After 3 ½ years of no rain or dew, the land of Israel was like a dessert. Then God sent Elijah to Ahab to call a showdown. "Have the people and all the priests of Baal, meet me on Mount Carmel" Elijah commanded and King Ahab, even though he hated the prophet of God, quickly obeyed, from fear of something worse happening, and messengers hurried through the land to call the people to the appointment.

There were altars to Baal on this mountain and before the drought it had been a most beautiful place, where the idol worshippers liked to have their holiday feasts in the groves of trees. Now the trees had no leaves and were withered. Way up on the mountain was an old altar to the God of heaven, long broken down and unused.

God had been greatly dishonoured by the people as they left serving God and worshipped Baal, and by the wicked things done in the groves on Carmel. He chose this area to show His power to them.

Early on the morning of the chosen day, 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 idol worshippers shout his welcome.

But there is dread 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 had no dew or rain. They feel sure some fearful crisis is at hand. The gods in whom they have trusted have been unable to prove Elijah a false prophet. For all these months they tried all the tricks they knew, but their frantic cries, their prayers, their tears, their magic rituals, their revolting ceremonies, their costly and ceaseless sacrifices all had done no good at all.

All the so-called power of heathen religions and witchcraft really only comes from Satan and is used to trick people into thinking they have secret powers.

I want you to notice something about the verse in yesterdays reading, it says, "The people answered him not a word". Now don’t you think that some of those people knew down in their hearts that all this Baal worship and all the holidays and feasts and stuff that they were doing in worshipping Baal was wrong? Don’t you think that down in their hearts they knew that only the God of Heaven was really worthy of their worship and that in turning from what was right and doing the heathen things they were sinning against the Creator of heaven and earth?

I am sure that many of them knew this, in fact maybe most of them did, but they would not stand up and speak out to honour the name of God! They were cowards and just followed their leaders even in what they knew was wrong. We must not be like this!

Now look at Elijah; Facing King Ahab and the false prophets, and surrounded by all the people gathered there, Elijah stands, the only one who is standing for the honor of Jehovah. The whole kingdom has tried to find him for all these months to kill him, and here he is, apparently unarmed before the king 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, unafraid, the prophet stands before the crowd, fully aware of his task to carry out the divine command. Anxiously the people wait for him to speak. Looking first upon the broken-down altar of Jehovah, and then at the people, Elijah cries out in clear, trumpet-like 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 large crowd dares to show loyalty to Jehovah. Like a dark cloud, deception and blindness had spread over Israel. Not all at once had this fatal apostasy closed about them, but gradually, as from time to time they had failed to pay attention to the words of warning and reproof that the Lord sent them. Each going away from right doing, each refusal to repent, had deepened their guilt and driven them farther from Heaven. And now, in this crisis, they still refused to take their stand for God.

This can happen to us, if we choose to ignore what the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy tells us is right, we will end up like Israel, doing wickedly until finally God destroyed that kingdom. People who won’t stand up and speak for truth in such times, but just keep quiet are disgusting to God!

Read this story carefully and notice that Elijah gave them every advantage. He would leave them with no chance to say they had been treated unfairly. He let them have first chance, he let them choose the animal they wanted for their offering, and prepare it in any way they wanted to.

The test Elijah tells them about is so fair and so right that they all have to agree to it. The prophets of Baal dare not refuse to make the trial or they would show clearly to the people that they were frauds.

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. No fire comes from Baal.

Now Elijah knows he has to watch them carefully, as if they could somehow cheat and set the fire themselves, they would! It is interesting that witches believe they can bring down fire, of course Satan can do this for them, but on mount Carmel, Satan was prevented from doing this. Satan has no power against God’s true people, unless he can get them to disobey God, and then he can lead them into evil.

God has had heroes, and He has them now—those who, like Joseph and Elijah and Daniel, are not ashamed to say that they are His peculiar people.

At last, their voices hoarse from shouting, their clothes stained with blood from self-made wounds, the priests become desperate. In frenzy they now mingle with their pleading, terrible cursing of their sun-god, and Elijah still watches intently for any trick.

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 sound over Carmel. In despair they give up the contest.

All day long the people have watched the baffled priests 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 them cutting themselves with knives, and have had time to think about how foolish idol worship is. 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 tells 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 fancy altars of heathendom. He carefully repairs it following the rules God had given for His altars.

The priests of Baal watch quietly, they hate Elijah worse then ever, but they are helpless. The calm, quiet ways of the prophet of God are so different from the wild frenzy of the followers of Baal. The ways of those who leave the God of Heaven are loud and flashy but the ways of God are calm and quiet.

But now Elijah does even more; he digs a trench around the altar and then he puts the wood on it and prepares the bullock and puts the pieces on the wood. The he did something that seemed crazy! He told the people to pour water over it all; four barrels of water from the nearby sea, and he told them to do it three times, until the trench was full and everything was dripping wet. Humanly, there was no way any fire could burn that offering.

Elijah was making sure that no one could say that he cheated and set fire to the altar himself.

Elijah calls upon the people 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 God is there, a witness to the scene, a listener to his appeal. The prophets of Baal have prayed wildly, without making sense. Elijah prays simply and earnestly, asking God to show His superiority over Baal, that Israel may be led to turn to Him.

