1 Kings 18

1 Kings 18:16-40

1 Kings 18:18–39 ESV

18 And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals. 19 Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” 20 So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. 23 Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. 24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” 26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” 28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention. 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” 32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars 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 ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water. 36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 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 said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”

We begin this passage with a statement, and likewise we shall begin this sermon with the same statement as it truly emphasizes the point of today’s message.

1 Kings 18:21 ESV

“How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.”

How long will you go limping between two different opinions?

In the world of today, we are faced with this question alot. We encounter things such as

Abortion vs Pro-Life

Pro-Government vs Anti-Government

This country vs This country

Whose right and whose wrong

But a central question in todays society is, “God vs The World”, and society is currently limping,

And what do I mean by that?

Today there is an argument about God, and I don’t even mean if he exist, or if he’s real. The argument is on,

Who God is?

What authority does he have in my life?

Is God to be the center point of my life?

(Repeat)

Today I seek to answer these arguments and through the Holy Spirits movement through this room, may we be able to discern these answers from the text.

(Pray)

So we must begin with context of where we are in scripture and the events taking place leading up to this event,

This story involves the Prophet Elijah

This story takes place during the rain of Ahab, he is most noted for allowing “the witch” Jezebel to infiltrate his kingdom with lies and wrong passions against The Lord

There is currently a drought in the Kingdom of Isreal put in place because of the wicked deeds taking place under Ahab and Jezebel

It takes place in Mt. Carmel

At this point in the narrative it is believed that all the Prophets of the Lord have been slaughtered by the prophets of Baal and “the witch” Jezebel, and Elijah believes himself the last Prophet of the Lord left standing, he is not

Obadiah, a Governor of Ahab was sent out to seek Elijah, and when he finds him, he is instructed to bring him before Elijah in order to deal with the drought.

That is where we pickup the story, 1 Kings 18:17-20

1 Kings 18:17–21 ESV

17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” 18 And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals. 19 Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” 20 So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.