So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.
At Elijah's word and command Ahab sent messengers throughout the kingdom and gathered all Israel with the prophets of Baal and Ashtoreth to Mount Carmel for the appointed public confrontation. The people hurried to answer the summons with foreboding and anxious expectation, many fearing some unusual event, new calamity or crisis was about to come upon them. Carmel was chosen because it was conspicuous, with heights visible across much of Israel and overlooking the surrounding countries, a public place to display God's power and vindicate His honor which idolatrous worship had dishonored. At that time the mountain that usually flourished with dew and rain was languishing and withered under God's curse from drought, with altars of Baal and Ashtoreth standing in leafless groves in contrast to the neglected, broken-down altar of Jehovah on a high ridge, showing Israel's spiritual condition. The assembly met after three and a half years without dew or rain, when the failure of the people's gods to end the drought left the prophets fearful of the crisis ahead, while those who held the time to three years teach that during it the people's gods had failed despite the priests' prayers and sacrifices to prove him a false prophet.
Gathering to Mount Carmel
At Elijah's word and command Ahab sent messengers throughout the kingdom and gathered all Israel with the prophets of Baal and Ashtoreth to Mount Carmel for the appointed public confrontation. Ahab obeyed the demand and direction, overawed and tremblingly following it as Israel's apostate leader. Messengers carried the call everywhere and the people hurried to answer the summons. They assembled with foreboding and anxious expectation, many fearing that an unusual event, new calamity, or crisis was about to come upon them.
Carmel was chosen because it was conspicuous, its heights visible across much of Israel and overlooking the surrounding countries, with vantage points below from which events could be seen. Elijah chose it as a public place to display God's power and to vindicate His honor and the honor of His name, which idolatrous worship had dishonored. At the time the mountain that usually flourished with dew and rain was languishing and withered under God's curse from the drought, the once-beautiful land dried up. Altars of Baal and Ashtoreth stood in leafless groves where the prophets had built them for pagan worship, in contrast to the neglected, broken-down altar of Jehovah standing on a high ridge, showing Israel's spiritual condition.
The assembly met after three and a half years without dew or rain, the failure of the people's gods to end the drought leaving the prophets fearful of the crisis ahead. During that time their gods had failed despite the priests' prayers and sacrifices, and those who reckoned the period as three years without dew or rain at Elijah's word held that they had failed to prove him a false prophet. The rain that followed after the famine testified to blessings awaiting Israel.
Elijah stood there under God's commission and direction, carrying out his sacred commission as a chosen preacher of righteousness guided by the Holy Spirit and sent to warn Israel in deep wickedness and idolatry under Ahab and Jezebel. He was sent after time at the brook Cherith and with the widow of Sarepta to stand before the idolatrous priests on Carmel. Afterward God girded him with strength to guide the king's chariot to the gate of Jezreel, so his later hasty flight into the wilderness had no errand from God and was not sent by Him.
Contest, Triumph and Aftermath
On Carmel Elijah stood in appearance alone before the king, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal at the head of the nation, the soldiers, and the assembled people of Israel, as the sole defender and witness to the true God and the honor of Jehovah, though in fact surrounded and protected by heaven's angels. He had maintained trust in Jehovah through the years of drought and famine, and carried out his sacred commission undaunted on his trying day before the whole nation. The contest set before the people by the two altars called them to decide between divided opinions, with the proposal of two bullocks and the test that the God who answers by fire be God. Baal's prophets cried out and cut themselves in vain from morning until the evening sacrifice.
Elijah repaired the broken-down altar of the Lord with twelve stones for the tribes of Israel, drenched the sacrifice three times with water, and prayed that it be known that God is God in Israel and that the people's heart be turned back again. Then fire from heaven fell and consumed sacrifice and wood and stones and dust and water. The people declared their allegiance, confessing the Lord He is the God, showing that Baal has no power and that Jehovah the Creator of heaven and earth is God in a contest of life and death. The false prophets were taken to the brook Kishon and slain. Their defeat and death overthrew and checked the Baal worship supported by Ahab and Jezebel that had seduced the nation, deeply stirred the people, and led many to return to the worship of God.
