Then Elijah said to all the people, Draw near to me. And all the people drew near to him. And he repaired the altar of Jehovah which was broken down.
Baal's prophets had called on their god all day and got no answer. Now the one man left on the Lord's side turns from the false altar to a ruined one, and calls a whole nation to watch him rebuild it.
Elijah does not rush. He lets the false system run itself out before he shows anything better.
It is always good to wait patiently and let evil and error find their own level. Time will surely bring the truth to light. Error may dress itself ever so carefully in the respectable robes of age. But time will strip those robes off and show it in all its ugliness. Elijah felt this. So he could stand quietly by and let all the sand in Baal's hourglass run out before he began to show the pattern of a better way. It takes a very real grasp of divine principles to take this patient course. Had our prophet been shallow-minded or badly taught, he would have been in much greater haste. He would have rushed to display his system and stir up a storm of opposition against his opponents.
The call is an invitation, not an order. It comes after Elijah has already reached the crowd in two other ways.
With the false prophets completely defeated, Elijah makes his third appeal to the people. He has spoken to their conscience, he has appealed to their reason, now he will speak to their hearts. He gathers them around him with the gracious invitation, "Come near to me." In response, all the people come near to him. In silence they watch the prophet repair the altar of the Lord. Having thrown down the altar of Baal, he sets up the altar of the Lord. It is not enough to expose what is false; the truth must be upheld.
Elijah works in the open. He wants witnesses at close range.
First of all he called the people to him. He wanted them to examine his actions for themselves, and to make it impossible for them to doubt that the Lord had really acted.
Elijah begins with repair work, not a speech.
Now it was Elijah's turn. He stood alone as the public witness — alone in front of timid people-pleasers, waverers between two opinions, and open, wicked rebels against God. His first act was to repair the altar of the Lord that was broken down. The state of the altar was proof of the state of the people.
There is warmth in the call, and what Elijah rebuilds teaches the people how to come back to God.
"Come near to me," said Elijah to the people, who had been led astray so long like foolish sheep. There is a sound of tenderness in the prophet's words, like Joseph's invitation to his guilty and trembling brothers in Genesis 45:4. Elijah would soon lead the poor misguided people back to their patient and faithful God. In front of them he repaired the long-dishonoured altar of the Lord. He would teach them the true way of approach to God. If blessing was ever to be enjoyed in Israel again, it must be on the ground of the sacrifice God accepts.
Pulling down what is false is not the end of the job.
The first thing he does is to "repair the altar of the Lord that was broken down." This was Israel's centre, and every true reformer turned his attention to it. Those who try a one-sided reformation may be content with merely throwing down what is false. They stop short of laying a sound base on which to build something new. But such a reformation will never last; it carries too much of the old leaven with it to be a testimony. The altar of Baal must not only be thrown down — the altar of the Lord must be set up.
Elijah rebuilds on the ground of what God set up at the beginning, not on the wreckage he can see.
Elijah says, "Come near to me" (v. 30). At that time he was God's representative on earth, which Christ was in perfection. If they stayed far off, Israel would not be able to witness what God was about to do... Outwardly the altar was broken down; that is to say, Israel as a whole no longer existed. But it was enough that one man should bear witness with his altar of twelve stones that what God established in the beginning would remain forever.
- Broken. The ruined altar was a mirror. Its condition showed where the people stood with God.
- Patient. Elijah let Baal's system run itself out first. Haste would only have raised a storm instead of showing a better way.
- Near. He reached their conscience, then their reason, then their heart. He brought the crowd close enough that no one could doubt what God did.
- Repaired. He does not just pull down what is false. Tearing down alone leaves too much old leaven behind. The Lord's altar must go back up.
- Enough. In a day of ruin, one man rebuilding on God's original ground was testimony enough. Blessing could only come through the sacrifice God accepts.
And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of Jehovah came saying, Israel shall be thy name;
Baal's prophets shouted at a silent sky all day, and no fire fell. Then Elijah called the crowd near and picked up twelve stones — in a nation that had split in two long before.
The altar of the Lord lay in pieces. One writer reads Elijah's first move as a lesson in how a people comes back to God.
