Elijah & the False Prophets: Who Is the True God?

Tom Terry
Feb 18
16 min read

I Kings 18:17-40

When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is this you, the cause of disaster to Israel?” He said, “I have not brought disaster to Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because you have abandoned the commandments of the LORD and you have followed the Baals. Now then, send orders and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal and four hundred prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

So Ahab sent orders among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel. Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long are you going to struggle with the two choices? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him so much as a word. Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left as a prophet of the LORD, while Baal’s prophets are 450 men. Now have them give us two oxen; and have them choose the one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people replied, “That is a good idea.”

So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose the one ox for yourselves and prepare it first, since there are many of you, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under the ox.” Then they took the ox which was given them, and they prepared it, and they called on 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 about the altar which they had made. And at noon, Elijah ridiculed them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, since he is a god; undoubtedly he is attending to business, or is on the way, or is on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep and will awaken.” So they cried out with a loud voice, and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until blood gushed out on them. When midday was past, they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.

Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come forward to me.” So all the people came forward to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD, which had been torn down. Then Elijah took twelve stones, corresponding 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.” And 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 measures of seed. Then he laid out the wood, and he cut the ox into pieces and placed it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And he said, “Do it a second time,” so they did it a second time. Then he said, “Do it a third time,” so they did it a third time. The water flowed around the altar, and he also filled the trench with water.

Then at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached and said, “LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known 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, LORD, answer me, so that this people may know that You, LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back.” Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood, and the stones and the dust; and it licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God!” Then 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 slaughtered them there.

ELIJAH CALLED DOWN FIRE FROM HEAVEN TO TESTIFY AS TO WHO GOD WAS. WHY DOESN’T GOD DO MIRACLES LIKE THAT TODAY?

BACKGROUND

There’s a little tit for tat going on here between God and Baal. More specifically, between God and Jezebel. Remember that Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord in her attempt to make Baalism supreme in Israel. From this passage we see that God not only proves himself as the only true God, but Elijah goes and slaughters the 450 profits of Baal. It’s almost as if one action deserves the other.

“Mount Carmel seems to have had special religious significance. It was the scene of a contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal; the site was fitting because Carmel was disputed territory between Israel and the Phoenicians, and thus between the Phoenician god Baal and Israel’s God.” (1)

While this is important, it’s not the main thrust of what is going on. Look carefully at two things Elijah said during this episode with Israel.

There are two key verses in our passage to zero in on. First, Elijah says in verse 21, “If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” Then later Elijah prays in verse 37 and says, “That this people may know that You, LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back.” This is the whole point that Elijah is making with what he is doing. He wants his people to know and follow the Lord exclusively. To do that he is giving them evidences for who God is.

WHAT KIND OF EVIDENCED ARE THERE TODAY FOR GOD’S EXISTENCE?

In fact, Elijah provided four evidences for God during this event.

1.) God’s work in history (The drought)

The people already knew that Elijah was the one who called for a drought at God’s word (V.36). They had three years of history with the drought testifying that God was the one controlling nature and not Baal. We have this same testimony through scripture about God’s work through 4,000 years of history reported in the scripture.

2.) A prophet’s miracles (Fire from heaven)

The people saw the miracle God performed by sending fire from heaven to consume the offering (V.38). Baal could not answer because Baal was not a true god. The miracle testified that God was real. We have the record of miracles done by God in the Old Testament, and Jesus’ miracles in the New Testament. Some people wonder why God doesn’t do miracles like this today. However, God has already done sufficient works to testify as to who he is. Also, we live in an age where people are drawn to God by his love rather than miracles. Remember that Jesus did many miracles, but only a few people, who knew his love, had a true relationship with him.

3.) God answering prayer (“At your word,” fire from heaven)

Notice that the miracle happened while Elijah prayed (V.36). God answered Elijah’s prayer because Elijah prayed according to God’s pre-stated word to him. Answers to prayer are another evidence that God is real. God also answers our prayers according to his will.

4.) The testimony of scripture (V.18 “Commandments of the Lord”)

This refers to God’s previous revelation of himself. Elijah rebuked Ahab by saying in verse 18, “You have abandoned the commandments of the LORD.” Ahab knew of God’s word and rejected it. God’s word testifies that he is real. We have the testimony of scripture about who God is. Jesus said in Luke 16:31, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.” Believing and knowing the word of God is foundational to knowing God himself. If the word is rejected then nothing else will convince a person of the truth about Jesus Christ.

EXAMINATION

(V.19) “Send orders and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal and four hundred prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SAY THESE PROPHETS ATE AT JEZEBEL’S TABLE?

Consider the boldness of Elijah. He wasn’t simply confronting a few false prophets. He wasn’t simply confronting 450 profits pf Baal. He was confronting the 400 other profits of Asherah also. In other words, Elijah was facing down 850 false prophets against just himself—850 to one.

