Fire on the Mountain

“The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!” — 1 Kings 18:39

For three years there was no rain in Israel. Then God told Elijah, “Go to King Ahab, and I will send rain.”

When Ahab saw Elijah, he said, “Is that you, you troublemaker of Israel?”

“I haven’t made trouble for Israel,” said Elijah. “You have, because you have stopped obeying the Lord and you worship Baal. Now bring all the people to Mount Carmel. And bring the 450 prophets of Baal.”

So all the people came to Mount Carmel. Elijah stood in front of them. “How long will you keep wobbling between two opinions?” he said. “If the Lord is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people didn’t say a word.

“I am the only prophet of the Lord left,” said Elijah, “but Baal has 450 prophets. Let’s have a test. Get two bulls. Let the prophets of Baal choose one, cut it up and put it on the wood on their altar, but not light the fire. I will do the same with the other bull. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The God who answers by fire, He is God.”

“That’s a good idea,” said all the people.

So the prophets of Baal went first. They got their bull ready, and called on Baal from morning until noon. “O Baal, answer us!” they shouted. They danced around the altar. But nothing happened. There was no answer.

At noon Elijah began to make fun of them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he’s busy, or he’s gone on a journey. Perhaps he’s asleep and needs to be woken up!”

So they shouted louder, and kept on all afternoon. But there was no voice, no answer, no one paying any attention.

Then Elijah called the people over to him. He rebuilt the broken altar of the Lord with twelve stones, one for each tribe of Israel. He dug a trench around it. He put the wood on the altar, and the bull on the wood.

Then he said, “Fill four big jars with water and pour it over the sacrifice and the wood.” They did. “Do it again,” he said. They did. “Do it a third time,” he said. And they did. The water ran down all around the altar and filled the trench. Now everything was soaking wet!

At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah stepped forward and prayed. “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let everyone know today that You are God in Israel. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that You are God, and that You are turning their hearts back to You.”

Then the fire of the Lord fell! It burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and it even licked up all the water in the trench.

When the people saw it, they fell on their faces and shouted, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”

The false prophets who had led the people away from God were put to death. Then Elijah climbed to the top of the mountain and prayed for rain. Seven times he sent his servant to look out at the sea. The seventh time, the servant said, “I can see a little cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising from the sea.” Soon the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, and a heavy rain began to fall.

Read it in your Bible: 1 Kings 18

Dear God, you are the only true God. Please help me never to wobble between you and other things, but to follow you with all my heart. Amen.