Up to Mt. Carmel. 1 Kings 18:17-46. When Obadiah, the compromising believer, met Elijah, he fell down before him in recognition of the authority, loyalty, and dignity associated with a person who does what God wants. He didn’t want to tell Ahab he had a message for him from Elijah because he was still thinking about himself, not the people he was supposed to serve. He knew the character of the king with whom he was associated, but finally, with Elijah's assurance, took the message to Ahab.
Unbelievers usually look for someone to blame for their problems rather than face their guilt. They have to openly face their responsibility for the problem their sin has brought upon them. On those occasions, the more precise we are with our words, the better the understanding is on the part of the guilty party. Condemning others has always been easier than acknowledging we are the guilty ones who do not want to face our sins. Ahab held Elijah responsible for the drought and called him the “troubler of Israel.”
The contrast between the two men could not be greater. One was a wicked ruler who led his nation away from God to idolatry. The other had a strong moral personality, spoke for God, and was honorable in dealing with all the people. Ahab blamed Elijah, and Elijah gave him a message from the Lord. Elijah had warned the people to turn away from idolatry, and Ahab and his wicked wife, Jezebel, led them into idolatry.
A lesson for us today is that evil in the world, catastrophes that cause and result from war, death, and despair, result from sin in the world, nations, families, and individuals. When people face the consequences of their choices and actions, they will find themselves incapable of solving the problems they created. Then, they blame God for not stopping what they started from happening. The rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ has brought the darkness of sin and unbelief to the whole creation.
Elijah made it plain to Ahab who was responsible for the nation's problems. They were all guilty of abandoning the word of the Lord. Ahab’s sin and that of the whole nation, because they had forsaken God and gone into idolatry, had consequences that they were warned about down through the history of Israel. Ahab was the king, but Elijah, the prophet, spoke for God and took authority over the whole matter of sins, extremity, and starvation that was upon the people. Elijah took control of the situation and told Ahab what to do, and he was specific in his commands and the action that would take place. The people were to gather at Mt. Carmel, including the false prophets, to test who was right and what was right. Too many people were involved personally in the departure from the Lord's commands, and too many had followed the Baals to not face them all with the sin they had committed. Elijah had the people come to where Baal's worship was strong.
When leaders of people pass on their opinions on a matter, it is not long before others are affected by their words and influence. They, in turn, will do the same, and the infection will quickly permeate society. Dealing with an important matter that hurts many people usually has to be done publicly. When we act in faith, we see beyond obstacles to our Lord, who has "all power in heaven and in earth." The wavering between two opinions" had to be stopped. Theological compromise is in vogue today and has to be challenged by fundamental truth. To accommodate wrong beliefs and practices in the worship and service of God to make it more acceptable to people is a deceptive practice and tactic of Satan.
A great problem has arisen in "modern Christianity" in which those who once knew what it meant to "buy the truth" at a high price have surrendered to "Christian intellectuals" who mix biblical truth with their own reason and logic that is attractive to the natural man. They choose to make a "private interpretation" of scripture to suit their opinions of a passage or a recorded event. Taking the Bible literally and conducting life by its standards is not acceptable to those who are condemned by its unchanging truth. "No man can serve two masters." There are choices to be made by everyone – the broad or narrow way. To serve God or the devil, to gratify self or glorify God, there is no way to avoid the responsibility to choose eternal life or everlasting punishment.
Thousands of people crossed the dry, barren ground to go up the slopes of Mt. Carmel, and there they saw one of the greatest miraculous displays of divine power ever witnessed by human beings. They knew something important would happen and likely looked forward to seeing it. The false prophets of Baal may have had an inclination that all was not well for them when they were all ordered there and told to do their idol worshipping in front of everybody.
The challenge on Mt. Carmel was a classic indictment of compromise. Elijah's challenge to Baal's prophets left no grounds for vague interpretations. Making predictions open to personal opinion and interpretation is misleading and deceptive. There was no way to avoid the consequences of this challenge of faith. But the people of Israel had enjoyed the sinful pleasures of Baal worship and the benefits they thought they had from following Ahab's idolatrous worship. It is easy to drift into complacency when something is pleasant and easy and makes no serious demands on us. That is characteristic of counterfeit religion.
One man and his servant stood out from all the rest of the people. They knew who Elijah was, what he stood for, and who he represented. When a Christian lives with self-respect, respect, and reverence for God and is not a participant in a worldly party, he is a moral light among immoral people. Such a person will be easily identified by their calmness, courage, dignity, and sense of purpose. That light in a believer exposes the darkness in those who love their chosen idols. Quiet confidence accompanies those who know they are doing the will of God. “If God be for us, who can be against us?”
Elijah made sure that Baal’s prophets and Asherah’s prophets - eight hundred and fifty in all - would be well represented to show their opposition to the Lord God. Then, he challenged the people's lack of devotion so they would face themselves. “How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” When he said that, the people didn’t have a word to say until the visible outcome of the challenge was explained – fire from the idol gods or fire from heaven.
