1 Kings 18:37 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
Have you ever wondered what is happening when you are right in the middle of something? You look around and you seem to have lost your bearings. The normal things just don’t happen. And the things that are happening just don’t make sense. It is as if your anchor rope has been cut and you are suddenly adrift in a new world where the old ways just don’t apply here.
Those moments are disorienting. We need a frame of reference to help us navigate. We have to know where we are and were we are going in order to travel. We also need to be able to related to our surroundings to confirm we are moving in the correct direction.
One of the great stories of the Scriptures surround our verse today. We would give the TV miniseries the title “God VS gods”! And the prophet Elijah is right smack dab in the middle of it. He has challenged the prophets of Baal & Asherah to come and bring their god and their power to prove who really is in charge of the universe and of this people in particular.
Israel has become accustomed to worshipping gods rather than God. They have substituted man made gods for the Creator God, the LORD. Out of convenience they set up altars and places of worship close to where they live to avoid the travel.
So all the participants arrive at the appointed place at the appointed time. Elijah has them go first. They go crazy trying to get there god to show up and all they get is silence. After a full day of screaming and yelling, there has been no answer.
So it is Elijah’s turn. He makes it impossible for trickery to be responsible for the display that is about to happen. He removes any doubts that might exist, any obstacles to faith.
And then another contrast, Elijah says a simple prayer. No ranting and raving. No cacophony of pleas. He simply prays and the LORD shows up and licks up the sacrifice with fire. And everyone is scared to death! The LORD answers and they are afraid. (I think they preferred the silence of their gods!)
So why did the LORD have Elijah do it this way? He did it so that the people might know for certain that the LORD is the only God, and that all others are fake imitations, powerless to affect any change in humanity. Their hope in their gods was misplaced. The LORD wants them to place their hope and trust in Him.
We hear daily about the possible cures and future vaccines that will save us. But what good is it if we save the body but lose the soul.
The LORD does what He does in order to give us opportunity to respond to Him in faith, even when all seems bleak. When the tomb of Jesus was occupied, there was despair and discouragement. Darkness of soul and aimless living. But when the tomb emptied on that third day, joy and purpose returned. They could see for themselves that what He had said was true! He is the hope of the world.
The Arnold Journey 