When introduced in the Bible, in 1 Kings 16, Ahab “son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him.” Well, it already sounds like he might have some trouble coming for him with God. He married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and [he] “began to serve Baal and worship him.”
That’s not smart. Of course, God wasn’t worried, but he sure was, as a southerner might say, mad as a mule chewing bumblebees.
There was at least one man that remained faithful to God during that time in history. Elijah, a prophet in Israel, sided with the one true God. He definitely was a prophet. What he said, came true. He told Ahab that the earth wouldn’t get any rain because of what he had done. So, the famine began.
Through a series of events, Elijah and Ahab finally have their show-down. The famine had been so severe in the land, but now was the time where they would settle this once and for all. It’s like an old western.
“Is that you, you troubler of Israel”
“I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have.”
Oh, boy. Hope you have your popcorn for this one. Elijah continued,
“You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
So that’s what Ahab did. It looked like this showdown would be better than the best pitching duels of all time. At face value, it looked like Baal had the upper hand, but spiritually, we know that’s not the case. Elijah was confident, despite being outnumbered 450 prophets of Baal to the one prophet still following the God of Israel.
Elijah spoke up,
“How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
Silence.
Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 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.”
They were good with that. So they built alters and prepared their sacrifices. The prophets of Baal went first.
Then, they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
If you’ve played baseball, you may have have been heckled a little. Maybe a lot. It’s hard to say that demeaning a person or team is ever a good thing – from a Christian perspective. But, if there was ever a time in the world where some lip was earned, it was now in this story! Elijah lays it on them and their “god,” in a pretty hilarious way.
And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”
Got ‘em!! Yeah, Baal must be on an extended pee break, or maybe even catching some z’s!
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.
It didn’t look like their great god was coming to show himself. After making a fool of themselves for the whole morning, Elijah and his God stole the show.
Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood.
Elijah wanted God not to just burn up the alter, but give him the opportunity to hit a grand slam walk-off with a bat flip too.
“Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
“Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
And then here’s where God shined:
At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be knowntoday that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”
God loves to make a mockery of the lies. He sure did that day! You see, God allowed their imagination to run wild and make up a god named Baal just to share this story in the future. He could have done something years earlier to erase Baal, but he let the comedy build. He decided to create a great story to show how he is God alone and deserves all worship and praise.
How awesome is that. God has a great sense of humor, doesn’t he?
Prayer Prompt
We love how you write a story, Lord. These funny bits of history share great truths. You are awesome. You make a mockery of untruth. I love that. I want to know the truth, and I’m so glad you have a sense of humor to help us understand it in some of these stories. You are great, awesome, and powerful, God!