Long scripture but one of my favorite OT stories. It’s my birthday, so indulge me! 1 Kings 18:16-39
So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went
to meet Elijah. When he saw Elijah, he
said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
“I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the
prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah went
before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If
the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.
Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the
Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets
choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the
wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the
wood but not set fire to it. Then you
call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god
who answers by fire—he is God.”
Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”
Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the
bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of
your god, but do not light the fire.” So
they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till
noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one
answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he
said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or
traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” So they shouted louder and slashed themselves
with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. Midday passed, and they continued their
frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no
response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.”
They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down.
Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to
whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” With
the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench
around it large enough to hold two seahs[a] of seed. He arranged the wood, cut
the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four
large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
“Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the
third time. The water ran down around
the altar and even filled the trench.
At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped
forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known
today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all
these things at your command. Answer me,
Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that
you are turning their hearts back again.”
Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the
sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in
the trench.
When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and
cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”
I love Elijah’s bravado that stems
from not just his unflinching faith in the power of God, but his conviction
that he could call upon that power. I
aspire to that kind of faith-full confidence.
I’m guessing I’m not alone.
Though he occupies relatively few verses in scripture,
Elijah is a towering figure in the faith of Israel. Every year at Passover dinners in Jewish
households, one of the cups prepared is the cup of Elijah, a remembrance that
Elijah is prophesied to be the precursor to the coming of the Messiah. The cup is prepared as a welcome to the
salvation the returning Elijah ushers in.
Jesus suggests that John the
Baptist is the returning Elijah in Matthew 11:12-15
“From the days of John the
Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and
violent people have been raiding it. For
all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is
the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has
ears, let them hear.”
Today we celebrate the faith and power of Elijah that
continues to inspire new generations of prophets challenging injustice and
speaking truth and challenge to the powers that be. Lord knows we need those prophets to step
forward now.
Prayer: Lord, send a
new generation of prophets to call us all to justice for all your people. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for leaders at every level to seek God’s guidance for the challenges we face
right now.
Song: Robin Mark –
Days of Elijah
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