The Lord Is God (1 Kings 18:20-46)

Key Verse 18:21 “Elijah went before the people and said, ‘How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.’”

When I was little, I learned about this story through a children’s Bible cartoon. It seemed more dramatic than how it was described in the passage, bit it taught me early on that there is no other god beside God. Elijah had asked to assemble all the prophets on Mount Carmel. He challenged the people by asking them in verse 21, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” The people couldn’t decide which god to follow. They must have gone back and forth between the two. Elijah wanted to put an end to this and make them decide to follow the right one. He asked the Baal prophets to set up an altar, where they would sacrifice a bull, and he would set up another altar to offer a bull to his god. They were both not allowed to light their offering, but instead they had to pray and wait for God or Baal to set it on fire. The prophets agreed and build their altar and prayed, sang, cut themselves, and danced. However, in verse 29b we are told, “But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.” All the prophets’ efforts were in vain. Baal did not set their sacrifice on fire, so Elijah directed the people’s attention toward him and the altar he build for the Lord. He put the wood and bull on it, and asked some people to pour water over the offering three times, which even filled the trench he had put around the altar. We all know that it is impossible to light wet wood. The people who were with Elijah must have thought he was crazy. Elijah continued and asked God to reveal himself to the people and show them that He is God. Of course, God set the sacrifice, wood, stones, and soil on fire, and He also dried up the trench. Verse 39 shows how the people responded to this, “When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The Lord – he is God! The Lord – he is God!’” What else could they have said? God had just clearly revealed Himself and His power to them. Now there was no doubt that the Lord is God. This is not the end of the story. Besides showing the people who He is, God ended the famine in the land by bringing rain, which they hadn’t had for three years. God ended the drought after the people turned back to him. The relationship between God and His people was restored.
These days it is not always easy to know which way to go and see that God is really there. It can be a struggle to believe at times because there are so many other things and people telling us that they are right and know better. However, God may not reveal Himself in form of a fire but through His word and through people around us and events that happen in our lives. Often, when I am not sure if God s there or if the path I am going is the right one, God shows me and assures me that He is there and is leading me His way. Then I have no doubt that He is God and can do all things, even set wood drenched in water on fire.