1 Kings 18:36
And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
At the hour of the evening sacrifice on Mount Carmel before Israel, after repairing the broken altar with twelve stones and drenching sacrifice, wood and trench with water poured three times, Elijah came near and prayed to Jehovah as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel. He asked that it be known that day that the Lord alone is God in Israel, that he was only His servant, and that all he had done was at His word and command, so the people would recognize God, have their hearts turned back from apostasy, and see the curse removed. His prayer was short, calm, reverent and fervent, in contrast to the prophets of Baal who cried from morning till evening with frenzy and extravagant gestures with no voice and no answer. God answered at once with fire from heaven that consumed sacrifice, wood, stones, dust and water, proving Jehovah Creator to be God, so the multitude fell on their faces confessing the Lord He is God. It remains the rightful prayer of consecrated believers and workers today, asking God to reveal Himself as God among His people and to show the one praying is only His servant acting at His word under His control, with self hidden in Christ so God's working and power are seen.
Carmel Contest Setting
Elijah prayed at the hour of the evening sacrifice on Mount Carmel in a public, conspicuous setting before Israel, where God’s power would vindicate His name. The time was the offering of the evening sacrifice, and the place was chosen for open confrontation before the people.
Before praying he repaired the broken altar of the Lord with twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, representing Israel’s twelve tribes. He built an altar in the name of the Lord, made a trench about it, put the wood in order, cut the bullock in pieces and laid it on the wood. He then had four barrels of water poured over the sacrifice and wood, repeated three times, until the water filled the trench.
His prayer addressed Jehovah as the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, the covenant fathers and ancestors of Israel. The name Jehovah denotes condescension and compassion. Invoking the God of the fathers was meant to remind backslidden Israel of its relationship to God, to excite humble remembrance in backslidden hearts, and to assure them of rich, freely given grace.
The verse asks that it be known that day three things: that the Lord alone is God in Israel, that the one praying is His servant, and that all that has been done has been done at His word and command. The first seeks God’s honor exalted as supreme before men, and the other two seek confirmation of mission as God’s servant acting only at God’s word. Those who hold this add that Elijah identified himself as God’s servant carrying out what God had commanded amid the idolatry of Ahab and Jezebel.
The prayer was short, calm, reverent, simple, sincere, and fervent. It stood in contrast to the prophets of Baal, who called from morning until evening with prolonged frenzy, extravagant words and gestures, yet with no voice, no answer, and no regard. Elijah prayed in the presence of the king and thousands of Israel without frenzied display.
He asked to be heard so the people would recognize the Lord as God and have their hearts turned back again after apostasy. The prayer sought to turn the people back to God after long apostasy, to call them to humble themselves, and so to have the curse on the land removed. It asked for a public answer that would show God’s superiority over Baal and lead Israel to recognize Him.
Its setting was a solitary, undaunted stand for the true God as sole witness against national idolatry supported by Ahab and Jezebel. He faced the king, the whole nation, and four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal on Carmel. He had been sent to the brook Cherith and to the widow of Sarepta and then commissioned to return to Israel before this decisive stand against Baal worship, by which idolatry was checked and many were stirred to return to God’s worship. That ancient idolatry illustrates idolatry in the Christian world.
Fire and Aftermath
God answers at once with fire flashing from heaven that kindles the altar and consumes the burnt sacrifice, wood, stones, dust, and water in the trench, proving Jehovah the Creator of heaven and earth to be God. The answer is immediate and public, confirming divine power before the people after the silence of Baal.
At the sight the multitude fall on their faces confessing the Lord, He is God, and declaring allegiance to God. Many Israelites are stirred to return to the worship of God. Afterward the false prophets are taken to the brook Kishon and slain, in execution of divine judgment.
The earnest prayer for rain that belongs with Carmel is offered cast down on the earth with face between the knees in a painful, humiliating position. It is continued with sorely tried faith until rewarded by tokens of rain. The rain testifies to showers of blessing waiting to be poured on Israel if it repents.
The answered prayer is one of the signal triumphs honoring the public ministry, alongside shutting up the treasures of heaven for three years by his word, executing judgment in slaying the idolatrous prophets, having the petition for rain granted, and willingly running before Ahab's chariot. It is also the defeat of Baal's prophets in a miracle wrought before people and king to brace for steadfast work and impress toward reformation. That triumph was a wonderful exhibition of divine power and revelation, done because of divine commission, which should have kept from distrust, despondency, and timidity.
The verse shows God's manner of working from age to age: with nations, families, and individuals He often permits matters to come to a crisis so His interference becomes marked. Then He reveals Himself and interposes to hinder opposing plans and make manifest that there is a God in Israel who will maintain His law and vindicate His people.
