Elijah and the Prophets of Baal
1 Kings 18:1, 17-45
When Ahab and Jezebel were king and queen of Israel, they began to worship the false god, Baal. The altars of the God of Israel were pushed over, and people forgot God.
Elijah was God's prophet. He told the king that God would take away all the rain and dew and nothing could grow. Then Elijah hid from King Ahab. He stayed with a widow and her family for many months.
After three years without rain, God told Elijah to go back and see King Ahab. When the king saw Elijah, he said, "Is that you, Elijah? Is that you, troublemaker of Israel?"
"I am not the one who has made trouble," said Elijah. "Dry land and hunger are here because you have forgotten the commandments and followed false gods."
Then he told Ahab to send the people to a mountain called Carmel. "Bring the four hundred prophets of the false god Baal. And have all those prophets who are such good friends with Queen Jezebel come, too."
So Ahab sent messengers out to the whole country, and the people and false prophets came.
Elijah stood up in front of everyone who was there. "You can't believe two things at once," he said. "How long will you sit on the fence? If our Lord is God, then follow the Lord. But if Baal is God, then follow Baal instead."
Then Elijah told them, "You will see the Lord's power. I am only one prophet for God. There are hundreds here for Baal. We will make an offering and see which God takes it."
So they laid wood on the altar of Baal. They killed a bull and put the meat on the altar. They did not light the wood but prayed instead.
From early morning until noon the prophets of Baal called him, "O Baal, hear and answer us!" But nothing happened.
At noon Elijah said, "Keep calling. Cry louder. If Baal is a god, Baal will hear you. Maybe Baal is on a trip, or busy, or taking a nap."
All afternoon the prophets of Baal raved on. Over and over, they called out, "O Baal, hear us!" But nothing happened.
Then Elijah called the people to him. He repaired the altar of God that had been torn down. He took twelve stones that stood for the twelve tribes of Israel and fixed the broken altar.
He dug a pit around the altar and put wood on top of it. He laid the meat of a bull on the wood and told people to pour buckets of water on it three times.
Then Elijah stood in front of the altar and cried out, "O Lord, God of Abraham and Isaac and Israel, show these people today that you are God! Answer me, Lord, so the people of Israel may know you and turn away from false gods."
Suddenly, God's fire fell from the sky, and burned up the offering. It burned up the wood, the stones, and the dust. It licked up the water in the pit.
When the people saw what had happened, they fell down. They hid their faces and worshiped, and said, "The Lord is God! The Lord is God!"
The prophets of Baal were taken away. Then Elijah told King Ahab to go back and eat and drink. While the king had dinner, Elijah went to the top of the mountain and knelt down and hid his face between his knees.
"Look toward the sea at the sky," he told his servant.
"I don't see anything," said the man.
Seven times Elijah said, "Go and look." Elijah stayed there on his knees, with his face in the dust. The seventh time the servant said, "I see a little cloud, as small as my hand."
"Go tell Ahab to go home in his chariot before it rains," said Elijah. But before Ahab could leave, the sky was black with clouds, the wind blew, and there was a great rain.