In their presence he repaired the long-dishonoured altar of the Lord. He would teach them the true way of approach to God. If blessing was ever again to be enjoyed in Israel, it must be in virtue of the divinely accepted sacrifice.
Another writer asks what a lasting reform requires.
People who attempt a one-sided reform may be content with tearing down what is false. They never go on to lay a solid foundation and build something new on it. But that kind of reform will never last... The altar of Baal must be thrown down, but the altar of the Lord must also be set up.
The arithmetic is the point. Ten tribes had broken away from the other two, and Carmel stood in the north. Elijah still counted twelve.
Elijah was standing on ten tribe ground. But his twelve stones tell us that he entered into God's thoughts about His people. The people were still one in His mind. Only two tribes still recognised the temple in Jerusalem. Yet the High Priest went on carrying the names of all the children of Israel on his breastplate before the Lord, and twelve loaves were still placed on the table in the holy place. Two centuries after the great gathering on Mount Carmel, Hezekiah, king of Judah, commanded at the Passover he held in Jerusalem that atonement should be made for all Israel. Yet only two tribes accepted his rule, and the deportation of the northern tribes had already begun!
The stones also said something to the ten tribes that had pulled away.
What a reproof to the separated 10 tribes! God was concerned for all Israel, and Elijah showed this impartial consideration for all twelve tribes.
The verse traces the tribes back to the man God renamed. Why did his name have to change?
Jacob ("the supplanter") must have his name changed if he is to receive proper blessing from God. Only when the flesh is touched and shriveled does Jacob receive the name Israel ("a prince with God"). By nature he was Jacob, but by the grace of God he becomes Israel.
How long was that name meant to hold?
Now the question is this. How long was Israel to be the name, and how long was Israel's unity to last? Always, without a break, forever. This is where Elijah took his stand.
Twelve stones could easily have looked out of date. One writer puts that objection into words.
If he had looked at what he could see — if Israel's moral condition had ruled him... he would never have dared to build an altar of twelve stones. Unbelieving human nature might argue like this: "This is not the time for an altar of twelve stones. That day is gone... How much better, how much more fitting, to lower the standard to match your true condition."
Elijah did the opposite. The same writer weighs what his count showed:
Elijah recognized the twelve tribes of Israel at a time when they were divided, weakened, and brought low. That showed true communion with the mind of God about His people.
One writer carries Elijah's count straight across to Christians today.
Why twelve stones? It was the expression of the unity of Israel. Instead of being a divided, broken-up people, Elijah knew that before God they were one. In the same way, the servant of God today who knows the truth knows that there is one Body, one Spirit, and one Head in heaven. And of course he will try to maintain this glorious truth.
And the stones look forward as well as back:
Despite the nation's divided state, faith recognizes the unity of the twelve tribes. Every tribe must be represented in the altar of the Lord. Faith sees that the day is coming when idolatry will be judged and the nation will be one, with God in the midst.
- Repair first. Elijah rebuilt the broken altar before any fire fell. Tearing down Baal's altar was not enough on its own.
- Count twelve. Elijah stood in the breakaway north and still built for all twelve tribes. God's own sanctuary agreed: twelve names on the breastplate, twelve loaves on the table.
- The name is the ground. Grace renamed Jacob the supplanter Israel. The stones rest on that word of God, not on the nation's record.
- Refuse the lowered standard. Faith does not shrink God's truth to fit the visible ruin, however reasonable that sounds.
- One now, one then. Elijah held to one Israel in a split land; believers hold to one body today. Faith already sees the day when the nation will be one, with God among them.
and with the stones he built an altar in the name of Jehovah, and made a trench round about the altar, of the capacity of two measures of seed;
All day on Mount Carmel, Baal's prophets have called on their god, and no answer has come. Now Elijah turns from tearing down what is false to building what is true.
Elijah's first move is to mend a ruin, and that order of work matters.
Some people carry out a one-sided reform. They are content just to throw down what is false. They never go on to set up a sound basis for building something new. But such reform will never stand. It keeps too much of the old evil in it to be a testimony. The altar of Baal must not only be thrown down, but the altar of the Lord must be set up.
