Thirst Quenched

1 Kings 18:36-46

INTRODUCTION

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1 TRUE RELIGION RESTORED, vv. 36-40

While the prophets of Baal are pathetically crying out at the top of their lungs - singing a precusor to a later song by the Doors, “Come on Baal, light my fire” … they’re cutting themselves -hoping that enough of their blood and suffering will persuade a disinterested deity to hear them and send fire to burn their bull. Storms and lightning are supposed to be some of Baal’s particular strengths, after all.

But there is nothing. Hour after hour, there is nothing. No answer … no sound.

While all that is going on, as the afternoon drifts by and Elijah has had enough of mocking the futility of Team Baal - this prophet of God, who stood alone against a team of 450 of Baal’s best, in the company of the king of Israel, Ahab - who was on their side .. Elijah steps up to his altar, which he’s just had drenched with gallon after gallon of water. The lonely prophet lifts up his voice to God in prayer. Prays a 2 sentence prayer .... and fire comes down from heaven, on the spot and consumes everything … water in the trench included.

The people of God who have abandoned the One who saved them to chase after Baal - the progressive deity of the day - culturally acceptable, cosmopolitan and trendin in the world. The people who had walked away from their life - they fall to their faces in worship. There’s no resistance left; they can’t help themselves - they have seen His fire fall from heaven … they cry out, not to get his attention - but because He has given them His loving attention, when they didn’t even care. They cry out, “The LORD, he is God; the LORD, HE is God.”

It’s a miraculous picture of God’s unfailing love. If you’ve ever come across the term, ‘Steadfast Love’ - and struggled to understand what it means: this is what it means. God looking down at a people who have turned their backs to him and run … and not letting them go. He reaches down in love - disciplines them and sends them a prophet to call them back to Himself .... because He loves them.

So the people are worshiping the right God. But before they can make it to the second song of the service, certainly before the ushers have a chance to pass the offering plate around and make up for lost time .... Elijah steps up to the microphone and gives a command:

Verse 40, “‘Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.’ And they seized them. And Elijah brough them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.”

And as you see the prophet of God go from directing the choir, one moment - to thundering judgement on the competing religious leaders … then turning the Kishon River purple with their blood - you can’t help but see how the atmosphere in that worship service would have taken a turn for the somber.

And you may be thinking to yourself, “Isn’t that just a little … well … harsh? Brutal even?!” And if that’s what you’re thinking - let me answer that.

Some people will say, “Well, here’s another reminder that the God of the Old Testament is a God of judgement - He’s an angry God with a hari-trigger temper. Then the New Testament Jesus comes along and twists God’s arm to persuade him to be gracious and kind and forgiving.” You’ve heard that explanation before.

But that explanation doesn’t work. There is one God and Jesus is the revelation of that one, unchanging God. In fact, remember what’s going on in our passage: God has just gone after, he’s rescued and forgiven His fickle people who had fallen in love with a false God. That’s grace.

And if you turn to the New Testament - read the Gospels and see how often Jesu talks about hell, ‘where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth and the worm does not die’. If you read Revelation 14 and 20 - and you’ll see a God who pronounces eternal judgment to such an extent that it makes the judgment on these Baal prophets seem pretty tame in comparison. Oh, He’s not a tame God.

But why the slaughter of these 450 prophets, in particular? Well, it’s for the very reason that God cares about His people. He is jealous for their life and joy.

First of all, Old Testament Israel is a Theocracy - God is not only the OBJECT of Worship - He’s also the ultimate RULER. For false prophets to lead God’s people away from him - they’re not only leading them into false worship … they’re also committing TREASON in this nation - they are trying to overthrow Israel’s ultimate King. Throughout history, in country after country, treason has been a capital offense … including here in Canada, until 1976. So punishing treason by execution shouldn’t be that surprising from a governing point of view.

But also - I want you to see God’s protective love for the vulnerable and downtrodden in this execution. Baal worship had a strong sexual component. There was a stable of temple prostitutes - and where do you think these prostitutes came from? Don’t think that sex trafficking is something new. Some are imported into Israel, others would be girls, young women who have nothing and nowhere to turn to feed themselves … only to be taken advantage of by Baal’s religious professionals.

