We find that the beast which deceived the world does it. Log in, Barton W. Stone: The Preachers Are Working While the People Are Gazing, Thoughts on the Asbury Revival (02.23.23), The Serious Sin of Proselytism (02.16.23), Christians Becoming a Minority Group in America (02.02.23), Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. The wind began to blow, and soon a heavy rain began to fall. (2.) Observe his character: He feared the Lord greatly (1 Kings 18:3; 1 Kings 18:3), was not only a good man, but zealously and eminently good; his great place put a lustre upon his goodness, and gave him great opportunities of doing good; and he feared the Lord from his youth (1 Kings 18:12; 1 Kings 18:12), he began betimes to be religious and had continued long. His new conquest will be lost if he do not look about him quickly." 20So Ahab called all the Israelites and those prophets to Mount Carmel. That Elijah could have made such a run is assured in the Arab runners could easily cover one hundred miles in two days. (Patterson and Austel), 2018 David Guzik No distribution beyond personal use without permission. Turn them again to the Lord God of hosts, from whom they have revolted, and all will be well quickly; this must be Elijah's doing. I would have healed Israel, but they would not be healed. To win his people back, God demonstrated his power and mocked Baal along the way. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. 22Elijah said, I am the only prophet of the Lord here, but there are four hundred fifty prophets of Baal. And he said, Go again seven times. But it was utterly false concerning Elijah; so far was he from being an enemy to Israel's welfare that he as the stay of it, the chariots and horsemen of Israel. The people, as the jury, gave in their verdict upon the trial, and they are all agreed in it; the case is so plain that they need not go from the bar to consider of their verdict or consult about it: They fell on their faces, and all, as one man, said, "Jehovah, he is the God, and not Baal; we are convinced and satisfied of it: Jehovah, he is the God" (1 Kings 18:39; 1 Kings 18:39), whence, one would think, they should have inferred, "If he be the God, he shall be our God, and we will serve him only," as Joshua 24:24. Elijah first surrendered, or rather discovered, himself to Obadiah. Did they tithe to themselves? We may request cookies to be set on your device. Check to enable permanent hiding of message bar and refuse all cookies if you do not opt in. According to one ancient Canaanite myth, the father of Baal slashes his chest, arms, and back upon learning of his son's death. Let us therefore never despise the day of small things, but hope and wait for great things from it. Such was Elijah's zeal, no doubt, against the idolatry of Baal, and such his compassion to his people, that he thought it long to be thus confined to a corner; yet he appeared not till God bade him: "Go and show thyself to Ahab, for now thy hour has come, even the time to favour Israel." But in this chapter his appearance was as public as before his retirement was close; the days appointed for his concealment (which was part of the judgment upon Israel) being finished, he is not commanded to show himself to Ahab, and to expect rain upon the earth, 1 Kings 18:1. When they called on their god, nothing happened. Copyright 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. This was the way they worshiped, Douay-Rheims Bible So they cried with a loud voice, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till they were all covered with blood. 26So they took the bull that was given to them and prepared it. Roumie said he was drawn to both "The Chosen" and "Jesus Revolution" because of their scripts and characters, which "spoke to his heart.". Is it really you, master?, 8Yes, Elijah answered. (28-29) The prophets of Baal work harder at their prayer. Those that were firm for God doubted not but it would end to his honour; those that were indifferent were willing to be determined; and Ahab and the prophets of Baal durst not oppose for fear of the people, and hoped that either they could obtain fire from heaven (though they never had yet), and the rather because, as some think, they worshipped the sun in Baal, or that Elijah could not, because not at the temple, where God was wont thus to manifest his glory. In the book of Acts, we read a most interesting and revealing number. That wanting to get rich inevitably causes such destruction? The prophets of Baal, as criminals, are seized, condemned, and executed, according to law, 1 Kings 18:40; 1 Kings 18:40. 40Then Elijah said, Capture the prophets of Baal! When Jezebel was killing all the LORD's . New Century Version (NCV). 2. Note, The worship of idols is a most ridiculous thing, and it is but justice to represent it so and expose it to scorn. 