The number of stones is the striking thing. The kingdom was split, and Elijah stood among the ten northern tribes. Yet he counted twelve.
This act is proof of the prophet's spiritual perception. The twelve tribes were no longer walking in unity. Their unity has still not returned to this day, and it will not return until the kingdom of the Lord Jesus. Elijah was standing on ten-tribe ground. But his twelve stones tell us that he entered into God's thoughts about His people. The people were still one in His mind. Only two tribes still recognised the temple in Jerusalem. Yet the high priest still carried the names of all Israel's sons on his breastplate before the Lord. Twelve loaves still lay on the table in the holy place.
The man who built it felt utterly alone, yet he refused to build for his own side only.
There must always be the testimony of the full people of God. In the whole Old Testament there is no clearer sign of what the Spirit of God marks out as fitting to Himself. No man ever felt more isolated than Elijah. Yet that man's heart was with the whole people of God. Faith can never do less. It can never be content with a part; it must have all God's people for God.
Elijah builds "in the name of the LORD" — not in his own name, and not in the name of a party. Commentators carry that over to God's people now.
Some would sacrifice to the Lord on the altar of Baal. In other words, they would keep an evil system and be content to give it a right name. But no; the only centre of unity God can recognise is the name of Jesus — simply and only that. The people of God must not be looked at as members of a system, but as members of Christ.
Elijah dug a trench big enough to hold two seahs of seed, then had water poured over the whole altar. He was removing every excuse in advance.
There had to be the fullest proof here. The trial of the poor widow who was not an Israelite lost none of its force. Still less would this trial be softened, where God's own honour was at stake and Baal's false claims had to be exposed. So what Elijah poured on was nothing that would feed a fire. Water puts a fire out, if the fire comes from man.
Commentators also read the soaked sacrifice in that trench as a picture of the death of Christ.
Fire from heaven and a water-soaked sacrifice had nothing in common. The judgment of God and the holy Saviour had nothing in common either, and there was nothing in Him to invite wrath. But He took the sinner's place. The fire came down and He bore the judgment, just as the fire fell on Elijah's sacrifice. It consumed the offering, the wood, the stones, the water and the very dust, levelling it all to the ground.
The altar did not reunite the nation. Writers apply this to anyone who feels outnumbered.
Outwardly the altar lay in ruins; that is to say, Israel as a whole no longer existed. But it was enough that one man bore witness with his altar of twelve stones. What God had established in the beginning would remain forever. Those who proclaim this truth will always be few in number. Perhaps they will remain alone like Elijah. But this testimony has been entrusted to us, just as it was to Elijah, in a time when everyone is falling away. So what does their number matter?
- Repair first. Exposing error is only half the work; the altar of Baal must come down and the altar of the Lord must go up.
- Count twelve. The nation was split, but Elijah built to God's reckoning of His people, not to the visible division.
- Name it rightly. Elijah built in the name of the Lord — the one centre God recognises, never a system wearing a good label.
- Flood the trench. The water removed every human explanation, so when the fire fell, only God could get the credit.
- Stand alone if needed. One man with twelve stones was enough witness; those who hold this ground have often been few.
and he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it on the wood. And he said, Fill four pitchers with water, and pour it on the burnt-offering, and on the wood.
Baal's prophets have called on their god all day, and no fire has come. Now Elijah lays out his own sacrifice — and then calls for water.
Everything in this verse is deliberate. Elijah sets the wood and the victim in place, and only then calls for water. One writer compares this test with Elijah's earlier testing of a poor widow, and shows why Elijah made nothing easier here:
There had to be the fullest proof here. If the trial of the poor Gentile widow was not weakened at all, then it could be weakened even less where God's own honour was at stake, and where Baal's claims were to be disproved. Therefore it was not anything that would feed the fire, but rather put it out if it were fire from man.
A man planning to light a fire himself would never soak the wood first. Elijah wants the watching people to see that no hidden spark is waiting there:
Then, to show there was no trick in what he did, he says, "Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood" (1 Kings 18:33). He is determined to let them see that there is no fire there. The truth of God is very simple. There is no underhand work about it.
