Andy Davis preaches an expository sermon on 1 Kings 18:17-40. The main subject of the sermon is Elijah’s trial of the false prophets.
Andy Davis preaches an expository sermon on 1 Kings 18:17-40. The main subject of the sermon is Elijah’s trial of the false prophets.
Please, if you would, take your Bibles. We’re looking tonight at 1 Kings Chapter 18, at the contest at Mount Carmel. We began this last week, and this has got to be one of the most exciting passages of scripture you’re going to find in the Old Testament. I can’t imagine a more dramatic contest than the one we get at Mount Carmel between Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal. I mean, think about it, if you could go back in time to events in the Old Testament, don’t you think this would be on your top 10 list to just stand there and see it? To see the fire fall from heaven, and the look on people’s faces as they fall down to the ground and say, “the Lord, he is God,” but you know you wouldn’t be seeing their faces because you’d be falling on the ground too and saying, “the Lord, he is God.” And so it’s a dramatic encounter, and it’s one that brings great glory to God. And that was his whole point; his desire was to glorify himself. Now, we’ve already looked at half of this encounter, but I’m going to begin reading where I began last time at verse 17 or verse… Yeah, verse 17, “When Ahab 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 he gives him the contest. He says,
“Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel and bring the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.” So Ahab sent word through all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waiver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, then follow him, but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing. Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has 450 prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood, but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call in the name of your god, and I will call in the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire, he is God.” Then all the people said, “What you say is good.” Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” So they took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “O Baal, answer us,” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. 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. Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which was in ruins. Elijah took 12 stones. One for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 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. At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “O Lord, 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, O Lord, answer me, so that these people will know that you, O 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.” Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away.” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.
Now when we looked at it last time, we talked about the fact that Elijah gave to the prophets of Baal the opportunity to go first. They were allowed to select the sacrifice. They were allowed to go first and to cut it apart, and to lay it out, and they were allowed to do all of their work first. Now I think it makes sense that he did it this way. Number one, he wanted to show that he was willing to give any advantage to the prophets of Baal. He was willing to allow them to go first and to do whatever they needed to do first. But we know also that God was going to answer with fire that day, wasn’t he? And if Elijah had gone first, there would’ve been no need for the prophets of Baal to go. And God fully intended not only to establish himself as the true God, but to show Baal for the fraud that he really is. He wanted to strip Baal of any power. He wanted to show Baal to be the emptiness that he is. And so Elijah said, “go first.” And so these prophets began their prophesying. They prophesied energetically. They danced with strength and power around the altar. And as I think about that scene, I think about how easily duped are so many of our people. We think about religions around the world, and people, our neighbors, coworkers as we’re witnessing, they’ll say to us, “you’re very zealous for your religion, but there are other people that are every bit of zealous for their religion as you are for yours. They believe every bit as much in their God as you do in yours. They’re every bit as sincere about their God as you are about yours. And they’re willing to make sacrifices too for their God.” All of that is true, is it not? And we see that exemplified in these prophets of Baal. They are very zealous for their faith. They’re willing to lacerate themselves. They’re willing to puncture their bodies until their blood flows. And so their level of commitment is much higher than that of most Christians I know, but that doesn’t make it true, does it? God wants those who will worship him in spirit and in truth, for there is a true God and Baal is a false god. And so zeal in worship does not prove the truthfulness, the verity of that religious system. There are many Muslims, for example, that are willing to lay down their lives in suicide bombing attempts, aren’t they? They’re willing to die for what they believe. Does that make their belief true and accurate? No, it does not.
“God wants those who will worship him in spirit and in truth, for there is a true God and Baal is a false god. And so zeal in worship does not prove the truthfulness…”
So zeal in religion is not enough. The Apostle Paul himself, when he was going around from place to place persecuting Christians, exemplified the zeal of a rejecting Judaism, a Judaism that had turned away from Christ. And he was willing to go from place to place, he was willing to drag people off and put them to death. His zeal was strong and powerful, but Paul later repudiated it, didn’t he? He said it’s a zeal without knowledge. It’s a false zeal. And so let’s not be duped. There are people that will throw themselves into their religion far more than we ever will to ours, to our shame I must say. The Jehovah’s Witnesses will go from door to door tirelessly, knocking on doors, reaching out. The Mormons will take two years of their young people’s lives and send them all over the world as missionaries. Their level of commitment in some cases is so much higher than ours. But it does not mean that their religion is true.
So as they’re dancing around, as Baal is being called upon, there is no answer. The silence is eloquent. “No one answered,” it says. “No one heard at all.” You know why? Because there was no one there. Baal is a false deity. He’s an emptiness. He’s a nothing. Psalm 115 says, “Why do the nations say, where is their God?” It’s very interesting, Psalm 115, the nations say, “the Jews have no God because they have no images, no idols. We can’t see their God, so they must have no God.” And so they say, “Where is their God?” The psalmist answered, “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.” Isn’t that a wonderful answer? That’s where our God is. He’s in heaven. And that day, he was in heaven waiting for a simple prayer from Elijah, and he would pour down fire. But at this point, he was quiet and so was Baal because Baal doesn’t exist. The psalmist continues in Psalm 115, “Our God is in heaven. He does whatever pleases him. But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear. They have noses, but they cannot smell. They have hands, but cannot feel, they have feet, but they cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats.” They are mute; they’re silent. The idols and the gods behind them. “Those who make them will be like them and all who trust in them.” Do you hear that? You become like what you worship. Isn’t that amazing? As you focus on the God of the Bible, you focus on Christ. You look at him and worship him; you are transformed into his image little by little. But here, these Baal worshipers, little by little are being transformed into that of an idol with deaf ears, blind eyes and mouths that cannot speak. And so there is no answer because there is no god, there’s no Baal. But there is a Satan, is there not? And there are demonic forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Now, wouldn’t you love to have seen what was going on in the heavenly realms around Mount Carmel at that point? Wouldn’t that have been dramatic to see what was happening with Satan and his demons? How much would they have loved to just put a little spark under that sacrifice, just a little bit of fire to persuade the people that Baal really was a god? Satan would love to have done it. And you know something, at the end of the world God will permit him to do miracles. Did you know that? Through the antichrist, he will enable the antichrist to do great signs and wonders and miracles, and many people will be deluded and deceived by this. 2 Thessalonians mentions this, “The coming of the lawless one [that’s the antichrist] will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders.” It’s coming folks, Jesus said, “to deceive even the elect if that were possible.” Well, it’s not possible because his sheep hear his voice and they will not follow another. They know it’s counterfeit miracles. But the antichrist will do many miracles through the power of Satan really. Revelation 13 gives us a clear indication of this. Revelation 13:11-14, “Then I saw another beast coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf. And made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast whose fatal wound had been healed. And he performed great and miraculous signs [listen] even causing fire to come down from heaven in full view of men.” Did you hear that? So at the end of the world, the antichrist will do this exact same thing, but not that day. Satan was not given freedom; he was not given power or ability to have fire come down from heaven that day.
