The Prophet and His God

The Limits of Evidence

Let’s set the context for a moment. 1 Kings 18:22-24.

1 Kings 18:22–24 CSB

22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. 23 Let two bulls be given to us. They are to choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and place it on the wood but not light the fire. I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood but not light the fire. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The God who answers with fire, he is God.” All the people answered, “That’s fine.”

This really is an amazing event in history.

This is a test, and the God who can act is the true God. Elijah allows the prophets of Baal to go first. 1 Kings 18:26-29.

1 Kings 18:26–29 CSB

26 So they took the bull that he gave them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound; no one answered. Then they danced around the altar they had made. 27 At noon Elijah mocked them. He said, “Shout loudly, for he’s a god! Maybe he’s thinking it over; maybe he has wandered away; or maybe he’s on the road. Perhaps he’s sleeping and will wake up!” 28 They shouted loudly, and cut themselves with knives and spears, according to their custom, until blood gushed over them. 29 All afternoon they kept on raving until the offering of the evening sacrifice, but there was no sound; no one answered, no one paid attention.

No one answers and no one makes a sound

After the failure of Baal, Elijah – Yahweh’s prophet – takes his turn.

He builds the altar and asks the people to take 12 pots of water and drench the altar and the wood with water.

After this, he calls on Yahweh to see if God would act. 1 Kings 18:35-39. God does act.

1 Kings 18:35–39 CSB

35 So the water ran all around the altar; he even filled the trench with water. 36 At the time for offering the evening sacrifice, the prophet Elijah approached the altar and said, “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that you are God in Israel and I am your servant, and that at your word I have done all these things. 37 Answer me, Lord! Answer me so that this people will know that you, the Lord, are God and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 Then the Lord’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 When all the people saw it, they fell facedown and said, “The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God!”

This was definitive proof to everyone around that Yahweh is indeed God, and that Baal is nothing.

The Queen’s Response

But this proof didn’t satisfy everyone.

1 Kings 19:1.

1 Kings 19:1 CSB

1 Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.

You would think that if someone heard this story, they would immediately set out to praise God. Even if they served Baal, this would certainly change their minds.

But how does the queen respond? 1 Kings 19:2.

1 Kings 19:2 CSB

2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods punish me and do so severely if I don’t make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow!”

Her husband tells her everything that Elijah had done – everything that Yahweh had done – and she doesn’t respond with repentance or faith.

“Honey, you should have seen the fire that Yahweh called from the sky. The fire came down right in front of our eyes.” Imagine hearing that story! Yet, what is Jezebel’s response? Essentially, “So?”

She doesn’t care about the definitive proof. She doesn’t care about the hard evidence. Now she wants to kill the prophet.

The Limits of Evidence

This teaches us about the limits of evidence.

We saw it in John 11. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, and how do the religious leaders respond? “So?” Let’s kill him.

John 3:19 CSB

19 This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.

1 Kings: The Wisdom and the Folly 1. The Limitations of Evidence, or, the ‘Frustration’ of Revelation (vv. 1–3)

In one of his columns Don Feder reviewed Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. While paying tribute to the heroism of many American servicemen he bemoaned the stupidity that allowed it to happen. He cited the evidence. American cryptographers had cracked the Japanese diplomatic code and on November 22, 1941, intercepted a message to the Japanese envoys negotiating with Roosevelt that in about a week ‘things are automatically going to happen’. In January 1941, the U. S. ambassador to Japan reported he had heard a lot of talk that in case of a break with the U.S., Japan was planning ‘a surprise mass attack on Pearl Harbor’. Days before Japan’s attack the FBI reported that the Japanese consulate in Honolulu was burning its diplomatic papers. There was more, but this is adequate. There were all these indications, all these telltale evidences. And yet the U.S. (or somebody therein) paid no heed. It changed nothing.

There will be people in our own lives who won’t be phased by the evidence.

We like to think that if people get the right information in the right way, then they will change. We blame ourselves and say, “maybe I could have said that better,” or “if I just reworded this.”

The reality is there are some people who will never change, and it doesn’t matter what we say.

The Tenderness of God

What happens after Jezebel threatens Elijah?

After Elijah sees that Jezebel is intent on killing him, he’s discouraged. He’s discouraged by the lack of faithfulness displayed by his fellow Israelites, so he leaves the northern kingdom and journeys south.

He leaves his servant in the wilderness, and journey’s further south to spend time in the wilderness.

While in the wilderness, God reaches out to Elijah.

1 Kings 19:9, 13.

1 Kings 19:9 CSB

9 He entered a cave there and spent the night. Suddenly, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

1 Kings 19:13 CSB

13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Suddenly, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

God asks “What are you doing here?” Some people take this as a rebuke from God.

