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Story 3
Elijah stayed with
the widow for several more days, until God told him it was
time for him to move on. It was time for him to go and see
King Ahab. “And it came to pass
after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in
the third year, saying, ‘Go present yourself to Ahab, and I
will send rain on the earth.’”
Historical setting:
Time:Around 872 B.C.
Places: Mount Carmel, Samaria
Persons:
Elijah, Obadiah, Ahab, the Children of Israel, Prophets of
Baal and Asherah
Scripture: I Kings 18:1-40
As suddenly as Elijah arrived at the widow’s place, he
left. God was leading him back to Israel to present himself to
King Ahab, to the capital city of Samaria.
Obadiah,
King Ahab’s chief servant, was a follower of God. While the
wicked Queen Jezebel was at work killing all the prophets of
the Lord that she could find, Obadiah had taken one hundred of
them and had hidden them by fifties in caves. There he kept
them alive by sneaking bread and water to them.
The famine was still raging. King Ahab was getting
desperate. It wasn't for concern for his subjects that caused
his next move; it was for his own selfish reasons. He called
Obadiah, who was in charge of all Ahab’s house, and said to
him, “We must go out into all the land and check out the water
supply. See if there are any brooks, rivers or streams that
are still running. We must have water for our livestock. I do
not want to have to kill them off. You go one way and I will
check out the other way.”
Obadiah started off on a trot to check on the water supply.
He had just rounded the first corner when he saw a rugged,
hairy old man approaching him. "It can't be!" he said to
himself, "but who else in all the world would look like this
man, but Elijah! But it can't be. King Ahab has searched
everywhere for him, and he is no where to be found." But as
the two men got closer, Obadiah was sure. "Is that you, my
lord Elijah?" he asked.
"Yes, it is I," Elijah replied. "Go to King Ahab and tell
him, 'Elijah is here.'"
"Oh my lord!" Obadiah called out. "What horrible evil have
I committed that you should tell me to go to Ahab and tell him
that I have found you? Don't you know that he has been looking
all over the kingdom for you? Don't you know that there is a
reward out for anyone who finds you and presents you to the
king? Don't you know that he will kill anyone who says he
knows where you are, then fails to produce you? Oh Elijah, why
have you asked me to do this? As soon as I take the report to
the king, God will whisk you away, and I will be a dead man.
Oh Elijah, don't you know what I have done for God? Haven't
you heard that I hid one hundred prophets of the Lord God in
caves, to save them from Jezebel's massacre? If I go now and
tell the king you are here, and he fails to find you, I am a
dead man."
"Do not fear, Obadiah," replied Elijah, "I will not
disappear, not this time. As the Lord lives, today I will show
myself to the king. Go and tell him."
So Obadiah ran off to find King Ahab. "King Ahab!" Obadiah
said, as he ran up to the king. "Elijah is here. He wishes to
meet with you."
"A likely story!" said Ahab. "You had better watch what you
say. You know that I could have you killed for bringing a
report like this, and then find that it is not true."
"Yes, but this time he won't disappear. He wants to
see you." So the king and Obadiah walked back to the spot
where Elijah had said he would be.
When Ahab saw Elijah he shouted, "Is that you, oh you
troubler of Israel?"
"It is I, all right, oh King," Elijah said, "but I haven't
troubled Israel. It is you and your father's house who have
forsaken the Lord God of Israel and taken to worshipping the
false god, *Baal. Now here is what I want you to do. Send out
messengers to all of Israel, along with the four hundred and
fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of the
groves of **Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table. We will have
a meeting on ***Mount Carmel. There is going to be a contest.
We will find out just who is the true God, the god, Baal, that
you have made the people of Israel worship, or the true God of
Israel, Jehovah-God."
Mount Carmel was a perfect meeting place. The long range of
Carmel, some parts of which rise 1,600 and 1,700 feet above
sea level, skirts the whole south of ****Esdraelon. (Mount
Carmel was sacred to worshippers of Baal and also used by
worshippers of God.)
It was at the western end of this range, a spot known
throughout the land, where the meeting was to take place. In
normal times, before the drought devastated the land, this
area was luxuriant—paradise-like. In earlier times, an altar
had been erected here, to be used for special worship times,
such as new moons and Sabbaths. Now, however, since Baal had
been the god of the land, God's altar had been broken down.
Beneath the rocks, under the shade of an olive grove, was a
well, which was said would never run dry. Even now, after the
long drought, there would be water in this well. (which
Elijah makes use of, as we shall see later in the
story.)
