend you read 1 Kings 18, for the sake of brevity I will summarize the early portion of this chapter and spend more time in some of the later verses.

The drought got so bad that King Ahab sent Obadiah to explore the land in hopes to find grass and keep the cattle from dying. As Obadiah goes to explore he meets Elijah and tells him how Ahab has been searching for Elijah all over the world. Clearly, Elijah has only been able to remain hidden due to God’s intervention. Obadiah is afraid of announcing Elijah’s arrival to the king and having God take Elijah away and hide him again because this would cause the king’s wrath to be focused on Obadiah. Elijah assures him that he will meet the king and Obadiah goes to meet King Ahab and announce Elijah’s arrival.

Troubler of Israel?

Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
- 1 Kings 18:17 NKJV

King Ahab reveals his true feelings, he blames Elijah for the drought and all the calamities that accompany it. Ahab must have known that Elijah had no control over the elements and that it was God who was working, Elijah was just the messenger, God’s faithful servant.

It is natural for the wrongdoer to hold the messengers of God responsible for the calamities that come as the sure result of a departure from the way of righteousness.

-White, E. G. (1917). The Story of Prophets and Kings as Illustrated in the Capitvity and Restoration of Israel (Vol. 2, p. 139). Pacific Press Publishing Association.

The truth is that even if Elijah was killed, it would not bring the rain back. Killing the prophets, burning the Bibles, closing the churches, canceling the preachers, will not change the reality of God’s will, His plans, and His judgments.

Read this carefully because I do not want you to misunderstand what I mean.

Not sharing part of God’s message because we are afraid of offending someone does not change the reality that the message should convey. In other words, God’s will doe not change just because you choose to not share it. I do not mean for this to be taken as a license to offend and hit them over the head with the Bible. I do not think that rebuke and judgment are where the message begins. The core of the message is one of love, grace, and salvation. Most of the message is all about God, His goodness, His power, His grace, and all that He has done and continues to do to save and bless us. However, the fact that there is no salvation outside of God is also part of the message.

Here’s my understanding of this. John wrote

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
- John 3:16-17 NKJV

John also wrote

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
- Jesus 14:6 NKJV

In other words, it is great news that Jesus is able to provide salvation to all who believe! But part of that truth is also that there is no salvation outside of Jesus, and to reject Him is to reject eternal life. In Elijah’s situation, it was true that God was able to provide rain, but was also true that no other god could provide it. Ehab knew that Elijah was not the problem, but I guess it was easier to threaten Elijah than to attack God directly.

I’m rubber, you’re glue!

(I realize some of my readers might not be familiar with this expression. Kids sometimes will call each other names and one way they handle being called something they don’t appreciate is to reply “I’m rubber you’re glue, everything you say bounces off of me and sticks to you!”)

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.
- 1 Kings 18:18 NKJV

Elijah clarifies that he is not the one troubling Israel. Ahab and his family, on the other hand, have forsaken God and gone after false gods causing the covenantal curse to fall upon the land. People who willfully and rebelliously choose sin over faithfulness to God suffer the consequences of their choices, and it is not the fault of those who point out the will of God.

We are not to hate those who struggle with sin. We are to embrace and encourage them. To invite them in, to make them feel welcome and loved. After all, we all have our struggles, we all need Jesus, and none of us deserve the mercy and grace we receive from God. What we cannot do is claim that sin is no longer sinful or that it is okay to continue to willfully live a life of sin and rebellion. I love and appreciate people in all walks of life, I also love myself, but I do not allow myself to wallow and remain in sin. I repent, I ask God for forgiveness, I confess and beg God to deliver me from my sin, to forgive me, to cleanse me.

Some sins God has completely taken away to the point I am not even tempted by it anymore. Others will likely be a struggle until Jesus comes. I have to always be on guard, especially when things get difficult and I feel hurt, exhausted, hopeless, alone, I know that in those moments of weakness is when the temptation will be strongest. I am not saying it is easy. I am saying that giving in to sin as if there was nothing wrong is not the answer.

Elijah makes it clear to Ahab that the suffering of the nation is directly connected to his worship of Baal.

The plan?

Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred 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.
- 1 Kings 18:19-20 NKJV

The plan sounds good to Ahab. The prophets of Baal and Asherah clearly outnumber Elijah who is by himself. Except Elijah is not by himself. How can Elijah stand by himself and be so bold in the presence of the king of Israel? Elijah does so because he is faithfully following God’s will. When we find ourselves in the will of God we have nothing to fear.

The LORD is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?
- Psalm 118:6 New Living Translation

I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?
- Psalm 56:11 NLT

So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”
- Hebrews 13:6 NLT

Where do you stand?

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.
- 1 Kings 18:21 NKJV

Nobody was willing to stand up, stand out, and claim that they followed God. On the same note, no one was willing to completely reject God in favor of Baal. Where do you stand?

“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.
- Matthew 12:30 NLT

Jesus clarifies that there are really two groups, those who are with Him and those who are against Him. You may not like this, but don’t be upset with me, I’m just the messenger. I could not state this truth, but my silence would not make it any less real. do you know where you stand? Are you for God or against Him?

