Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / Elijah on Mount Carmel - The Book of 1 Kings
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Let us pray. And when all the people saw it,
- 0:04Speaker 1: they fell on their faces and they said, The Lord,
- 0:08Speaker 1: He is the God. The Lord, He is the God.
- 0:12Speaker 1: 1 Kings 18.39 Lord, I want you to know that
- 0:18Speaker 1: you can trust me with challenging and difficult assignments. When
- 0:23Speaker 1: I am faced with having to stand strong in my
- 0:26Speaker 1: faith and to stand on the side of godliness, I
- 0:29Speaker 1: will not waver. to gain the acceptance of the masses,
- 0:33Speaker 1: like the king and prophets in 1 Kings 18. Instead,
- 0:38Speaker 1: I will stand side by side with you, Lord, awaiting
- 0:42Speaker 1: your directions and guidance. I confess today that I am
- 0:46Speaker 1: not afraid to be the only one. I'm not afraid
- 0:49Speaker 1: to be the only one to operate with integrity. I'm
- 0:52Speaker 1: not afraid to be the only one who follows your
- 0:54Speaker 1: word when others choose compromise. I'm not afraid to declare
- 0:59Speaker 1: your mighty works in a world who wants me to
- 1:02Speaker 1: take credit for what I have. When there is doubt
- 1:06Speaker 1: in the lives of your children, I will rest in
- 1:09Speaker 1: your power to speak boldly and to point them back
- 1:13Speaker 1: to you so that they can flourish once again. I
- 1:18Speaker 1: hear the sound of rain in the distance, and I
- 1:21Speaker 1: thank you in advance for refreshing the dry areas in
- 1:25Speaker 1: my life. In Jesus' name. Amen. Thanks for making prayer
- 1:34Speaker 1: a priority in your life. To hear the Bible come
- 1:37Speaker 1: to life, stay tuned for the Bible in a Year.
- 1:41Speaker 1: Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
- 1:53Speaker 2: Elijah on Mount Carmel. In our last story, we learned
- 1:59Speaker 2: about the faithful provision of God in Elijah's life. A
- 2:03Speaker 2: great drought filled the land of Israel, yet God continued
- 2:08Speaker 2: to meet Elijah's needs. The drought was a symbol of
- 2:11Speaker 2: Israel's spiritual state. They had strayed away from the Lord
- 2:16Speaker 2: and worshipped other gods. As a result, they were destitute.
- 2:20Speaker 2: In this story, Elijah showcases the mightiness of God against
- 2:25Speaker 2: the false gods of Israel. Elijah stands in direct opposition
- 2:29Speaker 2: to the prophets of Baal in a cosmic battle of nature,
- 2:34Speaker 2: inspired by the book of 1 Kings.
- 2:40Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
- 2:43Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. In our previous time together,
- 2:47Speaker 3: we saw God provide miraculously for Elijah in the midst
- 2:50Speaker 3: of a drought that was devastating Israel. God's people were
- 2:54Speaker 3: experiencing the judgment of a righteous and holy God from
- 2:58Speaker 3: whom their hearts had turned as they worshipped Baal, the
- 3:01Speaker 3: false gods of the pagans. The Lord had used this
- 3:05Speaker 3: period of need and provision in Elijah's life to strengthen
- 3:09Speaker 3: and deepen his faith as he prepared for many battles ahead.
- 3:13Speaker 3: And today, we'll hear how the clash between God and
- 3:16Speaker 3: the prophets of Baal and Asherah leads to an amazing
- 3:19Speaker 3: display of God's power at a place called Mount Carmel.
