If the Lord be God, Follow Him

Introducción

I Reyes 18:21 – Y acercándose Elías a todo el pueblo, dijo: ¿Hasta cuándo claudicaréis vosotros entre dos pensamientos? Si Jehová es Dios, seguidle; y si Baal, id en pos de él. Y el pueblo no respondió palabra.

1 Kings 18:21 RVR60

21 Y acercándose Elías a todo el pueblo, dijo: ¿Hasta cuándo claudicaréis vosotros entre dos pensamientos? Si Jehová es Dios, seguidle; y si Baal, id en pos de él. Y el pueblo no respondió palabra.

Y acercándose Elías a todo el pueblo, dijo: ¿Hasta cuándo claudicaréis vosotros entre dos pensamientos? Si Jehová es Dios, seguidle; y si Baal, id en pos de él. Y el pueblo no respondió palabra.

Y acercándose Elías a todo el pueblo, dijo: ¿Hasta cuándo claudicaréis vosotros entre dos pensamientos? Si Jehová es Dios, seguidle; y si Baal, id en pos de él. Y el pueblo no respondió palabra.

– And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

Reina Valera Revisada (1960). (1998). (). Miami: Sociedades Bı́blicas Unidas.

Reina Valera Revisada (1960). (1998). (1 Ki 18:21–22). Miami: Sociedades Bı́blicas Unidas.

21 Y acercándose Elías a todo el pueblo, dijo: ¿Hasta cuándo claudicaréis vosotros entre dos pensamientos? Si Jehová es Dios, seguidle; y si Baal, id en pos de él. Y el pueblo no respondió palabra.

It is from this verse that the title of this study of Elijah’s life comes from—If the Lord Be God. This lesson will focus on this call to action by Elijah—If the Lord be God, follow Him.

Sticky Statement: If the Lord be God, follow Him.

1 Reyes 18 — Verse-by-Verse

1 Reyes 18 — Verse-by-Verse

Verse 1

Verse 1

We learn from verse 1 that Elijah has been in hiding at either the brook Cherith or in Zarephath for over 3 years. tells us that the period between Elijah’s pronunciation of judgment and the lifting of the judgment was 3-1/2 years.

God tells Elijah to go to Ahab and tell him that rain is coming.

Verses 2-3

By this point, there is a sever famine in the land and something needed to be done.

Ahab calls for Obadiah, the governor of his house. Obadiah was basically the chief servant in the house of Ahab. This is not the minor prophet, Obadiah. Verse 3 tells us that he “feared the Lord greatly.” Here, in the house of the most wicked king that Israel has ever had, stands a god fearing man. He, unlike many other followers of Jehovah chose to stay behind.

Like Elijah, his name means something. Obadiah means servant of Jehovah. Even in the midst of a wicked society, God raised up a man to do His work and save His people. He would be a like a Joseph or a Daniel. A man that could be trusted, one who had ingenuity and in whom Ahab had great confidence.

Like Elijah, his name means something. Obadiah means servant of Jehovah. Even in the midst of a wicked society, God raised up a man to do His work and save His people. He would be a like a Joseph or a Daniel. A man that could be trusted, one who had ingenuity and in whom Ahab had great confidence.

Verses 5-16

At this point, the famine is so severe, Ahab determines he needs to do something himself in order to save what remaining horses and mules they had. He went one direction and sent Obadiah in the other direction. This is where Elijah returns.

In verses 7-16, Obadiah meets Elijah.

Read 7-16

Obadiah meets Elijah and bows down out of reverence. Elijah commands Obadiah to go tell Ahab that “Elijah is here.” Obadiah fears that if he returns to Ahab that by the time they return, the Spirit of the Lord will have taken Elijah elsewhere and Ahab would have Obadiah killed.

Obadiah ensures that Elijah knows his commitment to the Lord by recounting what he had done with the 100 prophets of the Lord in verse 13.

Elijah assures Obadiah that that he will be there by using a different name for the Lord. He calls Him the Lord of Hosts. In other words, he is the Lord of the armies. This title gives Obadiah assurance “in God’s ability to handle the physical and spiritual situation in Israel.”[1] For Elijah, this assurance must have grown out of his experiences at Cherith and Zarephath.

Verses 17-19

Read verses 17-18

Elijah makes it very clear why the judgment upon Israel had come and whose fault it was. In verse 18 we see Baalim—this is the plural of Baal. “The plural “Baals” refers to local idols of Baal (cf. Jud. 2:11) sometimes with differing names (e.g., Baal-Berith [local God of central Canaan around Shechem], Jud. 8:33; Baal-Zebub [Philistine city of Ekron], , , ). This was the real issue and the root cause of all the trouble in Israel, spiritual as well as physical.”[2]

This idolatry needs to be stopped. Israel needs to be reminded who the one true God is. So Elijah issues a challenge.

To Ahab, this agreement sounds as if it’s in His favor. It’s one prophet against 450. The four hundred prophets of the groves were Jezebel’s prophets of Ashteroth—the female counterpart of Baal.

Verses 20-24

Ahab agrees and calls on Israel to gather at Mt. Carmel. Maybe you’re thinking, why Mt. Carmel? I’m glad you asked.

“It would be a fitting site since it lay between Israel and Phoenicia, the lands of the deities in question. Also Mount Carmel was regarded by the Phoenicians as the sacred dwelling place of Baal. No doubt Ahab was highly pleased with this suggested site for the contest because it would have given the Baal prophets a definite advantage; but this did not worry Elijah. It was also a geographically prominent location and thus a fit setting for Elijah’s contest.