Elijah's Faith and Failure
The prayer at the evening sacrifice belongs to a life of faith-led devotion and service done at God's word under the Holy Spirit's guidance as a preacher of righteousness. Elijah stood alone for God against Israel's idolatry under a heavy burden for the nation, with faithful warnings and deep solicitude through three years and a half of famine while watching and waiting for repentance. His prayer was through the power of faith, and by that faith idolatry was cast down. His devotion and faith became an example of prayer through which God revealed Himself and answered with power, as God's servant carrying out what God had commanded and seeking to make known that the Lord alone is God in Israel amid the idolatry of Ahab and Jezebel. He did what he did there because God commissioned him to do it, showing undaunted courage and triumphing over the king, the priests, and the people in a contest between life and death.
That trust in God had endured the years of drought and famine and the confrontation with Ahab before the whole nation as sole witness to the true God. He stood alone for God on Mount Carmel after that long trial, and stood boldly before Ahab and the people with the prophets of Baal. Such heart-service God marked and honored with mercy. The worker was not to perish in discouragement and solitude in the wilderness, and not for him the descent to the tomb but the ascent with God's angels to the presence of His glory. This declares that unbelief means failure and sin brings only shame and loss, but God's mercy reaches the deepest depths and faith lifts the repenting soul to share the adoption of the sons of God.
Immediately after the victory, in weariness and weakness when strength failed and faith ceased to repose in God, fear of death overcame faith. The threats of idolatrous Jezebel caused flight for life as a fugitive, after a terrible day upon Carmel when Elijah had stood undaunted before King Ahab and faced the whole nation of Israel with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal at their head, the day ending with the false prophets slain and the people declaring their allegiance to God. He lost courage, his hold on God, and sight of God's power and pity, instead of appealing to the God of heaven for protection and another victory when Jezebel threatened him. That triumph should have kept him from distrust, despondency, and timidity, but his faith and courage forsook him and he fled for his life as if pursued. It shows that even one who has stood long and valiantly for the right, who stood undaunted for God and boldly for God before Ahab and the people, can be overcome when strength and faith falter under weakness and danger, because Satan takes advantage of human weakness and attacks in the time of greatest weakness.
The signal triumph on the heights of Carmel for those seduced into Baal worship opened the way for still greater victories and wonderful opportunities before him, yet he was turned away from them by the threat of Jezebel because he had not yet learned to trust wholly in God. He still had work to complete for idolatrous Israel, and he had to be made to understand the weakness of his present position compared with the vantage ground God would have him occupy. His life-work was cut short by that one later failure of faith, when in weakness and weariness he fled before the threats of Jezebel and prayed alone in the desert that he might die, so that the work he had begun he was not to complete and God bade him anoint another to be prophet in his stead. This stands in contrast to standing before the idolatrous priests on Carmel by God's commission, sent to return to Israel for that confrontation after being sent to the brook Cherith and afterward to the widow of Sarepta, and afterward girded by God with strength to guide the king's chariot to the gate of Jezreel, in contrast to his hasty flight into the wilderness which God did not send. The record of that life-work gives inspiration and courage to those called to stand for what is right amid apostasy.
Prayer for Today
Elijah's words remain the rightful prayer of baptized believers who have entered a mutual spiritual agreement with God and keep it by wholehearted obedience. Those who wear Christ's yoke and learn His meekness and lowliness of heart may ask God to make Himself known as God in Israel, and the Lord will hear and answer sincere followers who pray in this way. The baptismal pledge given in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit assures that divine help will be given in every emergency when it is claimed.
The prayer asks God to reveal Himself as God among His people and to show that the one praying is only His servant acting at His word and under His control. It expresses a consecrated life in which self is hidden in Christ and emptied of selfishness, whims, and self-magnifying schemes, walking humbly with God and working as His hand to dispense His gifts. Then God's working is seen in the life, His ownership is recognized, His Spirit molds the character, and His power is manifested in behalf of His servants, instead of giving the impression that He has proved unfaithful. The same appeal belongs to work for suffering people, that service should make clear God is present and supreme and the worker is His servant following God's plan and word rather than personal impulse or wisdom. When a person works in such surrender and obedience and God works through that person, divine power enables the work to withstand opposing forces.
Divine fire comes only when the altar is made ready according to God's word, calling at the evening sacrifice for surrender to God and obedience to His word. Letting it be known that there is a God in Israel who hears and answers prayer comes when heaven is opened and the light of His glory is revealed. That revelation puts the Holy Spirit with power upon ministers, missionaries, youth, and congregations, proving that petitions come up before His throne as a power accepted for Christ's sake and fitting them for service.
The prayer is to be offered from unfeigned lips by those with intense desire to know God's will and carry it out instead of their own whim. It is fulfilled when men and women act their part in His great plan as His helping hand so that His purpose is accomplished, including relieving His institutions in Scandinavia and making His will known. Standing wholly for God, it seeks God's honor exalted as supreme and confirmation of mission as acting only at God's word, with zeal for God's glory and deep love for Israel in reform, rebuking sin, pressing back moral evil, and offering healing to sin-sick souls. Such zeal, intensity, and love present the lesson for all who stand today as representatives of God's work.