Elijah (6)

Rev. C. Vogelaar, Covell Avenue, Grand Rapids, MI

The prophet had commanded King Ahab to assemble all Israel and the prophets of Baal and gather them together on Mount Carmel. There the Lord would show that He is God. The word of the prophet had authority. We read in verse 20, “So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto Mount Carmel.”

There, Israel, with their ungodly king, would be witness of a powerful manifestation of the God who hears the prayer of the needy and does not put to shame those that trust in Him. There it would be seen which religion was the truth and which was a lie. There, the Lord would show that the message of His servant was the truth and that Elijah truly was His ambassador sent by Him.

Elijah on Carmel

From all directions crowds of people have made their way to the spot which, from remotest times, had been associated with worship. The 450 prophets of Baal have come, also, and there is the king, being protected by his guard of honour and surrounded by his officers of state. Here on Mount Carmel will be a public contest between the forces of good and evil. On the one side, there is Baal with his many prophets; on the other side, Jehovah and His lone servant—alone, yet not alone, for the Lord is with him. And if God be for us, who can be against us?

Elijah made a proposal. Each party would have a bullock and prepare an altar. Then, so that the outcome of the contest might be the more conspicuous to the glory of God, he gave the prophets of Baal the opportunity to be the first to call upon the name of their gods. Afterward, Elijah would call on the name of the Lord. The God that would answer would have to be acknowledged as the true God. The proposal was so reasonable that the people at once consented to it.

The difference

There are really but two religions—the religion of man and the religion of God. Man’s religion may have much that is attractive and pleasing to men, but it lacks power and authority. It is a lifeless body. The religion of God is proven as divine by a miraculous fire from heaven in answer to believing prayer. Hear how Elijah pleads with his God in verse 37: “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.” This is a prayer in which not only the honour of God is sought but also the returning of an idolatrous people to Him in true repentance.

What a difference there is between Elijah and the Baal prophets with their crying and cutting themselves in order to move their gods to answer them. What a difference there is between true and false religion.

a. The religion of man has many followers while the followers of the true God are comparatively few. Elijah says in verse 22, “I only remain.” Here was one against four hundred fifty, but that One was not Elijah; it was God whom he trusted. The battle was the Lord’s. A man-centered and flesh-pleasing religion may draw thousands of people to their huge places of worship while the true followers of the Lord are but a little flock.

b. There may be much zeal, an enthusiasm which may seem to be impressive. We read of the Baal prophets, in verse 28, that they cried aloud and cut themselves with knives. They showed zeal but not according to knowledge, which is like a steam engine on the wrong track. Many are misdirected and misled by false prophets who know how to stir up the emotions so that there may be religious excitement but without humility. In contrast, notice the calmness of Elijah. He has, by the grace of God, a quiet faithfulness. He does not make haste but believes in God.

c. In man’s religion they are deceived. In verse 29, we read, “There was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.” The favour of God and peace with Him are not to be purchased with self-effort. It is only obtained by empty hands, by faith. But God shows His favour upon the prayer of Elijah. “Then the fire of the Lord fell.” Our God is a consuming fire. The fire is an answer upon Elijah’s prayer. He hears the needy when they cry. Baal, the god of the fire, does not answer. The Lord shows that He is God.

What a lesson to learn that God’s favour is obtained only by faith. When the Lord awakens a sinner, removes his false rest, and shows him that he lives under the righteous wrath of God and that he is without God and hope in the world, he will try everything to move the Lord to show mercy. How many promises he makes. Have patience with me, for I will pay Thee all. The life of Luther in the monastery, in ignorance and blindness, trying to purchase deliverance from God’s wrath and peace with Him, is such a clear example of it. The sinner in the workhouse tries to pacify God with his own efforts and to please Him with his tears, contrition, reformation of life, and with righteousnesses which are but filthy rags.

What a blessing it is when we are brought to the end of our efforts to obtain peace with God. When we justly must perish, then the Lord shows another altar. There, on Golgotha, the fire of God’s holy wrath consumed the only Sacrifice that could please Him, His only begotten Son. There, the heat of God’s wrath is quenched. What a wonder; instead of consuming sinners, He cleanses them, gives them to fear Him and to walk in the tender fear of His name. Because of the sacrifice on Golgotha, sinners receive an answer of peace, of divine favour because of the righteousness of Christ. How necessary it is to learn this. There is another mount, Calvary. There, the Lamb of God became a substitute in the place of His guilty people, bearing their sins in His own body on the tree. There, the Lord Jesus suffered, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring them to God.

A necessary confession

Here on Mount Carmel, God manifested that He is God. “And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, He is the God; the Lord, He is the God.” They could no longer doubt the existence and the omnipotence of Jehovah, the God whom they had forsaken. The Lord is known by His ways and works. He is “glorious in holiness, fearful in His praises, doing wonders.” The Baal priests must be slain, and for them there was no escape from the wrath of God.

The confession of Israel must be followed by a radical breaking with the sin of idolatry. God is a jealous God for His own honour. A necessary confession was made there on Mount Carmel. Have we already learned to make such a confession in truth? Not our works, not our efforts, but the grace of God alone will save wretched sinners. Only the Lamb, the only Substitute that has been slain and been consumed by God’s anger, can give escape from the wrath of God.

By a true faith, condemned sinners may flee to Him and find in Him what the prophet testifies in Isaiah 32:2: “And a Man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” Outside of Him there will be the fire of God’s holy indignation, but in Him the weary and heavy-laden sinner will find rest and peace. They will not be sent away who, as poor, needy, unworthy, and guilty ones, come to Him.

(To be continued)

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