- 3:25Speaker 2: The country of Israel was scorched and forsaken. For three
- 3:29Speaker 2: years the soil received no rain. The land was parched,
- 3:34Speaker 2: and the people of Israel were lost in a daze
- 3:36Speaker 2: of thirst and misery. King Ahab was forced to govern
- 3:41Speaker 2: Israel in dire circumstances. Deep down, though he would not
- 3:45Speaker 2: admit it, he knew that it was the Lord who
- 3:48Speaker 2: kept the rain from falling. One morning the Lord spoke
- 3:52Speaker 2: to Elijah. The Lord spoke as if giving a commission
- 3:56Speaker 2: and a warning.' Go to King Ahab,' he said.' Tell
- 4:00Speaker 2: him that rain is coming.' So Elijah took off. Ahab
- 4:06Speaker 2: had been seeking out Elijah for quite some time, for
- 4:09Speaker 2: he knew that Elijah was someone who could entreat of
- 4:12Speaker 2: the Lord to send rain. Elijah knew he would not
- 4:16Speaker 2: receive a warm welcome from the king. Meanwhile, back in Samaria,
- 4:21Speaker 2: a deathly famine was spreading throughout the land. King Ahab
- 4:25Speaker 2: sent his most faithful servant, Obadiah, to search for sources
- 4:30Speaker 2: of water. Obadiah was a faithful follower of the Lord
- 4:34Speaker 2: and had a proven past of bravery in the midst
- 4:37Speaker 2: of great distress. One time, when the wicked Jezebel tried
- 4:41Speaker 2: to kill one hundred of the Lord's prophets, Obadiah hid
- 4:44Speaker 2: them safely in caves. Night and day he tended to
- 4:48Speaker 2: their needs and kept them safe. Obadiah was well known
- 4:52Speaker 2: for his compassion and bravery. Ahab commissioned Obadiah to find
- 4:57Speaker 2: springs of water. Obadiah went one way and Ahab went
- 5:01Speaker 2: the other. As Obadiah was on his search, he saw
- 5:05Speaker 2: Elijah walking towards the palace. Obadiah stopped dead in his tracks.
- 5:11Speaker 2: Quivering with excitement and fear, he fell at Elijah's feet
- 5:15Speaker 2: and said, Is that really you, Elijah? Elijah smiled. He
- 5:20Speaker 2: was happy to see a friendly face. He helped Obadiah
- 5:23Speaker 2: to his feet and said, Yes, my friend. I have
- 5:26Speaker 2: come to see the king. Go and tell him I
- 5:29Speaker 2: am here. Obadiah shook his head and grabbed Elijah by
- 5:33Speaker 2: the shoulders. No, he shouted. If I go and tell
- 5:36Speaker 2: Ahab you are here, he will harm me for letting
- 5:39Speaker 2: you get away. He has been searching for you for months.
- 5:43Speaker 2: He blames you for the drought. Obadiah composed himself and
- 5:47Speaker 2: forced a smile. If I go and tell the king
- 5:50Speaker 2: you are here and you do not show up, he
- 5:52Speaker 2: will surely kill me. Elijah tried to reassure Obadiah that
- 5:57Speaker 2: all was well, but Obadiah shook his head again and said,
- 6:00Speaker 2: Ahab's wife Jezebel began an inquisition of God's prophets. I
- 6:05Speaker 2: had to hide them in caves. You are not safe here, Elijah.
- 6:10Speaker 2: Elijah planted his feet firmly in the ground and took
- 6:13Speaker 2: Obadiah's hand. He looked him in the eye and said,
- 6:16Speaker 2: I swear by the Almighty, I will be there shortly.
- 6:20Speaker 2: Take courage. Obadiah clenched Elijah's hand and let out a sigh.
- 6:25Speaker 2: A slight grin came upon his face, a grin that
- 6:28Speaker 2: could only come from a man with true faith in God.
- 6:32Speaker 2: He nodded his head and left to go tell King
- 6:34Speaker 2: Ahab of Elijah's return. Elijah did not get far before
- 6:39Speaker 2: Ahab and his men came out to meet him. The
- 6:41Speaker 2: king came with a large crowd behind him Rumors of
- 6:45Speaker 2: Elijah being the cause of the drought had spread throughout Israel.
