1 Kings 18:27
And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.
At noon on Carmel, after Baal's prophets had cried from morning till noon with no voice, no answer and no regard, Elijah mocked them to shout louder as if their god were talking, pursuing, traveling, or sleeping and needing to be awakened. He stood as the lone witness for the true God in a chosen public test to display God's power and vindicate His name before the king, Israel, and four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal in a time of entrenched idolatry. His sarcasm exposed Baal's weakness and impotence, leaving the sacrifice unconsumed despite frantic leaping, shouting, foaming and self-cutting until the priests grew weary, faint and confused. The wild frenzy of Baal's prophets stands in contrast to Elijah's calm, brief and fervent appeal to the living God, which was answered at once and proved Jehovah the Creator to be God. That triumph checked idolatry, stirred the people to declare allegiance and return to God's worship, and warns that even after valiant service faith can let go its hold in weariness unless trust rests wholly in God.
Carmel Contest Setting
At noon on Mount Carmel the prophets of Baal had been calling on his name from morning until noon with no voice and no answer and no one regarding them, and Elijah mocked them to cry aloud because he is a god who might be talking or pursuing someone or traveling on a journey or sleeping and needing to be awakened. His taunt laid bare the folly of trusting a god who gives no sign of hearing or regarding his followers and leaves the sacrifice unconsumed despite loud and prolonged effort. The priests kept up their frantic appeals and continued their frenzy while secretly seeking a way to kindle the altar fire and deceive the people into thinking Baal had sent it.
The mockery belongs to the conspicuous test on Carmel that Elijah chose for God to display His power and vindicate the honor of His name. There as the sole witness for the true God he stood undaunted before King Ahab and all Israel and four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal. It was a dark and troubled time of idolatry supported by Ahab and Jezebel, and the terrible day upon Carmel faced the whole nation of Israel with the false prophets at their head.
Baal's prophets shouted until their voices were hoarse and leaped upon and around the altar as if to grasp the burning rays from the sun to serve their purpose. They threw themselves into almost every attitude without order and with no regard for order, screamed and foamed and leaped and prayed for a long time, until strength failed through sheer exhaustion. They cut themselves until blood stained their garments, mingled pleadings with terrible cursings of their sun-god, and grew desperate as their frenzy turned to curses against their own god. Their frantic, prolonged worship continued from morning until near evening, and all day they grew weary and faint and confused until their shrieks and curses no longer resounded and they retired in despair by evening.
Elijah watched intently to prevent fraud because he knew he would instantly be torn in pieces if by any device they succeeded in kindling their altar fire. The priests secretly sought a way to light the fire to deceive the people, and their efforts to deceive with a secretly kindled fire failed. Satan would gladly have come to the help of those deceived and devoted to his service and sent lightning to kindle their sacrifice, but Jehovah set His bounds and restrained his power so that none of the enemy's devices could convey one spark to Baal's altar.
Baal Exposed as Powerless
At noon Elijah ridiculed the prophets of Baal, telling them to cry louder because their god might be talking, pursuing someone, traveling on a journey, or sleeping and needing to be awakened. The sarcasm exposed the impotence, weakness, and inefficiency of Baal, who gave no voice, no answer, and no sign of hearing or regarding his followers. From morning until noon and onward the priests had called frantically and aloud, yet the sacrifice remained unconsumed and no fire came, and even their secret attempts to kindle it by deception to mislead the people failed. Satan would gladly have sent lightning to help his devoted servants, but God set bounds and restrained his power so that no device of the enemy could convey even one spark to Baal's altar. The priests' vain efforts left them exhausted while they feared Elijah and the people watched expectantly, his calm demeanor standing against their fanatical frenzy.
All day the onlookers saw the baffled priests grow weary, faint, and confused, shouting until hoarse, leaping upon and around the altar as if to grasp the sun's rays, mingling pleadings with terrible cursings of their sun-god, foaming, cutting themselves until blood stained their garments, until their shrieks and curses no longer resounded and they retired in despair. Those who had looked with horror on the frightful self-inflicted mutilations gained opportunity to reflect on the folly of idol worship and of trusting a god who gives no answer. By evening the prophets were weary, confused, and had given up, while many in the throng, weary of the exhibitions of demonism, awaited Elijah's movements with deepest interest.
Their wild, incoherent, unreasonable frenzy, with screaming, foaming, leaping, and praying at length from morning until near evening, contrasts with Elijah's calm, reverential, brief, simple, and fervent appeal to the living God. His simple prayer was answered at once, revealing God's superiority to Baal in order to call Israel back to Him and turn them to return to Him. Through faith the confrontation on Carmel checked idolatry and cast it down in a life-and-death triumph proving that Jehovah the Creator of heaven and earth is God. Standing alone and undaunted before King Ahab, all Israel, and four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal in a dark time of idolatry supported by Ahab and Jezebel, Elijah witnessed the people stirred to declare allegiance, return to God's worship, and see the false prophets slain.
The rain that followed testified to the blessings awaiting Israel. The same account continues to Elijah going up to the top of Carmel and casting himself down upon the earth with his face between his knees in a painful, humiliating posture, praying strongly and earnestly for rain with faith sorely tried yet persevering until rewarded by tokens of rain, followed by heaven black with clouds and wind and great rain.
Courage Failure and Warning
Elijah stood as a preacher of righteousness sent in a dark and troubled time when wickedness had become severe under the idolatry supported by Ahab and Jezebel, and though God sent prophets to warn the people, Elijah was chosen and guided by the Holy Spirit to carry out a great work under God's direction. On Carmel he showed undaunted courage in a contest between life and death, triumphing over the king, the priests, and the people, and the wonderful events of that day with the wonderful exhibitions of God's power proved that Jehovah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, is God. He did what he did against the prophets of Baal, including slaying them, under God's commission and trusting in God for protection, and that record gives courage to those who stand for what is right amid apostasy when history is repeated by turning from God to worldly pursuits or false ideas of God.
Despite that signal triumph on the heights of Carmel, the slaying of the false prophets, and the people's declaration of allegiance to God, Elijah afterward fled for his life before the threats of the idolatrous Jezebel. He was disappointed by the results and, in a moment of weariness after long and valiant standing for the right, his will-power weakened and his faith failed as he allowed the fear of death to overcome his faith in God. This shows that Satan gains the victory by assailing men in the time of greatest weakness when strength fails and faith lets go its hold upon infinite power, attacking weak points of character to shake confidence in God with fiercest temptations after valiant service. The triumph had opened the way for still greater victories from which Elijah was turned away by Jezebel's threat, and he could complete his work only after learning to trust wholly in God and understanding the weakness of his present position compared with the vantage-ground the Lord would have him occupy.
Baal was the Phoenician sun-god, and Elijah's mockery exposed the claim that he was a real god who might be occupied, away, or asleep, illustrating that idolatry persists when people replace the true God with a false conception of Him. That same worship exists in the Christian world today in a different form, when men enthrone a philosophical idol in place of Jehovah, deify nature while denying the God of nature, make an idol of false doctrines and theories as easily as fashioning an idol of wood or stone, and conceive of God in a false character with attributes He does not possess. The god of many professedly wise men, philosophers, poets, politicians, journalists, polished fashionable circles, colleges and universities, and even some theological institutions is little better than Baal, while the true God as revealed in His Word, in Christ, and in the works of creation is worshiped by but few. God does not require His people to imitate Baal's prophets, who afflicted their bodies and cried out and shouted and threw themselves into almost every attitude with no regard for order until their strength failed through sheer exhaustion, since religion does not consist in making a noise.