Elijah removes every human possibility before he prays. One writer draws a lesson for the sinner from it:
Water is poured again and again over the sacrifice and over the altar, until it fills the ditch around the altar. Every possibility of fire is now gone, and all nature's heat quenched. Only then, in a few simple words, does the prophet ask the Lord to show Himself. Ah, yes, He can do so now. He cannot show Himself where there are still smouldering embers of nature's efforts; and it is well for the sinner to realise this.
The animal on the altar is not a prop for a miracle. It is a burnt offering, and it stands in the place of the people watching. Without it, the fire that fell would have had nowhere else to go:
How wonderful is this scene. A holy God who must deal with all evil by the consuming fire of judgment, and a guilty nation steeped in the evil which the holy God must judge. Surely the fire of the Lord must fall, and equally surely, the nation must be consumed. How can they escape? … If God is to spare the guilty nation, then the altar must be built and a sacrifice provided. That sacrifice will stand for the guilty nation before God, and the judgment they have earned can fall on it.
Elijah's own confidence rested there too. He drew near at the hour of the evening sacrifice:
It was the time of the evening sacrifice. This fact showed where Elijah rested for the sign he asked for. It was not in his own service or prayers, but in the value of the burnt offering, which stands for the sacrifice of Christ.
One writer reads the soaked sacrifice as a picture of Christ:
He built his sacrificial altar, laid the wood in order, and placed the bull in its pieces on it. He dug the trench and poured out twelve jars of water, more precious than wine after the years of drought. In all this he pictured the death of Christ in a most striking way. Fire from heaven and a water-soaked victim had nothing in common. The judgment of God and the holy Saviour had nothing in common either. There was nothing in Him to invite wrath. But He took the sinner's place, the fire came down, and He bore the judgment.
- Order — Elijah arranges the wood, cuts the bull and lays it on: he prepares with care, then leaves the outcome to God.
- Water — poured on the very spot that needed fire, so no one could suspect a hidden spark or a trick.
- Quenched — with nature's every ember put out, God is free to act; He does not share the stage with human effort.
- Victim — the burnt offering stands in for a guilty nation. The fire falls on the sacrifice, and the people go free.
- Christ — the soaked sacrifice had nothing to attract the flame. The Saviour had nothing in Him to invite wrath, yet He bore the judgment in the sinner's place.
And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.
On Carmel the prophets of Baal had cried all day and got nothing, and now it was Elijah's turn at the repaired altar. Instead of making his sacrifice easier to burn, he had the people soak it — four jars at a time, three times over. Why would a man who wants fire pour water on it?
Elijah put nothing on that altar that could help a flame. God had not softened an earlier test either.
There must be the fullest proof here. God did not weaken the trial when He tested the poor Gentile widow. He would weaken it even less where His own honour was at stake, and where He had to disprove Baal's claims. So what they poured on was not anything that would feed the fire. It was something that would put the fire out, if the fire came from man.
Elijah did not pour the water himself. He handed the jars to the watching crowd.
First of all he called the people to him. He wanted them to examine his acts for themselves. He wanted to make it impossible for them to doubt that the Lord had stepped in. Next he repaired and built the altar of the Lord. With twelve stones he set all the tribes of Israel before God. Then he made a trench round the altar and prepared the sacrifice. He told the people to drench it three times with water. They poured so much that the water ran round the altar, and he filled the trench with water too. Who that saw what was done could doubt for a moment that only divine power could make that sacrifice burn?
Another writer reads the repetition the same way — as a guard set against any charge of a hidden trick.
Besides this he guarded carefully against anyone suspecting trickery in what he was doing. He told them to fill four waterpots with water and pour it on the sacrifice. They did this, and he told them to repeat this a second and third time, so that the water ran all around the altar and filled the trench.
Repeating the order twice more was not caution. It was faith.
Elijah's faith had given God room to act. He had made a trench and filled it with water. In other words, he had made the difficulty as great as possible, so that the divine triumph might be complete. And so it was.
There is a lesson here for anyone who hopes to add something of his own to God's work.
