THE GRAND SMACKDOWN

God would not let Elijah establish residence in either Cherith or Zeraphath. After three years in Zeraphath, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land. So Elijah went…” (1 Kings 18:1-2).

Elijah’s life was not just moving from one community to another; rather, the events of his life were the journey on the road of the making of a man of God. The journey ultimately led to Mt. Carmel and a showdown with the forces of evil that could be seen as the greatest act of deliverance ever recorded—an entire nation was brought back from evil domination to freedom!

Some of us will serve the Lord in one place for most of our lives. Others of us will be “rolling stones” and will have several places of service over our lifetime. In all situations God will orchestrate our personal journey with times at Cherith, Zeriphath and on Mt. Carmel. We are all on the journey to maturity.

The apostasy of Israel was not just the evil of Ahab and Jezebel; the wickedness is underscored by the fact that there were hundreds of demonic prophets in the nation. The showdown on Mt. Carmel was really not between Elijah and the prophets of Baal; it was a war between heaven and the forces of evil and the battle would show the nation who was god!

Elijah established the terms of the contest and did so fairly. Each side would sacrifice an ox in just the same way and then each side would have the opportunity to invite their god to consume the sacrifice by fire. “The God who answers by fire—he is God” (18:24).

Elijah permitted the prophets of Baal to go first. The ox was killed and laid on the altar. The big moment had arrived for the evil prophets and they began to call on the name of Baal. “Answer us!” they shouted as they began to dance around their altar.

Nothing happened! After several hours Elijah began to taunt them, “Shout louder! Perhaps Baal is deep in thought; maybe he’s on vacation or in the bathroom, or perhaps he is asleep!” The madness of hell began to possess the prophets of Baal and their dancing became more frantic, the shouting louder. They began to slash themselves with knives until they were covered in blood. The demonic display continued for much of the afternoon but there was no answer and no fire fell.

Finally Elijah called the assembled crowd to him. In front of the people, Elijah repaired the altar of the Lord which lay in ruins (18:30). Around the rebuilt altar, Elijah dug a shallow trench and on the altar he arranged the wood and placed the pieces of the sacrifice. He then ordered the people to fill four large jars with water and drench the sacrifice, the wood, and the entire altar. Twice more he sent for water and drenched the altar until water filled the surrounding trench.

Elijah then prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again" (1 Kings 18:36-37).

Out of a clear blue sky the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the soil and even the water in the trench. When the assembled thousands of people saw this, they fell flat on their faces and began to cry out “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” (18:39).

For hours the people had watched the demon-possessed prophets try to work their magic and nothing had happened. Baal had more than ample opportunity to show up and start a fire and could not! In a relatively short time, Elijah made his preparations for the sacrifice and then he humbly prayed and asked God to answer. God did answer, with fire—the sign of His holiness, His judgment and His acceptance/blessing. God judged the evil and accepted the sacrifice for the sins of the people.

Observing the lead-up to Mt. Carmel, it’s very easy to get caught up in the nuances of what Cherith and Zarephath meant to the preparation of Elijah as a man of God. We meet Obadiah and we are given a glimpse into the crippling effects of divided loyalty. We study these and learn how God prepares His children for growth and maturity.

On Mt. Carmel the preparation period was over, and we do ourselves a disservice if we miss the simplicity of what happened. God loves His people and went to great lengths, in spite of their rebellious ways, in spite of their gross sins, to bring them a deliverer who called them back to Him. In a massive display of power, God showed His children that He forgave them and accepted the sacrifice on their behalf. This is a monumental picture of grace not deserved—but freely given!