“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 18:37 (KJV)

The story

The scene begins with the assignment of blame. And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? The king identifies the messenger who announced the drought as its cause. Elijah rejects the premise and relocates the fault precisely: I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim. He then instructs the king to convene the nation at mount Carmel with four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and four hundred prophets of the groves, which eat at Jezebel's table, and Ahab does it. 1 Kings 18:17-20

Elijah's opening question identifies the real condition of the nation. How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. The issue is not that Israel has renounced the LORD but that it has added Baal, keeping both available as circumstances require. Elijah offers no third path and does not treat the middle ground as moderation. And the people answered him not a word. The silence concedes everything, since a nation that could have defended its position would have spoken. 1 Kings 18:21-22

The proposed test is scrupulously fair and deliberately public. Two bullocks, each cut in pieces and laid on wood, with the same stipulation for both, put no fire under. 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. The people ratify it, It is well spoken. Elijah then concedes every practical advantage: the opposition chooses its own bullock and goes first, for ye are many. Baal was venerated as a god of storm and lightning, so the contest is staged on precisely the ground where his claim should have been strongest. 1 Kings 18:23-25

Their effort is exhaustive. They called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us, and they leaped upon the altar which was made. The narrator's refrain is flat: But there was no voice, nor any that answered. Elijah's mockery at noon is pointed rather than merely cruel, proposing that their god is talking, or pursuing, or in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked, which are the limitations of a creature rather than a deity. They escalate to self-laceration with knives and lancets till the blood gushed out, and continue until the evening sacrifice. The final verdict withholds nothing: there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. 1 Kings 18:26-29

Elijah's preparation is as significant as the miracle. He calls the people near, so there are witnesses at close range, and he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down, restoring what had been neglected rather than innovating. He takes twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, a deliberate claim about a nation then divided. He digs a trench, orders the wood, cuts the bullock, and commands four barrels of water poured over the offering three separate times until the water ran round about the altar and filled the trench, eliminating in advance every natural explanation. 1 Kings 18:30-35

The contrast between the two prayers is the heart of the chapter. Against a day of shouting and blood, Elijah prays briefly at the time of the evening sacrifice, and his concern is not his own vindication: LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, 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. 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. The response is immediate and doubled: they fell on their faces, and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God. Elijah then tells Ahab there is a sound of abundance of rain before any cloud appears, casts himself down with his face between his knees, and sends his servant to look toward the sea seven times until a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand, is reported, after which the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. 1 Kings 18:36-45

Quiz

1. How does Elijah answer the charge of troubling Israel?

   • He accepts it
   • He assigns the trouble to Ahab and his father's house for forsaking the LORD
   • He blames the prophets of Baal
   • He gives no answer

2. Who supported the four hundred prophets of the groves?

   • The elders of Israel
   • The temple treasury
   • Jezebel's table
   • The city of Samaria

3. What condition does Elijah's opening question address?

   • Halting between two opinions
   • Refusal to sacrifice
   • Rebellion against the king
   • Neglect of the temple

4. What was the people's response to that question?

   • They defended Baal
   • They answered him not a word
   • They accused Elijah
   • They asked for time

5. What stipulation applied to both sacrifices?

   • They must be washed
   • They must be offered at noon
   • Put no fire under
   • They must be whole

6. Why did Elijah let the prophets of Baal go first?

   • For ye are many
   • Because the king ordered it
   • Because the people asked
   • Because it was their altar

7. What limitations does Elijah's mockery attribute to Baal?

   • Deafness and blindness
   • Talking, pursuing, journeying, or sleeping
   • Anger and absence
   • Weakness and age

8. What threefold verdict closes the Baal prophets' attempt?

   • No fire, no smoke, no light
   • No prophet, no priest, no king
   • Neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded
   • No rain, no wind, no cloud

9. What is the significance of the twelve stones?

   • According to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob
   • One for each prophet
   • The number of years of drought
   • The measure of the trench

10. How is the size of the trench described?

    • A cubit in depth
    • As great as would contain two measures of seed
    • Twelve paces round
    • The length of the altar

11. What does Elijah ask God to make known?

    • That Ahab is judged
    • That the drought will end
    • That thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant
    • That Baal is nothing

12. What did Elijah tell Ahab before any cloud was visible?

    • There is a sound of abundance of rain
    • The famine shall continue
    • Gather thy chariot for battle
    • Return to Samaria

Reflection

1. Elijah names divided loyalty, not outright unbelief, as Israel's disease, and the people's silence shows they had no defence for it. Identify where you are holding two incompatible commitments open because deciding would cost you something. What is the actual cost you are avoiding?
2. The prophets of Baal were sincere, numerous, passionate, and willing to injure themselves, and it made no difference. Consider how often sincerity is offered today as sufficient warrant for belief. What does this chapter say about the relationship between how strongly something is believed and whether it is true?
3. Elijah repaired an existing altar rather than building a novel one, and used twelve stones for a nation that was politically divided. What does it look like in your own church or family to restore what has been let fall rather than to construct something new and more impressive?
4. Elijah announced the sound of abundance of rain before there was a cloud in the sky, then prayed with his face between his knees and sent his servant back seven times. Where are you expected to act on a word already given while the visible evidence has still not arrived?

Cross references

James 5:17-18

Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

Malachi 4:5

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: