1 Kings 16:30- 1 Kings 18
There once was a time when Kings ruled the country of Israel. There were Godly Kings, and there were wicked Kings, choosing to forsake the ways of God. During this time of Israel’s history, there was appointed by God, Judges, and Prophets. Men and Women who lived Godly lives would hear God speak. One of these Prophets was a man named Elijah.
During Elijah's time, Israel was politically divided into two nations: Judah and Israel. The choices made by their respective Kings, veering towards wickedness, had led them into the clutches of Babylonian captivity. The influence of the Babylonians was pervasive, with idols like Baal and Asherah being worshipped. The King of Israel, Ahab, was particularly notorious for being
“more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him.”
1 Kings 16:30
Not only did Ahab commit considerably more terrible sins, but he also married a woman named Jezebel, who was exceedingly wicked. We’re talking about the kind you find in the fairy tale with the flowing black robes and ruby red lips carrying the bright red apple. She most likely walked with her nose in the air and disdain dripping from her eyes. You’ll see what I mean soon as we get into more of her story in the next tea talk blog…
Being a Prophet is no easy task. When you are given a word, whether you like it or not, you are obedient and say it. Elijah comes and announces to King Ahab,
“As a servant of the Lord, there won’t be any rain in the land,
not even dew, for the next few years”
1 Kings 17:1
With that, Elijah leaves to make his own Birds movie. No, in all seriousness, Elijah, instructed by God, left and was fed for quite a while by a bunch of Ravens and a brook during the famine in the land.
Fast-forward three years. Israel is experiencing a drought. People are starving, animals are dying, and crops are failing. Jezebel has been on a mission to kill all the Prophets of God. Obadiah, the Palace Administrator who also loves the Lord, secretly hides 100 prophets away during this time, unknown to anyone. Elijah gets God's instructions to return to the King and present himself. Without hesitation, he obeys.
Not once does Elijah fear for his life. Not once does he back down as he runs into Obadiah on the way, who warns him in fear about Jezebel and her annihilation of the prophets. Not once does he start shaking in his boots in front of the king, even as he calls Elijah a “troublemaker.” (1 Kings 18: 17 NIV) Instead, Elijah, full of the Holy Spirit, boldly replies,
“I have not made trouble for Israel, but you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. Now, summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
1 Kings 18:18-19
Then, the people of Israel, the 950 prophets of Baal (and Asherah), King Ahab, and Elijah assembled at Mount Carmel gathered. This would be the ultimate showdown between the Prophets of Baal, Elijah, and His God. Elijah instructed the people to get two bulls: one for the prophets of Baal and one for himself to prepare and sacrifice. Showing hospitality-Elijah let the prophets go first. They chose their bull and prepared their altar. The only thing they couldn’t do was light the fire.
“Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord.
The god who answers by fire- he is God.”
1 Kings 18:24
I imagined the prophets of Baal dressed in their bright pagan outfits performing scandalous dances around the altar: screaming, chanting, shouting. From morning until noon, they worshiped, calling out to Baal. Nothing. Not even smoke. This is my favorite part of this history. Elijah has some humor to him. He gets a little sarcastic. He begins to taunt them.
“Shout louder!” He said, “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought,
or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.”
1 Kings 18:27
There is a reason behind his remarks. Elijah knows that his God never sleeps or travels.
His God never abandons His people.
He is always ready.
Waiting.
Elijah wanted the people to hear this! It was now dusk, and desperation was setting in. The prophets started to cut themselves, slashing with swords and spears as was a norm with their customs “until the blood flowed.” (vs. 28) Still nothing. Not even a spark.
It was now Elijah’s turn. He went to where the altar of the Lord had been. It was in disrepair. Torn down and neglected. Completely abandoned by Israel. He called the people over to watch and assist. Elijah repaired the rocks of the altar that had been torn down. One by one, he replaced each with 12 large stones, representing the 12 tribes of Israel. Then, Elijah instructed a deep trench to be dug around the base of the rocks, deep enough to hold 14 liters (or about 3 and 3/4 gallons of water). Then he cut up the bull and arranged it on the wood atop the rocks.
“Then he said to them, ‘Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.’ ‘Do it again,’ he said, and they did it again. ‘Do it a third time,’ he ordered, and they did it a third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.”
1 Kings 18:33-35
Mount Carmel was along the Coast, so they filled the large jars with seawater and lugged them up the mountain. I imagine it was now fully dark out. There were no cell phones and no street lights. Everyone was waiting in the darkness, expecting God Almighty to light the altar.
At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God and that you are turning their hearts back again.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
1 Kings 18: 36-38
At the sight, the people bowed down and exclaimed, “He is God!” and worshiped, knowing that God was the one and true God—the Almighty. Yes!! God showed up. One man's obedience opened the eyes of the people of Israel to see again that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was still the same.
Preparing for Rain
Elijah did a couple of significant things to prepare for the rain.
He had prayed and returned to the altar. As we had read earlier, the altar had been in disrepair. Israel had neglected it for many years. The altar is a place of great significance in worship. I see many parallels with our society today. How often do we neglect God and prayer and fill our lives with things that don’t satisfy us? In this respect, God got their attention by sending a severe drought to the whole land! What does it take to get our attention?
