Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.
—1 Kings 18:38-39, NASB

Reflection:
During Elijah’s day, Israel had been led by a series of rulers who did evil in the sight of the Lord. Then Ahab came along, and he did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him. Ahab married a wicked woman named Jezebel and led Israel to serve the god she worshiped, Baal. He even built a house and an altar to Baal, and his wife had the prophets of God killed.

This is when Elijah came on the scene. Scripture says Elijah the Tishbite said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain during these years, except by my word” (1 Kings 17).

At a time when the whole land seemed to have abandoned God and was following Baal, a man came forward whose very name means my God is Yahweh. By declaring that there would be no rain until he said so, Elijah was essentially telling Ahab that the God of Israel was greater than the god he worshiped. Baal was believed to be the god of fertility, the rain, the sun, and the storm. In other words, Baal was supposed to be lord of the weather, yet there would be no rain until God’s prophet, not Baal, said so.

This made Ahab angry, and he sought to kill Elijah, sending out search parties to kingdoms far and wide. Elijah went into hiding for three years. Then, when God told him it was time, Elijah arranged to meet with Ahab, and that is where he set up a spiritual showdown.

Ahab could not back down from Elijah’s challenge. He sent a message throughout Israel calling all the prophets of Baal to Mount Carmel. There they faced Elijah. Elijah prepared a sacrifice, as did the prophets of Baal. The prophets of Baal stacked up wood on the altar, and they called upon Baal to come down and consume the sacrifice. They cried and cried. They tore their clothes. They cut themselves. They screamed and shouted, but no fire fell from heaven.

Finally, Elijah said enough is enough. To up the stakes, he had four pitchers of water poured over the wood on the altar. He had this done a second time, then a third time, until the wood was drenched and the trench built around the altar was filled with water. Then Elijah called out to the God of Israel.

When Elijah cried out to God, the fire fell, the sacrifice was consumed, and the wood was burned up. The fire even caused all the water to evaporate so there was nothing left but the smoke of the glory of God. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.”

Beloved, this is not some nice story told to make a point. The showdown at the mount really happened. Elijah saw God prove Himself in a supernatural way. The Lord answered so the people would know that He alone is God and that He had turned their hearts back again.

Application:

• Call upon the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel to prove Himself in the places where hearts have turned away.
• Stand in obedience to God’s word, even when the whole land seems to be following another spirit.

Prayer:
Father, let it be known that You are God. Turn hearts back again by the power of Your Spirit. Teach me to stand before You as Elijah did, obeying Your word even when the world around me is moving in another direction. Let the fire of Your presence consume every false altar in my life. May my heart declare, The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God. us into truth. Let my prayers be filled with Your heart, not with fear, control, or political agendas.