1 Kings 18:29–39
29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” 32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” 34 And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. 35 And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.
36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 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. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”
Prayer: O Lord, You alone are True God. Grant us repentance and faith in your might and your mercy, through Jesus Christ, Your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Follow the True God, Not the Popular One
In Christ Jesus, who is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” dear fellow redeemed!
Before us we have a dramatic scene. A cursory reading of the text loses the climatic nature of this whole event. The account begins by stating, “And Ahab went to meet Elijah.”
This was a long-awaited meeting! The wicked King Ahab had been searching for the “troubler of Israel,” that pesky prophet, for three and a half years. Remember that three years earlier the Lord had sent Elijah to announce to Ahab that he was going to cause a great drought because of the king’s wickedness. He had promoted idol worship, child sacrifice, murder, and more. King Ahab and his wicked wife Jezebel, a ruthless duo, who had killed many of the Lord’s prophets, blamed Elijah for the drought. They wanted to exact revenge. Now, following the Lord’s command, Elijah was sent to go to King Ahab. Elijah called for this ruthless king to meet him through one of his servants. “And Ahab went to meet Elijah.”
What a terrifying event for Elijah—having to go face this wicked king. I am sure he found comfort in the words Moses spoke to the Israelites, “The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (Exodus 14:14).
When Ahab came to Elijah, we see that he had not repented even though the Lord sent this great drought. He didn’t see his faults or recognize his sin. Instead, he still blamed Elijah, as seen in his greeting, “You troubler of Israel.” So, Elijah responds with the truth. He tells him that all these troubles are a result of his idolatry—worshiping other gods. And then, Elijah challenges Ahab’s prophets—send 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah to Mt. Carmel, and we will see who the true God is. The Lord led Ahab to accept this challenge, thinking that finally he would be able to get rid of this pesky prophet and humiliate him in the process—a win, win.
I. The Peoples’ Silence
Ahab was so confident that he sent for all the people of Israel. A huge crowd gathered. Elijah takes advantage of this opportunity and he addresses the people. He calls out their idolatry—their half-hearted worship. “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.” The people were silent. They didn’t say a word. Why? It’s a lot easier to be neutral—to be half-hearted, then to fully commit yourself to one side. Why not worship all the gods and cover your bases? But God doesn’t want just a percentage of our fear, love, and trust. He wants it all. Otherwise, the Lord will say to us as he did to the Church of Laodicea in the Book of Revelation, “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:16).
So, Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal. You have your bull sacrifice, and I’ll have mine. The one who answers by fire—“he is God.” To this, the people said, “It is well spoken.”
The prophets of Baal went first. They called upon their god, weeping and wailing, and dancing to get his attention. The holy writer probably describes their dancing as limping—emphasizing how foolish they look. At noon, Elijah mocks the prophets of Baal, “maybe he is busy thinking about something or going to the bathroom!” The prophets of Baal try even harder to “awake” their god, cutting themselves to get his attention but with no success. We read, “they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.”
Of course, this is no surprise. A false god is no god at all. As the Psalmist describes, “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not” (Ps 115:4–5).
Now, it was Elijah’s turn. He rebuilt the altar of the Lord, making a trench around it, and readied the sacrifice. To magnify God’s power, he poured four jars of water on the altar three times and filled the trench with water too. Everything was drenched. Have you ever tried starting a fire with wet wood? It’s extremely difficult—nigh impossible unless you have a powerful torch. That was the point—to leave no doubt that something powerful was needed to burn this sacrifice.
When everything was prepared, Elijah prayed to God. What’s remarkable is how he prays. You would think that if there were a terrible king and faithless people who have abandoned God, killed your fellow prophets, and sought to take your life, you would pray to God, “Make them look foolish!” or “Destroy them!” But he doesn’t. Elijah didn’t want to destroy these people; he wanted to save them. He wanted them to repent. So, Elijah prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.”
Elijah serves as model for every faithful preacher. It is not always easy to tell people about their sin. It doesn’t win you any popularity contests. It’s not always easy to stand on the side of truth. We don’t speak the truth to show our superiority or anything of the sort. We want to be faithful to Jesus, and we want people to turn to him and be saved. As a pastor does his work, he always must remember that this is the goal of preaching—to lead people to Jesus. You speak the truth—even the unpopular truth, with the intention of leading them to Jesus who alone can save our souls.
