It's been three years without rain. Now, God has a job for Elijah.
I Kings 18:1- And it came to pass [after] many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.
God said that it was time for Elijah to confront the wicked king. He was going to prove that He was God Almighty and the idols they were worshiping were false gods. And, He was going to end the draught and send rain.
I Kings 18:2-6- And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria. And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly: For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
King Ahab had his servants out searching for water and grass to feed the horses. He told one of his servants to go search on the one side of Israel while he searched on the other. This servant loved God and had saved 100 prophets from being killed by the wicked queen, Jezebel.
I Kings 18:7-8- And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my lord Elijah? And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.
Elijah met this servant and told him to go tell the king that he was looking for him. The servant was scared. He thought that God would take Elijah and hide him, and when the king couldn't find Elijah the king would have him killed for lying.
Elijah promised the servant that he wouldn't disappear. He told him that the king would get to see him.
I Kings 18:16-18- So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah. And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, 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.
Ahab went to meet Elijah and, guess what! The wicked king blamed Elijah for all his country's problems. He still didn't understand that the draught and famine were because he was worshiping idols.
Elijah tried to tell him that it was because he was sinning.
I Kings 18:19-20- Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table. So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.
Elijah told the wicked king to gather all his false prophets together and to meet him on top of Mount Carmel. The wicked King Ahab brought the prophets and all the people of his land that he could gather and met Elijah at the mount.
I Kings 18:21- And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
Elijah told the people that they needed to choose the right God to worship. But, the people just stared at him. So, Elijah was going to challenge the false prophets.
I Kings 18:22-24- Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: And 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. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.
Elijah said that they would each put a sacrifice on an altar. But, they wouldn't set the sacrifice on fire. They had to ask their God to light it on fire. Whichever God could light the fire would prove that He was God Almighty!
I Kings 18:25-26- And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.
Elijah let the false prophets go first. They waited for hours as these guys prayed and pleaded with their idol to light the sacrifice. When it got to be lunchtime, they started getting really crazy! Elijah started to make fun of them.
I Kings 18:27-29- And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.
Their false god didn't answer from morning until sun set. Nothing! Elijah had given them all day long and their idol never answered.
Now it was his turn.
I Kings 18:30-32- And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.
Elijah got the altar ready. And then he dug a big ditch around it. He had seen God do the impossible- raise someone from the dead. Now, he was going to ask God to do the impossible again. He knew that God would hear him because God answered him the last time.
I Kings 18:33-35- And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
Elijah had them soak the sacrifice, and fill the ditch with water. God would have to light a soggy wet sacrifice to prove that He was the True God. God had proven Himself to Elijah, and now He was going to prove Himself to the people of Israel.
I Kings 18:36-38- And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, 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.
God not only lit the sacrifice, but He also burned it so hot that nothing was left- not the water, or the wood, or the rocks that the altar was made of! What do you thin the children of Israel said?
I Kings 18:39- And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.
The people realized who the True God was.
I Kings 18:40- And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