Water is poured again and again over the sacrifice and over the altar, until it fills the ditch around the altar. Every possibility of fire is gone. All nature's heat is out. Then, in a few simple words, the prophet asks the Lord to show Himself. Ah yes, He can do so now. He cannot show Himself where the embers of nature's efforts are still smouldering. The sinner does well to grasp this. The fire that divine love kindles comes from God. Man does not find it in his own heart. To look for it there would only deny man's need of God. And the believer must not forget the same truth.
After years without rain, water was the costliest thing on that mountain. One writer looks at the soaked victim and sees the cross.
He built his sacrificial altar and laid the wood in order. He placed the bull in pieces on it. He built the trench and poured out twelve barrels of water — water more precious than wine after the years of drought. In all this he pictured the death of Christ in a most striking way. There was no natural fit between fire from heaven and a water-soaked victim. There was no natural fit between the judgment of God and the holy Saviour; there was nothing in Him to invite wrath. But He took the sinner's place. The fire came down, and He bore the judgment. It fell on Elijah's sacrifice in the same way, consuming the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the water and the very dust, levelling everything to the ground.
- Water — What Elijah called for would smother a fire, not feed one. Nothing that could burn on its own went onto that altar.
- Witnesses — The people carried the jars themselves. The crowd that had to choose between God and Baal tested the altar with their own hands.
- Three times — The repeated soaking left no room for doubt. Faith made the obstacle as large as possible, so the victory would be unmistakable.
- Embers — God shows Himself where nature's heat is out, not where a spark of human effort still smoulders.
- Fire — The judgment fell on that drenched, unlikely victim — a picture of the holy Saviour taking the sinner's place.
And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
Elijah had rebuilt the altar, laid the wood and the cut-up bull on it, and called for water three times until the trench was full. Why would a man praying for fire work so hard to make fire impossible?
Elijah chose the one thing that could only work against a fire. One writer explains why the test was made so hard:
There had to be the fullest proof here. In testing the poor Gentile widow, the trial was not weakened at all. Still less would it be weakened where God's own honour was at stake and Baal's claims had to be disproved. So what he poured on was nothing that would feed a fire; it would rather put one out, if the fire came from man... His witness was as full as it could be.
The prophets of Baal had taken no such risk. As one writer observes, "The prophets of Baal did not dare to use water in this way, but Elijah used it freely" (W. W. Fereday).
Elijah was not being reckless. One writer explains what the trench really showed:
Elijah's faith had given God room to act. He had made a trench and filled it with water. In other words, he made the difficulty as great as possible, so that the divine triumph might be complete. And that is exactly what happened.
The water itself was costly. After years of drought it was worth more than wine, and Elijah poured twelve barrels of it over the sacrifice (A. J. Pollock).
The people did the pouring themselves. Elijah first called them close, so they could watch every step:
First of all he called the people to him. He wanted them to examine his acts for themselves, so that they could not doubt that the Lord had really stepped in. Next he repaired and built the altar of the Lord, and with twelve stones he represented all the tribes of Israel before God. Then he made a trench around the altar, prepared the sacrifice, and told the people to drench it three times with water. They did it so thoroughly that "the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water." Could anyone who watched this doubt for a moment that only divine power could set that sacrifice on fire?
Another writer puts Elijah's aim plainly: "He is determined to let them see that there is no fire there. The truth of God is very simple. There is no underhand work about it" (W. T. P. Wolston).
Now nothing on that altar could catch fire on its own. One writer draws out what this means for anyone coming to God:
Water is poured again and again over the sacrifice and over the altar, until it fills the ditch around the altar. Every possibility of fire is now gone, and all nature's heat is quenched. Only then, in a few simple words, does the prophet ask the Lord to show Himself. Ah, yes, He can do so now. He cannot show Himself where the embers of nature's efforts are still smouldering. It is well for the sinner to realise this.
One writer sees in this drenched sacrifice a striking picture of the death of Christ:
There was nothing in a water-soaked victim to draw fire from heaven. There was nothing in the holy Saviour to draw the judgment of God, nothing in Him to invite wrath. But He took the sinner's place, and the fire came down, and He bore the judgment. It fell just as the fire fell on Elijah's sacrifice, consuming it, the wood, the stones, the water, the very dust — levelling all to the ground.