Do you have a daughter or a granddaughter - if they were trafficked and then rescued, would you be okay to turn to their captors and say, “Hey, no harm, no foul. Let’s let bygones be bygones?” Are you kidding me?!

And God isn’t okay with injustice either. He isn’t okay with abusing the weak for gain … and here is a sign of that. See the Holy, love of God on display here.

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2 EXPECTANT PRAYER FOR PROMISED BLESSING, vv. 41-44

So the contest is over, the LORD has clearly and overwhelmingly won. Baal is silent, the LORD of Israel is the God who answers with fire. The people of Israel are exactly where they should be, on their faces in humble worship before the God who made them and has led and protected and provided for them throughout their entire history.

There’s only ONE problem: There is still no rain! In fact, when you think about the whole contest on Mount Carmel - don’t you find it a little strange that the challenge Elijah throws down is a challenge of fire? How about some rain?! I mean, the land hasn’t seen rain for three and a half years - Israel is a dustbowl. The last thing the people needed was fire. What about water?

Baal is supposed to be the god of fertility - so why wasn’t the challenge to see which God could send rain? Water is the great need. In fact, the little water they could find, they scooped up in jugs, lugged up the mountain - only to pour it all out on the sacrifice and altar and into the trenches. So the fire could come down and consume it all. Isn’t that a waste of precious resources?

What help does that bring to the widows spread throughout the town of the country, who are on the verge of starvation because the crops aren’t growing, which means there’s no grain left with which to make bread?

“Nice fireworks display … but where’s the water?!”

Elijah isn’t worried. Not at all.

READ vv. 41-42

You see, this whole even had been a 2-part experience. THe first part is all about going to a wayward people and bringing them back to a holy God. The relationship was broken and before it can be restored - the sin of the people has to be dealt with. It’s been that way since Adam and Eve chose to go their own way in the Garden of Eden.

And here - on Mount Carmel - the bull on the altar was a sin offering. The water splashing over the sacrifice and the wood - filling the trench around the altar - that was a sign of the inability of the people to save themselves -

And, the fire from heaven - consuming everything - the bull, the wood, the stones and even the water - that’s God’s exclamation mark saying, “I accept the sacrifice. The sin is paid for - I forgive you.”

Hear this friend - a million miles away - buried in the barren sand of foolish choices, false ....

God sees his people who have run FROM Him - thrown themselves into worship of a false god … led into all kinds of sexual perversion, under the guise of worship .... they weren’t even mourning over their state, they aren’t grieving their sins .... and God sends an Elijah to bring them back. There is no state you can find yourself in, right now, where God can not and will not call you back. The very fact you are hearing THIS text of Scripture opened and explained - see that as God’s calling you back. Calling you to deal with your sin - confess it and accept his once-for-all sacrifice in Jesus Christ - and have your relationship restored.

Now that the relationship with the people is restored, the blessing can come to Israel. And Elijah has absolute confidence that it’s coming. He tells Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink … I can hear the sound of the rain coming.”

They are standing at the base of the mountain, by the river Kishon. Elijah orders the king, “Go back up to the plateau - start your celebration because I can hear the sound of raindrops.”

You know that there is no literal sound of rain, don’t you? There isn’t a cloud in the sky. The sun is still scorching parched ground. The sound that Elijah is hearing - is the sound of faith - faith in the God who promises and who keeps His promises.

1 Kings 18:1, “… The word of the LORD came to Elijah .... saying, ‘Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.’”

1 Kings 8:35-36, “When the heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, (36) then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your seervants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.”

Put Solomon’s prayer together with God’s promise at the beginning of this chapter - see that the sacrifice has been accepted .... and that can only mean that the rain is coming, just as sure as the sunrise follows night’s darkness.

Ahab goes up the mountain to feast (becoming the norm in Israel - the human king being ordered around by God’s man).