We’ve previously studied about Baalism. But what is Asherah? Asherah was a fertility goddess in competition with Baal. She becomes allied with Baal at one point, against the supreme God, El. The fact that Jezebel worshipped both Baal and Asherah shows how influential these false deities were in the northern kingdom of Israel. They received official sanction and promotion from Ahab’s government, through Jezebel. Obadiah, in saving 100 prophets of the Lord stands in contrast to Jezebel who provided food for 850 false prophets of Baal and Asherah.

(V.21) Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long are you going to struggle with the two choices? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him so much as a word.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT SYNCRETISM IS? DESCRIBE.

Elijah’s use of the term “struggling” signifies that the people were worshiping Baal along with Yahweh. Essentially, they were syncretists, not fully committed to God. They tried to worship both Baal and Yahweh at the same time. But God does not share his glory with anything. Whenever a person worships other things, even though we may claim to worship God, in reality, we aren’t worshipping God at all. That other thing takes us away from God. Just like Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, we will either hate the one or despise the other. Elijah is calling Israel back to exclusive devotion to God alone.

(V.22) Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left as a prophet of the LORD, while Baal’s prophets are 450 men.

Elijah seems to have forgotten the 100 prophets that Obadiah had saved from Jezebel. In chapter 19 the Lord revealed that he had 7,000 people who had not bowed the knee to Baal. So, he’s being a little over dramatic. But for this moment he is also being truthful. He stood alone against the 850 false prophets that were before him.

(V.23-24) Now have them give us two oxen; and have them choose the one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people replied, “That is a good idea.”

Elijah says that the God who answers by fire would be God. Israel already had a history of God, who answers by fire.

An angel with a “flaming sword” guarded the way to Eden.
God called Moses to ministry by appearing as a fire in a bush.
God guarded Israel’s escape from Egypt as a pillar of fire.

The Angel of the Lord ascended to Heaven in fire in front of Samson’s parents when they offered him a meal.
God also appeared as a fire to Solomon at the dedication of the temple.
And in the Gospels and the book of Acts it is said that the Lord baptizes his people in fire.

Fire is a symbol of judgment and purification. For God to answer Elijah in fire is a demonstration that Elijah was the prophet of the Lord, and the Lord was calling Israel back to covenant worship.

(V.26) Then they took the ox which was given them and they prepared it, and they called on 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 about the altar which they had made.

The word for limp is translated as struggle earlier in our passage. They limped between belief in Baal and Yahweh. But when they saw how Baal did not answer their prayers something began to change.

(V.27) And at noon Elijah ridiculed them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, since he is a god; undoubtedly he is attending to business, or is on the way, or is on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep, and will awaken.”

IS RIDICULE EVER A VALID WAY TO MAKE A LEGITIMATE POINT? ELIJAH DID IT. HOW CAN SARCASM OR HUMOR ILLUSTRATE THE ABSURD?

Baal’s prophets were growing desperate in their efforts to see Baal answer. After the morning hours passing with no result, Elijah ridiculed them, but they do not turn. In fact, things are about to get worse.

Prophetically speaking, there is great irony here. Elijah is painting a picture of what God is like through his criticism of Baal. He is not on the way. He is already there. He is not on a journey, he is always present. God never sleeps. This is ironic because Jesus was all these things as God in human flesh. He attended to business, took journeys, was on the way from one place to the next. And he slept. Yet, he was God, living as a man.

(V.28-29) So they cried out with a loud voice, and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until blood gushed out on them. When midday was past, they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.

This was an all day affair. The prophets of Baal cried out and cut themselves all day, for several hours. This was in keeping with their religious practices, to try to awaken Baal from his slumber and bring rain. But it was to no avail. There was no voice and no one answered because Baal did not exist.

(V.31) Then Elijah took twelve stones, corresponding 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.”

Some commentators believe that the broken altar on Mount Carmel was actually constructed by King David. But it fell into disrepair. Elijah is using the altar and stones to remind them of the Mosaic covenant. Additionally, ancient near east people’s believed that if you knew a god’s name it gave you power or control. But here, the Lord does the naming. He is the one who is in control.

(V.32-35) And 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 measures of seed. Then he laid out the wood, and he cut the ox in pieces and placed it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And he said, “Do it a second time,” so they did it a second time. Then he said, “Do it a third time,” so they did it a third time. The water flowed around the altar, and he also filled the trench with water.

Notice the use of the number three. Previously Elijah laid himself on the widow’s son three times. Now he has water poured three times. The imagery here is of three years of drought, so water is poured three times. This is significant because Israel had been experiencing a drought for three years. Using this much water on a sacrifice might have seemed wasteful. But something more important was going on. Baal was known as a storm god. He could bring rains. Yet Elijah is showing that God is the only true god. God can answer by fire and lick up the water that the prophets of Baal associated with their false god.

(V.36-37) Then at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached and said, “LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known 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, LORD, answer me, so that this people may know that You, LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back.”

ELIJAH SAID HE DID EVERYTHING AT GOD’S WORD. DO YOU DO EVERYTHING AT GOD’S WORD? WHY OR WHY NOT?

This is the whole point of what Elijah is trying to accomplish, “That this people may know that You, LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back.” In fact, this is the purpose of the prophetic office, to turn people’s heart toward the Lord.