A false god is anything that we love more than Jesus. While we can’t judge someone’s heart, Jesus tells us that we will know believers by their fruits—by the way they live. When a pastor knows that there are things in his members lives that is contrary to the Christian faith and will lead to their own spiritual harm—he must address it for the sake of their souls. If we are living in a sin, unrepentant—we are loving that sin more than God. We are making our sin our idol. It is hypocrisy to say you can love Jesus and willingly go on sinning. If someone is living with someone before marriage, they are dishonoring the marriage bed and saying that they think God’s Word is wrong. If someone seeks only after earthly pleasure, whether that be through wealth, alcohol, or power, they have made their own idols. This is no different than worshipping Baal and Asherah who promised such earthly pleasures. But our idols go beyond this—if someone holds on to a grudge, lets their anger fester, or covets what is not theirs, they are not fearing, loving, and trusting in God above all things. If someone continues to lie, they are not imitating Jesus, but the devil, who is the father of lies.
The idols of this world cannot save us. In the hour of death, they will be silent. But the Triune God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, does hear us and can save us.
II. The Lord’s Power
When Elijah prayed, God heard and he acted! He magnified his glory! “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.” This fire or lightening, consumed everything! There was absolutely no doubt at all who the true God was. No wonder it says, “And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, ‘The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.’”
The Lord demonstrated his power. There is nothing he can’t do. He showed all of Israel, King Ahab, and Jezebel who the true God was. This account is written for our comfort. It’s to remind us that we have an almighty God, who is not silent, but who hears our prayers and wants our faithful worship of him.
Now, maybe you’re thinking, “God, why can’t you show this power today? Why can’t you prove yourself to the world?” Well, the Lord would say the same thing to us that Abraham said to the rich man who wanted Lazarus to go to his brothers—“You have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them… If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead” (Luke 16:29,31).
We have God’s Word. The account before us today is history. It did happen. God has given us undeniable truth. Our sinful flesh just doesn’t want to believe. The devil works quite hard to make us think we can’t trust it! Not only is he the true God, but his Word is truth. He cannot lie.
Yet, what you and I need most isn’t to see God’s might, but his mercy. You need to know that though you and I are sinners, though you may have fallen for the idols of this world before, that God still loves you… that he has redeemed you. The Apostle Paul, after describing sinners who will not inherit life says this: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (I Corinthians 6:11).
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became man to save us. He lived a perfect life for you. He died a holy death for you. He rose again on Easter morning showing that death has lost its sting! He doesn’t make you bleed for him like the idols of this world, he bled for us. He doesn’t ask you to try and win his approval through your life—he did it all for you. He doesn’t make you dance around and try and impress him to get your prayers answered—he always hears our prayers. All God asks is that you believe his Word. “I alone am your God.” “Be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven.”
God shows his power not in his might, but in his mercy. In the still voice of the Gospel, “which is the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16). In his body and blood, which is “given and shed for you, for the remission of all your sins.” In the waters of Baptism, where he shows his power, applying water three times in his holy name, making you his dear child and heir of eternal life.
We hear the faithful prophet Elijah calling us today to follow the true God, not the popular one. This is the only God who can and will save us. This is the God who hears our prayers. He is the one who shows us the mercy, forgiveness, and steadfast love which we so desperately need.
This is one reason we confess our faith before men and the world. So that others might hear and see who the true God is and believe in him through our public confession. That’s why today is a good day at Trinity! As we heard two young women confess their faith in the true God. He gives us this great promise: “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32).
This is the true God who can and will save us. At times, we might have to be part of the unpopular crowd for believing in him like Elijah. It might cause us to have to make some tough choices. But this is the life we want to live. It is a joyful life, because it is a life lived under God’s saving grace. It’s not a job, it’s a joy. We have a God who will never leave us nor forsake us. Even when we stray, he faithfully calls us to himself, promising forgiveness and life. This is the God we want to have, who shows mercy, not just might. This is the God we can put our trust in—who saves us and loves us for Jesus’ sake. A love so perfect and pure, that our sins are washed away and we have a home in heaven. So may we by his grace, confess the truth, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” Amen.