The altar carried the twelve tribes in its twelve stones, so the fire fell on what stood for the people themselves: "The sacrifice was consumed; the people are consumed with the sacrifice. But judgment without mercy falls on what represents them before God, and this sets them free to rejoice in His deliverance" (H. L. Rossier).
- Water first. Elijah poured on the one thing that kills fire, so that nothing on the altar could feed a flame of human making.
- Water as proof. The people filled the barrels and watched the trench overflow; no one could later claim a trick.
- Water as room. Faith made the difficulty as great as possible, so that the victory would belong to God alone.
- Water as surrender. God shows Himself once the embers of human effort have gone out.
- Water and the cross. A soaked victim had nothing in it to attract fire, yet the fire fell on it — and those it represented went free.
And it came to pass at [the time of] the offering up of the oblation, that Elijah the prophet drew near, and said, Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things by thy word.
All day the prophets of Baal had shouted, danced and cut themselves, and nothing happened. Then Elijah steps forward at a set hour and prays a few short sentences. Why did God answer him and not them?
Elijah did not pray at random. The "oblation" is the daily gift offered to God at the temple. Elijah waited for the hour when priests in Jerusalem were laying it on God's altar.
At "the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice" Elijah judged that his opportunity had come. It was 3 p.m. In Jerusalem, priests were laying the evening lamb on the altar of the Lord, along with its grain offering and drink offering. All of it spoke to God of Christ, whose death at Calvary took place at that hour (Ex. 29:41; Matt. 27:46). It was the hour of divine blessing: compare Ezra 9:5; Dan. 9:21. The hour had struck for Elijah's sacrifice, and for the blessing that followed.
That choice of hour shows what Elijah leaned on.
Notice the time when the prophet drew near. It was the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. That fact declared where Elijah rested for the sign he asked for. He rested not in his own services or prayers, but in the value of the burnt offering, which signifies the sacrifice of Christ.
Earlier in the scene Elijah had called the people to come near to him. Now the movement is his own, and it is toward God.
"At the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near" — not merely the people to him, but the prophet to the Lord. He drew near to that which was to be the witness of His power, of His testimony, of His own name and glory... How blessed! It was a secret between God and His prophet. But now Elijah told it out, before any answer came. So all the profit of the answer would belong to the people, and the word of the Lord would be lifted higher and glorified in their eyes.
Elijah calls God the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel. He had already built that confession into the altar, using twelve stones for a nation that was split in two.
The twelve stones represented the twelve tribes, the people in their entirety before God. At a time of ruin, the prophet bears testimony to the unity of the people, just as witnesses today bear testimony to the oneness of the body of Christ. Outwardly the altar was broken down; that is to say, Israel as a whole no longer existed. But it was enough that one man, with his altar of twelve stones, should bear witness to this: what God established in the beginning would remain forever... Those who proclaim this truth will always be few in number. They may remain alone, like Elijah. But what does their number matter, if God has entrusted this testimony to us, as He did to Elijah?
Elijah stands before a whole nation, and asks nothing for himself.
In his prayer, Elijah makes nothing of himself but everything of God. He seeks no place for himself. He has no desire to lift himself up before the people. He wants to be known only as a servant carrying out the commands of the Lord. His one desire is that God may be glorified. To this end he would have all the people know that the Lord is God. He would have them know that the Lord is doing "all these things". He would have them know that the Lord is speaking to their heart, to turn the people back to Himself.
The last clause carries the weight. Elijah is not proposing a plan to God; he is reporting obedience.
Yet we must not think that the power was in his prayer. His prayer was subject to the Word of God, and the power lies there. Elijah himself says, "I have done all these things at Your word" (1 Kings 18:36). Prayer that depends on God leads us to understand His Word, and to want His will done.
The same test explains what happens one chapter later. There a threat, not a word from God, set Elijah moving.
Up to this point he had moved at the word of the Lord. On Mount Carmel he could say, "I have done all these things at Your word." On this journey, no directing word from the Lord moved him. A threatening word from a woman did.
- Word. Elijah's strength was never his own eloquence. He claimed only that he had done everything at God's word. Prayer that rests on that word carries power.