Now, all false religions have, I believe, a demonic side. I think behind every world religion, every non-Christian world religion, there is a demonic influence. 1 Timothy 4:1 says, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and the doctrines of demons.” Did you hear that? So the demons concoct these religious systems, and then they act as Baal impersonators, that’s how it works. And so they stand there behind the worship and they do little things and persuade people that Baal is real. They’re Baal impersonators. And so demons are worshiped. Book of Deuteronomy speaks of this in the Song of Moses. Speaking of Israel, it says, “Jeshurun grew fat and kicked;” this is speaking of Israel. “Filled with food, he became heavy and sleek. He,” this is speaking of Israel now, “abandoned the God who made him and rejected the Rock his Savior. They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered Him with their detestable idols.” Listen, this is Deuteronomy 32:17, “They sacrificed to demons which are not God- gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your fathers did not fear. You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.” So there he predicts- the Song of Moses predicts that Israel will sacrifice to demons. They will worship demonic powers. One of the names is Baal. Asherah would be another one. And so the whole Baal system of worship came from demons, and how much I’m sure the demons longed to show themselves that day. But the beauty of the whole thing is that Satan is on a leash, is he not? He’s held back by the power of God. He can do nothing except at the permission of God. You know this from the book of Job, he’s got to go and ask permission. He said, “Now God, you’re frustrating me. I would love to get at Job, but you put a hedge around him and everything he has, and I just can’t get at him.” And so God opens up the hedge according to his own command, and fire does come down from heaven and kills and destroys Job’s people and possessions. And so Satan is well capable of doing this if God will permit it, but God simply would not permit it that day.
All false religious systems are ultimately demonic. Listen to 1 Corinthians 10 speaking of this very same thing. “Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything or that an idol is anything? No, but listen, the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.” Do you hear that? So all the idolatrous sacrifices are really being offered to these spiritual beings, demonic forces of evil in the heavenly realms. But they were silent that day, praise God. Aren’t you glad that God restrains the power of the devil and all of his angels? Aren’t you glad that they have to come and ask permission to get at you? Aren’t you glad that God filters out the temptations, so that nothing comes at you except what you’re able to bear? And with that temptation makes a way of escape so that you can bear up under it? Aren’t you glad that God will not just let the devil have free rein in your life or in the world, but he restrains everything that the devil does? Aren’t you glad that he’s simply a created being? And when God says so, it’s all over for the devil. Aren’t you glad about that? I am. And so A.W. Pink speaks of that altar. He says, “The Baal altar stood cold and smokeless, the bullock was unconsumed. The powerlessness of Baal and the folly of his worshipers was made fully apparent. The vanity and absurdity of idolatry stood completely exposed. No false religion is able to send down fire upon a vicarious sacrifice. No false religion can put away sin, bestow the Holy Spirit, or grant supernatural answers to prayer. Tested at these three points, they all fail, as did Baal worshipers that day. They cannot take away sin. They cannot answer supernaturally with fire. They cannot send down fire from heaven. They cannot send the Holy Spirit. All of these things they cannot do. And so they’re ultimately weak and impotent.”
“Aren’t you glad that God filters out the temptations, so that nothing comes at you except what you’re able to bear? And with that temptation makes a way of escape so that you can bear up under it? “
Well, you have to give it to the prophets of Baal. They certainly were persistent. Hour after hour, they danced around until finally Elijah thinks it’s about time to add some taunting, a little bit of sarcasm, a little bit of mockery. And so he begins to make fun of them. In verse 27, it says, “Shout louder. Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought; he’s distracted, he’s thinking about something. Keep at it, maybe you’ll get his attention soon enough. Or maybe he’s busy or maybe he’s traveling, maybe he’s sleeping and he must be awakened.” Now, Elijah’s sarcasm you may think is an ungodly thing, but not at all. Because the Bible makes it very plain that God mocks this kind of unbelief. If you look at Psalm 2, it says, “Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his anointed one, ‘let us break their chains’ they say, ‘and throw off their fetters.’” Now listen, Psalm 2:4, “The One enthroned in heaven laughs at them; the Lord scoffs at them.” So there’s laughter and there’s mocking from heaven as God looks at these idolatrous systems that shake their fist, their puny little fist at God, and he laughs down because they’re just grasshoppers before him. But then Psalm 2:5 says, “Then he rebukes them in his anger, and terrifies them with his wrath.” These prophets of Baal are acting out their last few hours on earth. They’re going to die that day, and they’re going to face their Creator. They’re going to face him without an atoning sacrifice. They’re going to go to hell. And so this mocking is just the final warning to repent and turn away from this idolatrous system.
Take a minute if you would, and look at Proverbs Chapter 1, had a similar thought. The whole book of Proverbs is given to explain what wisdom is that we would know a truly wise life. And we learn from the book of Proverbs that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And God stands and reaches out with both hands all day long. He says, “I’ve held up my hands to a disobedient and rebellious people.” He has warned them again and again. There’s been ample time for them to repent. Three and a half years the drought’s been going on. And so wisdom reaches out to the people and says, “Come and follow me, and I’ll give you the richest of fare.” But look at verse 24, Proverbs 1:24, “But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand, since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke; I in turn will laugh at your disaster. I will mock when calamity overtakes you, when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. Then they will call to me, but I will not answer; they will look for me, but they will not find me, since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord. Since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.” Do you see that? God stands with his wisdom and reaches out to sinners, and he invites them to turn away from their foolish and sinful ways. To turn away from my idolatry, to turn away from sin. But if they harden their hearts and will not listen, if they reject his advice, in turn he will turn from them and he will mock them, and in the end they will be destroyed.
So if you go back to 1 Kings 18, we see Elijah basically as a mouthpiece of God taunting and mocking these false prophets. Well, did they listen to his mockery? Did they say what are we doing? Did realization hit them that they were wasting their time, that Baal was a false God and nothing would come? No, they only try harder. They’re going to try harder. They’re not doing it enough. They’re not making enough effort in religion, and so they’re going to try harder. And so what they do is they begin to lacerate themselves. They begin to puncture themselves with swords and spears until their blood flows. Now, note the cruelty of pagan worship, the cruelty and viciousness of this idolatry system. It says it was their custom to do this. This is what they did frequently, so it wasn’t anything new. And so the doctrine of demons is ultimately vicious and hate filled, isn’t it? Ultimately, it’s cruel and vicious. And why? Because Satan hates you. He hates the image of God, and he wants to attack. And if he can somehow persuade you to hurt yourself, to lacerate yourself so that your own blood will flow, then he’s just carrying out his hatred of God in your own body. You think about some of the pagan worship systems all over the world. Think about in the middle America, the Aztec system, the human sacrifices they used to do, they’re unspeakably cruel and disgusting, repulsive. The doctrine of demons leads to this kind of cruelty and viciousness. Psalm 16:4, David put it this way, “The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on my lips.” And so their flowing blood is supposed to appease Baal and supposed to make him more disposed to listen to them. And it’s funny how Satan perverts true religion. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness, blood must flow. The blood of the sacrifice must flow, but the sacrifice is already on the altar, they’re going add to it their own blood as though that somehow are going to atone for their sins. It cannot. The blood of Jesus Christ is sufficient. You see the perversion here, their own blood and not all of it, only some of it. Jesus poured out his blood unto death for an atoning sacrifice for our sins. And these priests, by the way, they are Jews after all, let’s keep that in mind. They were doing what was expressly forbidden in the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 14 says, “You are the children of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves. Do not shave the front of your heads for the dead. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.”
