What spiritual crisis in Israel is at the heart of the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 18? Well, Jesus explained this the best in the Sermon on the Mount: Man cannot serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other (Matthew 6:24). In a nutshell the spiritual crisis itself is that the people of Israel were pretending to worship the true God but in their hearts they were chasing after Baal. This was reprehensible to Elijah and obviously to God…it had to stop. If not, God would have to judge it. This is evident when Elijah asks them how long they would waver between two opinions and receives no answer. Elijah’s question was rhetorical, he knew they were guilty of the sin of worshipping false gods and guilty as sin.
Here we see the infamous and definitive standoff between the One True God (Yahweh) and the false god Baal. Actually it is the meeting of the prophets of Baal (Satan) and God since Baal is a figment of peoples imagination and in reality satanic. Elijah challenges the 450 prophets of Baal to a contest to determine who/what is truly God, Baal or the God of Israel. An offering on alter is to be made so that the true God would consume it by fire. The prophets of Baal clearly had a numerical advantage. They are offered the chance first. It must have been an amusing sight for anyone watching the prophets. Hooting and hollering and carrying on like a bunch of freed monkeys (not unlike what I see on TV on certain stations).
Elijah maintains and air of dignity and views their antics with distain eventually mocking them. Elijah sarcastically quips that Baal must be busy. At the time of the evening sacrifice Elijah takes charge. He handicaps himself before offering sacrifice to the Lord. He digs a trench around the altar and fills it with water. The altar and the wood are also soaked. Fire falls from heaven consuming not only the sacrifice…but also the wood, the stones of the altar, the dust around the altar and the water in the trench. (((BOOM))) When I read this passage I get a mental visualization here of a burnt smoking cinder left over after a Wild E. Coyote explosion and it is slightly amusing. The prophets of Baal’s jaws must have clanked like iron bars on the stony ground at Mt. Carmal. The prophets of Baal had been exposed as fakes and idolators (Wiersbe 473). Guilty as charged they are summarily executed by the sword (1 Kings 19:1)
Wiersbe, Warren. "David’s Unruly Sons." Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament Wisdom and Poetry (Bible Knowledge). Acambaro: Victor, 2003. 473. Print
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