And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”
It is noon on Mount Carmel. The prophets of Baal have shouted at their altar all morning and nothing has happened. Elijah finally speaks — not to pray, but to mock. Why would a prophet of God use ridicule? And what do his excuses for Baal say about the god they were calling?
Silence, Then Scorn
Elijah said nothing all morning. He let the prophets of Baal call on their god for hours before he opened his mouth.
Hamilton SmithThey prepare their altar, dress their bull, and call on their god. From morning until noon they cry to Baal. It was useless — there was no voice, and no one answered. Until midday Elijah is a silent witness of their futile efforts. Then at last, for the first and only time, he speaks to these false prophets. And it is only to mock them.
What the Taunt Reveals
Elijah offers four excuses for Baal. He is deep in thought. He has stepped aside to relieve himself. He is travelling, or asleep. Each excuse gives Baal a limit. Two of the writers quoted below use an older translation, which has "he is talking, or he is pursuing" where the ESV reads "he is musing, or he is relieving himself."
Leslie M. GrantElijah gave the prophets of Baal plenty of time to call on their mystical god... When there was no answer, they jumped around the altar they had made. They acted as though their movements could influence their idol! After a few hours of useless energy, Elijah mocked them. He told them to cry louder. Perhaps Baal was preoccupied, or busy, or on a journey, or asleep and needed waking. They had no idea of a God who knows everything and is present everywhere.
Irony Aimed at a Lifeless Thing
The idol itself was a lifeless thing. One writer names who was working through it, and what all the blood spilled that day could never do.
H. L. RossierSee the irony in the way the prophet treats this lifeless object! Through it Satan was exercising his terrible influence over the hearts of men. The blood of the false prophets flows. But neither their blood nor any man's can atone for Israel's sin or open heaven to this poor people!
The Effect on the Prophets
Elijah's words did not calm the scene. They drove the prophets to try harder, and to cut themselves for an answer that never came.
The Christian's FriendThey thought more energy was needed from them, as in all false worship... Elijah mocked them, for he knew that gods made by human hands were only emptiness. By his taunts and irony he provoked them to desperation, so that they cut themselves with knives and lances "until the blood gushed out upon them." It was all useless. They kept up their "prophesying" until the time of the evening sacrifice, but "there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention."
Why Elijah Could Mock
One writer draws a lesson from the contrast. Elijah knew what it was to pray and be heard. The priests of Baal did not.
The Christian's FriendNow let me ask whether you know what prayer is. What use is prayer if you have no sense that God has heard you? Look at the priests of Baal. Elijah said to them, "Cry aloud" — cry louder still, until he does hear. "Either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened." He said it mockingly. He himself knew what it was to be heard, to be joined in his own soul to a God who always hears. So it is with us now.
Mockery and Truth
Was Elijah right to mock? One writer answers yes, and points past Baal to what is false today.
W. T. P. WolstonAnd now the prophet turns a little sarcastic as he says, "Cry aloud! for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened." I think Elijah was right in the way he treated them. He knew the whole thing was false, just as today everything that is not Christ is false. What you and I want is the truth. And Christ is the Truth.
Summary
- Silence — Elijah watched from morning to noon without a word. His only words to them were mockery.
- Smallness — Every excuse in the taunt gives Baal a limit: distracted, away, asleep. The prophets had no idea of a God who knows everything and is present everywhere.
- Emptiness — Elijah knew that gods made by human hands are only emptiness. And no amount of spilled human blood can atone for sin.
- Frenzy — The taunt drove them to knives and lances. More noise and more blood produced the same result: no voice, no answer, no one who paid attention.
- Certainty — Elijah could mock a sleeping god because he knew a God who always hears. That contrast runs through the whole scene.