Elijah and Elisha: 10/23/2016 THE BATTLE OF THE GODS 1 KINGS 18

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1 Message #3 Pastor Kurt Hedlund Elijah and Elisha: 10/23/2016 THE BATTLE OF THE GODS 1 KINGS 18 INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW A number of us from the church were able to go several weeks ago to the federal courthouse in Las Vegas to witness Ethel become a naturalized citizen of the United States. It was a good experience to witness and to see the value that people from other countries place upon becoming a part of our country. One of the things that I observed with great interest was the oath that these new citizens take. At one point that oath reads, "...I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen..." Every year or two I notice in the news that another country is having an election, and people living in the United States, including new US citizens, are allowed to vote in the elections of these other countries by going to their embassies or consulates here in the US. There seems to be no law against this. In fact, the US Supreme Court in one case in 1967 said that US citizens can still vote in the elections in another country. To continue to vote in the elections of another country and to act as a citizen of another country would seem to me to betray the promise which naturalized citizens make in saying this oath. Yet what most of us would not do in the political realm, we are often tempted to do in the spiritual realm. Most of us have come to identify ourselves as Christians. We have come to the conviction that Jesus was God as well as man, that He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and that He rose again from the dead. We have come to believe that simply by trusting in Him and His death for us that we have eternal life and forgiveness of sins. In doing this we have acknowledged that Jesus Christ is God, that He is Lord, that He has sovereignty over the world and over us. 1

2 But so often we are prone to treat something else as having first place in our lives. We are prone to treat our career as the most important thing in our life, or the pursuit of money or popularity or pleasure or alcohol or retirement. The people of God throughout history have too often been caught with divided loyalties. The passage before us today encourages the people of God to have their priorities straight. In recent weeks we have been looking at a situation that occurred 850 years before the time of Christ. The people of the northern part of Israel had split from the southern part of the country about 75 years earlier. Ahab was king in the north. He had married Jezebel from Phoenicia. She had persuaded Ahab to introduce worship of Baal and Asherah and other Canaanite gods. Thus Israel strayed away from worship of the true God. The Lord, however, graciously intervened. He sent His prophet Elijah to challenge Ahab and Baal, the supposed God of rain and fertility. Elijah announced that there would be a drought, and for the next 3 ½ years there was no rain in the area. God kept Elijah in hiding during this time. Ravens kept him supplied with food by a brook near the Jordan. Then God sent him to be cared for in the home of a widow in Phoenicia. Now the Lord calls Ahab to confront King Ahab and his false gods. ACT I Chapter 18 in 1 Kings is a great story. It is true history that I have chosen to analyze as a four act play. In vv we encounter Act I, which deals with THE CONFRONTATIONS. You are welcome to follow along in p. 299 of the black Bibles under the chairs. In the first two verses we have a PRELUDE. The text says, "After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year [of the drought], saying, 'Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.' So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria." Samaria was the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel. Ahab and Jezebel had made it the worship center for Baal, the god of rain and fertility. But it is noted here that the famine is especially severe in Samaria. 2

3 We are also told that the true God is sending his prophet Elijah to go to Ahab, who hates Elijah and blames him for the famine and wants him dead. So here in this prelude the tension is described that sets the stage for a dramatic confrontation. SCENE 1 We come then to SCENE 1 in vv. 3-6 where we find THE PROBLEM OF THE DROUGHT. We read beginning in v. 3, "And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.) And Ahab said to Obadiah, 'Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals.' So they divided the land between them to pass through it. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself." Obadiah is like the prime minister. He is the number two guy. His name means "Servant of YHWH," and we are told that he fears the true God greatly. He is also hiding true prophets from evil Queen Jezebel. Yet he is also working for King Ahab. It is not clear how much the king knows about Obadiah's true religious commitment. We also find out in this scene a little more about the extent of the drought. They can't even find grass around Samaria. The famine is bad. Then also Ahab seems to be more concerned about feeding his animals than feeding his people. SCENE 2 We come then to SCENE 2 and verses 7-15: THE CONFRONTATION WITH OBADIAH. Apparently Obadiah was sent to look for water and grass in the northern part of the kingdom. For as Elijah comes down from Phoenicia, he meets Obadiah. 3

