Repentance, Revival And Rain

So, now we have singing, praying, praising, yelling, dancing and blood dripping everywhere. We have gowns that were once snow white dripping with blood. Everyone is in a frenzy. People are crawling all over the ground with blood going everywhere. It’s all rather crazy. It is outrageous.

Q. Why did they do that?

-They were desperate.

- They believed in the depths of their souls that they could manipulate Baal and Ashtoreth.

- They believed that if they could just show Baal and/or Ashtoreth that they were 100% committed that the rain would come and they could get rid of Elijah once and for all.

They did this all day long. They were absolutely committed. Their yelling, praising, praying, singing, jumping up and down and cutting themselves lasted for hours. People became exhausted. Some fell down out of exhaustion and loss of blood. But through it all – no clouds, no thunder and no rain. Nothing. Absolutely Nothing.

Finally, Elijah has had enough of the show. He had allowed them to prove that there gods were nothing but stone and wood. He had allowed them to make a fool of themselves. It was time for evening worship and so Elijah tells them to stop. They have had enough time.

The Prophet Begins to Worship the LORD.

+First, He invites all that want to come near him.

+Second, he sets up one of the old altars that had been built by the tribe of Asher years ago.

+Elijah takes 12 stones and as he builds his altar no doubt he is reminding the people of Israel back to the time when God rescued the 12 Tribes from Egypt and gave them the Promise Land. He reminds them that all 12 Tribes had made a commitment on another mountain (Mt. Sinai) that they would only serve the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. He reminds them that the reason they are in this disaster is because King Ahab, Queen Jezebel and the people have forsaken the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.

+He carefully prepares his offering to the LORD

+He douses it with water – now, where did he get his water?

No doubt they had to go all the way to the River Kishon to get some water. He douses his sacrifice with gallon upon gallon of water. The bull, the altar and the surrounding area are drenched.

+He invites people to join him in a simple worship service – it would not be the kind that had been going on for hours – all the cutting and shouting. It would be a rather quiet service – just some quiet time and some prayer time.

In fact, Elijah’s prayer is rather simple:

“O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. O Lord answer me! O Lord, are god and that you have brought them back to yourself.”

It is not a prayer condemning anyone. It is a prayer inviting all Israel back to the LORD. It is a prayer for God’s grace and mercy. It is a prayer asking Heaven to Invade Earth. It is a prayer of salvation.

As soon as the prayer is prayed, immediately the heavens opened up and fire fell down. The fire consumed the sacrifice, the water, the stones and even the dust. When God comes down He does it with power and authority.