There is no record of protest, except from Queen Jezebel, when Elijah put the false prophets to death. When the people saw this, they fell and proclaimed, “The Lord – he is God!” ( 1 Kings 18:39). The spectators must have been amazed as the fire consumed the sacrifice, the altar and the stones! Baal and Asherah could not even light a spark, yet Elijah was challenging the Lord to set fire to an altar that was soaked in water! Elijah’s prayer in 1 Kings 18:36-37 was only thirty-two words in Hebrew, but the power of these words showed as God’s fire consumed the altar. This must have seemed crazy to those who were watching. He first repaired the Lord’s altar that had been neglected, dug a trench around it, prepared for the sacrifice, and then ordered that four large jars of water be poured over it. He challenged the prophets of Baal to prove that Baal was a god in front of the Israelite people.įor three hours, in the heat of the day, Baal’s prophets cried, prayed, and carried on, but their god never answered. Baal was the chief male deity, and Asherah was his wife in this pantheon of gods and goddesses that Jezebel had popularised within the nation of Israel.Īfter Jezebel’s blood-filled extermination of the prophets and priests of the Lord, Elijah was the only prophet left who would stand before all of these pagan priests. He wanted to make sure that they did not want to follow the false gods of Jezebel.Īlong with the people, Elijah wanted the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah brought to Mount Carmel. He wanted all of them to see how mighty the Lord was. Having an evil king meant less chance that the people would worship God. Exactly which mountain Elijah was referring to is unknown.Įlijah wanted the people to see this challenge. The Carmel mountain range runs from the Mediterranean coast inland for about thirteen miles. She had even ordered the priests of the true God to be hunted down and killed.Įlijah offered Ahab a challenge – gather the Israelites to Mount Carmel. Instead, Ahab had allowed his pagan wife to institute the worship of her false gods. As king of Israel, one of his responsibilities was to be an example to his people in the worship of God. Elijah told Ahab that it was Ahab who was to be blamed for the drought. Ahab made neighbouring nations swear that they did not know where Elijah was. He had sent people everywhere to find Elijah because he blamed Elijah for Israel’s troubles ( 1 Kings 18:17). (verses 41-46) God answers Elijah’s prayer for rainĪhab was becoming desperate. ![]() (verses 16-18) Elijah visits Ahab and lays down the challenge.You will want to be able to give a brief overview of this before you tell the story of the contest. ![]() Ahab and Jezebel had led the people away from God and were destroying the prophets of God. The meeting between Elijah and Obadiah in these verses reveals the reign of terror God’s people were living under. Earlier, Elijah had prophesied to King Ahab that there would be no rain until he (Elijah) asked God to bring it again.
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