The Showdown on Mt. Carmel – pt. 1 (1 Kings 18:22-33)
1 Kings 18:22-33
We are presently studying the climax of the book of 1 Kings.
The writer has carried us from Israel in her faithful state under David,
To Israel in her idolatrous state under Ahab.
And now he is showing how God is working
To draw His people back to Himself.
• It started with 3 ½ years of drought to soften them up.
• Now Elijah has been sent back, and all Israel is gathered.
Last week we saw Elijah’s sermon:
1 Kings 18:21 “Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word.”
And from that we learn why Israel was in such need of revival.
They were “hesitating” they were “vacillating”
At times they sought the approval of Jehovah
At times they sought the approval of Jezebel
MUCH LIKE THE CHURCH AT THYATIRA:
Revelation 2:19-20 “I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.”
Thyatira was of course the worldly church.
They were devoted to “guilds” and were having to choose between faithfulness to God or faithfulness to their worldly securities.
God had a stiff warning for them:
Revelation 2:21-25 “I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality. ‘Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. ‘And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. ‘But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them — I place no other burden on you. ‘Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.”
Essentially Jesus told them the same thing that Elijah told Israel.
GET OFF THE FENCE, AND SERVE GOD ONLY.
That is why Elijah has come.
To tell God’s people to return to Him
But unfortunately, after the sermon:
(21) “But the people did not answer him a word.”
And so Elijah sets out to make their decision easier.
We know it as “The Showdown on Mt. Carmel”
Three things (as we study the first part of this contest)
#1 THE SUGGESTION OF ELIJAH
1 Kings 18:22-24
Elijah begins with a statement of reality.
“I alone am left a prophet of the LORD, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men.”
This is one of many advantages that Elijah yields to the prophets of Baal.
1) They are on Baal’s mountain
2) Elijah is outnumbered
3) They will call for fire (Baal is the storm god)
4) Elijah will actually pour water on his sacrifice
All of these incidents are meant by Elijah
To reveal to the people that he has nothing up his sleeve.
And then comes the suggestion.
(23-24) “Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. “Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, He is God.”
It is a simple showdown.
We both make a sacrifice, and we just wait to see which God can light it.
(After all, Baal was supposed to be the storm god)
It was a clear test
And the people liked his suggestion.
“And all the people said, “That is a good idea.”
THE REASON WAS TO:
1) Identify the true God.
2) Lead Israel to FOLLOW the true God.
(21) “Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word.”
And as we talked about last week, this is important for all mankind.
It doesn’t matter if God fits your requirements…
It doesn’t matter if God fulfills your expectations…
It doesn’t matter if you think He is right or wrong…
YOU HAD JUST BETTER FIND OUT WHO IS GOD AND FOLLOW HIM
WHY?
Because if there is a God, then you will stand before Him,
And the God you stand before
Better be the God you’ve been serving.
This is what Paul said to the city of Athens.
They were worshiping every imaginable god.
Acts 17:23-31 “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ “Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
Paul said, you had better quit worshiping many gods,
And determine to worship only the true God,
For He is the one you will answer to.
That is precisely why Elijah is holding the showdown.
He wants them to see who is the true God,
And then he expects them to follow Him.
You and I must make the same decision.
The Suggestion of Elijah
#2 THE SARCASM OF ELIJAH
1 Kings 18:25-29
Elijah actually lets Baal’s prophets go first
(Another part of the advantage they supposedly had).
(25) “So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one ox for yourselves and prepare it first for you are many, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.”
They are to pick the ox, (presumably the one that looks the most flammable), cut it up, place it on the altar and then cry out to Baal to light the fire.
And that is what they do.
In fact they do it OVER and OVER and OVER
(26) “Then they took the ox which was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, “O Baal, answer us.” But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they made.”
All morning long, it is the same chant:
“O Baal answer us.”
In fact, they repeated it on purpose.
For it was their assumption that their repetition
Made their prayer more likely to be heard.
The same thing happened to Paul at Ephesus:
Acts 19:34-35 “But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
It was just a senseless, mind numbing, chant,
Intended to cause the deity to show up.
This prompted Jesus to say:
Matthew 6:7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.”
But that is what they were doing.
They cried “from morning until noon”
At the end, you see ANOTHER TACTIC they were using.
“And they leaped about the altar which they had made.”
“Here I’ll get on the altar as well,
And you can have me too, if you will just light the fire”
AS FAR AS COMMITTED PRAYER IS CONCERNED,
THESE GUYS WERE SOLD OUT.
“But there was no voice and no one answered.”
There is actually a very good reason why their prayers were not answered.
