Standing before Ahab, Elijah demanded that all
Israel be assembled to meet him and the prophets of
Baal and Ashtoreth on Mount Carmel. "Send," he commanded,
"and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel,
and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the
prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's
table."
The command was issued by one who seemed to stand
in the very presence of Jehovah; and Ahab obeyed at once,
as if the prophet were monarch, and the king a subject.
Swift messengers were sent throughout the kingdom with
the summons to meet Elijah and the prophets of Baal and
Ashtoreth. In every town and village the people prepared
to assemble at the appointed time. As they journeyed
toward the place, the hearts of many were filled with
strange forebodings. Something unusual was about to happen;
else why this summons to gather at Carmel? What
new calamity was about to fall upon the people and the
land?
Before the drought, Mount Carmel had been a place of
beauty, its streams fed from never-failing springs, and its
fertile slopes covered with fair flowers and flourishing
groves. But now its beauty languished under a withering
curse. The altars erected to the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth
stood now in leafless groves. On the summit of one
of the highest ridges, in sharp contrast with these was the
broken-down altar of Jehovah.
Carmel overlooked a wide expanse of country; its heights
were visible from many parts of the kingdom of Israel. At
the foot of the mount there were vantage points from
which could be seen much of what took place above. God
had been signally dishonored by the idolatrous worship
carried on under cover of its wooded slopes; and Elijah chose
this elevation as the most conspicuous place for the display
of God's power and for the vindication of the honor of His
name.
Early on the morning of the day appointed, the hosts of
apostate Israel, in eager expectancy, gather near the top of
the mountain. Jezebel's prophets march up in imposing
array. In regal pomp the king appears and takes his position
at the head of the priests, and the idolaters shout his welcome.
But there is apprehension in the hearts of the priests
as they remember that at the word of the prophet the land
of Israel for three years and a half has been destitute of
dew and rain. Some fearful crisis is at hand, they feel sure.
The gods in whom they have trusted have been unable to
prove Elijah a false prophet. To their frantic cries, their
prayers, their tears, their humiliation, their revolting
ceremonies, their costly and ceaseless sacrifices, the objects of
their worship have been strangely indifferent.
Facing King Ahab and the false prophets, and surrounded
by the assembled hosts of Israel, Elijah stands, the only
one who has appeared to vindicate the honor of Jehovah.
He whom the whole kingdom has charged with its weight
of woe is now before them, apparently defenseless in the
presence of the monarch of Israel, the prophets of Baal,
the men of war, and the surrounding thousands. But Elijah
is not alone. Above and around him are the protecting
hosts of heaven, angels that excel in strength.
Unashamed, unterrified, the prophet stands before the
multitude, fully aware of his commission to execute the
divine command. His countenance is lighted with an awful
solemnity. In anxious expectancy the people wait for him
to speak. Looking first upon the broken-down altar of
Jehovah, and then upon the multitude, Elijah cries out in
clear, trumpetlike tones, "How long halt ye between two
opinions? if the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal,
then follow him."
The people answer him not a word. Not one in that
vast assembly dare reveal loyalty to Jehovah. Like a dark
cloud, deception and blindness had overspread Israel. Not
all at once had this fatal apostasy closed about them, but
gradually, as from time to time they had failed to heed the
words of warning and reproof that the Lord sent them.
Each departure from rightdoing, each refusal to repent,
had deepened their guilt and driven them farther from
Heaven. And now, in this crisis, they persisted in refusing
to take their stand for God.
The Lord abhors indifference and disloyalty in a time
of crisis in His work. The whole universe is watching with
inexpressible interest the closing scenes of the great
controversy between good and evil. The people of God are
nearing the borders of the eternal world; what can be of more
importance to them than that they be loyal to the God
of heaven? All through the ages, God has had moral heroes,
and He has them now--those who, like Joseph and Elijah
and Daniel, are not ashamed to acknowledge themselves
His peculiar people. His special blessing accompanies the
labors of men of action, men who will not be swerved from
the straight line of duty, but who with divine energy will
inquire, "Who is on the Lord's side?" (Exodus 32:26), men
who will not stop merely with the inquiry, but who will
demand that those who choose to identify themselves with
the people of God shall step forward and reveal
unmistakably their allegiance to the King of kings and Lord of
lords. Such men make their wills and plans subordinate
to the law of God. For love of Him they count not their
lives dear unto themselves. Their work is to catch the
light from the Word and let it shine forth to the world in
clear, steady rays. Fidelity to God is their motto.
While Israel on Carmel doubt and hesitate, the voice
of Elijah again breaks the silence: "I, even I only, remain
a prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hundred
and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks;
and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it
in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and
I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put
no fire under: and call ye on the name of your gods, and
I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that
answereth by fire, let him be God."
The proposal of Elijah is so reasonable that the people
cannot well evade it, so they find courage to answer, "It
is well spoken." The prophets of Baal dare not lift their
voices in dissent; and, addressing them, Elijah directs,
"Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first;
for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but
put no fire under."
Outwardly bold and defiant, but with terror in their
guilty hearts, the false priests prepare their altar, laying
on the wood and the victim; and then they begin their
incantations. Their shrill cries echo and re-echo through
the forests and the surrounding heights, as they call on
the name of their god, saying, "O Baal, hear us." The priests
gather about their altar, and with leaping and writhing and
screaming, with tearing of hair and cutting of flesh, they
beseech their god to help them.
The morning passes, noon comes, and yet there is no
evidence that Baal hears the cries of his deluded followers.
There is no voice, no reply to their frantic prayers. The
sacrifice remains unconsumed.
As they continue their frenzied devotions, the crafty
priests are continually trying to devise some means by
which they may kindle a fire upon the altar and lead the
people to believe that the fire has come direct from Baal.
