part0066

Key Verse : "Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire--he is God. Then all the people said, 'What you say is good.'"

The Prophet Elijah was called by God to preach judgment, justice, and repentance in Israel. In I Kings 17:1, he told the wicked king, whose name was Ahab, that it would not rain for a few years, and after making that announcement, he went into hiding so that no one would know of his whereabouts. During his absence, the king searched diligently for him. But in all of that time, it did not rain, and Elijah could not be found.

James 5:17 says that Elijah prayed earnestly and that the rain did not fall in Israel for three and a half years. Because of the famine that had resulted from not receiving rain for such a long time, the king's horses and mules did not have any food. So, in I Kings 18:1-15, the Prophet Obadiah and the king went searching throughout the land trying to find some grass for them to eat. While Obadiah was looking for food for the king's animals, Elijah greeted him and told him to set up a meeting with Ahab. At first, Obadiah was reluctant to obey Elijah because he was not sure that Elijah would show up, but he did so after being assured by the prophet that he would be there.

In I Kings 18:16-20, Elijah met Ahab and told him to bring the people to Mount Carmel along with the false prophets of Baal and Asherah. In I Kings 18:21, he first rebuked the people for their idol worship of Baal and Asherah, and he then challenged the false prophets of those two idols to make a burnt offering without starting their own fire. The idea was to have the one true God start the fire for the burnt offering and to let the people see which God was true and which ones were false. In I Kings 18:21-40, the false prophets could not summon fire from their false gods, but Elijah immediately summoned and received fire from the God of Israel. Elijah won a great victory for the Lord, and the false prophets of the false gods were defeated and destroyed.