THEIR GOD WAS NOT REAL
Psalms 115:4-8 “Their idols are silver and gold, The work of man’s hands. They have mouths, but they cannot speak; They have eyes, but they cannot see; They have ears, but they cannot hear; They have noses, but they cannot smell; They have hands, but they cannot feel; They have feet, but they cannot walk; They cannot make a sound with their throat. Those who make them will become like them, Everyone who trusts in them.”
Jeremiah 10:5 “Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot walk! Do not fear them, For they can do no harm, Nor can they do any good.”
The reason Baal did not answer is because he could not answer.
He is not real, he is a figment of the imagination.
He is some man’s invention.
And as strange as it may sound,
This is a theological truth that even
Christians of late seem to have forgotten.
FALSE GODS CANNOT RESPOND
Every time you turn around,
You get some new poll out that says even among evangelical Christians, that there is an increasing majority among us who believe that there is MORE than one way of salvation.
People grow sympathetic to Muslims and say,
“Well if they are sincere in their faith, then I believe they will be saved.”
Or the same about Buddhists,
“If they are sincere in their faith, then I think they will go to heaven.”
Look at these prophets of Baal,
It doesn’t matter how sincerely devoted you are to a false god,
Your sincerity will not cause him to be alive and able to save.
If you cry out to a false god, you get no response.
They may have eyes, but they cannot see.
They may have ears, but they cannot hear.
They may have a mouth, but they cannot talk.
Crying out to them is absolutely useless.
BUT IT DOESN’T STOP THEM FROM CRYING OUT
But Elijah apparently picks up on the difficult time they are having.
And what he does would today be considered un-Christian.
(27) “It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied (i.e. meditating) or gone aside (lit. “relieving himself”), or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.”
Elijah literally mocks them and their god.
Today, people would get mad at Elijah for such a thing.
In 2002 Jerry Vines was preaching at Pastor’s Conference in St. Louis and he called Muhammad “A demon-possessed pedophile” (because his last wife was a 9 year old girl)
And the outcry began.
Sure some by Muslim followers, but mostly from evangelicals:
Rev. Dick McEuen of Orange Park Presbyterian church said:
“It’s the inflammatory words that are bad … ‘pedophile’ and the other…I think Jerry probably used the wrong words, and it sure doesn’t help relationships in the day … This is a pluralistic society. It showed a lack of perspective.”
I suppose he would really take offense to Elijah
Insinuating that Baal was stuck in the bathroom.
Rev. Davette Turk, an Episcopalian priest
“I’m saddened. We can’t go on like this. We can’t think like that, I’m sure [Vines] will be shown by the Lord how these remarks do not help the unity God desires for his family.”
Rev. Paul Hooker, executive presbyter for the Presbytery of St. Augustine.
“We find regrettable the comments attributed to Rev. Vines because they appear to represent an ungenerous spirit, which we find out of character with the Christian faith, I would think that [this] will make interfaith dialogue between Christians and Muslims in our community more difficult in a time when such conversations should be taking place.”
Monsignor Daniel Logan
“It is far better to affirm the good in every religion than it is to condemn the bad, we can radically disagree, yet affirm the things we have in common. That’s what we should do to try and make the world a better place to live.”
(All quotes from: http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/061302/met_9655580.html)
Today, that is the mindset of religion.
They would run Elijah out of town.
“I can’t believe Elijah was so degrading to Baal.”
“Elijah’s remarks will make it so difficult to reach Baal worshipers now”
DO THEY SUPPOSE THAT BY GIVING CREDIBILITY TO FALSE GODS THAT IT WILL BE EASIER TO DRAW PEOPLE AWAY?
There is no cause to offer any courtesy to any false deity.
They are guilty not only of deceiving millions,
But also of stealing God’s glory.
Isaiah 42:8 “I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.”
If a false god is false…
If a dead god is dead…
If a mythical god is a myth…
If a powerless god is powerless…
LET THEM BE LABELED AS SUCH!
God Himself certainly doesn’t pull any punches about these false gods.
Isaiah 41:21-24 “Present your case,” the LORD says. “Bring forward your strong arguments,” The King of Jacob says. Let them bring forth and declare to us what is going to take place; As for the former events, declare what they were, That we may consider them and know their outcome. Or announce to us what is coming; Declare the things that are going to come afterward, That we may know that you are gods; Indeed, do good or evil, that we may anxiously look about us and fear together. Behold, you are of no account, And your work amounts to nothing; He who chooses you is an abomination.”
Jeremiah 10:8 “But they are altogether stupid and foolish In their discipline of delusion — their idol is wood!”
Jeremiah 10:14-15 “Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols; For his molten images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of mockery; In the time of their punishment they will perish.”
I suppose Jerry Vines could have said: “Behold, Allah is of no account and all who choose him are an abomination. Indeed they are stupid devoid of knowledge, their god isn’t even real!”