18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim. Does the Bible encourage the practice of Lent? 23 Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: 24 And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. Those that fear God need not go out of the world, bad as it is. Of course, most Israelites probably didnt totally reject Yahweh, the God of Israel. But God made them know the contrary, for the famine continued till Baal's prophets were sacrificed, and so great a scarcity of water there was that the king himself and Obadiah went in person throughout the land to seek for grass for the cattle, 1 Kings 18:5; 1 Kings 18:6. get answers to your Bible questions from 50+ resources ($2,400+ value! They prayed to Baal from morning until noon, shouting Baal, answer us! But there was no sound, and no one answered. They likely continued going to church, paying their tithes, and saying a prayer or two now and againespecially on holidays. We dont know exactly why it was important to God for Elijah to reach Jezreel first; perhaps it was so that he would be the first to tell Queen Jezebel. Let but Obadiah know that he spoke seriously and really intended it, and he will make no scruple to carry the message to Ahab. Like madmen they cut themselves in pieces with knives and lancets (1 Kings 18:28; 1 Kings 18:28) for vexation that they were not . Trust ye not in lying words, saying . Otherwise, the rain will stop him.. What would be some verses from the Bible to save a marriage? Baal and his prophets were confounded. God expressly forbade his worshippers to cut themselves, Deuteronomy 14:1. (1.) The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD , saying, Stand in the gate of the LORD 's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD , all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD . He is there in the presence of Ahab, the 450 prophets of Baal, 400 prophets of the groves and a company of people from all Israel. The service of God and the service of sin, the dominion of Christ and the dominion of our lusts, these are the two thoughts which it is dangerous halting between. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer. 30 And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. Twelve barrels of water (probably sea-water, for the sea was near, and so much fresh water in this time of drought was too precious for him to be so prodigal of it), thrice four, he poured upon his sacrifice, to prevent the suspicion of any fire under (for, if there had been any, this would have put it out), and to make the expected miracle the more illustrious. His interview with Ahab himself, 1 Kings 18:17-20. V. Elijah soon obtains from his God an answer by fire. 35So the water ran off the altar and filled the ditch. There he would be alone. (4.) He would have the king know before, that it might not be a surprise to him and that he might be sure it was the prophet's own act to present himself to him. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, 43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. The prophets of Baal went first. (Obadiah was a true follower of the Lord. Help us purchase electrical generators for churches. He withdrew to a strange place, to the top of Carmel, which was very high and very private. The prophets may have hoped that their actions would bring rain and end the drought. And all the people came near unto him. Jesus knew all about gods such as Baal. Elijah satisfied him that he might with safety deliver this message to Ahab, by assuring him, with an oath, that he would, this very day, present himself to Ahab, 1 Kings 18:15; 1 Kings 18:15. By proceeding, you consent to our cookie usage. It is a very bad thing to halt between God and Baal. Changes will take effect once you reload the page. He would not make use of theirs, which had been polluted with their prayers to Baal, but, finding the ruins of an altar there, which had formerly been used in the service of the Lord, he chose to repair that (1 Kings 18:30; 1 Kings 18:30), to intimate to them that he was not about to introduce any new religion, but to revive the faith and worship of their fathers' God, and reduce them to their first love, their first works. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. For the nations around Israel, Baal was the rider of the clouds, who brought the rains and blessed the earth.When Baal showed up, the heavens rained oil, the rivers ran with honey, mothers gave birth to healthy children, and even the dead could be raised. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. A deceived heart had turned them aside, they could not deliver their souls by saying, Is there not a lie in our right hand? 2. The Baalites are forced to give up their cause, and now it is Elijah's turn to produce his. Let it go on therefore to a trial. Elijah might have looked for rain seventy times seven times, and not have seen it, if he had not thus begun his work at the right end. Joseph and Daniel were preferred because there were none so fit as they for the places they were preferred to. 28 And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. Click to enable/disable Google Analytics tracking. 5 And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. Second, Baal was a false god and men were not to worship him. He also recognized, though, that people in his day faced a new, subtler, and perhaps even stronger temptation: to treat money as an idol like Baal, an idol to worship as a god to get what they wanted. 11 And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. Share He could not bring them to the altar at Jerusalem unless he could unite the two kingdoms again (which, for correction to both, God designed should not now be done), therefore, by his prophetic authority, he builds an altar on Mount Carmel, and so owns that which had formerly been built there. Why did Elijah kill the prophets of Baal? 37Lord, answer my prayer so these people will know that you, Lord, are God and that you will change their minds., 38Then fire from the Lord came down and burned the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the ground around the altar. To the top of Carmel, which was very high and very.... And men were not to worship him 11 and now thou sayest, go, tell thy Lord,,. 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