Elijah (13) Reality Revealed (1 Kings 18:20-40)

Morning Service 9 August 2009

Ezekiel had confronted the people of Israel with the two basic alternatives that shape life, calling them to decision: God or Baal. Today it may not be Baal, it may be another out of the smorgasbord of deities promoted in the modern world, it may be something you have so set your heart on that you cannot conceive of happiness or of a life worth living without having it, or it might be a belief in ‘no God’. But however we construe it this is the challenge that underpins our life and worldview; God or Baal. This is a very modern and very personal contest, not some curiosity from the past.

What we see is God, graciously responding to human weakness as well as the deceitfulness of sin, coming along side them to provide a practical and irrefutable demonstration of reality. Here we see that this decision, despite what some say about religion, is not to be based on emotionalism, is not made by first parking your brain outside. At the heart of the challenge is coming to grips with evidence, with substance, with reality. By contrast, it declares that any and all other alternatives, no matter how one may convince themselves of their reality as surely as these prophets of Baal did, they were unreal, such faith empty.

Ralph Burton, apparently a successful cartoonist, chose to end his life leaving a note which said: ‘I have had few difficulties, many friends, and great successes. I have gone from wife to wife, and from house to house, and visited great countries of the world; but I am fed up with inventing devices to fill up twenty-four hours of the day.’

How tragic! Yet he is expressing the severe consequences of putting faith in empty things. That is what the prophets of Baal did, what Israel was doing. And here is Elijah exposing the folly of it. We see:

The terms are explained. An altar and sacrifice was to be established. There was to be no difference between the two sacrifices. But what is important is that both were not to use fire. This is what the true God would do. It is the God who answers by fire who will be the true God.

At the same time was aware of a deception used by these false prophets of hiding a heat source underneath which in would cause what appeared to be a sudden combustion. So in being very explicit here it was to be clear to all concerned that there was no trickery. As such then Elijah created a situation where everything depended upon Baal and God, and not upon man. Men were to pray for answer, but Baal or God was to light the fire.

It was a fair proposal. Baal was the chief deity, the god of the environment, the Lord of the Sun and of the storm, and was therefore associated with fire. In the ancient art of Syria Baal is shown holding a lightning bolt in his right hand. He should have easily been able to send a flash of lightning to set alight a sacrifice presented by his followers. What could be a more natural and easy thing for Baal to do?

It was calculated to appeal to the mind of Israel with reference to God who many times in the past had associated Himself with fire: the burning bush, the pillar of fire in the wilderness wandering, the fire on top of Mt Sinai. In Lev 9:24 in association with the first official sacrifice of the newly consecrated priesthood we read: “and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.” This then would identify the Lord God of Elijah as the God of their forefathers.

It was an accepted proposal. – The Israelites approved, and so the prophets of Baal were trapped. They could hardly say anything against it or seek to evade it, which certainly they would want to when they couldn’t plant secret fire.

It was a divine proposal. Was Elijah presumptive in his faith that God would answer this prayer and reveal Himself? Should we do the same thing today – engage in power evangelism, using miracles to confront people with the truth of God’s being and of their rebellion against Him? Some have said yes to such a proposal, believing that this is the reason for the weakness of evangelism today. But notice here in v.36 that Elijah indicates to God that all this was done “at Your word”. He was not acting presumptuously but under direct and explicit orders from God. It is not that Elijah is challenging God to do anything; it is rather God who has planned the whole affair and is challenging Elijah to obey Him.

Likewise we see that we must not take this specific example as a pattern to be carried out by God’s ministers today. It is the Word that regulates God’s servants in all their undertakings. There is no place for experimenting let alone acting in self-will in God’s service. Were there miracles in the NT? Yes – and they were identified as signs of the Apostles, that is validating their word as belonging to Christ. But in Eph 2:20 we read that the foundation has been laid by them. You only lay a foundation once – and that precludes the need then of miracles for evangelism – it is to the foundation attested by miracles that we are to direct people: to the Scriptures itself!

Baal is given the first opportunity. Unable to rely on ‘secret fire’ they had to rely on a direct appeal to their god. And they did – for 6 hours! Round and round the altar in their mystic dance, leaping up and down, crying out their chant, ‘O Baal, hear us; O Baal hear us!’ So energetic and persistent in this were they that they became exhausted. Yet there was no answer (cf Psa 115:4-8).

No doubt satan could’ve sent the fire (Rev 13:13 – “he performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of man”). But on this occasion it is clear that God did not permit him.

After 3 hours Elijah interjected. He is mocking them, trying to point out to Israel the impotency of Baal – v.27. The amazing thing is that the prophets of Baal were motivated by Elijah, taking his mocking seriously! So they persevered, going to even greater lengths to attract Baal’s attention – and even sympathy as they cut themselves for him. But it was all to no avail.

Eventually Baal, the so-called god of fire was shown to have no fire in him! The folly of his worshippers was now obvious to all. The false religion of Baal was exposed as empty and useless, and like all false religion unable to meet the need of any crisis. The Baal prophets at last were made to taste the bitter dregs of falsehood. As was any Israelite who had followed were brought to shame for having been so foolish themselves – having followed something that didn’t exist, who couldn’t respond even when his best called out and even when his very religion depended upon it.