We also see, I think, intrinsic in false religious systems is a concept that harming your body will somehow advance you with God. We even see this in medieval Catholicism. And some of these monks would go out and do extended fastings and extended beatings and flagellations. They would wear things called hair-shirts with the hair turned inside so that they would constantly be tormenting their flesh. As though this somehow had any value in advancing them in religion, advancing them in their relationship with God. Colossians Chapter 2 talks about this, “Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.” The punishment of the body doesn’t advance you at all. But what does, the mortification of sin by the power of the Spirit. Now that’s something different. By the power of the Spirit to put sin to death, now that advances you if you have already come to faith in Christ through justification.
“By the power of the Spirit to put sin to death, now that advances you if you have already come to faith in Christ through justification.”
Well, the prophets of Baal have done everything they can. They exhaust themselves, literally nothing more for them to do. They’ve done everything. They’ve danced around the altar, they’ve lacerated themselves, they’ve cried out to Baal for hours and hours. And the time has come for Elijah to move. In verse 30, it says, “Elijah said to all the people, ‘Come here to me,’” “come close to me.” It’s the time of the evening sacrifice about 3:00 in the afternoon. And he, I think the prophet at this point, is representing God. What is the point of this whole contest on Mount Carmel? Is it not to bring the people back to God? Isn’t that the whole point? To show Baal worship to be empty and nothing, so that the people will reject it. And to show that the worship of the true and living God is everything so that the people will be attracted again to God. And so he says, “Come near to me. Come stand near me.” That is exactly what he is doing.
Now, Elijah has, in effect here on Mount Carmel, made a three-fold appeal to the people. First of all, he’s appealed to their conscience. Remember, he said, “How long are you going to stumble or waiver between two convictions? If the Lord is God, follow him; if Baal is God, follow him.” So he is appealing to their conscience, but they remain silent. Secondly, he appeals to their reason. He says, “I have an idea. Let’s set up a contest between God and Baal, and you will be able to see side by side which of the two religions has power and which does not.” So he’s appealing there to your reason, “Judge for yourselves people who is the true God,” that’s what he’s doing. Now, he’s going to appeal to their hearts, and he does it by pointing to this broken down old altar. An altar to the Lord. And he begins to rebuild it. He begins to put it back together again. He takes these stones and begins to put them together. How often in your Christian life does God do this to you? How often does he appeal to your memory to bring you back to where you should be, where you should have been? Perhaps you’ve backslidden, you’ve slid away from a worship of the true and living God, and he reminds you of how it used to be in your life. He appeals to your memory. Think about Revelation 2:4-5, the church at Ephesus. Christ speaking to the church through the Holy Spirit says, “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.” Isn’t that painful to hear Christ say that to you? “You’ve forsaken your first love. It’s not an accident. It was a willful choice you made. You exchanged me for something idolatry or something earthly. You turned away from your first love.” And what is the very next thing that he says to him? He says, “Remember the height from which you have fallen. Repent and do the things you did at first.” “Remember how it used to be for you. Remember how in your earlier days in your walk with Christ, how you used to pray for a long time, how you used to love reading the Bible, how you couldn’t wait to go to church, how you enjoyed singing hymns and Psalms and spiritual songs. How you just loved to witness, how you had a freshness and excitement to your life with Christ. Remember that height from which you have fallen, repent and go back to where you were before.” And I think that’s what he’s doing. He’s deliberately kind of slowly building this altar up, and it takes time too. God is patient. It’s going to take time. I don’t think he had any help. They’re all standing and watching, “Well, what’s going to happen next? I don’t want to get anywhere near that sacrifice, something might happen.” And so Elijah alone is building this up, and he uses these 12 stones. And the 12 stones clearly represent the 12 tribes of Israel. They were God’s people. They were called Israel. And how powerful is this? Elijah is doing his ministry in the nation called Israel, which was not truly Israel, but just the 10 northern tribes. There’d been a separation between northern Israel and southern Judah. God’s people had been rent, had been ripped in two, right? So there were 10 tribes that King Ahab was king over. And then there were the two tribes in Judah. There’d been a separation and why? Because of Solomon’s idolatry and wickedness, and Rehoboam’s rebellion as well. And so there’d been a separation, but in God’s mind it was one people still. You see, there’s an essential unity here, isn’t there? 12 stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel and so the altar was built up.
We also see Elijah continually regulated here by the Law of Moses. In Exodus 20, it says, “If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you’ll defile it if you use a tool on it.” So you can’t take a chisel and a hammer and get them all smooth and perfect looking. “Take those stones as they are, just as you find them, and stack them up. Stones that I made, you haven’t done anything to them, and just put them on it.” He doesn’t want any idols at all. Nothing human, but just put that altar together. And so he’s just doing everything according to the law of the Lord. And it says the altar is built in the name of the Lord. Look what he says, he’s going to build the altar. Verse 31, “Elijah took 12 stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come saying, ‘Your name shall be Israel.’” And verse 32, “With the stones, he built an altar in the name of the Lord.” Now what does that mean? Well, I think it means two things. Number one, he builds an altar in the name of the Lord, means at his command. God commanded. “By whose name are you doing this?” “In the name of the Lord I build this altar, he told me to do it,” number one. And number two, in the name of the Lord means, “I build this altar for his glory, for his reputation, that his name may shine and be proclaimed. I want you to see how great is God.” So that’s what it means. To do something by God’s word and his authority, number one. And number two, to do it for his glory and his reputation. Just stop for a minute and apply this to yourselves. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if everything you did, you did in the name of the Lord? If at every moment you say, “Do I have a word from God on this issue? Has he spoken to this? Am I doing this under his command?” Secondly, “Am I doing this for his glory?” A good test of that is, can you pray God’s blessing down upon whatever you’re doing at any given moment? Could you stop a minute and just say, “Lord, please bless what I’m doing right now?” If you can, you’re doing it in the name of the Lord. It says in Colossians 3:17, “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” Ain’t it sweet that the name Jesus has been added to the word Lord so we know who he is? In the name of the Lord Jesus, we’ll do all things by his word and for his glory.
