A Biblical Showdown

One of the passages of scripture that I have always found extremely exciting is 1 Kings Chapter 18.

I recently taught an adult class one evening and the lesson plan revolved around this very chapter.

It opens with God sending Elijah to King Ahab during the third year of a drought and famine.

At the same time, King Ahab summons Obadiah who was the palace supervisor and a devout follower of the Lord. Between them, they were to survey the kingdom looking for any remaining grazing areas for the horses and mules.

The two set out in separate directions and Obadiah encounters the prophet Elijah and falls facedown on the ground before him.

Elijah instructs Obadiah to return to King Ahab and to tell the king that he has returned.

Obadiah hesitates and explains that were he to do this and were Elijah to be carried away by the Lord, then Ahab would execute him.

Elijah reassures Obadiah and sends him on his way back to King Ahab.

When Ahab meets Elijah, he blames Elijah for both the drought and famine.

1 Kings 18:17 (NET) - When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is it really you, the one who brings disaster on all Israel?"

Elijah quickly and succinctly sets the record straight.

1 Kings 18:18 (NET) - Elijah replied, "I have not brought disaster on Israel. But you and your father’s dynasty have, by abandoning the LORD’s commandments and following the Baals."

Elijah then instructs the king to send out messengers and have all Israel assemble at Mount Carmel along with the prophets of Baal and Asherah. The king complies.

The people and false prophets assemble and Elijah addresses the people.

1 Kings 18:21 (NET) - Elijah approached all the people and said, "How long are you going to be paralyzed by indecision? If the LORD is the true God, then follow Him, but if Baal is, follow him!" But the people did not say a word.

The silence of the people proved Elijah’s point. They truly were paralyzed by indecision.

Then, Elijah issued a challenge. 450 prophets of Baal versus Elijah in a winner take all challenge.

Identical sacrifices were to be prepared. The prophets of Baal would call upon their god and Elijah would call upon the LORD. The god who sent fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice would be the one and only true god.

The prophets of Baal invoked his name from morning until noon and received no answer.

Elijah then began to taunt them.

1 Kings 18:27 (NET) - At noon Elijah mocked them, "Yell louder! After all, he is a god, he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment, or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened."

I believe that Elijah was doing more than trying to make the prophets of Baal look foolish by mocking them. I believe this was also an attempt at making an indecisive people feel a bit foolish for following them in the first place.

The prophets of Baal continued their invocation of Baal throughout the afternoon and inflicted self mutilation in a vain attempt to appease a non-existent god.

Toward evening, Elijah took twelve stones representing the twelve tribes and constructed a new altar.

He then dug a deep trench around the altar. He then arranged the wood and placed the sacrifice on the wood.

He then gave the command that the sacrifice and wood be drenched three times with water thus filling the trench.

Elijah then prayed to the LORD. That prayer was answered.

1 Kings 18:38-39 (NET) - Then fire from the LORD fell from the sky. It consumed the offering, the wood, the stones, and the dirt, and licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and said, "The LORD is the true God! The LORD is the true God!"

In an over the top display, the LORD clearly showed the people both His absolute power and absolute sovereignty. A people paralyzed by indecision were paralyzed no more.

The false prophets were then seized and executed and the chapter concludes with Elijah praying for rain, thus ending the drought.

Even today, many are equally paralyzed with indecision. God tells us clearly in scripture both who He is and what He expects. He demands priority status in our lives. Any time we elevate the importance of a person or thing above God, we displace Him from the position He both deserves and indeed demands.

Putting God first will help us prioritize everything else in life.


Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, July 15, 2011.

Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!

I’ll be back here on Friday, July 22, 2011.

Schedule subject to change.