4 According to vv. 7-15, "And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. And Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, 'Is it you, my lord Elijah?' And he answered him, 'It is I. Go, tell your lord, "Behold, Elijah is here."' And he said, 'How have I sinned, that you would give your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say, "He is not here," he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you. And now you say, "Go, tell your lord, 'Behold, Elijah is here."' And as soon as I have gone from you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you I know not where. And so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth. Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water? And now you say, "Go, tell your lord, 'Behold, Elijah is here'"; and he will kill me.' And Elijah said, 'As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.'" Obadiah fears God, but he also fears Ahab. The challenge from Elijah is to decide whom he fears most. Will he trust God and His word? Fortunately, Obadiah steps out with a hesitant but genuine faith in the true God. SCENE 3 Verses describe SCENE 3. Here we find THE CONFRONTATION WITH AHAB. According to these verses, "So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah. When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, 'Is it you, you troubler of Israel?' And he answered, 'I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father's house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals. Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table.'" In Ahab's mind things were fine before Elijah called for a drought. Elijah is the problem. It may well be that the priests of Baal were telling Ahab that Elijah was the problem. Until he was eliminated Baal could not bring rain upon the land. 4

5 Since the beginning of time the righteous have been blamed for the effects of the sins of the unrighteous. In the first century the religious leaders claimed that Jesus was the problem. According to Luke #23 v. 5 (LUKE 23:5), the chief priests and elders and scribes were saying, "He [Jesus] stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place." Jesus is the problem. He is the one who is rocking the boat. Today it is you Christians, you religious conservatives, who are the problem. A few years ago there were several atheists who published books about the same time with that message. One of them was Christopher Hitchens, who wrote a book entitled God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. The message was: Everything was fine until you religious conservatives came along. You Christians oppose progress and freedom. You oppose the rights of women to kill their babies. You oppose sexual freedom. You oppose gay marriage. Many of you oppose gambling. You don't want people to have any fun. The real problem is that the accusers have turned away from the true God and His word. Ahab was the chief offender in Elijah's day. Thus the prophet confronts the king about his sin. He accuses him of choosing to follow the wrong god. ACT 2 We come then in vv to ACT 2 and THE CHALLENGE TO COMMITMENT. We read beginning in v. 20, "So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. And Elijah came near to all the people and said, 'How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.' And the people did not answer him a word. Then Elijah said to the people, 'I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are 450 men. Let the two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.' And all the people answered, 'It is well spoken.'" 5

6 Elijah has issued a challenge to a showdown between himself and the prophets of Baal and Asherah. Apparently Jezebel and the 400 prophets of the goddess Asherah did not show up. The proposed meeting place is Mt. Carmel. (MT. CARMEL MAP) As with our own nearby Mt. Charleston, when clouds and rain showed up in the area, Mt. Carmel was the first place to get precipitation and lightning. Thus it was regarded by Baal worshippers as the special dwelling place of their god, the god of lightning and storms and precipitation. Mt. Carmel is about 1700 feet above sea level. It is near the Mediterranean Sea. It is in northern Israel, not far from Phoenicia. So Elijah was giving the Baal prophets home court advantage. The contest posed the challenge of which god could bring fire down from heaven and burn up an animal sacrifice. Ahab accepted, and a huge crowd gathered to witness this battle of the gods. The event draws more interest than a Las Vegas presidential debate. The people have been suffering as a result of the drought. The administration has been blaming Elijah, and perhaps his God. Elijah says that the famine is the result of the judgment of the true God. Now there is going to be a showdown. There is also a challenge to the nation to decide whom they will serve. What god is truly sovereign? Some of the people of Israel still have an attachment of some kind to YHWH. But Ahab and his wife have been pushing Baal worship as the new national religion. There seems to be a divided opinion and a lack of commitment. The Hebrew verb that is translated in v. 21 of our text as "limping" appears only three times in the Old Testament. It is used to describe what happened when the son of Saul (Mephibosheth) fell as a child and got hurt. It was said that he became "lame." The second appearance of the verb is in our text. It appears the third time in v. 26 when it says that the priests limped around on the altar. Some translate it as dancing around on the altar. The general point is clear. These people are hesitant in their commitment. We might describe it as sitting on the fence. Elijah is calling for a decision. Decide whom you are going to serve. 6

