1 Kings 18:37, commentary and pictures

On Mount Carmel Elijah stood alone before Israel and the prophets of Baal and prayed briefly and earnestly at the time of the evening sacrifice that God would make known that day that He is God in Israel supreme over Baal. He asked also that the people's hearts be turned back from idolatry to allegiance and that it be known he had acted as God's servant at His word. God answered at once with fire from heaven that consumed the sacrifice, wood, stones, dust and water, and the people fell on their faces confessing the Lord is God. The answer exposed Baal's deception, led to judgment on his prophets at Kishon, and began a return to God that looked toward showers of blessing though the full reformation hoped for did not follow. The prayer stands as proof that God in Israel hears and answers the prayer of faith and as a pattern for those who stand for God amid apostasy to seek first His honor and prepare the altar according to His word before the fire falls.

Carmel Setting and Background

The prayer belongs to the gathering on Mount Carmel at a conspicuous site where the display of divine power and the vindication of His name could be witnessed across Israel. Israel had been summoned to gather there, and the people traveled with foreboding, sensing something unusual was about to happen. On that day Elijah stood before the whole nation as the sole witness to the true God, before the king and thousands of Israel, with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal at their head. It was a contest of life and death over Baal worship, showing that idolatry existed among God's people.

Elijah stood there as a chosen preacher of righteousness guided by the Holy Spirit under God's direction. He acted under direct commission to return to Israel and to stand before the idolatrous priests on Carmel, a commission that came after being sent first to the brook Cherith and afterward to the widow of Sarepta, and before being girded with strength to guide the king's chariot to the gate of Jezreel. The prayer on that trying day came from trust in Jehovah maintained through the years of drought and famine, and from standing undaunted before Ahab, as one who had stood long and valiantly for the right. On that terrible day upon Carmel he faced the whole nation with the prophets of Baal at their head, and the prayer was answered when the false prophets were slain and the people declared allegiance to God.

The prayer was offered at the time of the evening sacrifice, after the prophets of Baal had called from morning until evening with no voice, no answer, and no regard. Before praying, Elijah repaired the broken altar of the Lord with twelve stones for the tribes of the sons of Jacob, built it in the name of the Lord, made a trench, laid the wood and the cut bullock in order, and drenched the sacrifice and wood three times with water. That preparation teaches that God's work becomes clear when His direction is followed and the altar is prepared according to His word, and that the altar must be purified before the fire can burn.

The prayer itself was brief, earnest, reverent, simple, and intensely pleading, offered amid deathlike silence with the repeated appeal to be heard. It was prayed in the presence of the king and the thousands of Israel by one who stood wholly for God and His work in the earth. Calling Him by the name Jehovah God appeals to His condescension and compassion, while calling Him the God of Abraham and Isaac and Israel is meant to stir humble remembrance in backslidden hearts and assure them of rich, free grace.

Words and Petitions

The prayer asks that it be made known that day that He is God in Israel and the Lord God supreme. Its first aim is that His honor be exalted before men as supreme and His counsels be confirmed in the eyes of the people. It seeks to make His identity, power, and superiority over Baal clear, so that His honor, identity, and power are revealed and it becomes known that there is a God in Israel who will maintain His law.

The prayer also asks God to turn the people's hearts back again after long apostasy. That turning is from idolatry to allegiance and worship, leading them to humble themselves and return to the God of their fathers. When they humble their hearts and return, the curse brought by apostasy may be removed. The turning itself belongs to God's plan and timing, while Elijah's part was to keep praying in faith and wait for the time to act.

The prayer further asks that Elijah's own mission be confirmed. The people are to know that he is God's servant and that he has done all things at God's word.

Fire and Immediate Aftermath

The prayer was answered at once, with fire flashing from heaven in sight of the multitude to kindle the altar as a public sign revealing divine power. The fire fell upon the sacrifice and consumed the burnt sacrifice together with the wood, the stones, the dust, and the water in the trench. Fire was sent when fire was asked, as rain was sent when rain was asked, granting every request.

At that sight the people looked on in awe, with touched hearts, and fell on their faces. They confessed that the Lord is God, declaring allegiance to Him. They recognized the God of their fathers, repented of apostasy, and renewed their allegiance to Him.

