Week 27: 1 Kings 18-Elijah and Israel at Mount Carmel

Elijah and Israel at Mount Carmel

As a family, read 1 Kings 18 together. Afterwards, share the following discussion.

What happened?

In 1 Kings 18, the nation of Israel was in the third year of a terrible famine (not much food) and drought (not much water), which had been caused by King Ahab’s decisions to do evil and worship false gods. When the Lord decided to end the famine and drought, He instructed His prophet Elijah to go see King Ahab. After he did that, God would send rain.

On the way to meet Ahab, Elijah saw Obadiah, Ahab’s official. He was looking for grass for Ahab’s animals. After some convincing, Obadiah went to tell Ahab that Elijah was there. Elijah asked the king to bring people from all over Israel, as well as the prophets of the gods Baal and Asherah, to Mount Carmel. Ahab sent word, and the people and prophets gathered there.

The people had been torn between following Baal and following the Lord God. So, Elijah issued a challenge to see whose god was the true God. Two altars would be made for sacrifices, one for Elijah and one for the prophets of Baal. However, neither altar would be lit; instead, each group would call upon their god to light the fire. The god that answered the call would prove to be the true God.

The prophets of Baal went first. They began to pray and shout and dance, calling to Baal and asking him to send fire. They did this from morning until night, but the fire never came. After trying all day, Elijah finally stopped them and took his turn. He had the people help him build an altar of wood and stone; then he dug a trench around it. He placed a bull on the altar and instructed that four large jars of water be poured over the altar. He asked them to do it again and then again. After all 12 jars had been emptied on the altar, the wood and the bull were soaked. Even the trench was filled with water. Elijah prayed, “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. 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” (I Kings 18:36b-37, NKJV). God sent fire, and it burned up the wood, the stones, the bull, the ground around it, and even the water! The people fell on their faces, saying they now knew that the Lord is the true God. God then sent rain, and the drought ended.

Why is this important to us today?

The nation of Israel was stuck in the middle of two gods, two beliefs, and two paths to go down. For a while, many had chosen to simply sit and not follow in either direction. Others followed Baal and rejected God completely. The Israelites needed a clear reminder that God is real, that He is all-powerful, and that He is the only one who deserves worship. As we continue to look through the Old Testament, we’ll see more examples of the Israelites being tempted to follow things other than God.

Even today, many people struggle with who or what to follow. But we have the advantage of reading in the Bible all the examples of God’s power and might. There is only one who can tell us what is right and wrong, and that is God.

Spend a few minutes talking about what you just read by answering these questions together:

1. God showed Himself all-powerful over and over again. Why do you think the Israelites strayed away from the Lord so many times?

2. Who or what do people follow today other than the Lord? How can you avoid doing the same thing?

How can we better follow God this week?

This week, think about the experience of Elijah on Mount Carmel. When you have a choice to make, think of the Israelites and their mistake of following the wrong thing. Remember what God has already told us to do through His Word. Don’t be wishy-washy when you’re faced with right and wrong. If you know the right thing to do, do it! If you don’t know, look in the Bible and see what it says. We can trust the Word of God to help us follow Him. The Lord has given us Scripture so we will know how to live.