1 Kings 18:17-40

Intro

What has happened so far?

Something something intro

God then tells Elijah that there will be rain once more, but he needs to go back to king Ahab and confront him

And what does Elijah do?

He goes

Who does he meet along the way?

Obadiah, who is hiding 100 prophets of the Lord from the king and feeding them

For three years he has been doing this

After this meeting Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah

Read 1 Kings 18:17-19

I love what Ahab calls Elijah

Troubler, meaning a person who causes misfortune on a community

And Elijah corrects him

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

Elijah calls Ahab out for his ways, that he has forsaken the way of the Lord and has chosen to chase after this false god

Then, he begins the challenge against Ahab

1 Kings 18:19 ESV

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.”

What we are going to see here is a battle between the Lord and Baal, and Ahab is willing to let them duke it out

Why do we need this story today?

Because it’s cool?

It is, but that’s not the point

We need this because we have to decide who’s side we are on

Read 18:20-21

Ahab brings together the people, which is interesting that he first goes out to all the people to summon them

I think that this further emphasizes that this was not just the king’s house and these prophets who were in the wrong, but all the nation of Israel that was struggling

But the prophets are also summoned

And Elijah charges them, asking them how long they will go on hobbling between two opinions

The writer here is showing that the Israelites are weak, indecisive, babbling around, and uncommitted to the Lord ultimately

Elijah is charging them to choose who they are going to serve, but specifically nailing the point of Who is truly God

That’s the battle here, who is the true king and lord?

Is it Baal or God?

This question for Israel to decide who they serve should be reminiscent of Joshua’s charge to the Israelites

Joshua 24:14–15 ESV

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

This struggle for the Israelites is present throughout their history, this isn’t a new issue. They consistently struggle with who they are going to be faithful to

But even with Elijah’s charge and the continued struggle that they have with false gods we read that the people were completely silent

This silence should be shouting in their ears of their issue, and further implicates their hobbling between gods

You cannot hobble between who or what you will worship, like the Israelites, you too must...

Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve

Elijah calls on them to choose whether they will serve God or Ba’al

And their silence continues on

As this silence continues, Elijah response further

Read 18:22-24

Elijah is noting the difference in representatives present on the mountain

There are 450 prophets of Ba’al and only he stands against them

But he’s not the only one left, remember?

There are 100 prophets of the Lord hiding

They are in hiding, but Elijah is here standing alone, where is their faith?

Even in his independence he will stand for the Lord, and present here an option, a competition between Ba’al and the Lord

Elijah offers the terms here, but the people accept them

The people, mind you, not the prophets of Ba’al are the ones that accept Elijah’s terms

Elijah’s still talking to the people here, why?

Why not talk to Ba’al’s prophets? They’re the one he’s going to be going up against, right?

Because the people are the ones that are still hobbling around

The prophets of Ba’al have already made their bed with him

The prophet’s of Ba’al have already decided whose camp they will bein, but the people, they are the ones hobbling between gods, they are those with weak faith

The prophets of Ba’al might have had strong faith in their god, but that faith would be misplaced

Then comes the final stipulation, that they are not allowed to lay fire to the altar themselves. It has to come from their god

This might have seemed unfair, Ba’al was a storm god, he was known for bringing down rain and thunder and lighting

A storm god, during a drought that has lasted for three years is who they were going to call upon, don’t lose the irony there

Read 18:25-29

Elijah even gives them the chance to start before him, but it won’t matter

They call on Ba’al from morning till noon

But there was no voice, and no one answered

This isn’t “Ba’al didn’t answer them” it’s no one answered, not even another god thought to come down and present themselves

And what was their response?

Now the prophets are the ones hobbling around, they fumbled attempting to get their god to answer them

But he would not, and with Elijah’s mocking, new energy came into them that they began to cut themselves also, trying to get Ba’al’s attention also

Even with this newfound energy, no one answered; no one paid attention

Till evening they worked, but nothing came of it

Elijah then decides it’s his turn, afterall, he gave them a day

Read 18:30-40

There is a stark contrast between the Lord and Ba’al

Verse 31 declares that Elijah took the twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come

The word of the Lord!

