1 Kings 18:10 "As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you; and when they said, 'He is not here,' he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you. 11 "And now you say, 'Go, tell your master, "Elijah is here" '! 12 "And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth.
At the word of Elijah there had been no rain in the land for 3 years; Elijah had presented himself to King Ahab announce the drought. Now at the end of the drought God speaks to Elijah go present yourself to the king. On his way to the king Elijah comes across Obadiah the king’s servant.
1 Kings18:13 "Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, how I hid one hundred men of the LORD's prophets, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water? 14 "And now you say, 'Go, tell your master, "Elijah is here." ' He will kill me!" 15 Then Elijah said, "As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today." 16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, "Is that you, O troubler of Israel?" 18 And he answered, "I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals.
The man of God was not afraid to go to the wicked king at the word of the Lord. What a confrontation! The trouble of Israel was squarely laid to the wickedness of Ahab and his building of false altars.
1Kings 18:19 "Now therefore, send [and] gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table." 20 So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD [is] God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people answered him not a word.
The challenge was on! How long will you falter between two opinions? If God is god follow Him, if Baal then follow him.
1Kings 18:22 Then Elijah said to the people, "I alone am left a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets [are] four hundred and fifty men. 23 "Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay [it] on the wood, but put no fire [under it]; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay [it] on the wood, but put no fire [under it]. 24 "Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God." So all the people answered and said, "It is well spoken."
The God who answers by fire is the true God!
1Kings 18:25 Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare [it] first, for you [are] many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire [under it]." 26 So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared [it], and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, "O Baal, hear us!" But [there was] no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made. 27 And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, "Cry aloud, for he [is] a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, [or] perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened."
False God cannot answer or hear the prayers of men; yet they pray on… Elijah mocked the false gods. No political correctness with Elijah; the church needs to quit fearing exposing false gods!
1 Kings 18:28 So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. 29 And when midday was past, they prophesied until the [time] of the offering of the [evening] sacrifice. But [there was] no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.
False gods have no voices save that which men have given them. At the end of the day false gods leave men empty and void; only Jesus can satisfy the souls of men.
1 Kings 18:30 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 [that was] broken down. 31 And 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."
Elijah was about to repair the altar! He gets twelve stones for the sons of Jacob and remind them of the command of God; ISRAEL SHALL BE YOUR NAME! Then Elijah begins to build the altar.
1 Peter 2:4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame."
In our covenant we are living stones being built upon the Chief Corner Stone into a spiritual house. We are the temple of the living God. Don’t behave like mere men.
1 Kings 18:32 Then 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 seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid [it] on the wood, and said, "Fill four waterpots with water, and pour [it] on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood." 34 Then 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 So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.
The stone of Jacob become the stones of Israel and the altar is built. Elijah built the altar in the divine order of God. Then he begins to pour water out upon the sacrifice again, and again.
1 Kings 18:36 And it came to pass, at [the time of] the offering of the [evening] sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, "LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You [are] God in Israel and I [am] Your servant, and [that] I have done all these things at Your word. 37 "Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You [are] the LORD God, and [that] You have turned their hearts back [to You] again."
Elijah calls on God only after the water of the word was poured out upon around and through the sacrifice. When men begin to prayer after the washing of the water of the word, you can expect the supernatural to show up.
1 Kings 18:38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that [was] in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw [it], they fell on their faces; and they said, "The LORD, He [is] God! The LORD, He [is] God!" 40 And 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 executed them there.
God answered by fire just as the prophet had declared. God still is answering by fire! Breathe on us Holy Spirit. The people declare what the prophet declared before the sacrifice “The Lord He is God” Then Elijah had all the false prophets put to death.
1 Kings 18:41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink; for [there is] the sound of abundance of rain." 42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, 43 and said to his servant, "Go up now, look toward the sea." So he went up and looked, and said, "[There is] nothing." And seven times he said, "Go again."
It was time for the rain and the prophet went to praying!
1 Kings 18:44 Then it came to pass the seventh [time], that he said, "There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea!" So he said, "Go up, say to Ahab, 'Prepare [your chariot], and go down before the rain stops you.' " 45 Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. 46 Then the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
Then the rain came. The rain did not come until the word of God came to pass. The rain did not come until the people acknowledged that God was indeed Lord. If we want the rain we must exalt Jesus is Lord in the land.
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