1 Kings 18

1 Kings 18:1

4. Elijah’s Challenge to the Priests of Baal (18:1-19)18:1-6 Three years after Elijah left Israel, and three and a half years after the drought had begun (Luk_4:25), the prophet was instructed to appear before Ahaban action that, humanly speaking, was extremely dangerous. So severe was the famine that Ahab and his steward, Obadiah (not the prophet who wrote the Book of Obadiah), had searched the land for grass to feed the animals. (It was this Obadiah who had saved one hundred prophets of the Lord when Jezebel had murdered some and was seeking to exterminate others.) 18:7-15 While Obadiah was on his search for grass, Elijah met him and ordered him to notify Ahab of Elijah’s whereabouts. Obadiah feared that this would result in his death, since Ahab had been searching relentlessly for Elijah in order to silence him once and for all. If Obadiah revealed Elijah’s presence, the king would undoubtedly respond. But by then the Spirit of the LORD might have carried Elijah away. Then Ahab would kill Obadiah for his “false” report. And besides all this, Obadiah’s position in the royal court was already precarious because he had protected the LORD’s prophets. Elijah promised that he would not leave the place, and a meeting was then arranged. 18:16-19 King Ahab went to meet Elijah and accused him of being a troubler of Israel, not realizing that the man of God was one of the best friends Israel ever had. Not fearing for his own life, Elijah answered Ahab fearlessly and accusingly. He blamed the king for mixing the worship of Jehovah with Baal-worship and challenged him to assemble his idolatrous prophets for a contest on Mount Carmel to determine who was the true God. (The four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal went to Carmel, but the four hundred prophets of Asherah did not; cf. vv. 19, 22.)

1 Kings 18:20

5. Elijah’s Victory over the Priests of Baal (18:20-40)18:20-25 Addressing the assembled representatives of Israel, Elijah accused them of wavering between two opinions; they should choose either the LORD or Baal. Then the contest began. Two bulls were to be killed and laid on kindling wood. Elijah would represent the LORD, whereas four hundred and fifty of Ahab’s prophets would represent Baal. The God who answered by fire would be acknowledged as the true God. 18:26-29 The prophets of Baal cried out to their god and hopped around the altar from morning . . . till noon. Elijah mocked them with “helpful” excuses for Baal’s failure to answer. “Perhaps he was such a small, weak god that he could not do two things at once.” In desperation, they . . . cut themselves (as was their custom) with knives and lances and raved on until the time . . . of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.18:30-35 Then Elijah . . . built an altar of twelve stones in the name of the LORD, representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Then, to eliminate any possibility that the altar might be ignited in any way other than by a miracle, he saturated the oxen and the wood with twelve barrels of water (four waterpots emptied three times). Some wonder how Elijah obtained so much water during a time of drought. But this is not a real difficulty. Twelve barrels of water is not an impossible amount during drought time. The drought had affected farmlands, but drinking water must have been obtainable or else everyone would have died. Another explanation is that this water could have come from the Mediterranean Sea, a few miles away. Williams says: The Kishon (v. 40), the sea (v. 43), and a well which still exists could severally or collectively supply the water needed to fill the trench (v. 35). 18:36-40 At the time of . . . the evening sacrifice, . . . Elijah prayed that God would reveal himself by sending fire from heaven. Immediately the fire of the LORD fell from heaven, consuming not only the sacrifice but also the wood and the stones and the dust, and . . . the water . . . in the trench around the altar. The people were thus compelled to acknowledge the LORD as the real God. Then they obeyed Elijah’s order to slay the wicked prophets of Baal. Only after the people acknowledged that Jehovah was God and executed . . . the prophets of Baal could the rain come. Confession of sin and obedience to the Word of God are the steps to blessing.

1 Kings 18:41

6. Elijah’s Prayer for Rain (18:41-46)The prophet advised Ahab to eat a meal because he would soon have to leave Mount Carmel to escape the oncoming rain. While Ahab sat down to eat, Elijah rose up to pray. He ascended to the top of Mount Carmel, bowed down on the ground with his face between his knees, and fervently asked the Lord to fulfill His word by sending rain. He continued in prayer until his servant reported a tiny cloud on the horizon. That was enough for Elijah. He immediately sent word to Ahab to make haste for Jezreel, a city in Issachar where the royal family lived at times (1Ki_21:1). As a loyal subject and faithful servant, the prophet ran before Ahab’s chariot in a drenching rain twenty miles to Jezreel.