And so Elijah built that altar, and then he cuts up the sacrifice in pieces as per the word of the Lord in Leviticus 1:6-8. He lines it up. And the Baal worshipers didn’t do any of this. They just threw it together, and who cares, right? Because they had no commands on this matter. God had given commands on this matter, and Elijah follows them to the letter. He cuts the sacrifice up, and arranges it in pieces on the wood just as God had commanded. “He who is faithful in little will be faithful in much. He who is dishonest in little will be dishonest in much.” Elijah is about to pray to God. His own reputation and God’s will be on the line when he prays. He better be faithful and do everything the way God said. And so he does it completely by the word of God. Now, I think it’s important for ministers of the word of God to be meticulously careful in how they handle the word of God, isn’t it? I think all of us need to be careful, we all need to be faithful. But here, Elijah is not just anyone. He is ministering to God. He’s going to offer a sacrifice. And so it’s very important for ministers of the Lord to do all things according to his command, right? And so it says in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to show yourselves approved unto God, a workman who do not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” I think about that. Just as Elijah rightly cut up that bullock just as God had said, so we must handle the word of God and be faithful. I think about this. Actually, somebody quoted this verse to me once. I won’t say who it is, but Jeremiah 48:10 says, “Cursed be the one who does the Lord’s work negligently.” What a comforting message, isn’t it? Cursed be the one who’s negligent in God’s work. Do it the way God said. And so I take that seriously, and Elijah did that day. And then he says, “Let’s pour some water on this sacrifice.” And he pours four buckets or barrels of water, right? Now you might ask, “Where in the world after three and a half years of drought do they get four barrels of water?” And the answer is, I have no idea. Now there might be salt water because Mount Carmel’s right near the ocean. So they may have been salt water that would do the job just fine. Or they may have been precious barrels of water that King Ahab was storing up for that Baal feast afterwards that he was… they were going to drink some water, right? Either way, four barrels of water poured on there. And then Elijah says, “Do it again.” Okay, eight barrels of water. And then he says, “Do it a third time.” Okay, how many barrels of water are we up to now? 12. Just an accident. These are the kind of things that just kind of happen in the word of God. 12 barrels of water poured on this. And why? Because God loves to set up obstacles and then overcome them. He loves to show his power by doing something that only he can do. And so it’s like a little lake up there by the time they get done, there’s water everywhere. It’s like a pond, there’s just water dripping all over everything. It’s just the exact opposite of that which will burn, humanly speaking. And so God is setting up an obstacle. It reminds me of the time when he calls out Gideon with an army, and they’re going to go take on the Midianites, right? And what does He say to Gideon? He says, “Gideon, you have too many men here.” Has there ever been a general that thought that, “Gee, my army’s just too big, I need to send most of them home.” And then he says that a second time to Gideon, “It’s still too many men here. I don’t want you boasting against me that you did it by your own strength.” That’s what he says. So he gets it down to 300 guys who can lap water like a dog, and they’re going to hold pots, and they’re going to crash them and stand there and watch God win the victory. “Yeah, but I was a pot holder that day.” Well, there’s not really much in that is there? God honored and glorified his own name. God loves to set up obstacles that only he can overcome. And so that sacrifice is totally drenched with water.
You know something? We are in the business of removing obstacles and difficulties all the time, aren’t we? You look at car manufacturers, how many difficulties are they seeking to overcome for you? Electric seats, that little air bladder. We’ve got this little thing that adjusts just to your lumbar region if you… Do you have one of those? They’re always thinking of ways to remove difficulties from your life. God is actually thinking of ways to put difficulties in your life, and yet not discourage you. How much difficulty can he or she handle today? That’s how much I’m going to measure out. Why, because that’s when you grow in faith. When you see God do things that only he can do. Constantly trying to remove the difficulties, here, God tells Elijah, “Put some difficulty in there. It’s too easy right now. Everything’s crackling dry, and waiting to ignite. I want them to know what happened here that day.” And so it’s soaked, soaked, soaked. And at the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah draws near to the people. He comes near to them, and he prays.
Now it’s interesting, it’s the time of the evening sacrifice. Evening sacrifice is done where? Well, it’s done at the temple in Jerusalem, right? And so there’s a solidarity there. That sacrifice is going to go on the exact same time as the one going on in Israel or in Jerusalem. And it all points to Christ, doesn’t it? All old covenant sacrifice points ahead to Christ. There’s that dead bull on there, and the wrath and the fire is going to fall down from heaven on the bull and not on the people. Praise God for that. That is the essence of your salvation. It’s on the substitute that the wrath falls. It’s on the substitute that the judgment comes, not on you, not on the people.
And so Elijah steps forward and he prays. And this is what he prays, “O Lord, 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, O Lord, answer me, so that these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you’re turning their hearts back again.” 63 words in the English translation, that’s it. It reminds me of Jesus’s even shorter prayer in front of Lazarus’s tomb. “Father, I thank you that you heard me. I know that you always hear me, but I’m praying for the benefit of the people standing around here that they will know that you sent me,” end of prayer. That’s it. What a contrast to the kind of praying that went on for hours by the prophets of Baal. Jesus said this, “When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them for your heavenly Father knows what you need before you ask,” right? The real issue is that Elijah had prepared himself all his life for this moment. He was holy, he was righteous. He was there at God’s command. And in the prayer he says that, he says, “I want them to know that you are God, you alone are God, and that I am here as your servant and have done all this only at your word.” So many people think faith is just leaping out and doing something big and spectacular, and God will have to bless it. Is that what faith is? Jesus was tempted that way. “Jump off the pinnacle of the temple.” Jesus said, “No, because I have no word from my father to do that. And when he tells me to jump off the pinnacle of the temple, he will send his angels to rescue me. But until then, I’m not jumping.” Faith instead steps inside the will of God and doesn’t go out. And so it was God that told him to do this whole contest. Yes, God wanted this done. God is a spectacular being. He wanted this thing done, this wasn’t Elijah’s idea. And so everything that he had done, he had done at the command of God’s simple prayer.
And what was the goal? Verse 37, “Answer me, O Lord, answer me so that these people will know that you O Lord are God and that you’re turning their hearts back again.” Can you control your heart? Think about it. Can you turn your heart back to God? Who does the heart turning here according to Elijah? It’s God who must turn your heart. Ask him. Ask him. If your heart is hard, say, “God soften my heart.” How many prayers are there in the Psalms about one’s heart, the psalmist’s heart? “God work in my heart. Move in my heart, change my heart. Transform my heart.” And here, Elijah prays, “Turn their heart back to you.” And that’s exactly God’s point. It’s his purpose. And then in verse 38, it says, “Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil.” Do you see that? The dirt. He burned up the dirt? Yes, He burned up the dirt. He burned up the stones? Yes, He burned up the stones. Do you know that everything has a burning point? Did you realize that? Every single material has a combustion point. It’s all burnable. And the word of God says it’s all going to burn someday. All the soil, all the stones, all of it are going to be consumed, 2 Peter 3, in a huge fire that will melt the elements. That’s what it says, stoicheio, the Greek word for element will melt in the heat. It’s kind of a nuclear thing, Steve, I’ll talk about that later. But it’s a melting of the elements. God is capable of burning anything. And you know why? Because our God is a consuming fire. We love to say, “O God, he is love,” and he is love. He’s also holy. He is a consuming fire, and he consumed that sacrifice that day. Would’ve done it to the people had it not been for Jesus. Do you understand that? If it weren’t for Jesus, he would’ve consumed the people that day, and they would’ve deserved it. But thank God for Jesus. Thank God that He is our atoning sacrifice.
Now, one final footnote: 450 prophets of Baal. They perished that day, and they perished under the law of Moses because they were false teachers. There was no outreach to the prophets of Baal. There was no effort made by Elijah on their part. They were false prophets and false teachers. And false prophets and false teachers are the vicious enemies of the church. Always have been; always will be. The most damage ever done is done by false doctrine, by false teaching. And so under the law of Moses, they perished that day. It was a theocracy. God ruled, and his law said they must perish, and they did perish that day. Next, God willing, the rain comes. And you know something, it’s no accident that first we deal with this, the fire falling from heaven, and then God’s blessing is opened up. The hearts turn back to the people. They fall to the ground and say, “The Lord, he is God. The Lord, he is God.” And then God’s ready to send the rain again. Think about your own life. Are there any idols that are creeping into your hearts? Is your heart hard toward God? Turn to him. Repent. Do the things you did before. The church at Ephesus in Revelation 2 said that. Allow God to move in you today.