- 6:49Speaker 2: Elijah could feel their glares burning through his skin. Ahab
- 6:54Speaker 2: sat upon his camel. He was a taller man, muscular
- 6:58Speaker 2: and handsome, yet three years of drought and conflict had
- 7:02Speaker 2: aged him rapidly. Weariness could be seen from under his eyes.
- 7:07Speaker 2: Ahab glared down at Elijah.' Ah, it is the troublemaker Elijah!'
- 7:13Speaker 2: Ahab said with a slight slur. Ahab was unsteady and volatile.
- 7:18Speaker 2: He and his wife Jezebel already proved they were capable
- 7:21Speaker 2: of intense violence. Yet something in Elijah gave him boldness
- 7:25Speaker 2: to speak truthfully. I have made no trouble, Elijah exclaimed.
- 7:30Speaker 2: He projected his voice so everyone present could hear. He
- 7:34Speaker 2: pointed to Ahab and said, You and your family have
- 7:37Speaker 2: brought this on yourself. You worship the gods Baal and Asherah.
- 7:42Speaker 2: They have brought you only pain. Elijah held his arms
- 7:46Speaker 2: open wide. Summon all of Israel to join me at
- 7:49Speaker 2: Mount Carmel. Bring with you the 450 prophets of Baal
- 7:53Speaker 2: and the 400 prophets of Asherah. We shall see whose
- 7:57Speaker 2: god is worthy to be praised. The next morning Ahab
- 8:02Speaker 2: summoned thousands of people to watch Elijah stand against the
- 8:06Speaker 2: 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah. Elijah looked at the
- 8:10Speaker 2: sea of people. He loathed that there had to be
- 8:13Speaker 2: a spectacle to show them the error of their ways.
- 8:16Speaker 2: Elijah found a large stone to stand on so he
- 8:19Speaker 2: could be seen by every man and woman present. He
- 8:22Speaker 2: raised his hand into the air and shouted, You waver
- 8:26Speaker 2: and hobble between two masters. First you serve God, and
- 8:30Speaker 2: then you serve Baal and Asherah.
- 8:32Speaker 3: No longer.
- 8:33Speaker 2: If the Lord is worthy, follow him. However, if Baal
- 8:37Speaker 2: shows himself to be God, then follow him. The people
- 8:41Speaker 2: were silent at Elijah's words.
- 8:43Speaker 3: They waited.
- 8:44Speaker 2: They needed proof. They needed a show. It was truly ironic.
- 8:50Speaker 2: Baal was supposed to be the god of fertility and weather,
- 8:53Speaker 2: yet the heavens closed and gave no rain. All the
- 8:57Speaker 2: people's prayers to Baal were never answered. Elijah stood among
- 9:00Speaker 2: the people and said,' Here Baal has four hundred fifty prophets.
- 9:05Speaker 2: The Lord has only me. Bring two bulls forth.' The
- 9:10Speaker 2: people brought two bulls and killed them for a sacrifice.
- 9:13Speaker 2: Elijah continued, saying,' The prophets of Baal may choose whichever
- 9:17Speaker 2: bull they think is best.' We will lay our bulls
- 9:20Speaker 2: on the wood for sacrifice. Elijah lifted his staff in
- 9:24Speaker 2: the air and yelled, Call upon the name of your
- 9:27Speaker 2: God and I shall call on mine. Whoever answers with
- 9:31Speaker 2: fire upon the altar shall be the true God. Elijah's
- 9:36Speaker 2: words rolled like thunder. He stepped down. His eyes did
- 9:40Speaker 2: not leave the false prophets. His righteous anger burned deep.
- 9:45Speaker 2: Elijah allowed the prophets of Baal to go first. They
- 9:48Speaker 2: prayed from morning until noon. They shouted, sang, and danced
- 9:53Speaker 2: around the altar. Elijah watched them as they hobbled on
- 9:56Speaker 2: one leg, fell on their faces towards the ground. Hmm. Hmm.