These people believe that Elijah ran from Jezebel because he lacked faith. He was afraid when he should have had faith in God.

They view God as implying that Elijah should not be here at all.

I don’t take this view. 1 Kings 19:3-9.

1 Kings 19:3–9 CSB

3 Then Elijah became afraid and immediately ran for his life. When he came to Beer-sheba that belonged to Judah, he left his servant there, 4 but he went on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. He said, “I have had enough! Lord, take my life, for I’m no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. Suddenly, an angel touched him. The angel told him, “Get up and eat.” 6 Then he looked, and there at his head was a loaf of bread baked over hot stones, and a jug of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 Then the angel of the Lord returned for a second time and touched him. He said, “Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.” 8 So he got up, ate, and drank. Then on the strength from that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 He entered a cave there and spent the night. Suddenly, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

While Elijah is in the wilderness, God provides food that will strengthen him for his journey.

In other words, the text implies that God approves of his journey out to Horeb.

So, what is God doing? Here’s what I think:

God knows that Elijah is discouraged, so he’s inviting Elijah to express his concerns. He wants to speak with Elijah and comfort him in his discouragement.

So, God’s question is not a rebuke. I think it’s an invitation for Elijah to empty his bucket.

So, in this text we see a God who truly cares for his people, and actually wants to hear their concerns.

The Passion of Disciples

So, what is Job’s answer to God’s question? 1 Kings 19:10, 14.

1 Kings 19:10 CSB

10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Armies, but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are looking for me to take my life.”

1 Kings 19:14 CSB

14 “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Armies,” he replied, “but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they’re looking for me to take my life.”

Many scholars are very negative on Elijah. They will say he was afraid and lacked faith, but again, I don’t know if that’s what’s going on.   

Notice that Elijah’s response doesn’t have very much to do with him personally.

He doesn’t say, “Jezebel’s about to kill me and I’m so afraid for my life” or anything like that.

Instead, his focus is on God’s glory. Elijah is upset because the Israelites have abandoned the covenant and it seems like the only one serving God is him.

Elijah is concerned for God and not himself.

Are we passionate for God’s glory and God’s people like this?

When the church is embroiled in infidelity and sexual immorality, do we get upset for God’s sake? When the world bows down to its various idols, do we grieve for God’s sake?

Sometimes, it seems that we can have an indifference to the wickedness around us. Are we saddened when the new superhero movie trivializes immorality and bad language, or have we become insensitive to it?

The Hiddenness of God

Where can we find God? 1 Kings 19:9-14.

1 Kings 19:9–14 CSB

9 He entered a cave there and spent the night. Suddenly, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Armies, but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are looking for me to take my life.” 11 Then he said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the Lord’s presence.” At that moment, the Lord passed by. A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Suddenly, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Armies,” he replied, “but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they’re looking for me to take my life.”

It’s interesting that this is said right after what Carmel. God made his presence known through the fire that came out of the sky. What an amazing experience.

But where is God really found? In his voice. In his word. God can do amazing things with the wind and fire, but it’s only because he commands it through his word.

Longing For The Dramatic

Sometimes we long for the dramatic.

At times, we want God to send the fire down from heaven. We want God to be overt in the world.

This is why I think there are people who claim to be faith healers, and at one time in history, they drew large crowds.

We want the overt. We want God to be extremely visible in the world.

Christians must understand that biblical faith is content with the quiet word and working of God.

The reality is that there were people who heard and witnessed Carmel and did not change.

Luke 16:30–31 CSB

30 “ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 “But he told him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’ ”

Conclusion: The Stubbornness of Grace

1 Kings 19:15-18.

1 Kings 19:15–18 CSB

15 Then the Lord said to him, “Go and return by the way you came to the Wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16 You are to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. 17 Then Jehu will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu. 18 But I will leave seven thousand in Israel—every knee that has not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

This is God’s answer to Elijah’s response that we talked about earlier.

Job complained not about his own circumstance, but about what was happening to God and his glory. He’s upset that people are denying the living God.

So, God promises that he’s going to judge the wicked and encourages Job by telling him that there is a remnant, and God is going to rescue them.

This is something that we have seen throughout scripture. God always has a remnant of people that he guides safely through judgment. There is always an ark of safety.

In other words, God’s grace will have a remnant. God could have destroyed all of the Israelites, but he shows grace by saving a righteous remnant.

Romans 11:1-6.

Romans 11:1–6 CSB

1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Or don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he pleads with God against Israel? 3 Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and they are trying to take my life! 4 But what was God’s answer to him? I have left seven thousand for myself who have not bowed down to Baal. 5 In the same way, then, there is also at the present time a remnant chosen by grace. 6 Now if by grace, then it is not by works; otherwise grace ceases to be grace.

We see the same thing today.