Andy Davis preaches an expository sermon on 1 Kings 18:17-40. The main subject of the sermon is Elijah’s trial of the false prophets.
Please, if you would, take your Bibles. We’re looking tonight at 1 Kings Chapter 18, at the contest at Mount Carmel. We began this last week, and this has got to be one of the most exciting passages of scripture you’re going to find in the Old Testament. I can’t imagine a more dramatic contest than the one we get at Mount Carmel between Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal. I mean, think about it, if you could go back in time to events in the Old Testament, don’t you think this would be on your top 10 list to just stand there and see it? To see the fire fall from heaven, and the look on people’s faces as they fall down to the ground and say, “the Lord, he is God,” but you know you wouldn’t be seeing their faces because you’d be falling on the ground too and saying, “the Lord, he is God.” And so it’s a dramatic encounter, and it’s one that brings great glory to God. And that was his whole point; his desire was to glorify himself. Now, we’ve already looked at half of this encounter, but I’m going to begin reading where I began last time at verse 17 or verse… Yeah, verse 17, “When Ahab 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 he gives him the contest. He says,
“Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel and bring the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.” So Ahab sent word through all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waiver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, then follow him, but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing. Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has 450 prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood, but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call in the name of your god, and I will call in the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire, he is God.” Then all the people said, “What you say is good.” Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” So they took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “O Baal, answer us,” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. 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. Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which was in ruins. Elijah took 12 stones. One for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 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. At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “O Lord, 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, O Lord, answer me, so that these people will know that you, O 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.” Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away.” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.
Now when we looked at it last time, we talked about the fact that Elijah gave to the prophets of Baal the opportunity to go first. They were allowed to select the sacrifice. They were allowed to go first and to cut it apart, and to lay it out, and they were allowed to do all of their work first. Now I think it makes sense that he did it this way. Number one, he wanted to show that he was willing to give any advantage to the prophets of Baal. He was willing to allow them to go first and to do whatever they needed to do first. But we know also that God was going to answer with fire that day, wasn’t he? And if Elijah had gone first, there would’ve been no need for the prophets of Baal to go. And God fully intended not only to establish himself as the true God, but to show Baal for the fraud that he really is. He wanted to strip Baal of any power. He wanted to show Baal to be the emptiness that he is. And so Elijah said, “go first.” And so these prophets began their prophesying. They prophesied energetically. They danced with strength and power around the altar. And as I think about that scene, I think about how easily duped are so many of our people. We think about religions around the world, and people, our neighbors, coworkers as we’re witnessing, they’ll say to us, “you’re very zealous for your religion, but there are other people that are every bit of zealous for their religion as you are for yours. They believe every bit as much in their God as you do in yours. They’re every bit as sincere about their God as you are about yours. And they’re willing to make sacrifices too for their God.” All of that is true, is it not? And we see that exemplified in these prophets of Baal. They are very zealous for their faith. They’re willing to lacerate themselves. They’re willing to puncture their bodies until their blood flows. And so their level of commitment is much higher than that of most Christians I know, but that doesn’t make it true, does it? God wants those who will worship him in spirit and in truth, for there is a true God and Baal is a false god. And so zeal in worship does not prove the truthfulness, the verity of that religious system. There are many Muslims, for example, that are willing to lay down their lives in suicide bombing attempts, aren’t they? They’re willing to die for what they believe. Does that make their belief true and accurate? No, it does not.
“God wants those who will worship him in spirit and in truth, for there is a true God and Baal is a false god. And so zeal in worship does not prove the truthfulness…”
So zeal in religion is not enough. The Apostle Paul himself, when he was going around from place to place persecuting Christians, exemplified the zeal of a rejecting Judaism, a Judaism that had turned away from Christ. And he was willing to go from place to place, he was willing to drag people off and put them to death. His zeal was strong and powerful, but Paul later repudiated it, didn’t he? He said it’s a zeal without knowledge. It’s a false zeal. And so let’s not be duped. There are people that will throw themselves into their religion far more than we ever will to ours, to our shame I must say. The Jehovah’s Witnesses will go from door to door tirelessly, knocking on doors, reaching out. The Mormons will take two years of their young people’s lives and send them all over the world as missionaries. Their level of commitment in some cases is so much higher than ours. But it does not mean that their religion is true.
So as they’re dancing around, as Baal is being called upon, there is no answer. The silence is eloquent. “No one answered,” it says. “No one heard at all.” You know why? Because there was no one there. Baal is a false deity. He’s an emptiness. He’s a nothing. Psalm 115 says, “Why do the nations say, where is their God?” It’s very interesting, Psalm 115, the nations say, “the Jews have no God because they have no images, no idols. We can’t see their God, so they must have no God.” And so they say, “Where is their God?” The psalmist answered, “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.” Isn’t that a wonderful answer? That’s where our God is. He’s in heaven. And that day, he was in heaven waiting for a simple prayer from Elijah, and he would pour down fire. But at this point, he was quiet and so was Baal because Baal doesn’t exist. The psalmist continues in Psalm 115, “Our God is in heaven. He does whatever pleases him. But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear. They have noses, but they cannot smell. They have hands, but cannot feel, they have feet, but they cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats.” They are mute; they’re silent. The idols and the gods behind them. “Those who make them will be like them and all who trust in them.” Do you hear that? You become like what you worship. Isn’t that amazing? As you focus on the God of the Bible, you focus on Christ. You look at him and worship him; you are transformed into his image little by little. But here, these Baal worshipers, little by little are being transformed into that of an idol with deaf ears, blind eyes and mouths that cannot speak. And so there is no answer because there is no god, there’s no Baal. But there is a Satan, is there not? And there are demonic forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Now, wouldn’t you love to have seen what was going on in the heavenly realms around Mount Carmel at that point? Wouldn’t that have been dramatic to see what was happening with Satan and his demons? How much would they have loved to just put a little spark under that sacrifice, just a little bit of fire to persuade the people that Baal really was a god? Satan would love to have done it. And you know something, at the end of the world God will permit him to do miracles. Did you know that? Through the antichrist, he will enable the antichrist to do great signs and wonders and miracles, and many people will be deluded and deceived by this. 2 Thessalonians mentions this, “The coming of the lawless one [that’s the antichrist] will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders.” It’s coming folks, Jesus said, “to deceive even the elect if that were possible.” Well, it’s not possible because his sheep hear his voice and they will not follow another. They know it’s counterfeit miracles. But the antichrist will do many miracles through the power of Satan really. Revelation 13 gives us a clear indication of this. Revelation 13:11-14, “Then I saw another beast coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf. And made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast whose fatal wound had been healed. And he performed great and miraculous signs [listen] even causing fire to come down from heaven in full view of men.” Did you hear that? So at the end of the world, the antichrist will do this exact same thing, but not that day. Satan was not given freedom; he was not given power or ability to have fire come down from heaven that day.
