August 3 2025

1 Kings 18:16–46           

August 3, 2025

The Fiery Showdown

INTRO: Today, we learn about Elijah and his fiery encounter with the “prophets” of Baal.

First, the backstory…. The people have ceased to worship God, and have turned to worshipping Baal. Because of this, Elijah has prayed for no rain to fall in Israel, and for 3 and 1/2 long, dry years, there has been no rain. 

      The land is parched… Crops have withered… People are hungry… People are looking for answers.

Queen Jezebel has an answer, but it isn’t doing any good. Put a whole bunch of “prophets” of Baal (450) and Ashera (400) on retainer. Feed them everyday. That will make these “g” gods happy won’t it?

We’re in a bad situation…

Something has to give.

      What do they need? FIRE!!!

1. Elijah issues a set of challenges!
2. The first challenge goes to Ahab.
3. Ahab is the king of Israel
4. He is a lousy excuse for a king.
5. His wife (who is evil to her rotten core) uses him to run the kingdom the way she wants!

I Kings 18:16-19 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 

     17   When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is this you, you troubler of Israel?” 

     18   He said, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and you have followed the Baals. 

     19   “Now then send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

1. When they meet, Ahab calls Elijah “Troubler of Israel!”
2. Things HAVE gone bad, just like Elijah has said they would, but the evil that Ahab and Israel are doing is the CAUSE!
3. Ahab, like his father before him, is the cause.
4. The king was to lead his people toward God, not away from Him!
5. Instead, Ahab has “worshipped the Baals” and has led the people to do the same!
6. Ahab wants to blame someone else for the damage he has done.
7. The challenge is as follows:
8. Gather the people of Israel to Mt. Carmel.
9. Gather the 450 prophets of Baal.
10. The ones that Jezebel personally cares for every day.
11. Send them to Mt. Carmel.
12. Gather the 400 prophets of the Asherah.
13. Jezebel feeds these guys daily too.
14. Send them to Mt. Carmel!
15. The people show up.
16. The “prophets” show up!

WE’RE GOING TO HAVE A SHOWDOWN!

1. More challenges are coming from Elijah!
2. Elijah challenges the people!

I Kings 18:20-22 So Ahab sent a message among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 

     21   Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word.

     22   Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the LORD, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men.

1. You have to pick a side!
2. Either God is the real God,
3. Or Baal is the real god.
4. You can’t ride the fence!
5. The people are silent!
6. Elijah lays out the odds for the people.
7. They are 450!
8. I’m all alone!
9. If things are up to the power of the prophets, Elijah is in BIG trouble!
10. Elijah challenges the “prophets of Baal.”
11. He does this, right in front of the people of Israel!
12. I the old west he would have said, “I’m calling you out! ALL OF YOU!”

I Kings 18:23-25 “Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. 

     24   “Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people said, “That is a good idea.”

     25   So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one ox for yourselves and prepare it first for you are many, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.”

1. The people love the idea!
2. The “prophets” of Baal don’t have any way to back away from this challenge.
3. The challenge is this!
4. We’ll each take an ox.
5. We’ll each build an altar.
6. We’ll each call out to our “G” God or “g” god, to light the fire.
7. We’ll see, once and for all who the Real God is!

1. The Showdown!

I Kings 18:26-29 Then they took the ox which was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, “O Baal, answer us.” But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they made. 

     27   It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.” 

     28   So they cried with a loud voice and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them. 

     29   When midday was past, they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.

1. The “prophets” of Baal give it their best!
2. They “cry out to Baal” all morning!
3. “Oh Baal, answer us!”
4. There is no answer.
5. Elijah begins to mock them.
6. Maybe you should yell a little louder!
7. Maybe he’s “occupied.”
8. This is a polite way of saying that he’s “doing his business” (another polite phrase) in the “g” god outhouse!
9. Maybe he’s on a trip!
10. Perhaps he’s asleep! WAKE HIM UP!
11. Elijah’s “pep talk” spurs them to try even harder.
12. They yell louder.
13. They begin to cut themselves.
14. They cut themselves with swords!
15. They cut themselves with lances!
16. These guys are getting serious!
17. All the yelling, all the cutting, fails to get them any attention from Baal….
18. 
    
19. Now it’s Elijah’s turn…..
20. First, the preparation.

I Kings 18:30-35 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD which had been torn down. 