He cleaned house. Elijah called for the false prophets to be arrested and killed. They were slaughtered in the Kishon Valley. This is significant. The Kishon Valley was a strategic valley between Galilee and Samaria where the Kishon River dried up. It was often used as an important battle site. According to Britannica.com, ancient Middle Eastern Communities, especially Canaanites, designated Baal as the universal god of fertility in the capacity his title was ‘Prince’ or ‘Lord of the Earth.’ He was also referred to as ‘Lord of Rain and Dew.’ Now it makes complete sense why God Almighty created a drought in Israel! He needed to get their attention somehow! Elijah knows the altar moment wasn’t enough, though. The Israelites needed to “clean house”. They needed to clean up their lives if they wanted God to move (provide actual rain). The first step is to get rid of the false prophets.
“Then Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go, eat and drink,
for there is the sound of a heavy rain.’ So Ahab went off to eat and drink,
but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground, and put his face between his knees.”
1 Kings 18:41-42 (NIV)
He Waited on God. As Elijah sits at the top of the mountain with his face between his knees, waiting on God, he sends his servant to watch and look at the sky toward the Sea. He waits. As he sat and waited, his thoughts pondered the day, I’m sure. The marvels of his God. How good He is. His servant reports what he sees. Nothing. He makes him go back again. Seven times, this happens. The patience of the servant was probably getting thin. It’s an interesting number and has been found many times in the Bible. Seven means completion. Ironic? Maybe. God? I think so. The seventh time, the servant reports seeing a cloud ‘the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.’ Oh, the agony of waiting! I’m sure he believed that God was just taking his sweet time.
It’s often in the waiting when we find our true character.
At this, Elijah sends instructions to get Ahab in his chariot; the rain is coming!!! As the skies grow dark and the wind picks up, Elijah runs down the mountain, passing the chariot himself as the power of God comes upon him (vs.44- 46).
A Lesson in Obedience
When I did the Spiritual Gifts tests, my prophet returned high. Great. Something I wasn’t surprised by. I highly recommend taking one if you’ve never done a spiritual gifts test! There are many options online. They are a great way to discover more about who you are and why you “operate” the way you do, but they can also help plug you into where you best fit for service in your local church. As a child, I was blunt. I mean, open my mouth and just say things without thinking. Some hurtful things, too. Even as an adult. I look back now and wonder why I couldn’t hang onto friendships too well…a lot of it was trauma and my issues, but some of it was how I spoke. It took many years for God to mold this “gift” of boldness into shutting my mouth, speaking with love, and using it for Him. Listening to a person speaking and actively listening and seeing things from their viewpoint are things I have genuinely been working on for a few years! I always thought I had good intentions, but the listener wouldn’t know that! Why do I tell you all this? This journey has come to an amazing place for me. I believe this spiritual gift and other gifts are being used right now to speak through the blogs to each of you readers.
Little did I know, at five years old, or 15, or 25, or even 40 (the dark ages), how God would take this gift and use it. I truly believe I had to go through a season where God wanted to “prune” me. He wanted to break and refine my heart. I had built up my altars in my heart, unbeknownst to me. I thought my life was fine. I was, after all, living as a Christian but a “lukewarm” Christian. It was only during severe times, like the Israelites, that I would seek God. I wasn’t steadfast. I wasn’t focused on Jesus as I should have been. I still had a lot of areas that God was going to heal, but I had to go through the “dark ages” first.
As I started to heal mentally and emotionally, God started to speak gently about the condition of my heart. The altar of my heart and the condition it was in. He didn’t want certain things there. He wanted it clean. Pure. Orderly. Organized. Intact. A place for Him. A peaceful place. He wanted it restored for Him. For His Glory. He wanted the best for me. It wasn’t worth my time and did not fill me with good and positive things. If I want my life to be “worthy” of His calling, I WANT His blessing. That means obedience. As I started cleaning house in my life…I realized this meant I knew exactly what I was to write about. It wasn’t going to be easy, but I’d be obedient. I obeyed his calling to write about Him a couple of years ago. I just started with scripture and devotionals on social media, and I started to see Him pour out blessings in little ways in my life! It was amazing! In my health, family, and marriage, so many areas!
The more time we spend with the Lord, the easier it is to obey what He asks us. So, how do we go about this?
Psalm 139:23 states
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Sitting and waiting on God, letting him search every part of my heart, “cleaning house,” helps keep me accountable, gets rid of anxiety, and helps me exhibit an aroma pleasing to those around me. It doesn’t always guarantee life will be perfect, but I will have peace when draughts come.
In this amazing “Mountain-top Experience,” we have witnessed an incredible act of God's power—all because one man refused to be afraid and chose obedience instead. Learning to prepare for rain is a lesson we can all take from Elijah. We’re going to spend another day with Elijah. He will show us a few lessons in life, in humanity, and the struggles we all face at times, but for now, let’s just bask in this mountaintop experience!