Now, all false religions have, I believe, a demonic side. I think behind every world religion, every non-Christian world religion, there is a demonic influence. 1 Timothy 4:1 says, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and the doctrines of demons.” Did you hear that? So the demons concoct these religious systems, and then they act as Baal impersonators, that’s how it works. And so they stand there behind the worship and they do little things and persuade people that Baal is real. They’re Baal impersonators. And so demons are worshiped. Book of Deuteronomy speaks of this in the Song of Moses. Speaking of Israel, it says, “Jeshurun grew fat and kicked;” this is speaking of Israel. “Filled with food, he became heavy and sleek. He,” this is speaking of Israel now, “abandoned the God who made him and rejected the Rock his Savior. They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered Him with their detestable idols.” Listen, this is Deuteronomy 32:17, “They sacrificed to demons which are not God- gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your fathers did not fear. You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.” So there he predicts- the Song of Moses predicts that Israel will sacrifice to demons. They will worship demonic powers. One of the names is Baal. Asherah would be another one. And so the whole Baal system of worship came from demons, and how much I’m sure the demons longed to show themselves that day. But the beauty of the whole thing is that Satan is on a leash, is he not? He’s held back by the power of God. He can do nothing except at the permission of God. You know this from the book of Job, he’s got to go and ask permission. He said, “Now God, you’re frustrating me. I would love to get at Job, but you put a hedge around him and everything he has, and I just can’t get at him.” And so God opens up the hedge according to his own command, and fire does come down from heaven and kills and destroys Job’s people and possessions. And so Satan is well capable of doing this if God will permit it, but God simply would not permit it that day.
All false religious systems are ultimately demonic. Listen to 1 Corinthians 10 speaking of this very same thing. “Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything or that an idol is anything? No, but listen, the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.” Do you hear that? So all the idolatrous sacrifices are really being offered to these spiritual beings, demonic forces of evil in the heavenly realms. But they were silent that day, praise God. Aren’t you glad that God restrains the power of the devil and all of his angels? Aren’t you glad that they have to come and ask permission to get at you? Aren’t you glad that God filters out the temptations, so that nothing comes at you except what you’re able to bear? And with that temptation makes a way of escape so that you can bear up under it? Aren’t you glad that God will not just let the devil have free rein in your life or in the world, but he restrains everything that the devil does? Aren’t you glad that he’s simply a created being? And when God says so, it’s all over for the devil. Aren’t you glad about that? I am. And so A.W. Pink speaks of that altar. He says, “The Baal altar stood cold and smokeless, the bullock was unconsumed. The powerlessness of Baal and the folly of his worshipers was made fully apparent. The vanity and absurdity of idolatry stood completely exposed. No false religion is able to send down fire upon a vicarious sacrifice. No false religion can put away sin, bestow the Holy Spirit, or grant supernatural answers to prayer. Tested at these three points, they all fail, as did Baal worshipers that day. They cannot take away sin. They cannot answer supernaturally with fire. They cannot send down fire from heaven. They cannot send the Holy Spirit. All of these things they cannot do. And so they’re ultimately weak and impotent.”
“Aren’t you glad that God filters out the temptations, so that nothing comes at you except what you’re able to bear? And with that temptation makes a way of escape so that you can bear up under it? “
Well, you have to give it to the prophets of Baal. They certainly were persistent. Hour after hour, they danced around until finally Elijah thinks it’s about time to add some taunting, a little bit of sarcasm, a little bit of mockery. And so he begins to make fun of them. In verse 27, it says, “Shout louder. Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought; he’s distracted, he’s thinking about something. Keep at it, maybe you’ll get his attention soon enough. Or maybe he’s busy or maybe he’s traveling, maybe he’s sleeping and he must be awakened.” Now, Elijah’s sarcasm you may think is an ungodly thing, but not at all. Because the Bible makes it very plain that God mocks this kind of unbelief. If you look at Psalm 2, it says, “Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his anointed one, ‘let us break their chains’ they say, ‘and throw off their fetters.’” Now listen, Psalm 2:4, “The One enthroned in heaven laughs at them; the Lord scoffs at them.” So there’s laughter and there’s mocking from heaven as God looks at these idolatrous systems that shake their fist, their puny little fist at God, and he laughs down because they’re just grasshoppers before him. But then Psalm 2:5 says, “Then he rebukes them in his anger, and terrifies them with his wrath.” These prophets of Baal are acting out their last few hours on earth. They’re going to die that day, and they’re going to face their Creator. They’re going to face him without an atoning sacrifice. They’re going to go to hell. And so this mocking is just the final warning to repent and turn away from this idolatrous system.
Take a minute if you would, and look at Proverbs Chapter 1, had a similar thought. The whole book of Proverbs is given to explain what wisdom is that we would know a truly wise life. And we learn from the book of Proverbs that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And God stands and reaches out with both hands all day long. He says, “I’ve held up my hands to a disobedient and rebellious people.” He has warned them again and again. There’s been ample time for them to repent. Three and a half years the drought’s been going on. And so wisdom reaches out to the people and says, “Come and follow me, and I’ll give you the richest of fare.” But look at verse 24, Proverbs 1:24, “But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand, since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke; I in turn will laugh at your disaster. I will mock when calamity overtakes you, when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. Then they will call to me, but I will not answer; they will look for me, but they will not find me, since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord. Since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.” Do you see that? God stands with his wisdom and reaches out to sinners, and he invites them to turn away from their foolish and sinful ways. To turn away from my idolatry, to turn away from sin. But if they harden their hearts and will not listen, if they reject his advice, in turn he will turn from them and he will mock them, and in the end they will be destroyed.
So if you go back to 1 Kings 18, we see Elijah basically as a mouthpiece of God taunting and mocking these false prophets. Well, did they listen to his mockery? Did they say what are we doing? Did realization hit them that they were wasting their time, that Baal was a false God and nothing would come? No, they only try harder. They’re going to try harder. They’re not doing it enough. They’re not making enough effort in religion, and so they’re going to try harder. And so what they do is they begin to lacerate themselves. They begin to puncture themselves with swords and spears until their blood flows. Now, note the cruelty of pagan worship, the cruelty and viciousness of this idolatry system. It says it was their custom to do this. This is what they did frequently, so it wasn’t anything new. And so the doctrine of demons is ultimately vicious and hate filled, isn’t it? Ultimately, it’s cruel and vicious. And why? Because Satan hates you. He hates the image of God, and he wants to attack. And if he can somehow persuade you to hurt yourself, to lacerate yourself so that your own blood will flow, then he’s just carrying out his hatred of God in your own body. You think about some of the pagan worship systems all over the world. Think about in the middle America, the Aztec system, the human sacrifices they used to do, they’re unspeakably cruel and disgusting, repulsive. The doctrine of demons leads to this kind of cruelty and viciousness. Psalm 16:4, David put it this way, “The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on my lips.” And so their flowing blood is supposed to appease Baal and supposed to make him more disposed to listen to them. And it’s funny how Satan perverts true religion. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness, blood must flow. The blood of the sacrifice must flow, but the sacrifice is already on the altar, they’re going add to it their own blood as though that somehow are going to atone for their sins. It cannot. The blood of Jesus Christ is sufficient. You see the perversion here, their own blood and not all of it, only some of it. Jesus poured out his blood unto death for an atoning sacrifice for our sins. And these priests, by the way, they are Jews after all, let’s keep that in mind. They were doing what was expressly forbidden in the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 14 says, “You are the children of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves. Do not shave the front of your heads for the dead. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.”