7 ACT 3 In vv we come to ACT 3. In SCENE 1 in vv BAAL AND HIS PROPHETS FAIL. According to vv , "Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, 'Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.' And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, 'O Baal, answer us!' But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, 'Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.'" There is no response from this god who does not really exist. Perhaps he is deciding what to do, or perhaps he is going to the bathroom, or perhaps he is on a trip, or perhaps he is sleeping. This is a worthless god and really no god at all. In v. 28 & 29 we read, "And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention." These Baal prophets were committed. They were sincere. They exhibited a certain kind of faith. But faith is ultimately worthless if the object of that faith is no good. The reality is that false gods cannot deliver. They cannot meet our deepest needs. SCENE 2 So in SCENE 2 GOD AND HIS PROPHET SUCCEED. Beginning in v. 30 we read, "Then Elijah said to all the people, 'Come near to me.' And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, 'Israel shall be your name,' and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, 'Fill four jars 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 7

8 third time.' And they did it a third time. And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water." Perhaps Elijah began the work of building up this altar earlier in the afternoon before the Baal prophets gave up. Notice that he uses twelve stones which seem to represent the twelve tribes of Israel. The northern kingdom of Israel is composed of only ten tribes. But the Lord's intention is that the nation should be united. Soaking an altar with water that you want to burn up is not the normal preparation that one would make to start a fire. But Elijah is confident that God is going to do a miraculous thing. The water may have come from a nearby spring, or it may have been carried up from the Mediterranean Sea. But notice again the numbers. Four jars of water are emptied three times. Again the number twelve is in play. The Baal prophets are being given all of the external advantages. The showdown is on their home court. Elijah is dousing his altar with water. They are given an extended period of time to get their god to intervene. They have the king on their side. They outnumber Elijah 450 to one. Several centuries earlier in a story described in the Book of Judges Gideon is called by God to fight against the Midianites who have invaded their territory. Gideon is a reluctant leader. But God calls him to lead a group of volunteers who are gathered from this northern region of Israel. But God tells Gideon that there are too many volunteers. The group needs to be whittled down so that it is clear that God is the one who will provide the victory. So Gideon leads a force of only 300 men in confronting a much larger Midianite force just a few miles away at the base of Mt. Carmel on its northern side. The text of Judges tells us that there is an enemy force of 135,000 Midianites who oppose the good guys. The ratio is exactly 450 to one. Back in our text in v. 36: "And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, 'O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it 8

9 be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.' 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." The Baal prophets pray for hours. Elijah utters a short prayer, and God responds with fire from heaven. There is a particular Hebrew word for "lightning." That word is not used here. The sky is clear, and there are no storm clouds. This is some kind of other fire that falls from the sky and consumes not just the wood and the bull, but also the stones and the dust and even the water. Animal sacrifice in both religions was associated with sin. The bull becomes the substitute for God's judgment which could have rightfully fallen upon these wayward and rebellious people. God Himself ignites the fire. Some 900 years later God Himself would provide the ultimate sacrifice for sin on another mountain, also at the time of the evening sacrifice. In both of these cases we see the love and the holiness of God. We see His mercy and His power. ACT 4 SCENE 1 The last part of the chapter is ACT 4 AND THE RAIN CAME. In SCENE 1 in vv. 39 and 40 we find that THE PEOPLE REPENT. Verse 39: "And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, 'The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.'" This is the recognition that both the Lord and His prophet Elijah have been seeking. They have wanted the Chosen People to recognize that YHWH is sovereign and that He is to be obeyed and worshiped. This recognition is to be followed by appropriate action. Thus in v. 40 we read, "And Elijah said to them, 'Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.' And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there." The River Kishon is just to the north of Carmel in the valley below. 9

10 The response that Elijah requires of the people is severe. Why is this the case? Because the prophets of Baal have acted evilly in leading the Israelites astray. In Deuteronomy #13 vv God told His people, "If you hear in one of your cities... that certain worthless fellows have gone out among you and have drawn away the inhabitants... saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods,' then you shall inquire and make search and ask diligently. And behold, if it be true... you shall surely put the inhabitants of the city to the sword..." The evidence of true repentance is changed behavior. It is obedience to the word of God. The Israelites respond to this display of God's power by carrying out God's judgment against these pagan prophets. SCENE 2 In vv we come to SCENE 2 where we find that GOD GRACIOUSLY RESPONDS WITH RAIN. "And Elijah said to Ahab, 'Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.'" The Lord graciously allows King Ahab to live, although he has been involved in this Baal worship. How did Elijah know that it was going to rain? He saw the Israelites turn back to the true God. There was some kind of repentance. Then also back in v. 1 of this chapter God sent Elijah to Ahab and told the prophet that rain was coming. Verses 42-44: "So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, 'Go up now, look toward the sea.' And he went up and looked and said, 'There is nothing.' And he said, 'Go again,' seven times. And at the seventh time he said, 'Behold, a little cloud like man's hand is rising from the sea.' And he said, 'Go up, say to Ahab, "Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you."'" From the top of Mt. Carmel, the sea was visible to the west. The servant of the prophet finally sees a cloud beginning to form. Elijah then sends a message to 10