Elijah goes up the mountian too - but not to eat. Verse 42 - see the man of God, climbing Mount Carmel, climbing past the plateau, up outrcroppings of rock, to a craggy peak. When he gets there - he bows himself down, puts his face between his knees.

What’s this all about? Is he airsick and needing a bag to be sick in? NO, this is the posture of prayer. Elijah in bowed down before the LORD - in prayer.

Elijah is one of the great men of faith in the Bible. He’s one of my heroes. And when you think about this mighty man of God - I wonder what images come to your mind? Maybe you see him, trampling through the royal palace, standing toe to toe with the king of the nation who could have him executed if he wanted .... pointing his finger in the face of the most powerful person in his country and telling him that heaven’s taps have officially been turned off and there will be no rain until he says so.

Maybe you see the image of this man of faith - out in the wilderness, alone - with no food anywhere in sight … just living by the brook - trusting that God’s provision of food will come at just the right time - brought in the talons of birds. Maybe you see the man with faith so strong that when the son of his host dies - he doesn’t panic, doesn’t worry … he raises the boy back to life. And of course - we all have emblazoned in our mind’s eye - the image of Elijah standing on Mount Carmel - one man against 450 prophets of Baal and the king himself - commanding water to be thrown on his own altar because he knows that a flood of water won’t hold back God’s flame from heaven. This is a man of monumental faith.

But the inspired biography of Elijah’s life is showing us here, in 1 Kings 18 - that Elijah is a man of prayer. And it’s not just here. Flip to the New Testament book of James. James 5:16-17, “… The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (17) Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months is did not rain on the earth. (18) They he prayed again and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.”

Elijah was a prayer warrior. And we need to hear that - because so many people, when they think of faith - they think of the bold and brash Baal-buster. Great faith produces great confidence and fearlessness .... and you want that kind of faith. You want to be able to stand up for the LORD and speak truth when the world is following a pathway that only leads to pain. When the people around you are living in a state of panic … you want to be able to stand up - even if you are standing alone - and you want to be able to say, “Go start celebrating - because I can hear the rain .... there is quenching for your thirst.” You want to be that Elijah in your world.

But the life of Elijah shows that behind the granite-solid exterior of faith, there is a humble prayer warrior who bends to the earth in private prayer. Before the rain comes the prayer.

That’s the way God has always worked. In Jesus’ life, if you go through the gospels, you will see that before every crucial event in his life - you’ll see him - off, alone, in prayer. Before His public ministry - He’s in the wilderness - 40 days and 40 nights in prayer. Before the cross - He’s in the Garden of Gethsamane, on his face - in prayer. Over and over you see it - Prayer was the beginning.

1 Kings Only through Prayer

When we look behind any great movement of the Spirit of God, we will always find prayer. Consider the Moravian revival of 1727. It began in a prayer meeting: “So overwhelmed were the people with the Presence of God, they were convicted to pray 24 hours a day, 7 days a week—and this lasted over 100 years, with astounding results around the world.” Or consider the ministry of William Carey, the father of modern missions and soul-winning evangelist to India. The secret of his success? Carey’s supporters included a paralyzed, bedridden sister who prayed incessantly for him for fifty years.2

Five college students visited London one Sunday to hear Charles Spurgeon preach at The Metropolitan Tabernacle. They arrived early and were met by a kind gentleman who offered to give them a tour. At one point he asked them if they would like to see the furnace room in the basement. It was a hot July day and the students were not interested. But not wanting to appear rude, they consented. Their guide quietly opened the door and there in the basement of the Metropolitan Tabernacle there were several hundred people fervently praying for the service that was about to begin. It was then that their guide introduced himself. He was none other than Charles Spurgeon himself. And he wanted these college students to understand that prayer was the power source of his ministry.  Prayer truly is the power plant of the church. The furnace room is generally not a pleasant place. But it is the source of heat in a building. And behind any healthy church is a commitment to prayer. God can and does work in a variety of ways. But generally he chooses to respond to the prayers of his people.