- 10:16Speaker 2: You may have to shout louder, Elijah scoffed. Perhaps he
- 10:20Speaker 2: is lost somewhere daydreaming, or perhaps he is relieving himself
- 10:24Speaker 2: out back. It could also be that he is away
- 10:27Speaker 2: on a journey, or asleep. Maybe if you shout louder
- 10:31Speaker 2: you could wake him up. The prophets continued their shouts.
- 10:35Speaker 2: As was the custom, the prophets took out their blades
- 10:37Speaker 2: and swords and began to cut themselves on the altar.
- 10:41Speaker 2: Blood gushed from their arms and legs, spilling out onto
- 10:44Speaker 2: the floor. They writhed in pain, rolling around in their
- 10:48Speaker 2: own gore. The sun was beginning to set, and Elijah
- 10:52Speaker 2: could take no more of their nonsensical idol-worshipping. Clouds slowly
- 10:57Speaker 2: crept into the sky, making their way over the people
- 10:59Speaker 2: down below. Elijah drew people towards the altar. He set
- 11:04Speaker 2: up twelve stones to represent the twelve tribes of Israel
- 11:07Speaker 2: and dug a large trench around the altar. The people
- 11:11Speaker 2: filled the trench with three gallons of water. They poured
- 11:14Speaker 2: more water over the wood. Again, Elijah said. So they
- 11:18Speaker 2: drenched the wood again with water. Again, Elijah repeated. So again,
- 11:24Speaker 2: they dumped more water over the wood and offering. Elijah
- 11:28Speaker 2: knelt before the sopping wet altar. The whole area was silent,
- 11:32Speaker 2: listening in on Elijah's prayers to God. Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac,
- 11:38Speaker 2: and Jacob, prove yourself today. Answer me and answer these people.
- 11:43Speaker 2: Make them understand your deliverance. As Elijah was speaking, a
- 11:48Speaker 2: great flash of lightning fell down from heaven. The altar
- 11:52Speaker 2: erupted into flames, sending ash and debris flying into the air.
- 11:57Speaker 2: The offering, the wood, and the stones were ground into
- 12:00Speaker 2: a powder, and the water evaporated into the intense heat
- 12:04Speaker 2: of the flames. The might of God had descended upon
- 12:08Speaker 2: the altar. The same God that sent fire spilling from
- 12:11Speaker 2: heaven against the Egyptians had proved himself to be just
- 12:15Speaker 2: as present as before. The people of Israel fell onto
- 12:18Speaker 2: their faces and began to repent before the Lord. The Lord!
- 12:23Speaker 2: He is God! The Lord is God! They shouted. Elijah
- 12:28Speaker 2: looked at the bleeding and babbling prophets and pointed to them.
- 12:32Speaker 2: Take these prophets away! Do not let a single one
- 12:34Speaker 2: of them escape! So the mob of people took them.
- 12:38Speaker 2: The false prophets were dragged into the Kishon Valley and
- 12:41Speaker 2: slaughtered for their wickedness. Their blood painted the valley red.
- 12:46Speaker 2: That day, Baal did not answer them. Thunder began to
- 12:51Speaker 2: roll in through the clouds. Elijah looked up to heaven
- 12:55Speaker 2: and then looked down again to King Ahab. Elijah smiled
- 12:59Speaker 2: and said, You better go home and eat. Seems to
- 13:02Speaker 2: be a rainstorm coming. So Ahab and the people of
- 13:06Speaker 2: Israel retreated back into their homes. But Elijah climbed to
- 13:10Speaker 2: the top of Mount Carmel. Ahab stayed a while and
- 13:13Speaker 2: watched as Elijah climbed. There, high above the city, Elijah
- 13:17Speaker 2: bowed among the clouds. Thunder surrounded him in every direction.
- 13:22Speaker 2: Thick black clouds covered the skies. Elijah prayed on his
- 13:26Speaker 2: knees to God with his face held high to heaven.