The answer exposed the deception of Baal's prophets and vindicated judgment upon them, when they were seized, brought down to the brook Kishon, and slain. Baal worship was checked, idolatry was cast down and overthrown, and Israel was deeply stirred. Many returned to the worship of God, forsook Baal's altars, and began seeking God. Through faith the blessed rain that followed testified to showers of blessing awaiting Israel, yet Elijah hoped for more and was disappointed when the expected reformation did not fully follow, so the victory at Carmel was the beginning of a work he was not to complete.

The answer was a signal honor to Elijah and a signal triumph crowning his public ministry. It stands alongside withholding the treasures of heaven from the earth for three years by his word through three and a half years of famine, executing judgment on the idolatrous prophets, and granting his petition for rain. After Carmel he went up to the top of Carmel and cast himself down upon the earth with his face between his knees in strong, earnest, painful, humiliating prayer with sorely tried faith. He continued in earnest prayer until faith was rewarded by tokens of rain, followed by heaven grown black with clouds and wind and great rain. Even after these triumphs he was willing to perform menial service by running before Ahab's royal chariot to guide the king to the entrance of Jezreel.

God Revealed Through Prayer

There is a God in Israel who hears and answers prayer, and the cry that the people might know the Lord as God and have their hearts turned back was met by a revelation of Himself in response to devotion and faith, for His power comes in answer to the prayer of faith. Every request was granted, fire sent when fire was asked and rain sent when rain was asked, proving Him all-powerful and pitiful. When heaven is opened and the light of His glory is revealed in answer to prayer, it becomes known that He is God, and ministers are to seek that same imbuing of power with the Holy Ghost upon them so that answering power is seen in them. That answering fire follows earnest preparation, for God's work becomes clear when His direction is followed and the altar is prepared and purified according to His word before the fire can burn.

From age to age, when a crisis comes, He reveals Himself and steps in to block hostile plans, often letting matters with nations, families, and individuals reach a crisis point so that His intervention stands out clearly. At Carmel the prayer that the people might know the Lord God was answered to make plain that there is a God in Israel who will maintain His law and vindicate His people. The wonderful manifestation of power in the defeat of the prophets of Baal by His help, the miracle wrought before the people to show that the Lord is God and turn their hearts back again, was given to impress the king and the people toward reformation. It was also given to brace Elijah with assurance that God would not forsake him and that His power was sufficient to sustain him in his work, though he hoped much from what was done there and was disappointed at the results when the expected reformation did not follow.

The turning of hearts prayed for there reflects a longing for swift reformation, from idolatry back to allegiance, yet that turning belonged to God's plan and timing. Elijah's part was to keep praying in faith and wait for the time to act.

Pattern for Faith Today

Elijah stands as the example of one who stood wholly for God and His work in the earth, alone and undaunted on Carmel as the sole witness to the true God before the whole nation after bearing a heavy burden for Israel through years of drought and famine. He had warned faithfully against national idolatry and watched through three and a half years of famine for some token of repentance, and he stood long and valiantly for the right on a trying day of maintained trust in Jehovah. His life-work record gives courage to those standing for the right amid apostasy, and it carries special significance because idolatry and departure from God are repeated in the present age.

The prayer sets the pattern for ministers and all who stand today as representatives of God's work to seek first that God's honor be exalted as supreme before men and His counsels confirmed in the eyes of the people. They are to be imbued with God's power with the Holy Ghost upon them, so that when heaven is opened and the light of His glory is revealed, answering power is seen in them and it becomes known that He is God. They are to share Elijah's zeal for God's glory, deep love for Israel, and devotion to reform, carrying on reform as both a rebuke of sin and a message of healing for those willing to be healed.

Even after that triumph strength can fail and faith let go its hold, for after the false prophets were defeated and slain and the people declared their allegiance to God, Elijah fled for his life before the threats of idolatrous Jezebel. He fled rashly without waiting for God's word, forgetting the God who had granted every request and who could have continued to protect him and give another victory over Jezebel. This shows how Satan takes advantage of human weakness after one has stood long and valiantly for the right. The signal triumph on the heights of Carmel for those seduced into Baal worship had opened the way for still greater victories in bringing Israel to know the Lord, and completing that work required trusting wholly in God and occupying the vantage-ground the Lord appointed rather than turning away in weakness from the opportunities before him.

God's work becomes clear when people follow His direction and prepare the altar according to His word. The altar must be purified before the fire can burn, and the fire follows that preparation.