Elijah’s prayer was humble and simple and only took a few seconds. Compare that to the raving of Baal’s prophets for hours on end with no result other than frustration and self mutilation. This kind of humble heart is what God responds to.

(V.38) Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood, and the stones and the dust; and it licked up the water that was in the trench.

This is God’s final word on the matter of false gods and prophets. He answered Elijah immediately with fire and the fire consumed everything, even the stones. This was a certain symbol of judgment. Fire is judgment. Nothing like this had ever been seen before. Only Yahweh is the true God.

(V.39) When all the people saw this, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God!”

The people likely made this confession in great terror. They were idol worshippers and the true God had just answered a solitary prayer with fire. So, they cried out in hopes that God would spare them. While the confession the people made was good, some commentators note that it didn’t go far enough. It’s one thing to declare the Lord is God, but it’s another thing to truly follow and obey him. Remember what James said. “Even the demons believe, and tremble” (James 2:19).

(V.40) Then 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 slaughtered them there.

In slaughtering the prophets of Baal, Elijah is following the covenant law in Deuteronomy 13:9-11, which required the death of false prophets. Notice where the judgment was carried out. At a brook. Three years earlier, Elijah confronted Ahab with a judgment of no rain, then he went to hide at a brook. He was probably there for about a year. Now at the end of this episode when God is about to bring the rain back to the land, he executes judgment at a brook, and the false prophets of Baal are destroyed.

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?

We’ve learned that God was calling Israel back into covenant relationship with him.
We’ve learned that God was challenging Israel’s idol worship.
We’ve learned that false gods cannot answer or help their worshipers.
We’ve learned that God answers the prayers of those who pray according to his will.

INTERPRETATION

What is the author’s big idea?

Realize that God is truly God, and fully commit your life to him with no reservations. The Israelites at Mount Carmel had a dramatic testimony for who God was. They yelled out, probably in terror, “The Lord, he is God!” At that moment, they abandoned Baal worship and slaughtered the false prophets.

God wants us to remove from our lives that which supplants our dedication to Christ or abandons him altogether. Remember that at first the scripture says in verse 20, “The people did not answer him so much as a word.” They were truly limping between two opinions. They did not want to offend God, but they also did not want to offend Baal. They had to be pushed over the edge in some fashion to make a true commitment to the one true God. Once they saw the power of God in the miracle, then they confessed that the Lord was God.

The idea that Israel is God’s people is very important in scripture. God does not have any relationships with people outside of establishing a covenant. God’s covenants are how he manages his relationships. If you are outside of a covenant with God, then you have no relationship with God and cannot experience his love.

Look at the response of the people to Elijah’s actions. When he challenged the people about deciding for God, it says in verse 21, “And the people did not answer him a word.” They were idol worshipers as was Ahab, who was present with them. They probably feared contradicting the king, so they kept silent. But they were waiting for the evidence of Elijah’s words. Then, when Elijah began to prepare the altar and sacrifice the people helped him restore the altar. Then in verse 30 the people, “Came near” to Elijah at his call and helped him with the altar and the water. Then, when God responded to Elijah’s prayer, they went all in by declaring, “The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God!” The end result was that the people captured the false prophets in verse 40 so that Elijah could kill them. Ahab himself never repented, but his people did. They went from noncommittal to the beginnings of covenant obedience.

Israel had a covenant with God under the Mosaic Law, but they violated that covenant by worshipping other gods. Because of this, they were separated from God just as their king, Ahab was. So, Elijah chose things that reminded Israel of the covenant.

He chose a mountain where King David may have built an altar to God. This would have spoken of the King’s faithfulness to God.
Elijah reconstructed the altar according to the number of the tribes of Israel. This would have reminded them of God founding and establishing them as a people group, and as a nation. It also spoke to the covenant God made with Israel under the Mosaic Law.
Elijah chose a ox, an animal used for sacrifice to bring God near to the people.
He drenched the sacrifice with water, which testified to God’s curse of withholding the rain for idol worship as he said he would do in Deuteronomy 11:17 and 28:24.

Everything Elijah did spoke of bringing Israel back into covenant faithfulness. God was the true God, and Israel was his covenant people.

Ultimately, as we’ll see in our next lesson, God restored the rain, possibly in response to Israel’s repentance in declaring the Lord is God.

APPLICATION

Give God exclusive devotion over your life. What supplants or replaces God in your life? God is not one who negotiates. He wants exclusive rights to your devotion and life.

If you’ve been unsure about your devotion or relationship to Christ, you can make a change right now.

First, go to God in prayer, next
Confess the sin of not following the Lord fully, then
Dedicate your whole life to Christ, leaving nothing out
Eradicate out of your life that which keeps you from exclusive devotion to Christ

Remember that he is not only our Savior, but he is also our Lord. This means that he has supremacy over our lives and everything in our lives. We should live as such. Whatever is false in your life, eradicate it like Elijah did to the prophets of Baal. Remember, God does not negotiate. He wants full surrender.

(1) Elwell, Walter A., and Barry J. Beitzel. 1988. “Carmel.” In Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, 1:418. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.