So, in v. 42, the man of God prays. When he’s done, he gets up OFF of his face, turns to his servant, in v. 43 and … “And he said to his servant, ‘Go up now, look toward the sea.’ And he went up and looked and said, ‘There is nothing.’”

So, the servant climbs above the spot where Elijah has been bowed down, in the presence of God. He’s been praying for rain - so, obviously, rain is on the way. Going to check is just a formality - just to get a sense of how long before the land finally gets its first drink in years. When he climbs to a perch where he can get an unobstructed view, he looks eastward, out over the massive Mediterranean Seea … and there … is … nothing. Not a rain cloud, not the slightest wisp of gray in the whole sky. There is nothing but blue sky over blue water for as fas as the eye can see.

And you’re thinking to yourself, “Hang on a second! Didn’t God promise rain?!” Isn’t this the God who answered Elijah after a 2 verse prayer for fire? The prophets of Baal - they were the ones hobbling afound their altar. They’re the ones who were crying and crying to their Baal - and started harming themselves with swords -trying to get his attention. They’re the ones who didn’t get an answer - not a word from their deity. The heavens were silent for them.

And that’s exactly what you would expect. Unanswered prayer is supposed to be the response from FAKE gods, isn’t it? So why the silence now? What’s wrong with Elijah’s prayer?

You can identify. We can all identify. Every singe one of us who has gone to God in prayer. You went to Him because you knew your need. You knew you couldn’t do it on your own - so you went to your only source of hope - you went to God’s throne. And you prayed. You prayed for the job you needed. You prayed for the wayward child who is breaking your heart and needs the Lord’s rescue, you prayed for the sin that keeps on grabbing you by the ankles and dragging you down. You prayed for the sickness of the one you love. You went to God’s throne, you turned it all over to Him.

… And then you got up off of your knees and looked out over the sea … only to see .... nothing!

What do you do then? What does Elijah do? Well, the Bible tells us what he does. He gets back down on his face befroe teh LORD’S throne … and he prays again. And he says, ‘Go again.’ Still nothing. He prays again. Go again. Nothing. Verse 43, “And he said, ‘Go again,’ SEVEN TIMES. (44) And at the SEVENTH time he said, ‘Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.’”

See that Christian - Elijah prays and prays and prays and prays .... and there is nothing. So he prays some more. I wonder how long the prayer meeting took? There is the mark of a man of faith.

Don’t stop praying. When you’ve been lifting up the same request to the LORD for 6 times 6 times 6 … the enemy of your soul is spewing discouragement into your ear. “God hasn’t answered you because He isn’t going to answer you. He doesn’t exist. And if He does - He sure doesn’t care about you. Your destiny is to be on the outside, looking in … so, get up off of your knees.”

Seven TIMES, Elijah prayed for rain. Six times there’s nothing. He doesn’t panic. He doesn’t start shrieking. He doesn’t try to get the attention of a careless and distant Deity … he certainly doesn’t start to gash himself .... Elijah just prays. And prays. And prays some more.

Isn’t it interesting to see how the same God answers the same person’s prayers in 2 different ways. In the competition with the prophets of Baal - Elijah lifts up his prayer - two verses long - - and the fire falls.

Here, when he’s praying for rain … there’s nothing after nothing after nothing … UNTIL, the time is right.

Please get this friend. 1 Thessalonians: “Pray without ceasing.”

Prayer’s hard, isn’t it? I think about following Elijah’s example of great, immovable faith - and I tend to think, “Sure - I can do that. I’ll go up the mountain with him. I’m ready to stand up against people who are walking away from God. I’m happy to get on social media and make fun of the prophets of Baal. I’m ready to DO anything FOR God ...

… but the question I want to ask all of us today is this: “Am I ready to pray?” “Am I ready to be the person who gets on my face 6 times when no answer comes .... and then get on my face a seventh time when common sense tells me: ‘Don’t bother. If the answer hasn’t come now - it’s not coming’?

Prayer is hard. It’s a spiritual workout - it goes against everything that our world tells us we should be doing to get the most out of life - Prayer is always the first thing to go. It is the first thing to go during a busy week, the first thing we leave out of our morning routine, the first thing we abandon when we go on vacation. Prayer is raw spirituality, and most of us are not very spiritual.

