1 Kings 18:1-40
Kingdom, Come • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Scripture Reading: Matthew 6:19-24
Introduction
Introduction
We’re about to Look at One of the Most Famous Stories in the OT
It’s Intense/Exciting/Just Downright Awesome
It’s One of Those Satisfying Stories Where…
The Odds are Stacked in the Bad Guys’ Favor…
But the Good Guys Come Out Victorious Anyway
Many of Our Favorite Stories Follow that Model
David vs. Goliath
Shadrach, Meshach, & Abed-Nego & the Fiery Furnace
Joseph’s Journey from Hebrew Slave to Egyptian Ruler
And So Many More!
This is Another One of Those Stories…
That Makes You Excited/Proud to Be a Believer
1 Kings 18:1-40
1 Kings 18:1-40
We’re Going to Look at the Story of Elijah on Mount Carmel
This is an Absolutely Epic Story
But, in Revisiting this Story…
A Few Tiny Details Jumped Out to Me that I’d Never Noticed Before
And I Believe These Little Details Add a Beautiful Picture
To this Already Amazing & Powerful Story
I’m So Excited to Look at this Passage…
So Let’s Jump in:
Last Time, Elijah Went to King Ahab…
And Told Him that it wouldn’t Rain Until He Said So
Now We’re Fast-Forwarding 3 Years
1 Kings 18:1–16 (NLT)
1 Later on, in the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain!” 2 So Elijah went to appear before Ahab. Meanwhile, the famine had become very severe in Samaria. 3 So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Obadiah was a devoted follower of the Lord. 4 Once when Jezebel had tried to kill all the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had hidden 100 of them in two caves. He put fifty prophets in each cave and supplied them with food and water.)
5 Ahab said to Obadiah, “We must check every spring and valley in the land to see if we can find enough grass to save at least some of my horses and mules.” 6 So they divided the land between them. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. 7 As Obadiah was walking along, he suddenly saw Elijah coming toward him. Obadiah recognized him at once and bowed low to the ground before him. “Is it really you, my lord Elijah?” he asked.
8 “Yes, it is,” Elijah replied. “Now go and tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’ ” 9 “Oh, sir,” Obadiah protested, “what harm have I done to you that you are sending me to my death at the hands of Ahab? 10 For I swear by the Lord your God that the king has searched every nation and kingdom on earth from end to end to find you. And each time he was told, ‘Elijah isn’t here,’ King Ahab forced the king of that nation to swear to the truth of his claim.
11 And now you say, ‘Go and tell your master, “Elijah is here.” ’ 12 But as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you away to who knows where. When Ahab comes and cannot find you, he will kill me. Yet I have been a true servant of the Lord all my life. 13 Has no one told you, my lord, about the time when Jezebel was trying to kill the Lord’s prophets? I hid 100 of them in two caves and supplied them with food and water. 14 And now you say, ‘Go and tell your master, “Elijah is here.” ’ Sir, if I do that, Ahab will certainly kill me.”
15 But Elijah said, “I swear by the Lord Almighty, in whose presence I stand, that I will present myself to Ahab this very day.” 16 So Obadiah went to tell Ahab that Elijah had come, and Ahab went out to meet Elijah.
Some Interesting Details:
The Drought was About to End After 3 Years
Ahab has Been Searching Far & Wide for Elijah for the Past 3 Years
Jezebel was Apparently Going on a Murder Spree…
Trying to Kill All of God’s Prophets
But Obadiah, Ahab’s Trusted Servant…
Secretly Rescued & Provided for 100 of Them
And Even Though He was Afraid, Obadiah Trusts Elijah…
And He’s Going to Set Up a Meeting for Him with Ahab
Notice What Ahab Says When He Sees Elijah:
1 Kings 18:17 (NIV)
17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
Ahab Blames Elijah for the 3-Year Drought
But Elijah Quickly Corrects Him
1 Kings 18:18 (NIV)
18 “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals.
It’s Ahab’s Fault that God Sent a Drought…
Because He has Forsaken God & Followed Baal
1 Kings 18:19–20 (CSB)
19 Now summon all Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.” 20 So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and gathered the prophets at Mount Carmel.
The Stage is Being Set for an Epic Showdown
It’s Going to Take Place on Mount Carmel
We aren’t Told Why that Location was Chosen
But it was Probably Near the Border…
Between Israel & Phoenicia (Where Sidon is Located)
1 Prophet of God & 450 Prophets of Baal…
About to Face Off Near the Border of Both Their Territories
1 Kings 18:21 (ESV)
21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “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.
Elijah Looks Out at the Large Crowd that’s Gathered
And He Asks Them a Very Interesting Question:
“How Long will You Go Limping Between 2 Crutches?”
“How Long will You Pass Between 2 Beliefs/Opinions?”
“How Long Do You Plan on Riding this Fence?”
“Choose a God to Follow”
“Stop Trying to Follow Both”
The Crowd is Quiet
They Want to See How this is Going to Play Out Before Making Their Decision
1 Kings 18:22–25 (NLT)
22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only prophet of the Lord who is left, but Baal has 450 prophets. 23 Now bring two bulls. The prophets of Baal may choose whichever one they wish and cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood of their altar, but without setting fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood on the altar, but not set fire to it. 24 Then call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by setting fire to the wood is the true God!” And all the people agreed. 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “You go first, for there are many of you. Choose one of the bulls, and prepare it and call on the name of your god. But do not set fire to the wood.”
