A Storm Brewing On Mount Carmel

Terry Siverd
02/25/18 - Sun AM

A STORM BREWING ON MOUNT CARMEL

Sermon Outline By Terry Siverd

Cortland Church of Christ / February 25, 2018

Having gone without rain for three years the northern kingdom (Israel) is physically parched and emotionally crippled.

King Ahab has finally found the prophet Elijah.

Actually God directed Elijah to go and show himself to the King.

Obadiah, King Ahab’s govenor, meets Elijah while scouting for water and grass and Elijah tells him to fetch Ahab.

King Ahab came to Elijah without delay with the aim - - not to arrest or kill Elijah, but to have him STOP THE DROUGHT.  Remember Elijah’s first words to Ahab:  there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word / 1Kgs.17:1 

When Elijah and Ahab meet again, Ahab calls Elijah the troubler of Israel.

But Elijah doesn’t permit him to play the blame-it-on-others game.

I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because you have

forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and your have followed the Baals (1Kgs.18:18).

Concerning life in the promised land, many years earlier Moses had told the nation of Israel (Deut.11:13-16) - -

It shall come about, if you listen obediently to My commandments…that I WILL GIVE RAIN for your land…

Beware, lest your hearts be deceived and you turn away and serve other gods and worship them.

Or the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and HE WILL SHUT UP THE HEAVENS

 so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its fruit; and you will quickly perish…

 So Ahab, who is ever-so-desperate for the rains to return, subjects himself to the demands of Elijah.

This whole event had to be a humiliating experience for KING Ahab (notice there is no mention of Jezebel).

She was likely enraged and had to be restrained by the King and left stewing at home.  cf. 1Kgs.19:1.

Now comes a contest on Mount Carmel with the prophets of Baal with the people of Israel in the audience.

This was not a fun and games “contest” it was a serious confrontation.

} Open your Bible to 1Kgs.18:20-46 |

Ahab sent a “non-optional invitation” to all of Israel.  i.e. to numerous representatives of all the nation.

The preparatory logistics for this event would have likely required a few months.

Elijah and the people of Israel with Ahab and the prophets of Baal (450), were to assemble on Mount Carmel.

Mount Carmel was a headlands - - a range of mountains averaging a height of about 1,500 feet.

It rose up from the coast of the Mediterranean Sea just south of the bay of Acre (Acco)

in the land bank allotted to the tribe of Asher.  This mountainous range ran in a south-

eastern direction for about 12 miles inland and terminated abruptly at an eastern bluff.  

1Kgs.18:21 records - - Elijah came near all the people and said,

‘How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord (Jehovah) is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.’

NCV / How long will you not decide between two choices?

Notice also:  vs.21c / but the people did not answer him a word.

To set the stage for this decisive confrontation Elijah lays out the ground rules.

Here again, imagine how uncomfortable this must have been for the King to subject himself to the dictates of Elijah.

(1) It is just me (I alone am left a prophet of Jehovah / vs.22) against 450 prophets of Baal.

In vs.19, Elijah had stipulated that 400 prophets of Asherah (female version of Baal) were also to be present.

The prophets of Asherah were apparently no-shows or at least they are not mentioned again in this chapter.

(2) Two oxen were provided with the prophets of Baal having first choice and the other going to Elijah.

The oxen were to be slain, cut-up, and placed on a wooden altar (platform).

Notice vs.23b / put no fire under it

Elijah seems to be aware of the trickery / chicanery often employed by the prophets of Baal.

Embers were often placed underneath the offering and a hidden tube was placed in a tunnel under the altar.

Air was blown through the tube causing the embers to burst into flame which was then attributed to an act of the gods.

We get the impression that these two altars (prophets of Baal and Elijah’s) were constructed in plain view of all

who had assembled.  Essentially, Elijah is demand that the people be present so as to insure transparency.

(3) Finally, vs.24 - - then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord,

and the God who answers by fire, HE IS GOD.  And all the people answered and said, ‘That’s a good idea!’.

1Kgs.18:26-29 / First up - - the prophets of Baal.

The ox is prepared and laid on the altar.

(they) called upon the name of Baal from until noon saying, ‘O Baal, answer us.’

BUT THERE WAS NO VOICE AND NO ONE ANSWERED.

And they leaped about the altar but nothing was happening.

At noon, Elijah began to taunt them:  Call out with a loud voice, for he is god; either he is occupied

or gone aside (indisposed/on the potty), or on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.

So they cried with a loud voice and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until

 the blood gushed out on them.  And it came about when midday was past, that they RAVED until the time

of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was NO VOICE, NO ONE ANSWERED and NO ONE PAID ATTENTION.

Leon Wood (Elijah: Prophet Of God, pg.86) notes regarding Elijah’s taunting - -

“This mockery would give him an air of over-confidence, and cause them to want to see if he could make good on it.”

1Kgs.18:30-39 / Elijah’s turn.

Come near to me … And he repaired the altar of the Lord which had been torn down.

Apparently, in earlier times some dissenters had built an altar to Jehovah in an act protest against Baal-worship.

Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the sons of Jacob…(and) he built an altar in the name of the Lord.

This was a not-so-subtle rebuke regarding the division of the kingdom.

Vs. 32b - Then he dug a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two measures of seed.

Then he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood.

He then directed that four pitchers of water be poured on the altar drenching the wood and the sacrifice.

This was done three times.  And the water flowed around the altar, and he also filled the trench with water (vs.35).

Finally, Elijah prayed (vs.36-37) - - O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel,

today let it be known that Thou art God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that

I have done these things at Thy word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people

may know that Thou, O Lord, art God, and that Thou hast turned their heart back again.

This prayer was short (about thirty seconds in length) but powerful.

The prophets of Baal had messed around for about seven hours with no results.

Vss.38-39 notes:  then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt offering and the

wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said,

‘The Lord (Jehovah), He is God; the Lord, He is God.’

This fire of Jehovah is also seen in other Old Testament passages.

cf. Lev.9:24;  Judg.6:21 & 13:20;  1Chron.21:26 and 2Chron.7:1.

Perhaps the author of Hebrews (Paul) reflected on this event when he wrote, Our God is a consuming fire (Heb.12:29).

It would have been declarative had the story could have ended right there, but there are two important postscripts.

The first (vs.40) - - Elijah directed the people to seize and slay the prophets of Baal.

This they did by the brook Kishon.

Secondly, Elijah turns his attention first to Ahab and then heavenward.

He tells Ahab to go up and eat and drink; for there is a sound of the roar of a heavy shower.

Ahab ate and drank, but I’m not sure here was in a merry mood.  Elijah climbed to the crest of the mountain.

Vs.42b-44a - - He crouched down on the earth, and put his face between his knees.

And he said to his servant, ‘Go up now, look toward the sea.’

He did so but there was nothing.  Elijah told him to go back and look again and again.  And it came about

at the seventh time, that he said, ‘Behold, a cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming up from the sea.’

He told his servant to go tell Ahab, hitch-up your chariot and flee lest you get bogged down by the rains.

And then the story comes to a close with one additional amazing development (vss.45-46) - -

So it came about in a little while, that the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy shower.

And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel.  Then the hand of the Lord was on Elijah,

and he girded up his loins and outran Ahab to Jezreel.

This was about 17 miles - - almost half a marathon.