All false religion, like Baal is exposed in a time of crisis. In such times all the confidence of their adherents suddenly dissipates like smoke in air.

As Elijah stands up all of Israel’s attention is drawn to him, but Elijah draws their attention to God both by act and word.

Here Elijah draws attention to the ruins of an altar already there. An altar used to worship God in previous times, but now left in disrepair. Clearly another reason for the choice of this site. Elijah was deliberately calling the people back to God by this act. That this s so is reinforced by the reference to the 12 stones, a number deliberately aimed to remind the people of their identity as the people of promise through Jacob.

Then we are called to notice the timing: that of the evening sacrifice in Jerusalem. By this the people were reminded that they have no relationship with God other than on the basis of the of the appointed sacrifice offered. They were to think of this sacrifice in terms of that one typically offered in the temple for sin, and we of that actually offered at Calvary.

So we see that Elijah is not introducing a new God, but calling them back to THE God, the One who has always been there, who brought Jacob’s family out of Egyptian bondage establishing them as His people by covenant to worship and serve Him and Him alone. The altar in a sense represented God. By repairing it Elijah was putting God back in His rightful place at the heart of the nation. And in any time of apostasy that is what needs to be done. In the church and nation today God needs to be re-enthroned, brought back into view. And like them we need to see ourselves again as God’s people joined to Him by His appointed and accepted sacrifice: Jesus Christ who died to reconcile sinners to God.

With wonder they must have heard his instructions – for by pouring such an amount of water over his sacrifice he was making it harder for God to answer. Have you every tried to light a bonfire that has been thoroughly soaked by the rain? Then they would’ve understood – Elijah was removing any remaining doubt, any potential ground of accusation by the Baal-prophets of trickery. Only the true God – the one who worked those miracles in Egypt, who evidenced power over water at the Red Sea and at the Jordan, could light it now!

Then in contrast to the Baal prophets Elijah quietly prays to God – v.36. He does not berate God, nor is he given over to a view that we get our way to God by nagging Him with repetition. It is the simple pleading of a man who appears to be on intimate terms with God. The chief burden of this prayer is that God should vindicate Himself that day, that He would make known His mighty power. God responds immediately with an all-consuming fire. That it consumed even the stone indicates supernatural force, that it descended from heaven displays its divine origin. As a result we see that God is not remote nor impotent, He hears prayers and has the capacity and will to answer.

But we taught to also see that in so doing God also displayed His wondrous grace – as v.37 points out! This was not a miracle to convince the people to repent, but a display of God’s intention to turn their heart, and therefore an encouragement to them to now turn seeing that God was willing to receive them back and had already accepted the sacrifice for sin to enable Him to. Of which grace we are reminded by the sacrifice of Jesus!

To the people the conclusion was clear: there is no other God but the Lord God of Israel, and they declared it. This was an acknowledgement of God and of their own sinfulness. But even more they removed the alternative, the poison of the false prophets of Baal, taking them and killing as directed by Elijah (v.40).

This is is often reacted to today with an uneasy feeling even among Christians. But we are to bear in mind that they were doing this at God’s direction through His prophet, and as such also in compliance with God’s earlier directions in Deut 13:13-15. In so doing they showed they were desirous of coming back under God’s rule and live the covenant life as God’s people.

We are to understand by this that God demands a clear and complete or thorough break with sin as well as a commitment to the future. In Ephesus we read that they burned their pagan books (Acts 19:19), and in Thessalonica that they turned from idols to serve the living God (1 Thess 1:9-10). The lesson is clear: God must be given His place in and over all our lives, we must become His people, and it can only come through the sacrifice He has ordained.

At the same time we are to see in all of this a mini-enactemnt of the end times conflict where God will intervene into human history to vindicate His name completely and to eradicate idolatry from the world. In Rev 16:16-21John describes the apocalyptic battle taking place at Armageddon, ‘mountain of Meggido’. Mt Carmel looked over the ancient city f Megiddo in the plain of Jezreel below (Dillard). The utter defeat of evil and idolatry, of all that sets itself up against God, is part of the goal of history and will come when the Lord Jesus returns. There remains “a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries” of God (Hebrews 10:27)!

But also we are taught to see that worship breaks down our misdirected loyalties even as it builds up our deepest loyalty to God. As someone pointed out, ‘Every hymn of praise is a little anti-idolatry campaign’. Every time we sing praise to the triune God, we are asserting our opposition to anything that would attempt to stand in God’s place. That when we sing ‘Praise God from whom all blessings flow’ we are also saying ‘Down with the gods from whom no blessings flow.’

Further we are also led to see the emptiness and futility of false religion exposed in contrast to God who is there in His power and grace even in the crisis and our extremity. I am reminded of Isa 46:1-4 which tells us that in a crisis false religion has to be carried by its adherents, but by contrast God carries His people, even with all their weakness. This is the God we are called to trust and worship, the God who alone is real and before whom all will one day bow: “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)