Chapter 4: Fire on the Mountain

Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: Go back. Present yourself to Ahab. I am going to send rain.

So Elijah went. And when Ahab saw him, his reaction was not fear. It was blame.

AHAB“Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”— 1 Kings 18:17

ELIJAH“I have not made trouble for Israel. You have. You abandoned the Lord's commands and followed the Baals. Now summon the people and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal to Mount Carmel. We will settle this today.”— 1 Kings 18:18

Ahab sent word across the kingdom. The people gathered. The prophets of Baal assembled. And on the top of the mountain, Elijah stood alone against all of them.

Two bulls. Two altars. The prophets of Baal would prepare their sacrifice and call on their god. Elijah would prepare his and call on the Lord. The god who answered with fire would be the true God.

The prophets of Baal went first. They called on his name from morning until noon. Nothing. They shouted louder. They danced around the altar. Silence.

ELIJAH“Shout louder! Surely he is a god. Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.”— 1 Kings 18:27

They screamed. They slashed themselves with swords and spears until blood ran down their bodies. The afternoon passed. No voice. No answer. No fire.

Then Elijah called the people closer. He rebuilt the altar of the Lord with twelve stones. He dug a trench around it. He laid the wood and the bull on top. Then he ordered water poured over the sacrifice. Three times. Until the bull, the wood, the altar, and the trench were completely soaked.

Then he prayed. Not screaming. Not cutting himself. One prayer.

Fire fell from heaven. It burned the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the soil, and licked up every drop of water in the trench. The people fell on their faces.

THE PEOPLE“The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”— 1 Kings 18:39

Elijah had the prophets of Baal seized and killed at the Kishon Valley. Then he told Ahab to go eat and drink, because rain was coming.

He climbed back to the top of Carmel and bowed low with his face between his knees. He sent his servant to look toward the sea. Nothing. He sent him again. Seven times. On the seventh, the servant returned.

SERVANT“A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea.”

That was enough. The sky turned black. Wind came. Then rain. Heavy, pounding rain, breaking three and a half years of silence.

Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab's chariot all the way to Jezreel. In that culture, running before the king's chariot was the role of a royal servant. It was an act of honor. After everything that had happened on the mountain, Elijah was leading the king home.