- 13:30Speaker 2: Elijah turned back to his servant and said, Go and
- 13:33Speaker 2: tell Ahab to retreat on his chariot before the rain
- 13:36Speaker 2: catches him. The winds became violent, and soon it was
- 13:40Speaker 2: difficult to stand upright. Elijah tucked his cloak into his
- 13:44Speaker 2: belt and began running. The Lord gave him special strength
- 13:47Speaker 2: to run faster than the rain and Ahab's chariot. Behind him,
- 13:52Speaker 2: the rain began to consume the dry and thirsty valley.
- 14:00Speaker 3: As we open today's scripture, Israel is still plagued with drought.
- 14:05Speaker 3: Rain had not fallen for three years. King Ahab, a
- 14:09Speaker 3: wicked king, ruled the land in this challenging time, and
- 14:12Speaker 3: rather than turn to God, Ahab continued in his wickedness,
- 14:16Speaker 3: letting the worship of false gods destroy the land. The
- 14:20Speaker 3: people had suffered greatly for their unfaithfulness, just as God
- 14:24Speaker 3: through Elijah had told King Ahab it would. But now
- 14:27Speaker 3: it was time for the rains to return. Now is
- 14:31Speaker 3: a time for revival. So the Lord spoke to Elijah
- 14:35Speaker 3: and told him to go to Ahab saying God would
- 14:38Speaker 3: send rain. So Elijah went off to see the king. Meanwhile,
- 14:43Speaker 3: Ahab was desperately looking for solutions to his big problem.
- 14:47Speaker 3: He sent his servant Obadiah to look for grass and
- 14:50Speaker 3: water for the animals. The king took a search party
- 14:53Speaker 3: in one direction and Obadiah went the other way. Now,
- 14:56Speaker 3: unlike the king, Obadiah feared God and had protected God's
- 15:01Speaker 3: prophets when Ahab's wife Jezebel, a very wicked woman, was
- 15:04Speaker 3: hunting them down to kill them. When Obadiah encountered Elijah,
- 15:09Speaker 3: he was thrilled to see him. But when Elijah told
- 15:12Speaker 3: him to go tell the king he was coming, Obadiah
- 15:15Speaker 3: was terrified because Ahab was evil and violent, and if
- 15:19Speaker 3: he returned without Elijah, he was sure to have his head.
- 15:23Speaker 3: In other words, Obadiah compromised. But Elijah reassured Obadiah that
- 15:28Speaker 3: the Lord would protect him. So he did finally go
- 15:32Speaker 3: away to tell the king. When Ahab and Elijah finally
- 15:36Speaker 3: met up, rather than acknowledge his fault in the drought,
- 15:39Speaker 3: Ahab deflected the blame. He called Elijah a troublemaker. But
- 15:45Speaker 3: Elijah told Ahab that he was the troublemaker, that he
- 15:48Speaker 3: had brought judgment upon Israel. The worship of all the
- 15:52Speaker 3: false gods would certainly bring ruin upon God's people. Elijah
- 15:57Speaker 3: told Ahab to summon the 450 prophets of Baal and
- 16:02Speaker 3: 400 prophets of Asherah to Mount Carmel. It was time
- 16:06Speaker 3: for a showdown. It would be a battle of the gods.
- 16:10Speaker 3: Now I want you to picture this scene. Thousands of
- 16:13Speaker 3: people gathered on a mountain for a battle of belief,
- 16:16Speaker 3: a battle of faith between 850 false prophets against one
- 16:22Speaker 3: lone man standing for God, the man Elijah. Elijah was
- 16:27Speaker 3: full of faith. He was confident. He knew God would
- 16:31Speaker 3: come through just as he promised, and he knew the
- 16:33Speaker 3: people had a choice to make. So in 1 Kings 18, 21,
- 16:38Speaker 3: this is what Elijah says to the people. How long
- 16:42Speaker 3: will you go limping between two different opinions? If the
- 16:46Speaker 3: Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal, then follow him.
