Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD came, saying, “Israel shall be your 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 Rebuilt Before the Fire Falls
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.
W. W. FeredayIn 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.
C. H. MackintoshPeople 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.
Twelve Stones for a Nation Split in Two
The arithmetic is the point. Ten tribes had broken away from the other two, and Carmel stood in the north. Elijah still counted twelve.
W. W. FeredayElijah 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.
Leslie M. GrantWhat a reproof to the separated 10 tribes! God was concerned for all Israel, and Elijah showed this impartial consideration for all twelve tribes.
The Name God Gave
The verse traces the tribes back to the man God renamed. Why did his name have to change?
Leslie M. GrantJacob ("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?
C. H. MackintoshNow 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.
What Unbelief Would Have Said
Twelve stones could easily have looked out of date. One writer puts that objection into words.
C. H. MackintoshIf 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:
C. H. MackintoshElijah 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.
The Same Stones Today
One writer carries Elijah's count straight across to Christians today.
W. T. P. WolstonWhy 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:
Hamilton SmithDespite 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.
Summary
- 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.