"How long will you waver between two opinions?"
King Ahab went to meet Elijah and accused him of being a trouble-maker for Israel, not realizing that the man of God was one of the best friends Israel ever had. Not fearing for his own life, Elijah answered Ahab fearlessly and accusingly. He blamed the king for mixing the worship of Jehovah with Baal-worship and challenged him to assemble his idolatrous prophets for a contest on Mount Carmel to determine who was the true God.
Addressing the assembled representative of Israel, Elijah accused them of wavering between two opinions; they should choose either the Lord or Baal. Then the contest began. Two bulls were to be killed and laid on kindling wood. Elijah would represent the Lord, whereas four hundred and fifty of Ahab’s prophets would represent Baal. The God who answered by fire would be acknowledged as the true God.
The prophets of Baal cried out to their god and hopped around the altar from morning till noon. Elijah mocked them with helpful excuses for Baal’s failure to answer. In desperation they cut themselves with knives and lances and raved on until the time of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.
Then Elijah built an altar of twelve stone in the name of the Lord, representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Then to eliminate any possibility that the altar might be ignited in any way other than by a miracle, he saturated the oxen and the wood with twelve barrels of water.
At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah prayed that God would reveal himself by sending fire from heaven. Immediately the fire of the Lord fell from heaven, consuming not only the sacrifice but also the wood and the stones and the dust, and the water in the trench around the altar. The people were thus compelled to acknowledge the Lord as the real God.
Only after the people acknowledged that Jehovah was God and executed the prophets of Baal could the rain come. Confession of sin and obedience to the Word of God are the steps to blessing.
Elijah on Mount Carmel
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