But Elijah watches every movement; and the priests, hoping
against hope for some opportunity to deceive, continue to
carry on their senseless ceremonies.
"It came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and
said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he
is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth,
and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and cut
themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the
blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass, when
midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the
offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice,
nor any to answer, nor any that regarded."
Gladly would Satan have come to the help of those
whom he had deceived, and who were devoted to his service.
Gladly would he have sent the lightning to kindle
their sacrifice. But Jehovah has set Satan's bounds, restrained
his power, and not all the enemy's devices can convey one
spark to Baal's altar.
At last, their voices hoarse with shouting, their garments
stained with blood from self-inflicted wounds, the priests
become desperate. With unabated frenzy they now mingle
with their pleading terrible cursings of their sun-god, and
Elijah continues to watch intently; for he knows that if
by any device the priests should succeed in kindling their
altar fire, he would instantly be torn in pieces.
Evening draws on. The prophets of Baal are weary,
faint, confused. One suggests one thing, and another
something else, until finally they cease their efforts. Their shrieks
and curses no longer resound over Carmel. In despair they
retire from the contest.
All day long the people have witnessed the demonstrations
of the baffled priests. They have beheld their wild
leaping round the altar, as if they would grasp the burning
rays of the sun to serve their purpose. They have looked
with horror on the frightful, self-inflicted mutilations of
the priests, and have had opportunity to reflect on the follies
of idol worship. Many in the throng are weary of the
exhibitions of demonism, and they now await with deepest interest
the movements of Elijah.
It is the hour of the evening sacrifice, and Elijah bids
the people, "Come near unto me." As they tremblingly
draw near, he turns to the broken-down altar where once
men worshiped the God of heaven, and repairs it. To him
this heap of ruins is more precious than all the magnificent
altars of heathendom.
In the reconstruction of this ancient altar, Elijah revealed
his respect for the covenant that the Lord made with Israel
when they crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land. Choosing
"twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes
of the sons of Jacob, . . . he built an altar in the name of
the Lord."
The disappointed priests of Baal, exhausted by their vain
efforts, wait to see what Elijah will do. They hate the prophet
for proposing a test that has exposed the weakness and
inefficiency of their gods; yet they fear his power. The
people, fearful also, and almost breathless with expectancy,
watch while Elijah continues his preparations. The calm
demeanor of the prophet stands out in sharp contrast with
the fanatical, senseless frenzy of the followers of Baal.
The altar completed, the prophet makes a trench about
it, and, having put the wood in order and prepared the
bullock, he lays the victim on the altar and commands the
people to flood the sacrifice and the altar with water. "Fill
four barrels," he directed, "and pour it on the burnt sacrifice,
and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time. And
they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third
time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran
round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with
water."
Reminding the people of the long-continued apostasy
that has awakened the wrath of Jehovah, Elijah calls upon
them to humble their hearts and turn to the God of their
fathers, that the curse upon the land of Israel may be
removed. Then, bowing reverently before the unseen God,
he raises his hands toward heaven and offers a simple prayer.
Baal's priests have screamed and foamed and leaped, from
early morning until late in the afternoon; but as Elijah prays,
no senseless shrieks resound over Carmel's height. He prays
as if he knows Jehovah is there, a witness to the scene, a
listener to his appeal. The prophets of Baal have prayed
wildly, incoherently. Elijah prays simply and fervently,
asking God to show His superiority over Baal, that Israel
may be led to turn to Him.
"Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel," the prophet
pleads, "let it be known this day that Thou art God in
Israel, and that I am Thy servant, and that I have done
all these things at Thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me,
that this people may know that Thou art the Lord God,
and that Thou hast turned their heart back again."
A silence, oppressive in its solemnity, rests upon all. The
priests of Baal tremble with terror. Conscious of their guilt,
they look for swift retribution.
No sooner is the prayer of Elijah ended than flames of
fire, like brilliant flashes of lightning, descend from heaven
upon the upreared altar, consuming the sacrifice, licking
up the water in the trench, and consuming even the stones
of the altar. The brilliancy of the blaze illumines the mountain
and dazzles the eyes of the multitude. In the valleys
below, where many are watching in anxious suspense the
movements of those above, the descent of fire is clearly
seen, and all are amazed at the sight. It resembles the pillar
of fire which at the Red Sea separated the children of Israel
from the Egyptian host.
The people on the mount prostrate themselves in awe
before the unseen God. They dare not continue to look
upon the Heaven-sent fire. They fear that they themselves
will be consumed; and, convicted of their duty to acknowledge
the God of Elijah as the God of their fathers, to whom
they owe allegiance, they cry out together as with one voice,
"The Lord, He is the God; the Lord, He is the God." With
startling distinctness the cry resounds over the mountain
and echoes in the plain below. At last Israel is aroused,
undeceived, penitent. At last the people see how greatly
they have dishonored God. The character of Baal worship,
in contrast with the reasonable service required by the true
God, stands fully revealed. The people recognize God's
justice and mercy in withholding the dew and the rain until
they have been brought to confess His name. They are
ready now to admit that the God of Elijah is above every
idol.
The priests of Baal witness with consternation the
wonderful revelation of Jehovah's power. Yet even in their
discomfiture and in the presence of divine glory, they refuse
to repent of their evil-doing. They would still remain the
prophets of Baal. Thus they showed themselves ripe for
destruction. That repentant Israel may be protected from
the allurements of those who have taught them to worship
Baal, Elijah is directed by the Lord to destroy these false
teachers. The anger of the people has already been aroused
against the leaders in transgression; and when Elijah gives
the command, "Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of
them escape," they are ready to obey. They seize the priests,
and take them to the brook Kishon, and there, before the
close of the day that marked the beginning of decided reform,
the ministers of Baal are slain. Not one is permitted to live.