We also see, I think, intrinsic in false religious systems is a concept that harming your body will somehow advance you with God. We even see this in medieval Catholicism. And some of these monks would go out and do extended fastings and extended beatings and flagellations. They would wear things called hair-shirts with the hair turned inside so that they would constantly be tormenting their flesh. As though this somehow had any value in advancing them in religion, advancing them in their relationship with God. Colossians Chapter 2 talks about this, “Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.” The punishment of the body doesn’t advance you at all. But what does, the mortification of sin by the power of the Spirit. Now that’s something different. By the power of the Spirit to put sin to death, now that advances you if you have already come to faith in Christ through justification.
“By the power of the Spirit to put sin to death, now that advances you if you have already come to faith in Christ through justification.”
Well, the prophets of Baal have done everything they can. They exhaust themselves, literally nothing more for them to do. They’ve done everything. They’ve danced around the altar, they’ve lacerated themselves, they’ve cried out to Baal for hours and hours. And the time has come for Elijah to move. In verse 30, it says, “Elijah said to all the people, ‘Come here to me,’” “come close to me.” It’s the time of the evening sacrifice about 3:00 in the afternoon. And he, I think the prophet at this point, is representing God. What is the point of this whole contest on Mount Carmel? Is it not to bring the people back to God? Isn’t that the whole point? To show Baal worship to be empty and nothing, so that the people will reject it. And to show that the worship of the true and living God is everything so that the people will be attracted again to God. And so he says, “Come near to me. Come stand near me.” That is exactly what he is doing.
Now, Elijah has, in effect here on Mount Carmel, made a three-fold appeal to the people. First of all, he’s appealed to their conscience. Remember, he said, “How long are you going to stumble or waiver between two convictions? If the Lord is God, follow him; if Baal is God, follow him.” So he is appealing to their conscience, but they remain silent. Secondly, he appeals to their reason. He says, “I have an idea. Let’s set up a contest between God and Baal, and you will be able to see side by side which of the two religions has power and which does not.” So he’s appealing there to your reason, “Judge for yourselves people who is the true God,” that’s what he’s doing. Now, he’s going to appeal to their hearts, and he does it by pointing to this broken down old altar. An altar to the Lord. And he begins to rebuild it. He begins to put it back together again. He takes these stones and begins to put them together. How often in your Christian life does God do this to you? How often does he appeal to your memory to bring you back to where you should be, where you should have been? Perhaps you’ve backslidden, you’ve slid away from a worship of the true and living God, and he reminds you of how it used to be in your life. He appeals to your memory. Think about Revelation 2:4-5, the church at Ephesus. Christ speaking to the church through the Holy Spirit says, “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.” Isn’t that painful to hear Christ say that to you? “You’ve forsaken your first love. It’s not an accident. It was a willful choice you made. You exchanged me for something idolatry or something earthly. You turned away from your first love.” And what is the very next thing that he says to him? He says, “Remember the height from which you have fallen. Repent and do the things you did at first.” “Remember how it used to be for you. Remember how in your earlier days in your walk with Christ, how you used to pray for a long time, how you used to love reading the Bible, how you couldn’t wait to go to church, how you enjoyed singing hymns and Psalms and spiritual songs. How you just loved to witness, how you had a freshness and excitement to your life with Christ. Remember that height from which you have fallen, repent and go back to where you were before.” And I think that’s what he’s doing. He’s deliberately kind of slowly building this altar up, and it takes time too. God is patient. It’s going to take time. I don’t think he had any help. They’re all standing and watching, “Well, what’s going to happen next? I don’t want to get anywhere near that sacrifice, something might happen.” And so Elijah alone is building this up, and he uses these 12 stones. And the 12 stones clearly represent the 12 tribes of Israel. They were God’s people. They were called Israel. And how powerful is this? Elijah is doing his ministry in the nation called Israel, which was not truly Israel, but just the 10 northern tribes. There’d been a separation between northern Israel and southern Judah. God’s people had been rent, had been ripped in two, right? So there were 10 tribes that King Ahab was king over. And then there were the two tribes in Judah. There’d been a separation and why? Because of Solomon’s idolatry and wickedness, and Rehoboam’s rebellion as well. And so there’d been a separation, but in God’s mind it was one people still. You see, there’s an essential unity here, isn’t there? 12 stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel and so the altar was built up.
We also see Elijah continually regulated here by the Law of Moses. In Exodus 20, it says, “If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you’ll defile it if you use a tool on it.” So you can’t take a chisel and a hammer and get them all smooth and perfect looking. “Take those stones as they are, just as you find them, and stack them up. Stones that I made, you haven’t done anything to them, and just put them on it.” He doesn’t want any idols at all. Nothing human, but just put that altar together. And so he’s just doing everything according to the law of the Lord. And it says the altar is built in the name of the Lord. Look what he says, he’s going to build the altar. Verse 31, “Elijah took 12 stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come saying, ‘Your name shall be Israel.’” And verse 32, “With the stones, he built an altar in the name of the Lord.” Now what does that mean? Well, I think it means two things. Number one, he builds an altar in the name of the Lord, means at his command. God commanded. “By whose name are you doing this?” “In the name of the Lord I build this altar, he told me to do it,” number one. And number two, in the name of the Lord means, “I build this altar for his glory, for his reputation, that his name may shine and be proclaimed. I want you to see how great is God.” So that’s what it means. To do something by God’s word and his authority, number one. And number two, to do it for his glory and his reputation. Just stop for a minute and apply this to yourselves. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if everything you did, you did in the name of the Lord? If at every moment you say, “Do I have a word from God on this issue? Has he spoken to this? Am I doing this under his command?” Secondly, “Am I doing this for his glory?” A good test of that is, can you pray God’s blessing down upon whatever you’re doing at any given moment? Could you stop a minute and just say, “Lord, please bless what I’m doing right now?” If you can, you’re doing it in the name of the Lord. It says in Colossians 3:17, “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” Ain’t it sweet that the name Jesus has been added to the word Lord so we know who he is? In the name of the Lord Jesus, we’ll do all things by his word and for his glory.
