Welcome to episode one of the Bible’s not boring. Where I hope to open your eyes to the wonders found within the pages of the Bible. Before I get into today’s storyline let’s lay down some fun facts for the Bible. The Bible consists of 66 books, written in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek), across the span of 3 different continents yet every chapter, every story, every page points to one major theme. That God created the world, sin entered the world, and through Christ He saved the world. It is like the most epic superhero story ever told. Move over Marvel. But seriously, apart from the salvation given to us through Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit in us, the Bible is one of the greatest gifts given to us. God didn’t leave us hanging when it comes to figuring out life’s greatest problems – He’s given us His Word, the Bible, to learn from and inform our decisions.
Now that we’ve got that covered, let’s dive in to today’s story. Open your Bibles (or Bible App – I don’t judge) up to 1 Kings 18. *This post will have verses written in the New Living Translation (NLT) but please read whatever version makes the most sense to you.*
“Later on, in the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain!” So Elijah went to appear before Ahab.” – 1 Kings 18:1-21
Let me help provide some context before we really dive in. Elijah is a prophet of the Lord. Meaning he gets clear direction from God and is instructed on sharing that direction with others. He’s a messenger of sorts. The Lord spoke to Elijah and instructed him to go to the king, Ahab, and tell him that He would bring rain down to the earth after three years of drought.
Doesn’t that sound so nice? Well I told you, the Bible’s not boring. Here’s the deal. King Ahab was known for his hatred towards Elijah. In fact, he had been sending people all over the region to hunt him down. So God is instructing him to go straight towards the man who wants him dead. Not to mention, Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, had also tried to get take out of all the prophets in the region. Luckily for them, there was an inside man (Obadiah) who feared the Lord and hid all of those prophets in caves and made sure they were taken care of.
So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Obadiah was a devoted follower of the Lord. 4 Once when Jezebel had tried to kill all the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had hidden 100 of them in two caves. He put fifty prophets in each cave and supplied them with food and water.) – 1 Kings 18:3-42
So when Elijah goes to Obadiah and tells him to holler at King Ahab and let him know he’s on the way, Obadiah rightfully had some hesitation. He was on a mission to just find some grass to help maintain the livestock of the king. Little did he know he’d run in to the very man the king was chasing down. When he saw Elijah there were a lot of emotions – some of honor and some of terror.
As Obadiah was walking along, he suddenly saw Elijah coming toward him. Obadiah recognized him at once and bowed low to the ground before him. “Is it really you, my lord Elijah?” he asked. 8“Yes, it is,” Elijah replied. “Now go and tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’” 9 “Oh, sir,” Obadiah protested, “what harm have I done to you that you are sending me to my death at the hands of Ahab? – 1 Kings 18:7-93
Obadiah was fearful that Elijah was sending him to the king only to disappear upon his return. And if that would happen ON TOP of his aiding and abetting the prophets – he was surely on the kings chopping block. But Elijah assured him he was on mission for God. In fact, Obadiah gave him a label – the Trouble Maker of Israel. I think this is maybe glossed over by the epic story to come. He was given a label of a trouble maker because he as bold enough to stand up for what is right and what is in alignment with what God instructs. It is far better to be a trouble maker for standing up for what is true, than a “team player” who ruffles no feathers but also makes no impact. BUT BACK TO THE STORY.
Elijah gets Obadiah to gather all of Israel along with Ahab and begins to call out the people of Israel for their halfway faith. Sometimes believing in the Lord but also sometimes making offerings to a false god named Baal.
19 Now summon all Israel to join me at Mount Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who are supported by Jezebel.[a]”20 So Ahab summoned all the people of Israel and the prophets to Mount Carmel. 21 Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent. 22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only prophet of the Lord who is left, but Baal has 450 prophets. 23 Now bring two bulls. The prophets of Baal may choose whichever one they wish and cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood of their altar, but without setting fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood on the altar, but not set fire to it. 24 Then call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by setting fire to the wood is the true God!” And all the people agreed. 1 Kings 18:19-234
So picture this, it’s 400 versus one in a challenge to finally prove who the real God is. Elijah is challenging the other prophets of Baal to put their money where their mouth is. Do they really believe in this guy? Well it’s now or never. So the challenge is this – the god who brings down fire where there is none, is the winner. The rules are simple, have your wood and your oxes in place and do whatever it takes for your god to show up. May the best one win. The other side agreed and the battle has begun.
Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “You go first, for there are many of you. Choose one of the bulls, and prepare it and call on the name of your god. But do not set fire to the wood.”26 So they prepared one of the bulls and placed it on the altar. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noontime, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no reply of any kind. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made. – 1 Kings 25-26
They were trying y’all. For hours they pleaded that their god would show up, and for hours they were empty handed. But I know the Bible’s not boring because listen to what Elijah does next.
27 About noontime Elijah began mocking them. “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself.[b] Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!” 1 Kings 18:275
This man started making fun of them! He said dang maybe try harder? Maybe he’s sleeping? You think he’s on his lunch break? Like any confident player, he knew how to trash talk. But we all know, if you’re going to trash talk you better be able to play. Now it’s his time to shine. He gathers everyone together and builds his altar to the Lord. However, he wanted no doubt that God was the real one who wins this fight. So listen to what he does next.
30 Then Elijah called to the people, “Come over here!” They all crowded around him as he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down. 31 He took twelve stones, one to represent each of the tribes of Israel, 32 and he used the stones to rebuild the altar in the name of the Lord. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold about three gallons.33 He piled wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces, and laid the pieces on the wood.Then he said, “Fill four large jars with water, and pour the water over the offering and the wood.”34 After they had done this, he said, “Do the same thing again!” And when they were finished, he said, “Now do it a third time!” So they did as he said, 35 and the water ran around the altar and even filled the trench. – 1 Kings 18:30-346
He raised the stakes of the challenge. They put enough water on the wood pieces that there was no way outside of an act of God that those pieces would burn. And that’s exactly what Elijah was wanting to display – the true God who does the impossible.
36 At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,[f] prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. 37 O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.”38 Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The Lord—he is God! Yes, the Lord is God! – 1 Kings 18:36-397
IMMEDIATELY the fire of God fell down. The other prophets spent hours hoping that maybe their god would show up and prove himself and came up empty handed. Elijah however, had enough faith that he knew in a moment, despite the circumstance in front of him, God would show up. God showed up and did more than Elijah prayed for. There was nothing left- no wood, no water, no bull, no stones, not even the DUST. COME ON NOW. Elijah believed in a God who shows up and shows out.
This led the people surrounding him to recognize they had been worshipping something that would never actually transform anything. Their god couldn’t even bring down a spark. But Elijah’s God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is a God who transforms.
This was a lesson for Israel to worship the one true God. But I believe there are also some lessons for us. I fear that some of us have been worshipping things that will come up empty time and time again. Worshipping that job title, relationship, bank account, follower count, body, etc. Perhaps it’s time to recognize that these are false gods that will never come rescue you as you call out to them. But your God will. He will show up time and time again.
The other lesson I gather is that some of us need Elijah sized faith. Maybe the prayer that you’ve been praying for a while hasn’t been answered so you’ve stopped praying. Maybe you’ll trust God enough to pray for Him to burn the wood, but not enough to trust He can burn even the dust. My prayer is that you are reminded through this story that God is POWERFUL and PERSONAL. He is powerful enough to burn down the altar and everything else in it but personal enough to hear Elijah’s cries in the first place.
So our underdog story comes to a close. In the battle of 400 prophets and their false god versus 1 prophet and the 1 True God, there were no lines left to be blurred. Elijah’s God, OUR God, comes out on top. He did then and He always will. Still think the Bible is boring now?
My prayer is this: may you be reminded that the God who rained down fire from heaven to bring people back to Him, is the same God who brought you here to read this post. That God is for you.
The Bible’s Not Boring.
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HERE COMES THAT DREAMER 
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