Sermon Tone Analysis

Welcome/Prayer

You ever wonder what is necessary in order to experience the grace of God in your life?

How do we live, better yet, how do we know and experience the grace of God first hand?

1 Kings 18 is going to help us to answer that question

In doing so, we’ll break up the chapter into four sections...

1-16, 17-19, 20-40, 41-46....

With the third section, the event on Mt Carmel, 20-40, getting most of our attention

Verses 1-16 are going to get us started by giving us the setting of our main event as well as introducing us to a faithful man by the name of Obadiah

Setting -

Verse 1 - in the 3rd year of the drought Elijah is commissioned to go to evil Ahab

verse 2 - Samaria, severe drought

Obadiah v. 3 - not the minor prophet

Oversees the house of Ahab… yet feared Yahweh greatly

Even Nero’s house had faithful saints serving in it

Hid the faithful prophets from evil Jezebel (4)

Meets Elijah as he’s searching for grass

Elijah, v8, tells him to go tell Ahab he wants to meet

Obadiah doesn’t want to… he knows how the story goes… note his response… verse 9-14

Elijah in the next verse, makes a vow to encourage Obadiah to go… so he does… and let’s read verses 17-19 of the exchange between Ahab and Elijah

This is like a typical exchange on Twitter nowadays… one person calling the other a troublemaker…

Ahab thought Elijah was the troublemaker… he brought the drought...

But Elijah responds and is clear in how Ahab is the source of trouble

He’s abandoned the commandments of Yahweh and followed other false gods

The act of calling out unrighteousness is not the source of trouble… the one who desires to commit the unrighteousness is the troublemaker...

It’s like saying, if people want to riot, burn down buildings, and loot, let them… why stop them or speak out against it?

And this is often how righteous judgment is presented… especially within the “church...

To call out evil, to call out false teachings, idolatry, and the like is to cause trouble… is to cause division…

And those who faithfully do it are often called troublemakers…

But take heart if that happens… Lk 6:26

Elijah after correcting Ahab’s gross misjudgment tells him (the king) to gather the people and meet at Mt Carmel… with the prophets of Baal and the prophets of Asherah… those who have fellowship with his evil queen...

Let’s now look to the next section of text, verses 20-40...

The scene

Mt Carmel - around 1700 feet above sea level - and part of a range of mountains - borders Phoenicia & Israel (possibly a holy site for both nations)

450 prophets of Baal & King Ahab (the 400 Asherah prophets apparently decided not to show)

And note v. 22 in how Elijah describes himself 1 Kings 18:22

1 prophet of Yahweh… so many against one...

Often is the case when you stand for righteousness… the masses aren’t often on your side

But when He who numbered the stars in their hour of creation is on your side, you are never in the minority.

Verse 21, we get the question at hand- “How long will you go limping between two different opinions?”

Either Yahweh is God, and if so, then Baal is nothing… or Baal is god and Yahweh is not…

But Elijah has been commissioned… so he is confident in the moment that is before him

And note, Elijah has been tasked with this… this is not Elijah randomly testing God

So, Elijah proposes a way to determine which opinion is right… that of Elijah and the fathers of Israel… or that of Jezebel and the prophets of Baal

Verses 23-24, Each party will get a bull to prepare upon wood and offer it to their respective God… whichever one answers with fire is God

The prophets of Baal get to go first (25)… Elijah is in no rush and wants to give the false prophets as much opportunity and time they need to show themselves

They start some time in the morning… probably around 9ish and go until noon...

And note their behavior… (26-29)

Crying aloud...

Limping (dancing around)

For hours

Elijah mocks them (27)

They increase their chaos, their disorder...

They cut themselves as pagans do (28)

They “raved” (29)

When you see this kind of behavior in Christian churches it ought to bring to mind this event… and this godless behavior… this raving, shaking about, crying aloud… is becoming more and more popular as more churches fall prey to the theology of Hillsong, Bethel, and Steven Furtick’s church Elevate

And especially youth and college conferences… people wanting to “experience God”… to “feel” His presence

As if, by limping around as pagans… as crying aloud like Baal worshipers, or “raving in the Spirit” will manipulate Yahweh into doing anything...

There is only one way for us to “experience” God… to experience His grace… and it’s not a mystery… so let’s look at what Elijah does to see...

Elijah gave the Baal prophets until it was time for the evening sacrifice (29)… so all day they did this insanity...

Elijah asks the people to come near (30)

He has nothing to hide...

Repairs the altar, gathers 12 stones to represent the 12 tribes of Israel

Digs a trench that holds 2 seahs = 3.5 gallons of water

The water that Elijah asks them to pour on the bull and wood three times… (33)

Wait… water?

In the midst of a drought?

(Possibly sea water)

Then what does Elijah do?

Does he sing perfectly practiced praise songs in with a spontaneous break for instruments to perform and allow the “Spirit” to move?

Does he rave like the Baal lunatics?

Does he start giggling and laughing with holy laughter?

Does he start to shake, tremor, and speak in tongues or in a “prayer” language so that God can hear him?

No… he does what every other man of God in all of Scripture does when in need… prays.

And he prays simply… Let’s read it 1 Kings 18:36-37

Yes, with the dead boy he was more “animated”...

But his animation then was not an attempt to manipulate the will of God… but simply a reflection of Elijah’s emotive state

The prophets of Baal danced and moved in order to catch the eye of Baal.

Elijah, here offers a short prayer with confidence...

He prays that Yahweh would be glorified

And that His people would be edified

No magic tricks...

No secret knowledge or insight needed

No special background music, lighting or fog machines...

Faith… and an appeal to the will of God

Yahweh responds (38)…

And with quite the heat… everything is consumed… not just the water… but the stones themselves

This leads to the people of Israel, at least for a moment, confess Yahweh, not Baal as God...

Elijah then commands the people in their whole hearted devotion to slay the false prophets (40)… to mortify the idolatry within their presence...

Once the slaughter is finished, Elijah prays again… let’s look at the remaining verses

Before he prays, Ahab is commanded to eat (41)

Elijah goes to the top of Mt Carmel and prays (42)

His servant, (43-44) goes 7 times… and on the 7th time sees the rain

Ahab is then told go, lest he gets stuck

Meanwhile, Elijah, on foot, by the power of Yahweh outruns him to Jezreel (21-22 miles)

Thus the grace of God returns upon the land of His people… having dealt with their sin, with their idolatry, God once again opens the skies and allows the rain to fall...

So, back to our original question… How do we live, better yet, how do we struggle so that we can know and experience the grace of God first hand?

We must stop limping between two different opinions....

Some of you are unable to feel, better yet, know the grace of God because you are limping between opinions… between worldviews… and in essence between gods… whether God of Israel or the gods of your lusts or insecurities

We must remember that Our God is one… Deut.

6:4-5

Ex. 20:2-3… 1st Commandment

No other gods, no other ideologies before Him or next to Him