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Bible Stories You Should Know: Elijah on Mount Carmel · Traveler’s Tales

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  There are places in this world where history feels heavy, places where the wind seems to
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  whisper the stories of another age.
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  One of those places rises above the Mediterranean coastline in northern Israel, a rugged mountain
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  ridge called Mount Carmel.
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  It was there that one lonely prophet stood against a nation that had forgotten God.
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  Welcome to another edition of Traveler's Tales, produced by Enjoying the Journey.
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  I'm your host, Greg Dowdy.
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  On Traveler's Tales, we often journey back into the world of the Bible and take a closer
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  look at the places, people, and moments that reveal the truth of God's Word.
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  A special thanks to John Buckner, whose research and insight continue to help bring these biblical
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  settings and stories to life for us.
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  Today we journey to one of the most dramatic scenes in all of Scripture, a place where
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  fire fell from heaven, where false religion was exposed, a place where God reminded His
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  people that He alone is worthy of worship.
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  Our story comes from 1 Kings chapter 18.
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  The nation of Israel was in spiritual collapse.
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  King Ahab and Queen Jezebel had led the people deep into idolatry.
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  Altars to Baal covered the land.
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  The worship of the true God had been neglected, sin had become normal, and truth had become
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  unpopular.
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  And into that dark hour stepped a prophet named Elijah.
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  Elijah issued an astonishing challenge.
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  He called for all Israel to gather on Mount Carmel along with the 450 prophets of Baal.
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  There, on the mountain, the issue would finally be settled.
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  The prophet stood before the people and asked one of the great questions of the Bible.
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  How long halt ye between two opinions?
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  If the Lord be God, follow Him.
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  But if Baal, then follow him.
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  What a question!
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  The problem in Israel was not atheism.
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  They still wanted religion.
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  They simply wanted a religion that allowed them to worship God while also holding onto
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  their idols.
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  But God has never accepted divided hearts.
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  And friend, the same is true today.
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  God is not looking for partial devotion.
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  He is worthy of complete surrender.
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  The challenge was simple.
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  Each side would prepare a sacrifice, but no fire would be placed beneath it.
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  The God who answered by fire would prove Himself to be the true God.
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  The prophets of Baal went first.
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  Hour after hour they cried out.
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  They leaped upon the altar.
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  They shouted.
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  They pleaded.
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  Scripture even says they cut themselves with knives until the blood flowed.
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  It was an exhausting display of empty religion.
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  But still, nothing happened.
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  No voice, no fire, no answer.
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  Then Elijah stepped forward.
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  On top of Mount Carmel stood an old altar of the Lord that had been broken down and
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  neglected.
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  The Bible says Elijah repaired it stone by stone.
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  What a picture that is!
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  Before the fire could fall, the altar had to be restored.
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  And perhaps that is where some of us are today.
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  The altar of prayer has been neglected.
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  The altar of worship has been broken down.
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  The altar of fellowship with God has been abandoned beneath the rubble of busy lives
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  and divided hearts.
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  Yet, thank God, what has been broken can still be rebuilt.
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  Elijah prepared the sacrifice and then did something shocking.
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  During a severe drought, he commanded that water be poured over the altar again and again
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  until everything was drenched.
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  Why?
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  Because Elijah wanted everyone to know that when the fire fell, it could only be explained
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  by the power of God.
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  Then the prophet prayed one of the simplest prayers in Scripture.
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  No screaming, no theatrics, no performance.
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  Just simple faith in a mighty God.
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  And suddenly, fire fell from heaven.
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  The flames consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the dust, and even the water in
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  the trench around the altar.
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  Can you imagine standing there that day?
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  The heat, the shock, the silence that must have swept across the mountain?
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  And when the people saw it, they fell on their faces and cried,
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  The Lord, He is the God!
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  The Lord, He is the God!
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  Mount Carmel became a monument to the power of God and the folly of idols.
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  Interestingly, the mountain continued to hold significance throughout history.
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  Even centuries later, during the First Jewish War, the Roman general Vespasian reportedly
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  visited Mount Carmel seeking divine guidance before eventually becoming emperor of Rome.
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  Ancient writers mentioned the mountain as a sacred place long remembered for its connection
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  to prophecy and worship.
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  But the greatest lesson of Carmel is not about Roman history or even dramatic miracles.
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  It is about the God who answers by fire.
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  Elijah was not trusting in emotion, popularity, or human ability.
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  He simply trusted in the one and true living God.
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  Old Scripture reminds us in the New Testament that Elijah was a man subject to like passions
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  as we are.
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  In other words, he was an ordinary man who believed in an extraordinary God.
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  And that means the God of Carmel is still the same today.
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  He still answers prayer.
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  He still reveals himself.
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  He still calls wandering hearts back home.
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  Mount Carmel also reminds us that every person must eventually choose whom they will serve.
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  Neutral ground does not exist forever.
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  How long haunt ye between two opinions?
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  That question echoes across the centuries.
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  Will we trust the gods of this world, pleasure, success, self, materialism?
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  Or will we trust the God of Elijah?
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  Because in the end, only one God answers by fire.
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  Thank you for joining me on today's journey.
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  Stories like this remind us that the God who worked in ages past is still at work today.
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  He desires to use our lives to shine the light of the gospel in this generation.
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  For more Bible teaching, encouraging resources, and additional Traveler's Tales episodes,
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  visit ETJ.Bible and continue the journey with us.