“It would be a fitting site since it lay between Israel and Phoenicia, the lands of the deities in question. Also Mount Carmel was regarded by the Phoenicians as the sacred dwelling place of Baal. No doubt Ahab was highly pleased with this suggested site for the contest because it would have given the Baal prophets a definite advantage; but this did not worry Elijah. It was also a geographically prominent location and thus a fit setting for Elijah’s contest.

“Baal was supposedly a fertility god, the one who sent rain, caused the crops to grow, and provided food for his people. He was the one who supposedly sent fire (lightning) from heaven. The three-and-one-half-year drought and famine had been a great embarrassment to the worshipers of Baal. It seemed as if Elijah and his God rather than Baal were in control of the fertility of Israel. So Elijah’s test to Baal’s followers seemed like a good opportunity to vindicate their god and they readily agreed to it.” [3]

Note about Mt. Carmel

More about Mt. Carmel

On its eastern side, where this contest took place, it is approximately 1,700 feet above sea level. This made it a prominent place for Israel to observe what was taking place. The name of this ridge is known today in Arabic as El-Muhraka, “the burning” or the “the Burnt Place.”

Verses 25-29

Read verse 25 – Elijah gives them every advantage possible.

For the next 3 hours, approximately, they cried out to Baal. We are told that they leaped upon the altar trying to get Baal’s attention. This Hebrew root word for leaped in verse 26 is the same Hebrew word for halt in verse 21. This is literally a wild frenzy. They were bouncing all over the place like lunatics.

Elijah makes fun of the prophets of Baal. This infuriates these prophets so they start screaming louder and cutting themselves. But Baal did not respond to their six-hour chanting for lightning/fire.

He doesn’t stop there. Maybe he is on a journey. The Phoenician sailors believed Baal traveled with them on the Mediterranean Sea and elsewhere.[4]

And last, maybe is sleeping and can’t here you.

This infuriates these prophets so they start screaming louder and cutting themselves.

Read Verses 28-29

Baal did not respond to their six-hour chanting for lightning. So Elijah steps up for his turn.

Verses 30-40

The construction and preparation of the altar.

Let’s rebuild the altar that Jezebel had torn down. Let’s soak the entire sacrifice with water…this would ensure a spark or small fire couldn’t like the sacrifice. It’s proved there wasn’t any hidden spark or fire under it all. He was eliminating any excuses or stories the prophets of Baal would have made up about how the fire got started.

In a much different approach, rather than screaming and jumping around like a lunatic, Elijah prays in verse 36-37 for God to send the fire…and He did. The fire is important. “Fire often symbolizes Yahweh’s presence (; ; ; ), divine approval (; ; ), and divine judgment (; ).”[5]

In a much different approach, rather than screaming and jumping around like a lunatic, Elijah prays in verse 36-37 for God to send the fire…and He did. The fire is important. “Fire often symbolizes Yahweh’s presence (; ; ; ), divine approval (; ; ), and divine judgment (; ).”[5]

Why did they kill the prophets of Baal?

Why did they kill the prophets of Baal? It was in obedience to the Law of God.

- But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.

Israel’s Indecision:

A great event has just taken place and Israel was brought to the point of making a decision. Up to this point, Israel had been indecisive as to whether they were going to follow God or follow their own way.

Israel was in a state of indecision. Their indecision is much like ours today. We often are indecisive as to whether we are going to follow God’s leading in our lives or go our own way. The call from God today is this, “If the Lord by God, follow Him.”

Israel was in a state of indecision. There indecision is much like ours today. We often are indecisive as to whether we are going to follow God’s leading in our lives or go our own way. The call from God today is this, “If the Lord by God, follow Him.”

I. Indecision Leads to Confusion

I. Indecision Leads to Confusion

When we bounce between God and self, we end up confused. Confused about what is right and wrong; confused about which way to go; confused about who to believe.

Hence the reason Israel was halting back and forth between two opinions. James says the double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Indecision leads to confusion.

If the Lord be God, follow Him.

II. Indecision Leads to Non-Commitment

Israel wasn’t committed to either of their gods. There was not commitment in their lives. They were going to go to wherever the grass seems greener. They weren’t committed to serving the Lord nor were they committed to serve Baal. It was whoever could benefit them the most.

Unfortunately, we often live this uncommitted life with the Lord as well. “God, I’ll follow you as long as you bless me with what I want.”

III. Indecision Leads to Judgment

It was Israel’s indecision that led to the judgment they had experienced for the last 3-1/2 years. They had lives through a severe famine because of their unwillingness to follow God exclusively. They had sinned against the God that brought them out of Egypt and gave them the land they were dwelling in.

We too, will experience God’s hand of judgment upon our lives if we continue to live for God one day and live for self the next day.

Conclusion

Elijah’s call to action is this…stop bouncing around from god to god. Stop being double minded, you are only hurting yourself.

If the Lord be God, follow Him.

The same is true for us today. Stop riding the fence of service and commitment to the Lord. If the Lord be God, follow Him..and follow Him exclusively!

[1] Constable, T. L. (1985). 1 Kings. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 525). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[2] Ibid. p. 526.

[3] Ibid.Constable, T. L. (1985). 1 Kings. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 526). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[4] Constable, T. L. (1985). 1 Kings. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 526). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[5] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.