And so Elijah built that altar, and then he cuts up the sacrifice in pieces as per the word of the Lord in Leviticus 1:6-8. He lines it up. And the Baal worshipers didn’t do any of this. They just threw it together, and who cares, right? Because they had no commands on this matter. God had given commands on this matter, and Elijah follows them to the letter. He cuts the sacrifice up, and arranges it in pieces on the wood just as God had commanded. “He who is faithful in little will be faithful in much. He who is dishonest in little will be dishonest in much.” Elijah is about to pray to God. His own reputation and God’s will be on the line when he prays. He better be faithful and do everything the way God said. And so he does it completely by the word of God. Now, I think it’s important for ministers of the word of God to be meticulously careful in how they handle the word of God, isn’t it? I think all of us need to be careful, we all need to be faithful. But here, Elijah is not just anyone. He is ministering to God. He’s going to offer a sacrifice. And so it’s very important for ministers of the Lord to do all things according to his command, right? And so it says in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to show yourselves approved unto God, a workman who do not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” I think about that. Just as Elijah rightly cut up that bullock just as God had said, so we must handle the word of God and be faithful. I think about this. Actually, somebody quoted this verse to me once. I won’t say who it is, but Jeremiah 48:10 says, “Cursed be the one who does the Lord’s work negligently.” What a comforting message, isn’t it? Cursed be the one who’s negligent in God’s work. Do it the way God said. And so I take that seriously, and Elijah did that day. And then he says, “Let’s pour some water on this sacrifice.” And he pours four buckets or barrels of water, right? Now you might ask, “Where in the world after three and a half years of drought do they get four barrels of water?” And the answer is, I have no idea. Now there might be salt water because Mount Carmel’s right near the ocean. So they may have been salt water that would do the job just fine. Or they may have been precious barrels of water that King Ahab was storing up for that Baal feast afterwards that he was… they were going to drink some water, right? Either way, four barrels of water poured on there. And then Elijah says, “Do it again.” Okay, eight barrels of water. And then he says, “Do it a third time.” Okay, how many barrels of water are we up to now? 12. Just an accident. These are the kind of things that just kind of happen in the word of God. 12 barrels of water poured on this. And why? Because God loves to set up obstacles and then overcome them. He loves to show his power by doing something that only he can do. And so it’s like a little lake up there by the time they get done, there’s water everywhere. It’s like a pond, there’s just water dripping all over everything. It’s just the exact opposite of that which will burn, humanly speaking. And so God is setting up an obstacle. It reminds me of the time when he calls out Gideon with an army, and they’re going to go take on the Midianites, right? And what does He say to Gideon? He says, “Gideon, you have too many men here.” Has there ever been a general that thought that, “Gee, my army’s just too big, I need to send most of them home.” And then he says that a second time to Gideon, “It’s still too many men here. I don’t want you boasting against me that you did it by your own strength.” That’s what he says. So he gets it down to 300 guys who can lap water like a dog, and they’re going to hold pots, and they’re going to crash them and stand there and watch God win the victory. “Yeah, but I was a pot holder that day.” Well, there’s not really much in that is there? God honored and glorified his own name. God loves to set up obstacles that only he can overcome. And so that sacrifice is totally drenched with water.
You know something? We are in the business of removing obstacles and difficulties all the time, aren’t we? You look at car manufacturers, how many difficulties are they seeking to overcome for you? Electric seats, that little air bladder. We’ve got this little thing that adjusts just to your lumbar region if you… Do you have one of those? They’re always thinking of ways to remove difficulties from your life. God is actually thinking of ways to put difficulties in your life, and yet not discourage you. How much difficulty can he or she handle today? That’s how much I’m going to measure out. Why, because that’s when you grow in faith. When you see God do things that only he can do. Constantly trying to remove the difficulties, here, God tells Elijah, “Put some difficulty in there. It’s too easy right now. Everything’s crackling dry, and waiting to ignite. I want them to know what happened here that day.” And so it’s soaked, soaked, soaked. And at the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah draws near to the people. He comes near to them, and he prays.
Now it’s interesting, it’s the time of the evening sacrifice. Evening sacrifice is done where? Well, it’s done at the temple in Jerusalem, right? And so there’s a solidarity there. That sacrifice is going to go on the exact same time as the one going on in Israel or in Jerusalem. And it all points to Christ, doesn’t it? All old covenant sacrifice points ahead to Christ. There’s that dead bull on there, and the wrath and the fire is going to fall down from heaven on the bull and not on the people. Praise God for that. That is the essence of your salvation. It’s on the substitute that the wrath falls. It’s on the substitute that the judgment comes, not on you, not on the people.
And so Elijah steps forward and he prays. And this is what he prays, “O Lord, 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, O Lord, answer me, so that these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you’re turning their hearts back again.” 63 words in the English translation, that’s it. It reminds me of Jesus’s even shorter prayer in front of Lazarus’s tomb. “Father, I thank you that you heard me. I know that you always hear me, but I’m praying for the benefit of the people standing around here that they will know that you sent me,” end of prayer. That’s it. What a contrast to the kind of praying that went on for hours by the prophets of Baal. Jesus said this, “When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them for your heavenly Father knows what you need before you ask,” right? The real issue is that Elijah had prepared himself all his life for this moment. He was holy, he was righteous. He was there at God’s command. And in the prayer he says that, he says, “I want them to know that you are God, you alone are God, and that I am here as your servant and have done all this only at your word.” So many people think faith is just leaping out and doing something big and spectacular, and God will have to bless it. Is that what faith is? Jesus was tempted that way. “Jump off the pinnacle of the temple.” Jesus said, “No, because I have no word from my father to do that. And when he tells me to jump off the pinnacle of the temple, he will send his angels to rescue me. But until then, I’m not jumping.” Faith instead steps inside the will of God and doesn’t go out. And so it was God that told him to do this whole contest. Yes, God wanted this done. God is a spectacular being. He wanted this thing done, this wasn’t Elijah’s idea. And so everything that he had done, he had done at the command of God’s simple prayer.
And what was the goal? Verse 37, “Answer me, O Lord, answer me so that these people will know that you O Lord are God and that you’re turning their hearts back again.” Can you control your heart? Think about it. Can you turn your heart back to God? Who does the heart turning here according to Elijah? It’s God who must turn your heart. Ask him. Ask him. If your heart is hard, say, “God soften my heart.” How many prayers are there in the Psalms about one’s heart, the psalmist’s heart? “God work in my heart. Move in my heart, change my heart. Transform my heart.” And here, Elijah prays, “Turn their heart back to you.” And that’s exactly God’s point. It’s his purpose. And then in verse 38, it says, “Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil.” Do you see that? The dirt. He burned up the dirt? Yes, He burned up the dirt. He burned up the stones? Yes, He burned up the stones. Do you know that everything has a burning point? Did you realize that? Every single material has a combustion point. It’s all burnable. And the word of God says it’s all going to burn someday. All the soil, all the stones, all of it are going to be consumed, 2 Peter 3, in a huge fire that will melt the elements. That’s what it says, stoicheio, the Greek word for element will melt in the heat. It’s kind of a nuclear thing, Steve, I’ll talk about that later. But it’s a melting of the elements. God is capable of burning anything. And you know why? Because our God is a consuming fire. We love to say, “O God, he is love,” and he is love. He’s also holy. He is a consuming fire, and he consumed that sacrifice that day. Would’ve done it to the people had it not been for Jesus. Do you understand that? If it weren’t for Jesus, he would’ve consumed the people that day, and they would’ve deserved it. But thank God for Jesus. Thank God that He is our atoning sacrifice.
Now, one final footnote: 450 prophets of Baal. They perished that day, and they perished under the law of Moses because they were false teachers. There was no outreach to the prophets of Baal. There was no effort made by Elijah on their part. They were false prophets and false teachers. And false prophets and false teachers are the vicious enemies of the church. Always have been; always will be. The most damage ever done is done by false doctrine, by false teaching. And so under the law of Moses, they perished that day. It was a theocracy. God ruled, and his law said they must perish, and they did perish that day. Next, God willing, the rain comes. And you know something, it’s no accident that first we deal with this, the fire falling from heaven, and then God’s blessing is opened up. The hearts turn back to the people. They fall to the ground and say, “The Lord, he is God. The Lord, he is God.” And then God’s ready to send the rain again. Think about your own life. Are there any idols that are creeping into your hearts? Is your heart hard toward God? Turn to him. Repent. Do the things you did before. The church at Ephesus in Revelation 2 said that. Allow God to move in you today.