The God that Elijah serves is a speaking God

We are in direct opposition to the god that did not answer his prophets, his 450 prophets

Because the Lord is the God who speaks!

Even Elijah’s presentation is quiet and subtle

Where the prophets of Ba’al were big, they cried out and cut themselves

But Elijah, simply speaks to the Lord

Even in this moment he has the people draw near to him

Get closer so you can see what is about to happen

He knows that God is going to answer and reveal Himself

The prophets of Ba’al made a show of themselves in attempting to call upon their god, but Elijah spoke and the Lord showed Himself

And to show Himself, Elijah went so over the top to demonstrate who God is

He had them fill a trench around the altar with water

Making them go and get more water three times

Water in a drought!

The Lord is going to make a show

And not for His own sake either, but so that this people may know that You O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back

The competition was to light the altar, but God doesn’t just do this. No, the Lord burned everything, He claimed absolute authority over it all

the fire of the Lord came down and consumed the burnt offering

He consumed the wood

He consumed the stones

He consumed the dust

And He consumed the water in the trench

God shows that He has authority over it all!

Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve

You have to decide who it is that you want to become

There are different groups in this story that you can choose to be like

And who you decide you want to be is your decision

It’s a very very dangerous decision, but you’re also the only one that can make it

The Israelites: Limping

The Israelites walk around limping about between different deities

Too separate to be one

They do not decide whom they shall serve until the very end of the story, and that is not until after they see an act of God

Will you act like this?

Serving your different vices and addictions, but maybe you show up at church on Sundays

Or maybe you made a decision at camp, but you’ve done that before and you end up going back to the old ways

Leaning between all your different options

Committing to neither, you think

But truthfully, when we commit to Jesus and the world, we sacrifice ourselves to the world and our sins

The Prophets Of Ba’al: Lost

They were fully committed to Ba’al

This is why Elijah didn’t speak to them. He continuously references the people of Israel

They had aligned themselves with a false god

You can do that too

You can align your faith with these gods

The old gods are not dead, they are very much alive, all that has changed is that they have moved to possess other areas of our lives

No longer do you need to go to the high places and worship, now, they are carried around with you in your pockets

Still our idols are made of metal and stone, they’re only shaped differently

If you continue to worship the idols that you have made, then you too will be as the prophets of Ba’al, you will be completely and utterly lost

Prophets of the Lord: Laying Low

They did believe in the Lord, they had committed themselves to Him

Yes, they were on the right side of this, but where were they?

They were hiding in caves, but when the time came to stand up to the prophets of Ba’al they didn’t show

I am not questioning their faith, only their devotion

Why hide in the caves?

There might be a lot of reason to be afraid of the world, but we are not called to be afraid

Fear is fine, but we are called to be brave, the Lord calls us out of our fear

Bravery doesn’t mean that you aren’t afraid, it is moving in spite of that fear

The prophets of the Lord hid in caves while this was going on, Elijah was also put away by the Lord, for three years he was put away by God, but when the time of action came the 100 prophets remained there

But Elijah, he was leading

Elijah: Leading

Elijah did everything that the Lord asked of him.

These people were seeking to kill him

Afterall, the way that they saw it, this was his fault that they were living without any rain

But when the Lord called, he answered, He showed up, and stood tall even when the world stood against him

Faith is not only believing in the Lord, it is answering continuously believing during the difficult times

Elijah had faith standing against the prophets of Ba’al

Abraham had faith when he left his home

Joseph had faith when he continued to follow the Lord through his suffering

Moses had faith when he stood before Pharaoh

Rahab had faith when she hid the spies

Ruth had faith when she committed herself to God and followed Naomi to Bethlehem

David had faith when he fought against Goliath

There are countless examples of holding faith throughout Scripture

To be faithful is to follow even in times of great difficulty, no matter the circumstances

I don’t want any of you to be in the caves, I want all of you to be standing on the mountaintop, standing with the Lord against the world

Don’t get comfortable in your faith, be ready for the difficult days, and march ahead wherever the Lord leads you