The test on Carmel led to earnest prayer for rain, when Elijah told Ahab to eat and drink because of the sound of abundance of rain, while he himself went to the top of Carmel and bowed with face between his knees in a painful humiliating position. His faith was sorely tried, but he continued in earnest prayer until rewarded by tokens of rain, followed by heaven black with clouds and wind and great rain, which after three and a half years without dew or rain testified to blessings awaiting Israel. Elijah hoped the display of God's power and the defeat of the prophets with God's help would bring reform, but was disappointed in the result. The signal triumph opened the way for still greater victories and wonderful opportunities, yet he was turned away from them by Jezebel's threat, and still had to learn to trust wholly in God to complete his work and to understand the weakness of his present position compared with the vantage-ground God wanted him to occupy.
After standing long and valiantly for the right, in a moment of weariness he let fear of death and Jezebel's threats overcome his faith and fled for his life. Even one who had stood fearlessly before king and nation could thus falter under weakness and danger, proving that Satan assails the soul with fiercest temptations at the time of greatest weakness and takes advantage of human weakness after great victory for the right. His failure of faith cut short the work he had begun, so another prophet was appointed to take his place, though he himself was ultimately taken to God's presence rather than dying in the wilderness. The record of that stand against apostasy brings inspiration and courage to those called to stand for what is right, and has special significance because history repeats. The Baal then served was the Phoenician sun-god, and in different form that same idolatry persists today when devotion to riches, fame, pleasure, false doctrines and theories, false ideas of God, and human authority, a philosophical idol enthroned in place of Jehovah, conceiving God in false character, deifying nature while denying the God of nature revealed in His Word, in Christ, and in creation, is as easy as fashioning an idol of wood or stone.
At Elijah's word and command Ahab sent messengers throughout the kingdom and gathered all Israel with the prophets of Baal and Ashtoreth to Mount Carmel for the appointed public confrontation. The people hurried to answer the summons with foreboding and anxious expectation, many fearing some unusual event, new calamity or crisis was about to come upon them. Carmel was chosen because it was conspicuous, with heights visible across much of Israel and overlooking the surrounding countries, a public place to display God's power and vindicate His honor which idolatrous worship had dishonored. At that time the mountain that usually flourished with dew and rain was languishing and withered under God's curse from drought, with altars of Baal and Ashtoreth standing in leafless groves in contrast to the neglected, broken-down altar of Jehovah on a high ridge, showing Israel's spiritual condition. The assembly met after three and a half years without dew or rain, when the failure of the people's gods to end the drought left the prophets fearful of the crisis ahead, while those who held the time to three years teach that during it the people's gods had failed despite the priests' prayers and sacrifices to prove him a false prophet.
Gathering to Mount Carmel
At Elijah's word and command Ahab sent messengers throughout the kingdom and gathered all Israel with the prophets of Baal and Ashtoreth to Mount Carmel for the appointed public confrontation. Ahab obeyed the demand and direction, overawed and tremblingly following it as Israel's apostate leader. Messengers carried the call everywhere and the people hurried to answer the summons. They assembled with foreboding and anxious expectation, many fearing that an unusual event, new calamity, or crisis was about to come upon them.
Carmel was chosen because it was conspicuous, its heights visible across much of Israel and overlooking the surrounding countries, with vantage points below from which events could be seen. Elijah chose it as a public place to display God's power and to vindicate His honor and the honor of His name, which idolatrous worship had dishonored. At the time the mountain that usually flourished with dew and rain was languishing and withered under God's curse from the drought, the once-beautiful land dried up. Altars of Baal and Ashtoreth stood in leafless groves where the prophets had built them for pagan worship, in contrast to the neglected, broken-down altar of Jehovah standing on a high ridge, showing Israel's spiritual condition.
