And the water ran around the altar and 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?
Water Where Fire Should Be
Elijah chose the one thing that could only work against a fire. One writer explains why the test was made so hard:
William KellyThere 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).
Faith Gives God Room
Elijah was not being reckless. One writer explains what the trench really showed:
C. H. MackintoshElijah'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).
Nothing Hidden from the Crowd
The people did the pouring themselves. Elijah first called them close, so they could watch every step:
The Christian's FriendFirst 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).
No Embers of Human Effort Left
Now nothing on that altar could catch fire on its own. One writer draws out what this means for anyone coming to God:
Samuel RidoutWater 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.
The Drenched Victim
One writer sees in this drenched sacrifice a striking picture of the death of Christ:
A. J. PollockThere 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).
Summary
- 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.