Many of the people had been worshiping Baal, but Baal had failed to help them. Baal had been unable to provide rain. The worship of Baal did not help, the drought continued, they were starving. Had they made a mistake? The drought had caused the people to reconsider their way of life and the object of their worship.

The Rules

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 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.”
- 1 Kings 18:22-24 NKJV

The rules were clear, the people agreed. The stage had been set. Elijah was clearly outnumbered. How will this showdown turn out?

You go first

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.”
- 1 Kings 18:25 NKJV

Elijah is so nice, he lets the prophets of Baal go first reminding them of the rules.

So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made.
- 1 Kings 18:26 NKJV

The priests of Baal put on quite the show. They jumped and shouted and carried on for hours. They pleaded for Ball to hear them, but there was no reply from Baal. Lunchtime came around and so far nothing was heard from Baal.

Halftime

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 past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.
- 1 Kings 18:27-29 NKJV

I don’t know if they had a lunch break, but I imagined the priests of Baal might be getting a little sore from shouting and jumping. Elijah can’t help himself and offers some guidance, some theological input. Elijah highlights the differences between Baal and the true God. Apparently, Baal had to be summoned, awakened, enticed to act. However, regardless of how loud and earnest the cry of the priests of Baal there was no answer. The priests even hurt themselves hoping to cause their God to answer to their cry, but not even that worked. Evening time was not approaching and nothing these priests did helped their cause, no answer came from Baal.

This might seem so offensive nowadays. We are not supposed to point out contradictions in the beliefs of others right? We are not supposed to ask questions about how their theology works, what their gods are like. I get the feeling many believe that as long as someone believes it is enough, regardless of what they choose to believe. To a degree, I agree, you can choose to believe whatever you want. But it does not mean that all beliefs are equally valid. This story points out that the majority believed deeply in a god that was unable to help them. For three and a half years Baal has been powerless to help them, and even with all his prophets crying out and even cutting themselves, there was no answer.

I believe that even today, there is but one true God. One God who searches for us and desires to save us. One God who gave His only Son so that we might live. I believe in the same God that Elijah believed in.

The 450 prophets of Baal had gone first, they had tried for most of the day and not at the time of the evening sacrifice it was Elijah’s turn.

Watch carefully

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 seahs 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, 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.
- 1 Kings 18:30-35 NKJV

The storytelling here is masterful. The narrator slows down time and zooms in bringing us right there next to Elijah. We see Elijah repairing the broken-down altar of the Lord. Elijah reminds the children of Israel of their history and how God is at its center. Not only that, Elijah does something unusual, he digs a trench around the altar. He places the wood on the altar, cuts the bull in pieces, and lays it on the wood.

Elijah does something highly unusual. He asks for water to be brought and poured on the altar, on the offering, on the wood, everything is drenched, and even the trench is filled with water. Humanly speaking, Elijah has just made it impossible for anything on that altar to catch on fire. There is no way anyone there could light that wood on fire even if they wanted to.

Let it be known

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.”
- 1 Kings 18:36-37 NKJV

Elijah does not shout. He does not jump. He has no need to cut himself. Elijah knows that the God of the universe is only a prayer away. We do not need to call the attention of God, we have His undivided attention. Elijah simply wants God to let it be known that He is God. When we live our lives in accordance to the will of God we can pray the same prayer, “let it be known this day that You are God in (fill in the name of your community) and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word.”

Notice also that it is God who turns the hearts of the people back to Him. Elijah is simply called to be faithful, but Elijah is not the one who transforms lives, God does that. Once again we see that Elijah’s key role is to pray, to come to God and ask that He reveal Himself, reveal His power, His will, and glorify His name in the process.

Fire!

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.
- 1 Kings 18:38 NKJV

Fire came down! It was not a little bit of fire. It was not a small demonstration that if you blinked you missed it. God revealed beyond a shadow of a doubt that He was indeed God, the only God, God almighty.

The Lord, He is God

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!”
- 1 Kings 18:39

The people, who at first were quiet when asked about wavering between two opinions, were now sure who God was. And they proclaimed it loudly.

What now?

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.
- 1 Kings 18:40 NKJV

Once you see clearly that God is the real God, get rid of everything else that was causing you to stumble. When you witness the power of God in your life remove from your life things that distract you from God, things that are not part of God’s will for your life.

Maybe there are apps on your phone that need to be deleted.

Maybe there are subscriptions that need to be canceled.

Names that have to be deleted from your contacts list, maybe even blocked.

Things that need to be deleted from your hard drive.

Substances that should not be in your household that need to be permanently removed and destroyed.

It is important to do that when you are sure of God’s will. Because difficult moments will come. Those idols will tempt you again in the future. Prayerfully consider what God would have you get rid of today, this week. If you are wrestling and unsure, dedicate it to prayer, talk to someone you trust, find an accountability partner. It’s vulnerable, I know. It’s not easy. But it is necessary. Unless you wish to remain where you are. Unless you are enjoying the drought, turn to God with all your heart. God wants to transform your life and to bless you and make you a blessing. But God will not share your affections with anyone or anything else. God must be the only God, He must reign supreme in your life because then everything else will fall into place.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
- Matthew 6:33 NKJV