11 Ahab that he better get going back to his palace before it starts raining and the ground turns to mud. Verses 45 & 46: "And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel." Jezreel was the winter capital, and Samaria was the summer capital. Ahab apparently headed off down the valley of Jezreel to get to his palace. The rain started and probably the king got bogged down in the mud. Ahab may have stayed on the ridge line, and that may be why he got to Jezreel before Ahab did. Thus also we see that YHWH, the God of Israel, proves to be the true God of wind and rain and storms. He is the God who sends fire from heaven. Baal is a nonexistent god. The true God, the God who is really there, is the winner of this battle of the gods. THE LESSONS 1) We come then to the lessons that may be learned from this passage. The first lesson that I find here is that THE TRUE GOD IS SOVEREIGN OVER ALL PRETENDERS. In Elijah's day there were many pretenders who claimed to have some degree of sovereignty in the world. YHWH proved Himself to be sovereign over all pretenders. In our day we live in a pluralistic religious world where there are also other gods of other religions who seek to claim loyalty from us. I suspect that for most of us the threat for someone or something other than the God of the Bible to claim sovereignty over our lives comes from other sources. In our recent study of Ephesians, I argued that we humans have a built in need for security and significance. The danger for most of us is that we may seek to meet those legitimate needs for security and significance in something or 11

12 someone other than the God of the Bible. Our temptation may come from a job or a romantic relationship or a hobby or an addiction or from kids or from academic success or sports. But the only One who can meet those needs to the greatest extent is the God of the Bible. He is sovereign over all pretenders. 2) The second, and a related, lesson that I find here is that WE NEED TO CHOOSE TO KEEP THE TRUE GOD FIRST. The Israelites in Elijah's day had divided loyalties. They had some interest and attraction to the God of the Bible. But they were being influenced by the new national religion of Baal worship. They were fence sitters. Most of these people were not committed to either god. Thus in v. 21 Elijah challenges them: "How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." That challenge applies to us today. A few years ago a psychologist by the name of Barry Schwartz wrote a book entitled The Paradox of Choice. In it he argued that Americans today have trouble committing to anything. We love to keep our options open. He says, "As a culture we demand choice. We demand options. We imagine that more options mean more freedom. And most people think that limitless freedom must be a good option." But he goes on to explain that limitless choice can never makes us happy. He writes, "The number of choices available to us becomes overwhelming, and actually makes it difficult for us to ever have the joy of fully committing to anything or anyone." Writer and church planter Barry Cooper looks at this challenge from 1 Kings and considers the argument of this psychologist and adds, "We worship the god of open options. And he is killing us. He kills our relationships, because he tells us it's better not to become too involved. He kills our service to others because he tells us it might be better to keep our weekends to ourselves. He kills our giving because he tells us these are uncertain financial times and you never know when you might need that money. He kills our joy in Christ because he tells us it's better not to be thought of as too spiritual." (Christianity Today, Jan-Feb. 2013, p. 54) 12

13 "How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." Donald Miller writes in Blue Like Jazz, "...the trouble with deep belief is that it costs something. And there is something inside me, some selfish beast of a subtle thing that doesn't like the truth at all because it carries responsibility, and if I actually believe these things I have to do something about them." (p. 107) Perhaps that responsibility for you means being baptized as a public demonstration of your faith in Christ. Perhaps it means developing some kind of daily devotional program. Perhaps it means some kind of service--- whether in the church or in the community or in your own family. Perhaps there is a family member or friend who has major health challenges or has recently lost a loved one who needs some of your time and energy. Perhaps that responsibility means being more serious about sharing your faith in Christ--- at least praying regularly for those people in your sphere of influence who need to know Jesus. "How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." 13