| “Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that Thou art the Lord God … Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench” (1 Kings 18:37-38). |
| If you read the whole story in this chapter, you will find that the Lord sent Elijah to meet Ahab, who was the king. Ahab was to call all the prophets of the false god Baal to Mt. Carmel, and then Elijah made a proposal to them. The prophets of Baal were to take one bullock (a young bull), kill it, and lay it on the altar. Elijah would take another bullock, kill it, and lay it on the altar of the Lord. Then the prophets of Baal would cry to him, and Elijah would cry to the Lord. The one who answered by fire, to burn the sacrifice, would be the true God. |
| The prophets of Baal cried all day, but nothing happened. Imagine, 450 men crying out all day, as loudly as they could! No fire came down to burn their sacrifice. Finally, in the evening, Elijah laid out his bullock and dumped barrels of water on the altar, just so that no one could accuse him of hiding fire under the wood. When Elijah cried to the Lord, the Lord sent fire that burned up everything — the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the water. You and I have never seen fire that burned stones and water! |
| Yes, the Lord made it clear who was God, and the people were convinced. That day they killed all the prophets of Baal. But did that stop Ahab from acting wickedly before God? No, sadly it did not. Did it stop the people of Israel from worshiping idols? Sadly it did not. The people were convinced when they saw the power of God, but their hearts were not changed. It required more than a miracle to change their hearts. |
