{"id":1922,"date":"2008-06-19T17:57:27","date_gmt":"2008-06-19T22:57:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.eqotw.org\/web\/?p=44"},"modified":"2008-06-19T17:57:27","modified_gmt":"2008-06-19T22:57:27","slug":"elijah-and-the-priests-of-baal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/2008\/06\/19\/elijah-and-the-priests-of-baal\/","title":{"rendered":"Elijah and the Priests of Baal"},"content":{"rendered":"

As part of my devotions this morning from the Bible Unity Reading Plan<\/a>, I read the story of Elijah and the priests of Baal from 1 Kings 18. The king of Israel is apostate, worshiping false gods, the Baals and the Asherim. The people \u2013 though they were chosen as special to the Lord a thousand years previously, and though their very name, Israel, was given by God (see verse 31) \u2013 are \u201climping between two opinions\u201d (verse 21); not really knowing who is mighty, they are trying to cover all bases by worshiping both Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel, and the local Canaanite deities.<\/p>\n

So Elijah tells them this makes no sense. Either Yahweh is God or He is not. If He is God, follow Him; if Baal is god, follow him (verse 21). Yahweh\u2019s claims are exclusive: \u201cKnow therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that Yahweh is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other\u201d (Deuteronomy 4:39). He won\u2019t share the pantheon with other supposed gods.<\/p>\n

Elijah therefore sets up a contest on Mt Carmel between Yahweh and Baal through their representatives: Himself on the one hand and the 450 priests of Baal on the other. Both build altars, kill bulls, and prepare the bulls to be burned as a sacrifice, but neither is to set the wood of the altar on fire. \u201cAnd the God who answers by fire, He is God\u201d (verse 24). Interestingly enough, the priests of Baal are amenable to this. Do they really believe Baal will answer? Or do they anticipate that neither offering will be burned, and they will win simply by force of numbers?<\/p>\n

The priests of Baal go first, and cry out to their god for hours and hours. They even cut themselves so that blood flowed out over them to show their devotion. Elijah mocks them, and they rave all the more.<\/p>\n

Felix Mendelssohn\u2019s musical version of this story in the oratorio Elijah is very insightful. The priests of Baal sing initially in majestic and complex 8-part harmony. But as time goes on and their frustration grows, they lose control, demanding that Baal answer them: \u201cHear and answer!\u201d They repeat the command several times and then wait. A long silence ensues, before a final, feeble, \u201cHear and answer.\u201d But no one does.<\/p>\n

Elijah then has water poured over his altar so that there can be no mistake about the origin of the fire. He calls the people to him and, instead of complex 8-part harmony or cutting himself so that blood spurts out, he simply prays to God (Mendelssohn, once again, captures the tone perfectly). Here is his prayer:<\/p>\n

O Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you<\/strong> are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your<\/strong> word. Answer me, O Yahweh, answer me, that this people may know that you<\/strong>, O Yahweh, are God, and that you<\/strong> have turned their hearts back.” (verses 36-37, emphasis added)<\/p>\n

The fire immediately falls, consuming not only the bull and the wood, but also the water, the stones, and the surrounding dirt. The people are rightly chastened; they fall prostrate, calling out, \u201cYahweh \u2013 He is God! Yahweh \u2013 He is God!\u201d Mendelssohn \u2013 again, rightly \u2013 sees this as an allusion to Deuteronomy 6:4, and has the people sing that entire verse.<\/p>\n

There are numerous lessons we can draw from this marvelous story. Let me just mention three in brief:<\/p>\n

1) Elijah sees that it is necessary to establish not only that Yahweh is God, but also that he, Elijah, is God\u2019s servant, he is God\u2019s mouthpiece, he is truly communicating God\u2019s Word to these people. He had called on the rains to cease, and a great drought ensued (17:1). Many evidently blamed Elijah for their suffering; Ahab calls him the troubler of Israel, the one who brings disaster on Israel (verse 17).<\/p>\n

This relates directly to our present sermon series, \u201cGod Gave Pastors and Teachers.\u201d As we have seen, people have a tendency to \u201csurround themselves with teachers to satisfy their own desires, to scratch their itching ears\u201d (2 Timothy 4:3). Those who fulfill God\u2019s calling to preach the Word in season and out of season will be accused, like Elijah, of causing trouble, of not being responsive to the times. How important it is for those called by God to \u201cbe clear-headed in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of a preacher of the Gospel; fully accomplish your ministry\u201d (2 Timothy 4:5). But it is equally important for the church, the people of God, to recognize the preacher and teacher who is faithfully preaching the Word, to stick by him in good times and bad, to learn from him, and to recognize him as a gift of God for their building up.<\/p>\n

2) Second, notice verse 37. Elijah locates the problem in the hearts of the people. And he knows that no power encounter, in and of itself, is going to cause the people to follow God wholeheartedly. Remember, the people of Israel in the time of Moses saw God work miracles in ways unrivaled across history, but just a few weeks later they grumbled against Him in the desert. The only solution is for God Himself to change their hearts.<\/p>\n

Elijah apparently is skeptical that such a heart change has taken place, given his actions in chapter 19. And, indeed, while the number of God\u2019s faithful followers is larger than Elijah thinks (19:18), it is undoubtedly smaller than the number who appeared to repent on Mt Carmel.<\/p>\n

But God does change hearts, replacing those of stone with those of flesh. In today\u2019s New Covenant, He promises to write His Law in our hearts, He promises to give us the Holy Spirit, He promises that He Himself will complete the good work that He begins. Praise God that he takes sinners like us, who in and of ourselves will waiver between two opinions, who will never be steadfast in faith, and changes us, setting our feet on the Rock, and enabling us by His grace to live for His glory.<\/p>\n

3) Finally: Who are the Baals and the Asherim in your life? Who are the rivals of God? What powers and sources of success and strength are you holding on to, limping between two opinions, sometimes acting like Jesus is Lord and sometimes acting like this other rival \u2013 money, sex, accomplishment, recognition, autonomy \u2013 is your true source of satisfaction? Do you know, are you convinced, that if you depend on any of these, a day will come when you, like the priests of Baal, will cry out, \u201cHear and answer, O my God!\u201d \u2013 and you will hear nothing? A day when all your sources of joy and hope come up empty?<\/p>\n

There is only one God. Worship Him alone.<\/p>\n

[You can listen to Mendelssohn\u2019s version of the conflict between Elijah and the priests of Baal as tracks 12 to 19 on this link<\/a>. Free registration may be required.]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As part of my devotions this morning from the Bible Unity Reading Plan, I read the story of Elijah and the priests of Baal from 1 Kings 18. The king…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,15,24],"tags":[451,529,1212,1732],"class_list":["post-1922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-devotions","category-sermons","tag-elijah","tag-felix-mendelssohn","tag-priests-of-baal","tag-yahweh"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1922\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}