Baal was guilty of deceiving people, condemning people,
And Elijah reveals that he is a false hope.
BUT THEY CONTINUE
(28-29) “So they cried with a loud voice and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them. When midday was past, they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.”
Despite their desperation…
Despite offering their own blood…
Despite their endless chants…
“there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.”
(x3 = magnify the point)
AND I WANT YOU TO KNOW, ELIJAH DID THIS ON PURPOSE.
He could have just shown up on Mt. Carmel and asked God for rain,
And left the others out of it. BUT HE DIDN’T
Elijah first made sure he publicly humiliated Baal,
Before he asked God to deliver.
These people had been trusting in Baal,
And before they could fully trust in God,
They had to have all the other things pulled away.
HAS GOD EVER DONE THIS IN YOUR LIFE?
Maybe He allowed something you trusted in to fail
In order to remind you that He alone is your deliverance.
You trust too much in a job – so God allows you to lose it to see that He is your provider.
You trust too much in a relationship – so God allows you to lose it to see that He is all you need.
You trust too much in a drug – so God allows you to lose it to see that He is your healer.
You trust too much in a program – so God allows it to fail to prove that He alone can change your life.
If you have any other thing in your life that you can’t live without,
You are guilty of idolatry, and are dependent on something other than God
Before He reveals Himself,
He first allows our false hopes to fail.
That is to make sure no one but Him gets the gory.
In order for revival to occur, we must realize that God alone
Is worthy to receive glory in our lives.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 “Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.”
The sarcasm of Elijah is to make sure that all Israel
Sees just how foolish it is to trust in things that cannot save.
The Suggestion of Elijah The Sarcasm of Elijah
#3 THE SACRIFICE OF ELIJAH
1 Kings 18:30-33
Now obviously we don’t see the full effect of Elijah’s sacrifice here,
What I want you to see is the necessary next step
In the progression of the people if they are to be revived.
Not only do they need to see that what they are trusting in is foolish,
They also need to see how far they have fallen away from God.
DID YOU CATCH WHAT ELIJAH DID?
“And he repaired the altar of the LORD which had been torn down.”
That is often overlooked.
Apparently God had an altar on that mountain already.
Years earlier it had been built, but at some point, they had torn it down.
That altar was a picture of the spiritual state of Israel.
Once a nation of worship, not a nation of apostasy.
(31) “Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.”
He is reminding the people of WHO THEY REALLY ARE.
For the last decade or so, they had forgotten who they were.
• They were the children of Israel.
• They were God’s chosen people.
• They were objects of God’s compassion.
• They were the ones God had delivered from Egypt.
• They were the ones God had given this land to.
And yet somehow in their pursuit of worldliness,
They had forgotten who they were.
Elijah is reminding them.
THIS IS ALL PIVOTAL TO REVIVAL.
If you are to experience revival in your life,
Not only do you have to let go of all the false idols
But it is imperative that you remember who you are.
Acts 11:26 “…and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”
1 Peter 4:16 “but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.”
• Was it not for you that Jesus Christ bled and died?
• Did God not spend the precious blood of His Son for you?
• And did you not pledge your life to Him?
To become a Christian, do you remember what you did?
Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;”
The Bible says that if you really are a Christian,
At some point you fully surrendered everything about you to Him.
Have you forgotten the vows you took?
That’s what Israel had done.
Jeremiah 2:32 “Can a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me Days without number.”
Israel had forgotten that she was the wife of God.
Today, many in the Church seem to have forgotten
That they are the bride of Christ. (we are betrothed to Him)
That is why Jesus told two of the churches in the Revelation:
Revelation 2:5 “Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place — unless you repent.”
Revelation 3:3 “So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.”
The point is that if revival is to occur in your life,
You must remember who you are.
You are not a teacher…
You are not a worker for the telephone company…
You are not a lineman for the electric company…
You are not a secretary…
That is what you do, but it is not who you are.
YOU ARE A BLOOD PURCHASED CHILD OF GOD
AND HE DESERVES YOUR WORSHIP.
Does the altar of God need to be rebuilt in your life?
THAT IS WHAT REVIVAL IS.
It is rebuilding God’s altar in your life.
This morning I want to ask you to do that.
• Put everything else aside,
• Return to the God who saved you from sin.
• Remember what He did for you,
• Renew your vows to Him.
Psalms 50:7-15 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you; I am God, your God. “I do not reprove you for your sacrifices, And your burnt offerings are continually before Me. “I shall take no young bull out of your house Nor male goats out of your folds. “For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. “I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. “If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains. “Shall I eat the flesh of bulls Or drink the blood of male goats? “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High; Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.”