- 16:51Speaker 3: And the people did not answer him a word. In
- 16:56Speaker 3: other words, they refused to make a decision. He then
- 17:00Speaker 3: had two bulls brought, one for God and one for
- 17:03Speaker 3: the false idols. The prophets of Baal could choose the
- 17:06Speaker 3: bull they saw fit. Then each bull would be killed
- 17:09Speaker 3: and laid on the wood and be sacrificed. The challenge
- 17:13Speaker 3: was a simple one. Each party would call on their
- 17:15Speaker 3: deity to bring fire upon the altar and consume the animal,
- 17:19Speaker 3: and they would see which God answered, because the God
- 17:22Speaker 3: who is God would answer with fire. The prophets of Baal,
- 17:27Speaker 3: of course, failed because their God was a non-existent God.
- 17:32Speaker 3: He was indifferent because he did not exist. They began
- 17:37Speaker 3: to cut themselves and bleed on the altar and to
- 17:39Speaker 3: cry out and to shout, but to no avail. The
- 17:42Speaker 3: gods that Israel had given their lives to, turning from
- 17:46Speaker 3: the Lord to follow after these Baals, were powerless and silent.
- 17:51Speaker 3: Just a word of application here. The false gods of
- 17:55Speaker 3: our own age are powerless to meet the deepest needs
- 17:58Speaker 3: of the human heart. Never give your energy or your
- 18:01Speaker 3: devotion or your faith to what does not really exist.
- 18:06Speaker 3: In the end, as is always the case, the false
- 18:09Speaker 3: gods would never come through. And then it was Elijah's turn.
- 18:15Speaker 3: A mere fire wouldn't do. The people needed a sign
- 18:18Speaker 3: that they could not reject or ignore. So he had
- 18:22Speaker 3: gallons of water dumped on the altar, drenching the bull
- 18:26Speaker 3: and the wood. Why did he do this? I like
- 18:30Speaker 3: what someone said. A God who cannot burn wet wood
- 18:34Speaker 3: is not a God at all. So the wood is wet.
- 18:40Speaker 3: But Elijah prayed a prayer to remind everyone that God
- 18:44Speaker 3: is God. The God of their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
- 18:49Speaker 3: And when he called upon the Lord in prayer to
- 18:51Speaker 3: show his power, a great explosion took place. A great fire,
- 18:55Speaker 3: like a nuclear attack, fell from heaven and consumed everything, beast, wood, stone,
- 19:01Speaker 3: and water. The people then fell on their faces, praising God.
- 19:06Speaker 3: Elijah then had every last prophet of Baal put to death.
- 19:10Speaker 3: He knew that their evil deception could not remain in
- 19:14Speaker 3: the land. The cancer had to be cut out. Our
- 19:18Speaker 3: passage closes with rain gathering in the skies. Elijah tells
- 19:22Speaker 3: King Ahab to run back to Jezreel before the rain came,
- 19:26Speaker 3: and Ahab takes his chariot and rode away. God then
- 19:30Speaker 3: strengthened Elijah with supernatural strength, and he sped to outrun
- 19:34Speaker 3: Ahab's chariot and arrive in Jezreel ahead of the king,
- 19:37Speaker 3: ready to serve as God's counsel to a king who
- 19:40Speaker 3: needed to turn the nation back to God. Would Ahab
- 19:45Speaker 3: change his ways? And what would happen to Elijah who
- 19:48Speaker 3: had killed Jezebel the terrible queen's prophets? We'll find out
- 19:53Speaker 3: in our next reading. Dear Lord, we are reminded from
- 19:57Speaker 3: this powerful story just how much we need revival in
- 20:01Speaker 3: our world today. We ask that you would send the
- 20:04Speaker 3: fire to your people and your churches, the fire of
- 20:07Speaker 3: your spirit that it would Ignite us in true devotion
- 20:11Speaker 3: to you. May we tear down the false idols of
- 20:14Speaker 3: this world, and may we worship you and you only
- 20:18Speaker 3: with our whole hearts. Lord, help us not to limp
- 20:22Speaker 3: between two opinions, believing one thing one day and another
- 20:25Speaker 3: thing the other, but may our strength and our convictions
- 20:29Speaker 3: be strong as we walk with you. In Jesus' name, amen.
- 20:35Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
- 20:38Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com app
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