Elijah Wants to Let Everyone Know that the Prophets of Baal have the Advantage
It’s 450 to 1
He Also Lets Them have the First Choice of the 2 Bulls
They All Agree to the Terms of the Divine Showdown
They Serve the Storm God
It shouldn’t Be Hard at All for Baal…
To Send Lightning Down from Heaven to Burn Up the Sacrifice
1 Kings 18:26–29 (NLT)
26 So they prepared one of the bulls and placed it on the altar. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noontime, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no reply of any kind. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made. 27 About noontime Elijah began mocking them. “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!” 28 So they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out. 29 They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply, no response.
They Cried Out to Baal from Morning Until Evening
They Limped/Danced Around, Trying to Get Baal’s Attention
Around Noon, Elijah Starts Mocking Them
“Maybe He’s Deep in Thought about Something!”
“Maybe He’s in the Bathroom!”
“Maybe He’s Gone on Vacation!”
“Or Maybe He’s Just Asleep & Needs to Be Woken Up!”
“Yell Louder!”
That’s Exactly What They Did
They Screamed, Yelled, Danced, and Began Mutilating Themselves…
In Hopes of Gaining Their God’s Attention
But Baal Didn’t Respond to Them in Any Way/Shape/Form
No Lightning/Thunder/Rain
Nothing
1 Kings 18:30–35 (NIV)
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.” 34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again. “Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
With the Eyes of the Crowd on Him…
Elijah Rebuilds the Altar that had Previously Been Torn Down…
And Gives the Prophets of Baal Another Advantage
He Completely Soaks His Offering & Altar…
Making it Even Harder for it to Catch Fire
1 Kings 18:36–40 (NLT)
36 At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. 37 O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.”
38 Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The Lord—he is God! Yes, the Lord is God!” 40 Then Elijah commanded, “Seize all the prophets of Baal. Don’t let a single one escape!” So the people seized them all, and Elijah took them down to the Kishon Valley and killed them there.
In Elijah’s Prayer to God, He Asks God to Prove to All These People…
That He is the One and Only True God
Immediately, Lightning/Fire Comes Down from the Sky…
And Completely Vaporizes the Sacrifice…
And Evaporates Every Last Drop of Water
Upon Seeing it, the Crowd of Israelites Fall on Their Faces…
And Shout, “The Lord/Yahweh, He is God”
“Elijah” = “God is Yahweh”
Elijah Then has the Israelite People Seize the 450 Prophets of Baal…
And They are All Slaughtered in the Valley of Kishon
Application
Application
One Obvious Application that Needs to Be Made from this Story is:
Stop Riding the Fence
The Israelite People Didn’t Want to Throw God Away Completely
They Wanted to Keep God & have Baal Too
They would Limp/Pass from One to the Other
Elijah Told Them that it’s Time to Make a Choice
Whichever One Lights the Sacrifice from Heaven is the True God
And Whichever One Lights the Sacrifice, Serve that One
Yahweh Proved Himself to Be the One True God
Only Yahweh is God, Not Baal
Jesus Taught:
Matthew 6:24 (NASB95)
24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
You can Substitute “Wealth” with “Baal”…
Or Anything Else Someone Might Love/Serve/Trust in
God Demands All of Our Allegiance or None of it
Those are the Only Options
I Mentioned at the Beginning…
That There were a Few Little Details that Stood Out to Me…
When Studying this Text…
That Added Another Amazing/Beautiful Element to the Story
In Verse 36, We Read, “At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice…”
The Sacrifice that Elijah Set Up & God Burned Up…
Took Place at the Time of the Evening Sacrifice
I Don’t Think that Little Detail is just a Coincidence
I Believe that Detail was Intentional
I Believe this “Fire from Heaven Showdown”…
Was More than Just a Contest Between Yahweh & Baal
I Believe We’re Intended to See it…
As an Atoning Sacrifice for the People
Think about it:
This Contest could have Been Any Miraculous Sign
Baal was the Storm God, But He was Also the “Bringer of Rain”
The Contest could have Been:
“Whichever God Makes it Rain is the True God”
But Instead, God has Elijah Build Altars…
And Offer Burnt Sacrifices on Them
Elijah’s Altar was Made of 12 Stones…
Which were Representative of the 12 Tribes of Israel
And Then, Elijah Tells Us in His Prayer to God…
What the Primary Purpose of this Contest was:
1 Kings 18:37 (NASB95)
37 “Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.”
The Purpose of this Showdown…
Was to Turn the Hearts/Loyalty/Devotion/Allegiance of the People…
Back to God
Think about this Within the Grand Narrative of the Scriptures
God Provides an Atoning Sacrifice for His Rebellious People…
In Order to Rid Them of Their Rebelliousness…
And Restore Them to Himself…
By Turning Their Hearts Back to Him
That Happened on Mount Carmel
And that Happened on Mount Zion
Like in this Story of Elijah on Mount Carmel…
God has Performed an Amazing Act…
To Restore Us to Himself…
By Atoning for Our Sins in the Sacrifice of His Son…
And Turn Our Hearts Back to Him…
Through the Grace/Mercy/Love that We Find in the Gospel Message
There’s No Reason to Ride the Fence Between God & Anything Else
He’s Given Us Abundant Reasons to Serve Him & Him Alone