Untitled Sermon (33)

Great Sermons from Our Past (Trusting God to Provide (Elijah on Mt. Carmel) (1 Kings 18:17–21))

Trusting God To Provide (Elijah On Mt. Carmel)

1 Kings 18:17–21

“And it came about, when Ahab saw Elijah that Ahab said to him, “Is this you, you troubler of Israel?” [18] And he said, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and you have followed the Baals. [19] “Now then send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” [20] So Ahab sent a message among all the sons of Israel, and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel. [21] And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word” (NASB).

Elijah was the prophet of God sent to tell king Ahab there would be no rain until he said so. After giving Ahab this word of judgment, God told Elijah to go away and hide himself at the brook Cherith. From the brook Cherith, Elijah was told to go to a widow’s home in Zarephath. God provided for Elijah for about a year at the brook Cherith and just over two years in the widow’s home in Zarephath.

In the third year of the drought, Elijah and Ahab met again. Ahab had been looking for Elijah. Obadiah, the governor of Ahab’s house told Elijah of Ahab’s search for him (18:10). God knew that Ahab was ready to listen to what Elijah had to say. Despite the strength of Israel, the three and a half year drought had taken its toll on them. God used the drought to cause Ahab to stop and think.

When Ahab and Elijah met, each accused the other of being a troublemaker (18:17–18). Ahab accused Elijah of being a troublemaker because Elijah announced the drought on Israel. Elijah said Ahab was the problem because he followed the sin pattern of Omri, his father. Elijah said that Ahab followed Baalim (KJV). This is the plural of the word Baal. Ahab worshiped and served many gods.

God sent Elijah to Ahab because a choice had to be made. Israel had to either worship and serve Jehovah only or not serve him at all. Elijah chose Mt. Carmel as the place where the issue would be settled concerning whom Israel would serve. Mt. Carmel was a place which could be seen from afar. Elijah stood alone on Mt. Carmel as God’s representative among 850 prophets of Baalim. There are times when we must be prepared to stand alone for God.

I. The Problem, 20–21

“So Ahab sent a message among all the sons of Israel, and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel. [21] And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word.”

Israel was called to Mt. Carmel because they needed to make a decision between God and Baal. The question Elijah raised with Israel was, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions?”

Elijah was asking Israel how long they would go on limping or walking with crippled feet. He wanted to know how long they would be uncertain or wavering. Elijah wanted to know how long Israel would hop or limp from one leg to the other, with one leg representing Baal and the other leg representing Jehovah. He wanted them to choose between Jehovah and Baal.

Israel needed to follow God or Baal and not try to follow God and Baal. While they were following one, they were rejecting the other. It is impossible to walk in two directions at the same time.

To follow means to accept the authority of or obey a leader. God and Baal were masters to be obeyed, served and followed. Elijah was trying to change Israel from would be followers of God into true and faithful servants.

The indecision of Israel dishonored God because it put God on the same level as Baal in their lives. It suggested that Baal was just as good as Jehovah. Indecision undervalues God in our lives. He has no equals. God is our Creator, and will never be satisfied when we place others on the throne he alone should occupy.

The choice Israel was called to make was both a personal and a group decision. Just as the drought had affected the whole nation, the decision about God would also affect the whole nation. Our decisions bring blessings or judgment upon us and those around us. God has given us the power of choice, and along with our choices comes responsibility.

Israel needed to stop straddling the fence in trying to serve God and Baal. Elijah knew that God demands complete loyalty. Refusing to choose God is to reject him. Israel needed to know that Jehovah was all the God they would ever need.

II. The Proposal, 22–29

“Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. [23] “Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox, and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. [24] “Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people answered and said, “That is a good idea.” [25] So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one ox for yourselves and prepare it first for you are many, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” [26] Then they took the ox which was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, “O Baal, answer us.” But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they made. [27] And it came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.” [28] So they cried with a loud voice and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them. [29] And it came about when midday was past, that they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.”

The proposal Elijah offered was that the prophets of Baal build an altar and call on Baal to send fire and consume the sacrifice on the altar. Elijah would build an altar and call on his God to send fire and consume the sacrifice on his altar. This proposal was Elijah’s way of expressing his trust in Jehovah and his distrust in Baal.

The real test of a god’s power and reality is the ability to hear and answer the prayers of its followers. Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to pray to their god and have him answer by fire. But despite their prayers, Baal never answered.

The prophets of Baal were persistent in their prayers. They called on him from morning until noon, but Baal never answered. They got no answer to their prayers because their prayers were misdirected. Baal could not do what they thought he could do nor trusted him to do.

At noon, when Baal had not answered, Elijah began mocking the prophets. Elijah said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.”

Despite their loud cries, Baal did not answer because he could not. He could not provide them with proof of his power and reality.

God constantly gives us evidence of his superiority over all idols. Elijah could mock the prophets of Baal in their failure because he was sure of his victory in Jehovah. Whatever or whomever we worship, if he, she or it cannot answer your prayers, that is a good reason to choose another god.

III. The Preparation, 30–35

“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 which had been torn down. [31] 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.” [32] So 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 measures of seed. [33] Then he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” [34] And 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. [35] And the water flowed around the altar, and he also filled the trench with water.”Elijah began his preparation for calling on his God by repairing the altar of God which had been torn down. This preparation was a sign that what he was advocating was not new. The service of God was the way taken by the ancestors but the nation had backslidden.

God’s altar being torn down was the root of Israel’s problem. It was the symbol of their forgotten God. The torn down altar of God produced drought and famine in the land.

As a proof of Elijah’s work being for God’s sake, he took twelve stones to build the altar in the name of the Lord. After placing the sacrifice on the altar, he dug a trench around the altar and poured in twelve barrels or pitchers of water. The water would take away any doubts about God’s power to send fire upon the altar.

IV. The Prayer, 36–40

“Then it came about at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that Thou art God in Israel, and that I am Thy servant, and that I have done all these things at Thy word. [37] “Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that Thou, O Lord, art God, and that Thou hast turned their heart back again.” [38] Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. [39] And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.” [40] Then 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 slew them there.”

Elijah prayed at the time of the evening sacrifice, which was the ninth hour, three o’clock in the afternoon. In his prayer, he addressed God by his personal name Yahweh, by which he related to his covenant people. Elijah prayed that God would let it be known publicly that they had a personal relationship. He had proven his relationship to God by obedience to every command of God. Now he prayed that God would publicly prove his relationship to him.

Elijah also used the creating name of God, Elohim. This name recognizes God as supreme. Elijah said that God was supreme over Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He prayed that God would be made known as Israel’s God and that he would be made known as God’s servant. He wanted God to show the onlookers that he was acting according to God’s will.

In his prayer, Elijah was saying to the onlookers, “God has a servant in me. He works his will through me. In my life, God can do whatever he wants to do, whenever he wants to do it, wherever he wants to do it and however he wants to do it.”

God answered Elijah’s prayer by sending down fire upon the altar of God. Fire on the altar was a symbol of divine presence. God sent fire in response to Elijah’s faith and prayer. The fire was supernatural because it came from heaven. The fire consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the dust and licked up the water in the trenches.

When God answered Elijah’s prayer, the people repented and said, “The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God” (39b).