Ahab's place, in the city of Jezreel, was
only about twenty-five miles from this spot. Mount Carmel's
central location made it a perfect gathering place for the
large congregation of Israel, as no point in the land was
further than sixty miles from here. The place had a natural
amphitheatre, where thousands could see and hear.
The
date for the contest had been set, and word had gone out to
all the land of Israel to gather at the specified meeting
place. The congregation had assembled. Elijah lifted up his
voice and spoke: "How long will you people hop from one foot
to the other, between God and Baal? If the Lord is God, follow
Him. If Baal is god, follow him."
The congregation stood mute before Elijah. Of all the
hundreds of people gathered on the mountain, there was not one
who spoke up for God, not one said a word. So Elijah
continued. "Am I alone left of the prophets of the Lord? Yet,
here before you stand four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal
and four hundred prophets of Asherah. Well, today we are going
to have a contest to see who is the true God."
Suddenly there was excitement on the mountain. "That's a
great idea!" said the people. "Let's do it."
Elijah
began his instructions: "Go get two bulls for sacrifices.
Build yourself an altar."
Designated people scrambled around obeying Elijah's orders.
"Now, cut your bull in pieces and lay it on the wood, but
don't put any fire under it."
When the priests of Baal had done this, Elijah continued
his instructions. "This is a fair contest. Your god is a god
of the morning, so I am letting you go first. Later, it will
be my turn. The God who answers by fire is the one and true
God…Go ahead now. Call on your god, Baal. Ask him to send
fire, in acceptance of your offering."
The prophets of Baal began to pray. "Oh Baal, answer us.
See? We are having a contest to prove to all the people that
you are their true god."
At first their prayers were
soft, but as the hours wore on the priests of Baal became
desperate. They called louder, egged on by Elijah's taunts:
"Come on, you priests of Baal," cried Elijah. "Call louder.
After all, Baal is only the god of fire. Surely he can send
down a flame to light the wood and burn up your sacrifice….
Maybe he is busy talking to someone. Maybe he is away on a
trip…Oh, I know, perhaps your god is sleeping. You must call
louder to wake him up."
The more Elijah taunted, the louder the cries to the god of
fire, Baal, grew. The priests began to cut themselves with
knives, as was their habit, until the blood gushed from their
flesh. They cried and moaned and prophesied until close to
evening. But of course, there wasn't a sound out of Baal. By
this time the priests were utterly exhausted.
Then
Elijah spoke: "All right, now it is my turn. Gather around,
all you people. I want you to learn who the true God is. But
look, the prophets of Baal have broken down the altar. It must
be repaired."
So Elijah restored the altar of the Lord that was broken
down. He took twelve stones, one for each tribe of Israel, and
built up the altar. Then he had a trench dug around the altar.
After arranging the wood on the altar, he put the cut up bull
in place.
"Now, fill four barrels of water from the
well," Elijah said. "Pour it on the sacrifice and on the
wood."
This done, he instructed that they do the same
thing twice more, until the water ran into the trench and the
sacrifice, the wood, and everything around it was saturated.
The people looked on in wonder. What was Elijah up to? Even
if fire did come down—even if—how was it to burn something so
soaked with water? But they waited. It soon would be time for
evening sacrifice, according to their customs. What would
happen? There was dead silence all throughout the
amphitheatre.
Elijah lifted up his eyes to heaven:
"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."
And then it happened. A gigantic ball of fire from the
heavens. It consumed the sacrifice and the wood, and it lapped
up the water in the trench...The people, struck dumb with awe
and terror, fell flat on their faces. In unison they cried
out, "The Lord, He is God. The Lord, He is
God."
The contest was over. The Lord God of heaven, the God of
Israel, had won.
Again, Elijah's thunderous voice rang out: "Take the
prophets of Baal and the prophets of Asherah to the bottom of
the mountain. Don't let one of them escape. Today God has
shown us that He is the true God. Slay the false prophets."
So the prophets of the false gods were hurried to the foot
of the mountain and slain in the dry creek bed of the brook,
Kishon. Today was the day God showed Himself to His people.
© Helen Dowd
*Baal – The god of fire
**Asherah – The mother-goddess
of fertility
***Mount Carmel – Sacred to worshippers of
Baal; also used by worshippers of God
****Esdraelon: the
name of the great plain which stretches across Central
Palestine from the Jordan to the Mediterraanean, extending
about 14 miles from north to south, and 9 miles from east to
west. (The Valley of Jezreel and Plain of Esdraelon, by Dennis
Bratcher)
Some information gleaned from "The
Chosen Word" copyright 1915 The John A. Hertel Co.
Please read Story 4: A Little Cloud - - A Great Rain
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