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.