Elijah: Fire from Heaven

1 Kings 17–18

The Ten Signposts of the Bible
CAMDE—400—CALY
Creation. Abraham. Moses. David. ELIJAH. 400. Christ. Apostles. Letters. Yet-to-Come.

On the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1–9), Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus. Moses represented the law and Elijah represented the prophets. Jesus often used the phrase "the Law and the Prophets" to refer to the entire Old Testament (Luke 16:16). In our "Ten Signposts of the Bible" (see above) Elijah stands for all the biblical prophets who lived before, during, and after the exiles. We will wrap up our survey of the Old Testament by considering God's story in the lives of the people who lived during the time of the prophets. 

Let's begin with a story that showcases Elijah's bold faith. 

During Elijah's time, Israel, the northern kingdom, had drifted far from God. Ahab was king, and he "did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him" (1 Kgs. 16:30). Alongside him, his wife Jezebel proved equally wicked.^[1] Determined to eradicate the worship of Yahweh in Israel, she killed the Lord's prophets and promoted the worship of Baal and Asherah, supporting 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah, Baal's female counterpart. 

To confront this apostasy, God raised up a prophet named Elijah. He entered the palace and declared, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word" (1 Kgs. 17:1). This was an extraordinary act of courage, especially since Ahab and Jezebel were murdering the prophets of God! 

What Elijah predicted came to pass: a drought fell over the land of Israel for three years. One can only imagine the devastation and suffering the people endured during that time. 

After three years God told Elijah, "Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth" (1 Kgs. 18:1). Elijah obeyed by instructing the king to gather all the people of Israel, along with the pagan prophets, at Mount Carmel for a showdown. There, Elijah addressed the people's hypocrisy, saying, "'How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.' And the people did not answer him a word" (1 Kgs. 18:21). 

What a direct confrontation! Elijah was essentially saying, "How long will you straddle the fence between the living God and pagan gods? Are you in or out? It is time to make up your mind." Yet the people lacked the courage to answer him and stood there in silence. 

Elijah's question is an important one for all of us. Are we fully committed to God, or do we follow him only when it's convenient, while also giving our devotion to the counterfeit gods of our culture? How long will we limp between two different opinions? There comes a time when each of us must decide: are we in or out? 

To demonstrate the power of the living God, Elijah issued a bold challenge. Both he and the prophets of Baal would prepare a bull and place it on wood, but neither sacrifice would be set on fire. Then Elijah declared, "You call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, he is God" (1 Kgs. 18:24). 

The prophets of Baal went first, calling on Baal to answer them. From morning until noon, they danced around the altar, but nothing happened. They cried out more loudly and even cut themselves, yet "as midday passed, they raved on . . . but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention" (1 Kgs. 18:28–29). Elijah mocked them, saying, "Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened" (1 Kgs. 18:27). But the exhausted prophets of Baal could not rouse their god. 

Now it was Elijah's turn. He built an altar to the Lord and poured four jars of water over the burnt offering and the wood. He repeated this two more times, thoroughly soaking both the sacrifice and the wood. Then Elijah prayed and "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. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, 'The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God'" (1 Kgs. 18:36-39). The prophets of Baal were put to death, and God sent rain upon the land. 

It was a great day in Israel. God's power was undeniable, the prophets of Baal were destroyed, and the people cried out, "The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God." Through Elijah, God had displayed his divine power and authority.

But as often happens, our greatest spiritual victories are sometimes followed by our greatest spiritual challenges. That is exactly what happened to Elijah, and it is where we will begin next time. 

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Read and reflect on 1 Kings 17–18.  What "competing loyalties" or idols tempt you to divide your devotion to God?

Talking to God: If you can't think of any competing loyalties, ask God to reveal them to you. 

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