![]() Baal was the chief male deity, and Asherah was his wife in this pantheon of gods and goddesses that Jezebel had popularised within the nation of Israel.Īfter Jezebel’s blood-filled extermination of the prophets and priests of the Lord, Elijah was the only prophet left who would stand before all of these pagan priests. He wanted to make sure that they did not want to follow the false gods of Jezebel.Īlong with the people, Elijah wanted the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah brought to Mount Carmel. He wanted all of them to see how mighty the Lord was. Having an evil king meant less chance that the people would worship God. Exactly which mountain Elijah was referring to is unknown.Įlijah wanted the people to see this challenge. The Carmel mountain range runs from the Mediterranean coast inland for about thirteen miles. She had even ordered the priests of the true God to be hunted down and killed.Įlijah offered Ahab a challenge – gather the Israelites to Mount Carmel. Instead, Ahab had allowed his pagan wife to institute the worship of her false gods. As king of Israel, one of his responsibilities was to be an example to his people in the worship of God. Elijah told Ahab that it was Ahab who was to be blamed for the drought. Ahab made neighbouring nations swear that they did not know where Elijah was. He had sent people everywhere to find Elijah because he blamed Elijah for Israel’s troubles ( 1 Kings 18:17). (verses 41-46) God answers Elijah’s prayer for rainĪhab was becoming desperate.(verses 16-18) Elijah visits Ahab and lays down the challenge.You will want to be able to give a brief overview of this before you tell the story of the contest. Ahab and Jezebel had led the people away from God and were destroying the prophets of God. The meeting between Elijah and Obadiah in these verses reveals the reign of terror God’s people were living under. Earlier, Elijah had prophesied to King Ahab that there would be no rain until he (Elijah) asked God to bring it again. (verses 1-15) This gives the context of this being the third year with no rain.The actual contest between Elijah and the false prophets takes place in the middle of 1 Kings 18, but the verses before and after help set the story up and give context. After this miracle, rain also came to end the drought. Fire immediately consumed the sacrifice, the wood, stones, soil and even the water that had overflowed into the trenches around the altar. Finally, Elijah had his altar doused in water and prayed to the Lord to send fire. The prophets prayed and chanted all day, but they could not get their “god” to send fire down to burn the sacrifices on their altars. The “god” that made fire appear would be the real and powerful god. Elijah asked the prophets of Baal to build altars to worship their “god”. 850 priests of the false gods, Baal and Asherah, also attended. Elijah bravely asked the king to gather all the people at Mount Carmel for a contest to see whose god was real. ![]() ![]() The Lord now told him to reveal himself to King Ahab. Anyone who comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who truly want to find him.” Hebrews 11:6, ICBĮlijah had been in hiding for the 3 ½ years of the drought. Memory Verse: “Without faith no one can please God. God is real and not just something people have made up. ![]()
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