1 Kings 18:34
And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.
Elijah ordered water poured over the offering, wood and rebuilt altar three times, four barrels at a time, until everything was thoroughly soaked and the trench around it was filled. This was done after he had repaired the altar of the Lord with twelve stones for the tribes of Israel, and just before his prayer at the time of the evening sacrifice when fire fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the water. The repeated drenching was deliberate, to make it plain that the burning that followed came by no ordinary means but by the wonderful power of Jehovah as Creator of heaven and earth and as greater than Baal. It was the act of one man standing alone for the true God against King Ahab, all Israel and four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal after three and a half years of famine, trusting Jehovah at the risk of his life. By God's help that stand exposed and overthrew Baal worship, the false prophets were slain and Israel declared for God, and it opened the way for Elijah's prayer on Carmel's top until the heavens blackened and great rain came.
The Soaked Sacrifice on Carmel
Elijah commanded that water be poured over the burnt sacrifice and the wood lying on the rebuilt altar of the Lord, then commanded it to be done a second time and a third time, with four barrels each time, until offering, wood and altar were thoroughly drenched and the surrounding trench was filled with water. The drenching came after he had repaired the Lord's altar with twelve stones representing the tribes of Israel. It came before the evening-sacrifice prayer, when fire fell from heaven and consumed the sacrifice, the wood and altar materials, the stones themselves, and the water.
The repeated soaking was deliberate preparation for the contest on Mount Carmel. It was done to make clear that the fire that followed could not be credited to ordinary means. It made the burning a wonderful exhibition of Jehovah's power, showing that Jehovah, the Creator of heaven and earth, is God and displaying His power over Baal. The altar was prepared according to God's instructions and direction, and had to be made ready and purified in accordance with God's Word before the fire could burn.
The Carmel work to which the drenching belongs led directly to prayer for rain. After telling Ahab to go up to eat and drink because there was a sound of abundance of rain, Elijah went up to the top of Carmel and cast himself down upon the earth with his face between his knees. Strong and earnest was his prayer there, offered bowed in a painful, humiliating position. His faith was sorely tried as he continued in earnest prayer, watching and waiting after three and a half years of famine, until at last his faith was rewarded by tokens of rain, when the heaven was black with clouds and wind and there was a great rain. Through faith idolatry was cast down there, and the blessed rain that followed testified to the showers of blessing waiting to be poured upon Israel.
Elijah's Stand Against Idolatry
The command to drench the sacrifice a second and a third time belongs to Elijah's solitary, undaunted stand as the sole witness to the true God on the terrible day upon Carmel. After three and a half years of famine spent watching and waiting for repentance in Israel, he faced King Ahab, the whole nation of Israel, and four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal at their head. It was a contest between life and death in which he triumphed over the king, the priests, and the people, maintaining his trust in Jehovah despite pressure and danger.
He stood there by commission from the God of Heaven, as God had commissioned him to do. He was a preacher of righteousness, guided by the Holy Spirit and directed by God, and through him the Lord sent warning and accomplished a great work when wickedness was widespread in Ahab's time. Through faith and by God's help that stand cast down idolatry, exposed ancient Israel's false worship, checked Baal worship, and overthrew it in a miracle wrought before the people. The false prophets were slain, Israel was deeply stirred and declared allegiance to God, and many returned to His worship.
The exposure of that ancient idolatry has significance for later times because history repeats, and it is compared with idolatry in the Christian world. Even without visible idols, people can serve riches, fame, pleasure, or human ideas instead of God. The record of Elijah's stand amid apostasy gives courage to those called to stand for what is right.
That signal triumph for those seduced into Baal worship put Elijah on the vantage ground the Lord intended and opened the way for still greater victories. The wonderful revelation and manifestation of God's power was meant to brace Elijah to do God's work and to assure him that God would not forsake him and that His power as Lord of heaven and earth and Lord of the powers of heaven and earth was wholly sufficient to sustain him. Elijah hoped much from the impression made upon king and people, expecting it would work a reformation if he maintained his confidence in God and stood steadfast and immovable for the truth, since completing that work required trusting wholly in God. His courage that day is contrasted with his later weariness and flight from Jezebel, when fear of death overcame his faith and he turned away from wonderful opportunities before him and had to be made to understand the weakness of his present position, showing that even one who had stood courageously for God could be overcome when weakened.