Elijah and the God who answers by fire

Elijah and the God who answers by fire
Happy Sunday to you!!! We managed to get an hour in at the pool before the rain clouds rolled in! I certainly do not feel as though we are in Israel during the time of the drought. I know I should be thankful for the rain, and I am. I would just like a small break!!!
Elijah doesn't seem to be catching any breaks from being tested. This gentle, compassionate prayer warrior from the end of the last chapter is now back to being a strong, courageous soldier for God. Elijah has been instructed by God to go show himself to Ahab and announce the end of the drought.
When Ahab sees Elijah, he addresses him with a sarcastic greeting. He immediately lets Elijah know what he thinks of him. He says, "Is this you, you troubler of Israel?" It is important to note the Hebrew meaning of the word troubler. It can actually have two meanings. Sometimes it is means "to bring trouble/calamity", and other times it means "viper, asp or snake". So, Ahab was really saying, "Is that you, you snake?" Being the outspoken man that Elijah is, he responds by reminding the king that it is not he that has brought calamity to Israel. Israel is repsonsible for its own fate. This prompts Elijah to bring a challenge forward to the king.
Elijah tells the king to go get 450 prophets of Baal, 400 prophets of Asherah and all the people of Israel. He is to bring them to Mount Carmel with two oxen for sacrifice. Elijah makes it clear that the prophets of Baal can choose their own oxen. They are to each place their oxen on the wood without putting any fire under it. Then, the prophets of Baal will be allowed to cry out to their god(s) to bring fire on their sacrifice. Next, Elijah will be allowed to call on the name of the Lord. The God who answers by fire is to be acknowledged as the one true God. This challenge sounds reasonable to them, and they all answered, "that is a good idea". So, the chanting begins.
I don't know about you, but I just get this image of 850 grown men doing some type of tribal dance verging on the obsurd. They are all screaming at the top of their lungs to a god that doesn't even exist! Their frustrations mount as they realize that they have devoted their lives to a false god. The men become so desperate that they began slashing themselves with lances until their blood was gushing out. Can you imagine?
This is the really cool part! Elijah is just standing back watching all of this. He has just spent the last three years watching our God respond to his needs and prayers. He has actually experienced God bringing a child back to life! He KNOWS that our God IS a living God, and he does respond to those who love him. Knowing this gives him the confidence to start mocking the prophets in the midst of their pleading. I am just going to use his words because I couldn't come up with more powerful words. He calls out to the prophets and says, "Call out with a loud voice, for he is god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened." I am sure the prophets are delighted by these words!!!
Elijah soon becomes tired of all the dancing and slashing, so he tells them to all draw near and watch what is going to happen!!!
Elijah begins building an altar made of twelve stones which represent the twelve tribes of Israel. He leaves a trench around the altar, and tells the people to fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the offering. Elijah must have eaten his wheaties that morning because the sarcasm just drips off of his words as he tells them to bring more and more water. As time draws near for the evening sacrifice, Elijah begins praying out to the Lord to let it be known that He is the one and only God. God doesn't just answer Elijah, He consumes the offering, wood, stones, dust and even licks up all the water.
Everyone falls to their faces declaring, "The Lord He is God; the Lord, He is God". Then Elijah orders all of the prophets to be destroyed at the brook of Kishon.
I know this is a long e-mail. So, tomorrow I want to share the response Chuck Swidoll gives to this occasion. This is a huge event in Elijah's life. Will you please take a day to ponder it?
In Him,
Tiffany