Silence, solemnly, rests upon all. The priests of Baal tremble with terror, aware of their guilt in deceiving the people.

Suddenly, flames of fire, like brilliant flashes of lightning, descend from heaven upon the altar, burning up the sacrifice, the water in the trench, and even the stones of the altar. The brightness of the blaze lights up the mountain and dazzles the eyes of the multitude. In the valleys below, where many are watching the movements of those above, the fire is clearly seen coming down from heaven, and all are amazed at the sight. It is like the pillar of fire that at the Red Sea separated the children of Israel from the Egyptian host.

The people fall on their faces in awe before the unseen God. They dare not continue to look at the Heaven-sent fire. They fear that they themselves will be burned up for their sins. They cry out together, "The Lord, He is the God; the Lord, He is the God." The cry sounds over the mountain and echoes in the plain below.

At last Israel sees 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 ways of the heathen are foolish, but when people want their own way and refuse to obey God, they can’t see the truth any more.

After this, Elijah ordered the prophets of Baal to all be executed. You see, they knew what they were doing was wrong; they knew they were lying to the people to get the people to serve the idols.

After this was over, Elijah told Ahab to hurry up and eat his picnic lunch because God was soon going to send a great rain, so things could grow again. Now when he said this there was not a cloud in the sky.

Elijah goes to the top of the mountain and begins to pray for rain. Notice he just doesn’t say, "Oh, God will now send rain, I don’t have to do anything about it." No, he goes and asks for the desperately needed rain. He prays and then asks his servant to go look and see if any clouds were coming. The servant said no, there was nothing.

Again Elijah prayed and again sent his servant to see whether there were any visible sign that God had heard his prayer. Each time the servant returned with the word, "There is nothing." The prophet did not become impatient or lose faith, but continued his earnest pleading. Six times the servant returned with the word that there was no sign of rain. Elijah did not give up and prayed again and sent him forth once more; and this time the servant said, "Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea like a man's hand."

He did not wait for the whole sky to grow dark, he knew by faith God was answering his prayer. Quickly Elijah sent his servant to Ahab with the message, "Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not."

It was getting dark and the rainstorm burst upon the land. Ahab had not time to get home before it hit and now, God gave special strength to Elijah and he ran before the king’s chariot guiding him safely to the gate of the city.

Even though he had just been used by God to perform a wonderful miracle, the Prophet did not refuse to turn around and do the work of a common servant.

Now when Ahab got home he told Jezebel all about what had happened. Ahab really thought that she would be glad to know that God was really the true God and Elijah was a true prophet. He thought she would realize the truth and start and worship the true God also. But Jezebel did not care who was God and who was a true prophet—she just wanted her own way and she angrily sent a message to Elijah that she was going to have him killed! She was not able to kill Elijah though, but she sure wanted to!

Elijah represents the people who will be alive on this earth when Jesus comes and they will go to heaven with Him without ever dying. We call this ‘translation’. Elijah was one who was sent to speak with Jesus just before He went to the cross, on the mountain of transfiguration. Moses was there also, and he represented the people who will be raised from the dead and then go home with Jesus.

There is another important thing that we are told about Elijah, we are told that we who are faithful to God in these last days are going to have a message like the message Elijah carried to Israel!

What was Elijah’s message? He told the people that there was only one true God, the God of creation. And he warned them to turn from their idol worship and repent of their selfish indulgence in heathen religion and holidays and serve God and He would forgive them and be their God. He told them to worship the true God and to obey Him in all things. He also warned those who would not repent, that they would have a terrible end!

This is the same as God’s true Bible-believing people today, they call on all people to serve the God of Creation, that it is now a time of judgement and we are to repent and obey God. They tell us to come away from those who are not interested in obeying God’s Word and be separate and not take part in their doings. They warn us that those who choose to obey men’s ideas instead of the God of heaven’s commandments are going to have a terrible end! But the message also tells us that if we repent, God will forgive us and teach us His ways.

"In such a time as this, every child of God should be actively engaged in helping others. As those who have an understanding of Bible truth try to seek out the men and women who are longing for light, angels of God will attend them. And where angels go, none need fear to move forward. As a result of the faithful efforts of consecrated workers, many will be turned from idolatry to the worship of the living God. Many will cease to pay homage to man-made institutions and will take their stand fearlessly on the side of God and His law."

But there was another prophet that was called an Elijah Prophet. It was John the Baptist. Jesus said of him, "But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come." Matthew 11:9, 13, 14.

John was a lot like Elijah. He brought a message for the people to repent and put away sin and get their hearts ready for Jesus’ ministry. This was a time when Israel was all caught up in their ceremonies and rituals and were not serving God with their hearts. They thought they could buy God’s blessing with money and by offering lots of lambs on the altars of the temple. They were not thinking about what their daily lives were like.

Remember in the story of the 1^st Elijah, there was a king who had married a wicked woman that he had no business marrying—that was Jezebel. In the time of John there was another king that was married to a woman he had no business marrying either. This was Herod and Herodias.

Herodias had been the wife of Herod’s brother and she left him and married Herod. John told Herod that this was wrong and he had no right to be married to her. This made Herodias so mad that she nagged until she got Herod to arrest John and throw him into prison.