The Contest

                                                                                                                                       

Aloha Dearest Family,

                Today we will examine one of my favorite records in the Bible. It is the story of one of the greatest contests of all time. The record involves the prophet Elijah, 450 prophets of Baal and of course God.

                Let me take you back to ancient Israel, at the time of the Kings. The King of Israel, Ahab, married one of the most wicked women in the Bible – Jezebel. Because of this union, all of Israel was lead to worship other Gods. One of the main gods that Israel was led to worship was Baal. If you were a prophet of the true God, Jezebel (who was a priestess of Baal) would have you killed. Because of this sin God proclaimed judgment on the land in the form of a famine. This famine was pronounced by God’s prophet, Elijah.

“Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” (I Kings 17:1) Unless Elijah gave the word, it would not rain. This famine would last 3 ½ years and would devastate the land. God then tells Elijah to leave the area. After all, if it did not rain for a couple of years, the King would certainly be looking for him.

After 3 ½ years God sends Elijah back to King Ahab.

“When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?” “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. 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.” So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him. But the people said nothing.” (I Kings 18:17-20)

Here Elijah challenges the people to choose who is the true God, but the people were afraid to answer. In Elijah’s absence, Jezebel had killed a great number of God’s prophets, so if you didn’t declare Baal as the true God, your life would be in jeopardy. Elijah then calls out the 450 prophets of Baal and declares a challenge to them. Two bulls would be chosen as an offering. Each side (Elijah on one side and the prophets of Baal on the other) would cut up their own bull and place it on the altar. But they couldn’t light a fire. Each side would pray to their god and whichever god answers by fire, that one would be declared the true God. All the people agreed to these terms. (verses 23 and 24) (It is interesting to note that Baal was known as the fertility god and was called the “lord of rain and dew”, yet in 3 ½ years the prophets of Baal could not get their god to make it rain. Also Baal was symbolized by the image of the bull).

The prophets of Baal went first. They prepared their bull and cried unto Baal from morning until noon. But there was no answer. At noon Elijah started to mock and ridicule these men.

“At noon Elijah began 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.” So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.” (I Kings 18:27-29)

Can you imagine 450 men shouting, jumping around and cutting themselves? What a scene. After doing this until evening, the altar is now broken down and bloody. Yet there was no answer from Baal. 

                It is now Elijah’s turn. He first repairs the altar that the prophets had demolished with all their useless gestures to Baal and then digs a large trench around the altar. What Elijah does next goes against all common sense. He saturates the altar with water.

“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.” “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again. “Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.” (I Kings 18:33-35) Every camper knows that if you want to start a fire, you need dry wood. At this point Elijah is going to prove, once and for all, who is the true God.

“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. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God! “ No kidding! (verses 36-39) 

I’m sure that a lot of people had to change their drawers after this. But the contest was over- and God proved to the people that He was the true God-not Baal. If you keep reading you find that the 450 prophets of Baal all lost their lives because of this great sin. Soon after this Elijah told King Ahab to prepare for much rain for the people were about to experience a welcome sight - a downpour. The famine was over.

So what are we to take away from this record other than being a great story? First and foremost, God’s majesty and power is above all and He deserves to be praised and worshipped above all else. He is greater than anything that we can imagine. He also blesses those that put their trust in Him, and He destroys the plans of the evil. This record is a great example. In the next chapter the evil Queen Jezebel puts out a contract on Elijah’s life. But God saves Elijah’s life and Jezebel ends up dying a horrible death. Furthermore, because of his many sins, King Ahab’s bloodline is cut off; such as the just reward upon all that work evil against God and his people. This is because our God is a just God, rewarding the righteous with good things and rendering judgment to the ungodly.

                “For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed; the offspring of the wicked will perish.” (Psalm 37:28)

                                         Love Always, Ray