Fire Fall Down

SLIDE Introduction (I Kings 18:1-2)

God has demonstrated His presence, His judgment and His power -

many times in scripture by FIRE.

I want us, today, to look at a time when God used His fire

To demonstrate His power, and, indirectly, His presence.

During the reign of King Ahab, the children of Israel had drifted from God,

worshiping Baal and Asherah instead.

Baal was a Canaanite deity and was in the form of a bull/ram

Asherah was considered the Queen of Heaven (wife of Jehovah)

Both Baal & Asherah were identified with fertility rites.

The leaders and the people had violated

the terms of their covenants and agreement with God.

King Ahab, with the support of his manipulative wife, Queen Jezebel,

destroyed the altar of the Living God

and built altars and high places unto Baal and Asherah.

The situation was so bad that God sent Elijah to go tell Ahab,

I Kings 17:1b, “..…there shall not be dew nor rain these years,

but according to my word.”

And the rain, and even the dew, ceased for three and half years.

All of Israel began to suffer.

But neither King Ahab, nor Queen Jezebel, nor the people

turned back to God from their evil ways.

At the end of the three and a half years,

God sent Elijah to King Ahab again,

the rain & dew was about to come again.

SLIDE I Kings 18:1-19 The Desperation

King Ahab called Obadiah

Obadiah was the governor of King Ahab’s household.

Obadiah was entrusted with the management

of the affairs of the King’s family,

and highly valued by the king on account of his ability

to govern and the discipline of being reasonable

in his management & governance -

and due to his loyalty and faithfulness to the King.

V3 tells us that Obadiah feared the Lord greatly.

Obadiah hid and provided for 100 prophets of the Lord.

King Ahab divides the kingdom between himself and Obadiah.

King Ahab tells Obadiah to go into all the land,

search all over for any available water.

Lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, anything…….

Why? So they can save the horses and mules.

Horses and mules were used for more than just transportation.

They were vital for the fighting forces to use to protect the nation.

Everyone is struggling due to the lack of water

and all the problems that the lack of water brings.

So they divided the land between them and began searching.

During Obadiah’s travels and searching, he came across Elijah

Elijah tells Obadiah to go tell King Ahab to come meet him (Elijah)

Obadiah finds Ahab and tells him what Elijah said.

King Ahab forgets about his search for water,

instead, he travels to meet Elijah.

(Elijah told King Ahab that it wouldn’t rain until Elijah said it would.)

So King Ahab goes to meet with Elijah

(Maybe to convince him to let it rain again….)

SLIDE I Kings 18:20-25 The Challenge

Elijah tells King Ahab to gather all the people of Israel -

to meet at Mount Carmel.

Elijah tells King Ahab to bring 450 prophets of Baal -

to meet at Mount Carmel.

King Ahab sent a message to the tribes of Israel -

to meet at Mount Carmel.

King Ahab brought 450 prophets of Baal - to meet at Mount Carmel.

Everyone is gathered at Mount Carmel.

This is going to be a VERY PUBLIC event.

Elijah came before all the people, all the prophets, and the King:

He said, “How long halt ye between two opinions?

“If the Lord be God, follow him”

“If Baal be God, follow him.”

Quit playing around.

Quit straddling the fence.

It’s oil and water It’s law and grace It’s light and dark.

Pick ONE. Do something, rather than doing nothing.

Elijah told the prophets of Baal:

-Choose a Bullock – prepare it for sacrifice to your (so called) god.

-Build an altar

-Split some wood for the altar

-Put the prepared sacrifice on the wood of the altar.

-BUT NO FIRE!

-Instead - Tell the god you serve, to send fire to consume the sacrifice.

You go first – then it will be my time.

SLIDE I Kings 18:26-29 The Failure

The 450 prophets of Baal took the bullock,

dressed it for the sacrifice,

built an altar,

put the wood on the altar

and their sacrifice on the wood.

They prayed from morning till noon.

They leaped on the altar in a frenzy

Around noon time (some 5 or 6 hours after they began)

Elijah begins to mock them.

I thought Baal was supposed to some kind of a divine entity, a god,

Maybe he is in meditation or perhaps talking with other gods,

Maybe he is pursuing (gone off somewhere private)

Maybe he is on a journey (gone somewhere far, far away)