Yet there is no other way to receive the blessings of God except through prayer. All the spiritual blessings that God has to give come through a life of petition and intercession. If we want the good things that God loves to give, we must pray for them. Wisdom for life’s decisions comes through prayer. So does the awesome presence of God in worship. Conversions to faith in Christ, the revival fire of the Holy Spirit, the reformation of a culture—it all comes through prayer.1

Don’t miss that, discouraged prayer-warrior.

Let’s pick up the end of v. 44 - the seventh time Elijah prays - the servant goes and … “… he said, ‘Behold, a little cloud like a man’s and is rising from the sea.’” It’s a whisp of cloud that can be blocked out just by holding your fist out in front of your face … but Elijah has no doubt what this little cloud means. Look at the end of v. 44, “And (Elijah) said, ‘God, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.”

Now, THERE’S confidence! A cloud you can barely see, after hours of praying with zero results … but that’s all this man of faith needs: “Go tell the king to fire up his chariot and hit the highway for home - because the rain is coming and the river is going to wash out at the bottom of the mountain. What’s coming is no gentle, spring shower - if you don’t go now - you are NOT getting home!”

See the faith that just doesn’t quit.

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3 THE LORD RAINS DOWN BLESSING IN HIS TIME, vv. 45-46

Sure enough, the rain does come. Verse 45, “And in a little while, the heavens grew black with clouds and wind and there was a great rain.”

The fist-sized cloud grows and grows and gets darker and darker, until the skies open and after 3 1/2 years of drought … the rain falls.

What a blessing for a wayward people. If you’ve ever known real thirst - you know what it feels like to be parthced - then you can get a little sense of what the people in Elijah’s Israel feel like, when the rain hits. See the people dancing in the streets, heads turned to heaven, mouths wide open to catch as many raindrops in gaping mouths as possible, kids jumping and splashing and diving into instantly formed puddles.

The ground is drinking up the rain every bit as much as the delighted people are. Truly the people’s thirst has been quenched. Their physical thirst - for sure. But only after God’s people realize that spiritual thrist can only be quenched by the One God of heaven … the LORD of Israel. That’s why the fire had to come first.

To make that point very clear - our passage ends with a strange, but symbolic conclusion.

READ v. 46 (Actually, let’s pick it up at the tail end of v. 45), “… And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. (46) And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.”

Ahab’s chariot takes him to Jezreel, where he has a palace. It’s a trip of 17 miles in the pouring rain. Elijah leaves the mountain to go to the same place. Now, if you were to guess who would win in a race between a car and a man - you would guess the car - every, single time (although I rode in a 2 cylinder car in the Ukraine that may have provided a close race). Well, a race between a chariot and a man would be no different. The cchariot, with its wheels and ‘horse’power - will always beat a man on foot - the longer the race the more of a sure-thing that becomes. Elijah is probably in pretty good shape - he had pretty active lifestyle, would have eaten a natural diet - but he’s no professional athlete.

But here he is, v. 46 tells us - look at the verse again, “The hand of the LORD was on Elijah and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel”. So, he picks up his robe, tucks it in his belt so as not to trip … and he starts to run … And he runs like a less goofy-looking Forrest Gump - as if he’s turbocharged - until he catches the king’s chariot, then he passes the chariot - and leads the king’s royal procession right to the gates of the royal city.

Don’t miss the symbolism here: Wehn the king is ruling on his own - led by his wife, Jezebel - he makes terrible decisions and the entire land suffers in barren drought.

But when God’s prophet - who brings God’s Word and whose life is marked by prayer - in other words, when GOD is leading the way … then the thirst of the people is quenched and the nation is strong - and splashing in heaven’s blessings.

Do you see what that means for us, today?

James 5:16-17, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power … Elijah was a man with a nature like ours - and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.”

Elijah isn’t in the Bible as just a hero to admire. He’s here as an example for us to follow.