- Sacrifice. He timed his prayer to the evening offering. He rested not on his own praying, but on the value of the burnt offering, which speaks of Christ.
- Nearness. The prophet came near to God and spoke out his secret before any answer came. So the whole benefit of the answer fell to the watching people.
- Servant. He asked for no honour, only to be known as a servant obeying orders, with one desire — that God be glorified.
- Unity. Twelve stones for a divided nation. One man's altar can still testify to what God set up at the beginning, however few stand with him.
Answer me, Jehovah, answer me, that this people may know that thou Jehovah art God, and [that] *thou* hast turned their heart back again.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
All day Baal's prophets cried out and got no answer. Then one short prayer from Elijah brought fire out of a clear sky onto a soaked altar — and where that fire fell matters as much as the fact that it fell.
Elijah stacked the odds against himself on purpose. He soaked the altar again and again, so no one could claim a trick. One writer sets the noise of Baal's prophets beside the confidence of the one man facing them.
All day they tore their throats, if not the heavens, with their cry, "O Baal, answer us." They waved their arms like madmen. They leaped about on the altar and cut themselves with knives till the blood gushed out on them. But the sheer excess of their efforts showed how useless they were. There was no reply. Elijah was different. Though he stood alone, he was fully confident in Jehovah. He even took elaborate precautions to rule out every suspicion of human help. The altar and the sacrifice were repeatedly drenched with water. Then, in answer to his prayer, the sacred fire fell from the cloudless sky and consumed everything. Humanly speaking, God acted under the least favourable conditions for the glory of His name.
Elijah chose his moment with care. It shows where his confidence rested.
The time when the prophet drew near should be noted. It was the hour of the evening sacrifice. That fact declared where Elijah rested for the sign he asked for. He rested not in his own services or prayers, but in the value of the burnt offering, which pictures the sacrifice of Christ... The Lord heard and answered the prayer of His servant.
One writer names the problem that no prayer on its own could solve.
A holy God must deal with all evil by the consuming fire of judgment. This nation is steeped in that very evil. How can they escape? Here is an issue that no fervent prayer of a righteous man can meet. If the guilty nation is to be spared, an altar must be built and a sacrifice provided. That sacrifice will stand for the guilty nation under the eye of God, and the judgment they have deserved can fall on it. And so it happened, for we read, "The fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering." The judgment falls on the victim, the nation goes free.
One writer follows the direction of the fire forward to the cross.
The fire stands for the righteous judgement of God. It might well have fallen on the disobedient nation. Or, passing the nation by, it might have fallen on Ahab and his hundreds of idolatrous prophets, all servants of the Devil. But it did nothing of the kind. The fire fell on the innocent bull that Elijah had placed on the altar! What a picture of the great sacrifice of Calvary! There the righteous judgement of God fell — not on the wicked masses of men, and not even on the corrupt leaders who were mainly to blame for setting up that cross. The judgement of God in all its terrible severity fell on the Holy One who hung there. It forced from Him the cry, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Fire from heaven falls twice in Elijah's story. The difference between the two times carries the lesson.
The fire fell on the victim as an atonement for the sins of the guilty people. Not one Israelite was touched by that fire... Years have passed since then. The grace of God provided a sacrifice and sheltered the guilty people from the fire of judgment, and that grace has been forgotten. The sacrifice has been despised, and now, once again, the fire falls on the hilltop. But this time there is no victim between a holy God and a sinful people. Instead of falling on the victim, the fire falls on the guilty people in overwhelming destruction.
One writer sees a counterfeit of this sign still ahead.
In his day, God empowered Elijah to call down fire from heaven. That fire bore witness to the true God and exposed the worship of an idol. What Elijah did by the power of God, Antichrist will imitate by the power of the devil. His aim will be to turn people from the true God to worship an idol, or image of the beast.
- Fire falls. The fire stands for God's righteous judgement, and that day it had to fall somewhere.
- Fire spares. It landed on the innocent bull on the altar, so the guilty nation went free untouched.
- Fire pictures. The same judgement later fell on Christ at the cross, drawing from Him the cry, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
- Fire warns. When fire fell a second time in Elijah's story, no victim stood between a holy God and sinful people.