     31   Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” 

     32   So with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two measures of seed. 

     33   Then he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood. 

     34   And he said, “Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 

     35   The water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water.

1. Elijah calls to the people to give their attention.
2. They need to see and be a part of what is going on.
3. Elijah rebuilds the altar to God there, that has been torn down. 
4. It wasn’t a lack of care, it has purposely been taken apart.
5. That tells us something about how far things have gone in the wrong direction….
6. Even if you didn’t care about a “g” god, you wouldn’t typically risk offending that “god.”
7. Elijah digs a big trench around the altar.
8. I’m sure this was confusing to people.
9. He arranges the wood, and prepares the body of the Ox to be burned.
10. Bring pitchers of water… 3 times.
11. The sacrifice is soaked.
12. The wood is soaked.
13. Then he fills the trench with water too.
14. There will be no doubt about this being a true Miracle, done by God!

1. A prayer, an answer, and the aftermath.

     36   At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. 

     37   “Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.” 

     38   Then the fire of the LORD 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. 

     39   When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God.”

1. Elijah prays!
2. Boy does he ever pray!
3. He prays for God to show the people His power.
4. To show them that He IS the One True God so they will come back to Him!
5. God answered!
6. Boy did He ever answer!
7. The “fire of the Lord” fell!
8. Not just your regular, everyday fire.
9. It consumed the ox.
10. It consumed the wood.
11. It burned up the stones of the altar.
12. It burned up the dust all around.
13. It even “licked up” the water in the trench!
14. When God does a miracle, He REALLY does a miracle!!!
15. The people get the point!
16. “The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God.”
17. This sounds almost like a chant! Perhaps that’s what it was.
18. The Rest of the Story…..

I Kings 18:40 Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.

1. Elijah calls on the people to exact God’s judgment.
2. The people respond, and the “prophets” of Baal are all killed.
3. Death is the penalty for being a false prophet.
4. This was the penalty God gave the people of Israel.
5. But why do it “down by the river?”
6. After 3 years of total drought, how hard would the soil be?
7. This way they could bury them in the sand.
8. Elijah informs Ahab that a big storm is on the way!

     41   Now Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower.” 

     42   So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he crouched down on the earth and put his face between his knees. 

     43   He said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go back” seven times. 

     44   It came about at the seventh time, that he said, “Behold, a cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming up from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, so that the heavy shower does not stop you.’ ” 

     45   In a little while the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy shower. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. 

     46   Then the hand of the LORD was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins and outran Ahab to Jezreel.

1. Elijah tells Ahab to go eat his supper.
2. Elijah goes to the top of the mountain.
3. He crouches down with his face between his knees.
4. I suspect he was praying, but maybe he was just really tired.
5. Elijah sends his servant to “look towards the sea.”
6. Not once…
7. Not twice…
8. Seven times!
9. Was Elijah just a little impatient?
10. Or was he just excited to se God fulfill his promise?
11. Finally his servant sees what looks like a tiny cloud in the distance.
12. Elijah tells Ahab that he’d better get moving, or he’s going to be stuck in the mud.
13. The storm arrives, and it’s a BIG ONE!
14. Black clouds, wind, a heavy shower.
15. Just what the land needed!
16. God gives Elijah the strength to run to Jezreel, and he outruns Ahab’s chariot!
17. Mental picture: Elijah waving as he passes Ahab on the road and then runs out of sight… WHAT A DAY!

Conclusion: What is there to learn today from this event?

• It’s totally permissible to make fun of “prophets” of Baal…..
• Weshould be fully prepared to show how wrong belief systems that aren’t based on Jesus, the Son of God truly are.
• It may hurt some feelings, but Hell will hurt a lot worse, and it will be forever!
• GOD IS IN CHARGE!!!
• If He chooses to withhold the rain, there will be no rain!
• When He chooses to make it rain, nothing in the world can stop it!
• Prayer makes a difference!
• Elijah prayed, and God answered.
• James 5:17–18 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.
• Did God have to answer “yes” to Elijah?
• No. But what Elijah prayed for was something in the will of God.
• God always answers our prayers.
• Yes
• No
• Wait a while
• I’ve got something better for you, just around the bend.
• Without good guidance, people tend to go the wrong way!
• Ahab was a terrible leader, and his people followed him into trouble!
• When shown the right way, many people WILL change!
• Even if they don’t, it’s still our job to tell them!
• “Tolerance,” as the word is used today is totally foreign to the service of God!
• Our society expects us to applaud the wrongdoing of others.
• We cannot do this!
• Make sure they realize that God isn’t an “add on” to their life. His service IS to be their life!
• “The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God.”
• There is no other!