The Way
Fire on Mount Carmel
The God who answers by fire
Story
In the third year of the drought, all Israel gathered on Mount Carmel. The four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal were there too. Elijah stepped out before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; if Baal is God, follow Baal.” The people did not answer a word.
As Elijah proposed, each side would prepare a bull and lay it on the wood, and the god who answered by fire would be God. From morning on, the prophets of Baal shouted, “Baal, answer us!” At noon Elijah mocked them: “Shout louder. Maybe Baal is asleep.” They raved and cut themselves with swords and spears. But evening came, and there was no answer at all.
Elijah rebuilt the broken-down altar of the Lord with twelve stones, and had water poured on the offering three times. Elijah prayed, “Lord, let it be known today that you are the God of Israel.” Fire fell and consumed the offering, the stones, and even the water in the trench. The people fell on their faces and cried, “The Lord, he is God!” Long before, David had sung it too: the voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of fire.
Walk this scene on the map →Words of God and the Prophets
How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; if Baal is God, follow Baal.
Answer me, Lord, answer me, so that these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.
The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God!
The sayings are fresh renderings of the original meaning in today's language. Text: 1 Kgs 18:1–40
Background
Mount Carmel is a ridge stretching toward the Mediterranean; it is the first to catch the rain clouds coming in from the sea and was famous for always being green. It is thought to have been a place where Baal, the god of rain and plenty, was worshiped, which made it an all the more fitting place for the contest.
Pause and Reflect
Am I torn between God and the world?