Day 14: I Kings 18
In yesterday’s reading, King Solomon began his reign in wisdom and justice. However, whereas his father David had had a whole heart for God, Solomon had half of a heart for God. The other half was reserved for his wives and their gods - 700 wives and 300 concubines, to be precise, each with their own religions and customs that led him away from the one true God. As a result, when Solomon’s son Rehoboam ascended to the throne, another leader, Jeroboam, also arose, and the nation was divided into two distinct kingdoms: the southern kingdom of Judah (led by descendants of David and comprised of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin) and the northern kingdom of Israel (led by various family lines and comprised of the other 10 tribes). Many of these leaders of both the northern and southern kingdoms led the people into idolatry and progressively worse sin over the years, and the books of 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles narrate the decline of the nation of Israel until, finally, God exiled them.
Occasionally, though, God raised up a prophet or king to call his people back to him. One such prophet was Elijah, who served during the reign of one of Israel’s most abhorrent kings, Ahab. Because Elijah spoke the truth of God’s word and denounced evil King Ahab’s sinful ways, Ahab and his wife Jezebel hated him and sought to kill him on multiple occasions. So when he challenged Ahab to a public confrontation, the stage was set for a dramatic showdown.
Elijah called for the prophets of Baal, a popular pagan god, to go up against the one true God. Because Baal was thought to be an incredibly powerful deity in control of elements such as rain and fire, Elijah told them to set up a sacrifice and call on Baal to light it with fire from heaven. He taunted and teased them as the sacrifice remained unlit throughout hours of empty ritualistic frenzy. Elijah then repeated the situation for himself and his God, except that he had the sacrifice doused with water to make it even more impossible. But when he called on the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the fire came down and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, and the water around the altar! Verse 39 has the people proclaiming in humility, “The Lord - he is God! The Lord - he is God!”
This powerful, vindictive, and dramatic display of God’s power is inspiring, encouraging, and fist-pumpingly awesome. But it can also cause us to wonder why God doesn’t do this more often. He is God! Why doesn’t he prove it? Why doesn’t he rain fire down and perform miracles and prove beyond the shadow of any doubt that he is the true ruler of the universe?
But in the words of D.A. Carson, “The most shocking thing about this confrontation is that it was needed. These are the covenant people of God.” Ultimately, even this dramatically victorious showdown between God and the false prophets did not permanently turn back the hearts of the people to their true and rightful King. The Lord - he is God; but as I Kings 19 shows us, sometimes we see him best not in earthquakes or powerful winds, but in whispers. And our hearts must be willing to see him for the King he is.
Questions for reflection and discussion: How have you seen God act powerfully in your life or in the lives of those you know? Why do you think that God doesn’t often act this dramatically today? Why were the people of Israel ultimately not loyal to this God, despite his clear displays of power and might?