The assembly met after three and a half years without dew or rain, the failure of the people's gods to end the drought leaving the prophets fearful of the crisis ahead. During that time their gods had failed despite the priests' prayers and sacrifices, and those who reckoned the period as three years without dew or rain at Elijah's word held that they had failed to prove him a false prophet. The rain that followed after the famine testified to blessings awaiting Israel.
Elijah stood there under God's commission and direction, carrying out his sacred commission as a chosen preacher of righteousness guided by the Holy Spirit and sent to warn Israel in deep wickedness and idolatry under Ahab and Jezebel. He was sent after time at the brook Cherith and with the widow of Sarepta to stand before the idolatrous priests on Carmel. Afterward God girded him with strength to guide the king's chariot to the gate of Jezreel, so his later hasty flight into the wilderness had no errand from God and was not sent by Him.
Contest, Triumph and Aftermath
On Carmel Elijah stood in appearance alone before the king, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal at the head of the nation, the soldiers, and the assembled people of Israel, as the sole defender and witness to the true God and the honor of Jehovah, though in fact surrounded and protected by heaven's angels. He had maintained trust in Jehovah through the years of drought and famine, and carried out his sacred commission undaunted on his trying day before the whole nation. The contest set before the people by the two altars called them to decide between divided opinions, with the proposal of two bullocks and the test that the God who answers by fire be God. Baal's prophets cried out and cut themselves in vain from morning until the evening sacrifice.
Elijah repaired the broken-down altar of the Lord with twelve stones for the tribes of Israel, drenched the sacrifice three times with water, and prayed that it be known that God is God in Israel and that the people's heart be turned back again. Then fire from heaven fell and consumed sacrifice and wood and stones and dust and water. The people declared their allegiance, confessing the Lord He is the God, showing that Baal has no power and that Jehovah the Creator of heaven and earth is God in a contest of life and death. The false prophets were taken to the brook Kishon and slain. Their defeat and death overthrew and checked the Baal worship supported by Ahab and Jezebel that had seduced the nation, deeply stirred the people, and led many to return to the worship of God.
The test on Carmel led to earnest prayer for rain, when Elijah told Ahab to eat and drink because of the sound of abundance of rain, while he himself went to the top of Carmel and bowed with face between his knees in a painful humiliating position. His faith was sorely tried, but he continued in earnest prayer until rewarded by tokens of rain, followed by heaven black with clouds and wind and great rain, which after three and a half years without dew or rain testified to blessings awaiting Israel. Elijah hoped the display of God's power and the defeat of the prophets with God's help would bring reform, but was disappointed in the result. The signal triumph opened the way for still greater victories and wonderful opportunities, yet he was turned away from them by Jezebel's threat, and still had to learn to trust wholly in God to complete his work and to understand the weakness of his present position compared with the vantage-ground God wanted him to occupy.
After standing long and valiantly for the right, in a moment of weariness he let fear of death and Jezebel's threats overcome his faith and fled for his life. Even one who had stood fearlessly before king and nation could thus falter under weakness and danger, proving that Satan assails the soul with fiercest temptations at the time of greatest weakness and takes advantage of human weakness after great victory for the right. His failure of faith cut short the work he had begun, so another prophet was appointed to take his place, though he himself was ultimately taken to God's presence rather than dying in the wilderness. The record of that stand against apostasy brings inspiration and courage to those called to stand for what is right, and has special significance because history repeats. The Baal then served was the Phoenician sun-god, and in different form that same idolatry persists today when devotion to riches, fame, pleasure, false doctrines and theories, false ideas of God, and human authority, a philosophical idol enthroned in place of Jehovah, conceiving God in false character, deifying nature while denying the God of nature revealed in His Word, in Christ, and in creation, is as easy as fashioning an idol of wood or stone.