A critical place for a person’s mind is between two opposing opinions. One will entice us to conform to what all the people around us think is okay, and the other opinion tells me I should not do what others may do when it is not according to the word of God. We can’t leave these choices unanswered; I need to decide soon. What I choose will likely affect others waiting to hear my voice explaining what I believe is right. Serious consequences loom before me; it is time for me to decide.
All of the fanciful ideas and practices of compromised truth and counterfeit Christianity are only bringing mockery and contempt in our day. Many unbelievers form opinions of the Christian faith from the various extreme practices of both conservative and liberal Christianity. Those who are undecided sometimes even convert to other humanistic religions because the reality of biblical Christianity is missing. The striving for power, status, material possessions, and appearance has become the objective of those who embrace modern idolatry. There are no real answers, wisdom, or guidance for life when false gods are the objective of human endeavor.
Faith in a believer in Christ is fearless confidence. The idols of today’s world have nothing that can match faith in God and enable a believer to deal with personal crises in life that seem impossible to solve. Successful, meaningful, calm living by faith in such times gives peace in turmoil, comfort in suffering, and joy in times of loss and heartache. The pleasures of the world are only temporary. The opinions and fads change with the slightest wind of opposition or deceit. The uncertainties of life do not remove our confidence in God. “I know in who I have believed…” He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him…”
Elijah knew the outcome before it happened because he knew God and was on the side of the Great Victor. He knew the Lord would deal with the people in the way that best suited His will, producing unmistakable evidence that the Lord is God over all – blessed forever. The raving and dancing of the false prophets of Baal were wild and futile efforts that drew sarcastic remarks from Elijah, who knew the difference between the false and the true.
The false prophets' performance was the frenzy of losers who knew they were losers but would not admit that they had deceived thousands of people. Their blood flowed from self-inflicted wounds, and the hours passed as their frantic actions had them jumping up on their altar and shouting for their gods to do something, but they had nothing to show for all their efforts and desperation. Finally, in the late afternoon, Elijah called out to them in sarcasm, rose, and took over the event.
The alternatives are plain to see. One is very hard; the other is expedient. One allows me to be every man’s friend, and the results are very convenient without many complications. The other is a difficult, upward path, which often means I will walk alone in a narrow way of separation from compromise and latent evil. Both are easily within my grasp; one leads up to God and fellowship with him, and the other always leads down and away from Him.
Loud entertainment in the name of religion, dramatic pronouncements claiming divine authority, and false claims of success do not make modern religions more Christian than the false prophets of the past. “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” Sermons without sanctified people speaking, singing without melody in the heart to the Lord, claims without reality, and words without love and grace are useless. The world has many fake and false cults today. There are many substitutes for the cross, but there is no value, judgment, or fire in the “modern smooth cross and “seeker-friendly” teaching. They leave people feeling good about themselves for an hour or two instead of facing the consequences of their sins.
Elijah rebuilt the fallen altar with twelve stones symbolic of the twelve tribes of Israel still being under the eye and authority of the Lord God of Israel, not just those tribes under the leadership of Ahab. Despite divisions, God is looking for the recovery of all His people. The twelve barrels of water poured over the altar and offering reaffirmed the same. This proof that no trickery was involved in Elijah's actions left no doubt in the people's minds that God answered Elijah's prayer by fire.
The time to make the final decision has come. God and many others wait for my decision to be plain to them. I know this will affect not only me but others who wonder why I seem to hesitate. It is clear to me that God’s will is this way, and the other is the way of the world. My decision is this: I’ll obey what God has to say, do what He wants me to do, and go where He wants me to go, or stay where I am until the way is opened clearly before me. My flag of allegiance to my Lord is unfurled, and by His grace, I will submit to His holy will.
The crater in the ground was all that was left of the offering, the altar, the water, and the ground after "the fire of the Lord fell." The demonstration of divine power removed all hesitation from the people's minds regarding who the God of power and authority was. Perhaps Ahab stayed there because of fear of what Jezebel would say or do. Maybe he was still wavering between two opinions until after Elijah finished praying for rain. When the prophet ran past him, told him rain was coming, and kept ahead of him for the sixteen miles to Jezreel, he quickly changed his mind and headed home.
Elijah's "effectual fervent prayer" teaches us that such praying "availeth much." A mind and heart of faith, actions of faith, produce the prayer of faith, and God acts according to His divine purpose. We are aligned with the will of God when we pray in faith. That challenge is one of the most important of our day. We become cognizant of the will of God when we are in communion with Him and communicate with Him consistently and constantly.
The challenge of faith is always before us. In every situation in life, the actions and assurance that God is working in these dark days of departure encourage those who want to please God to press ahead in faith with what they are doing. We may think we are standing alone, but God has His people, most of whom we will never know, shedding light on this world. Our commitment to our Lord and His word is probably the strongest testimony we have to pass on the "light of life."