- Fire convinces. Elijah rested on the value of the evening sacrifice, not on his own prayers. God answered under the least favourable conditions, and that answer closed the question.
And all the people saw [it], and they fell on their faces and said, Jehovah, he is God! Jehovah, he is God!
Carmel was a public test with the whole nation watching: two altars, two names, one question. Fire came down, the people dropped to the ground and cried out twice — but what did the fire strike, and how deep did that confession go?
The fire came down as judgment, but it did not strike the people who deserved it.
Do not miss a word of this remarkable verse. The fire stands for the righteous judgment of God. It could well have fallen on the disobedient nation. Or it could have passed the nation by and fallen on Ahab and his hundreds of idol-worshipping prophets, all servants of the Devil. But it did nothing of the kind. The fire fell on the innocent bull that Elijah had placed on the altar! What a picture of the great sacrifice of Calvary! There the righteous judgment of God did not fall on the wicked masses of people. It did not even fall on the corrupt leaders who were mainly to blame for setting up that cross. The judgment of God in all its terrible severity fell on the Holy One who hung there.
Fire fell from heaven twice in Elijah's life. The gap between the two is the gap between a sacrifice accepted and a sacrifice despised.
At Carmel "the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the sacrifice." The fire fell on the sacrifice as an atonement for the sins of the guilty people, and the people go free — not one Israelite was touched by that fire. As a result God brought the people back to Himself... Years have passed since the fire fell on the sacrifice at Carmel. The grace of God that provided a sacrifice and sheltered the guilty people from the fire of judgment has been forgotten. The sacrifice has been despised, and now once again the fire falls on the hill top... this time no sacrifice stands between a holy God and a sinful people.
The shout uses two names for God. Older translations print Jehovah where the ESV has "the LORD," and Elohim where it has "God." Joining the two names says that Israel's God is the one supreme God, the Creator.
It was important, in a book addressed to Israel, to show that Jehovah, their God, was the one true supreme Elohim, the Creator, unlike the demon gods of the surrounding nations... "It was shown to you, so that you might know that Jehovah, He is Elohim; there is no one else besides Him." So the people, when Elijah brought down fire from heaven, cry out, "Jehovah, He is Elohim; Jehovah, He is Elohim."
Notice what Elijah asked God for — and what he left out.
This is intelligent prayer. The prophet is engaged solely about God and His people. He does not say, "Hear me, that this people may know that I am a true prophet." No; his only aim was to bring the people back to the God of their fathers, and to have the claims of God established in their consciences, in opposition to the claims of Baal. And God listened and heard.
The rain came in a fixed order. That order warns anyone who wants blessing while the conscience stays untouched.
The showers of blessing come after God's judgment has fallen on the burnt offering. They come only after Israel, faced with this event, has acknowledged the Lord and turned their hearts back to Him. Today people seek plenty of rain while the conscience is left untouched. That desire can end in only one result. The rain was not given to Israel until after the work of God had been done for them and in them.
Commentators differ on the depth of this confession. One writer holds that even a confession worth little opened the door for God to bless:
The public confession of Jehovah's name — little as it might have been worth to those who joined in it, "Jehovah, He is the God; Jehovah, He is the God" — made it possible for God to bless them.
Another writer says the day fell short of what Elijah had expected.
He had thought that these mighty displays of the power of God would turn the whole nation to God in deep repentance. For the moment they did indeed fall on their faces and own, "The Lord, He is the God." But no real revival had taken place. Elijah has to learn that wind, earthquake and fire may indeed be God's servants to wake people up. But unless a person hears the "still small voice," no one is truly won for God.
- Fire falls — Elijah prayed for God's claims, not his own name, and God answered with fire.
- Fire spared them — it struck the sacrifice on the altar, not the guilty nation and not its false prophets.
- Fire won them — the people fall down and name the one true God twice: He is God, and there is no other.
- Fire before rain — blessing came after the confession. Ask for showers with an untouched conscience and only one result follows.
- Fire is not enough — the crowd bowed, but no real revival came. Awe wakes a nation; only the still small voice wins the heart.