“Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt-sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.” 1 Kings 18:38
The spiritual life of the people of Israel in Elijah’s day was at a very low ebb. Under the reign of Ahab and Jezebel, when the persecution and elimination of some of the prophets of the Lord was a very real and overt thing, the people of faith, to a great extent, had been forced into hiding. Though that “hiding” may not have been so much physical, their testimony to the grace of God, and worship, was much reduced in its expression, so much so, that Elijah the prophet thought that he was the only person left who believed in the covenant-keeping God. However, it would be in this, one of the darkest hours in Israel’s history, when all seemed to be lost, that God would take the initiative to restore faith by manifesting His glory.
There came a day when God told Elijah what to do in order to turn the heart of the people back to Him. In fact, we must consider and see that it was God alone who took the initiative in speaking to Elijah, instructing him to confront Ahab. Elijah would tell Ahab to gather “all the prophets of Baal,” about four hundred and fifty in number, along with the prophets of the groves, or idols, who were four hundred in number. Scripture tells us that these prophets specificlally “…eat at Jezebel’s table.” God was preparing a confrontation between all the prophets of wicked Ahab and Jezebel, and His prophet, Elijah. Again, the whole purpose of doing this was to reveal His glory, and turn the heart of the people back to him. Elijah, in speaking to the people, after all the prophets had gathered together at Mt. Carmen, addressed them in this manner: “How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him.” (1 Kings 18:21) The Lord had instructed Elijah to command that there be a sacrifice of bullocks, with wood underneath them, but no fire. His challenge to the prophets of Baal was simple, “And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let Him be God.” (v.24) Scripture tells us that the prophets of Baal, and those of the groves (or idols), did all that they could humanly do to call down fire out of heaven, but there was silence, and no response from Baal. Elijah would mock them, and then call the people to come near unto him. He would repair the altar of the Lord, in the name of the Lord. He put wood upon it, and the pieces of the bullocks, commanding then that four barrels of water be poured over the burnt sacrifice. After the sacrifice was drenched, and water was poured around it also, Elijah, at the time of the evening sacrifice, “…came near, and said, ‘Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that Thou art God in Israel, and that I have done all these things at Thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that Thou art the Lord God, and that Thou hast turned their heart back again.”(1 Kings 18:36, 37) It would be at the end of Elijah’s prayer, that the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt-sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water in the trench. The reaction of the people was immediate in that they fell on their faces, and said, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is the God.” (v.39)
What is the great truth of this narrative? It is that, regardless of any wicked reign of men, and the spiritual decline of the people, the Lord remains, and will always be, “the God,” to be worshiped as such.
Dear Father, Be Thou our God in truth. In Jesus’ name, Amen.