Elijah and the Prophets of Baal

In short   

1 Kings 18. God and Elijah win a contest against the wicked king Ahab and the prophets of a false god named Baal. The false prophets are thoroughly embarrassed and slaughtered.

Why it is important

It shows the mighty power of God. It is both an epic showdown and a hilarious defeat of a false god and its followers.

Main characters

• Elijah, THE most famous prophet in Israel’s history*
• King Ahab, one of the very most wicked kings in Israel’s history**
• Obadiah – not the prophet that wrote that book that you are thinking of; this is also a righteous man, but one who has the misfortune of working for King Ahab
• 450 prophets of Baal, a false god that King Ahab worships

Ahab thoroughly hates Elijah (18:17) and has a manhunt out for him (18:10)

What is in this story (1 Kings 18)

In the previous chapter, a drought (no rain) comes upon the land for years. Now it is time for the drought to end. But first…

1. The LORD tells Elijah to go meet King Ahab (v. 1)
2. First, Elijah runs into Obadiah, who is on a mission for the king (vs. 5-7)
3. Elijah asks Obadiah to tell Ahab that Elijah popped back up on the grid (v. 8)
4. Obadiah says, ARE YOU NUTS? Ahab will surely kill me! (vs. 9-14)
5. Elijah promises that he will not weasel out (v. 15)
6. Elijah tells Ahab, Meet me at Mount Carmel with the nation and all your false prophets (vs. 18-19)
7. The rules: Each team gets a bull. Cut it up and lay it on firewood but don’t light a fire. We each call our god and whoever responds with fire, that’s the real God. Ahab’s team goes first. (vs. 23-25)
8. The prophets of Baal do everything they can, and utterly fail, and Elijah mocks them (vs. 26-29)
9. Elijah’s turn. He follows the rules and even has the Israelites pour tons of water over everything, with a trench to boot. Then he prays. (vs. 30-37)
10. The LORD answers Elijah with fire that destroys EVERYTHING, even the water (v. 38)
11. Many believe in God (v. 39)
12. Elijah has his new friends round up the prophets of Baal, and Elijah kills them all (v. 40)
13. And finally, it rains again (vs. 41-46)

Things that are not so well-known

• There are also 400 prophets of Asherah (another false god/idol) on Ahab’s side (v. 19), but they are only mentioned the one time. The story focuses on Baal (vs. 22, 25, 26, 40).
• I love Obadiah’s reasoning in verse 12 – I know how you are Elijah: the Spirit of God will whisk you away and then what – I’m left standing in front of Ahab with no Elijah.
• Where did the water come from for Elijah’s altar and trench? It was a drought, and they were on a mountain. Perhaps it was miraculous, like Meribah?

Theology and doctrine

Obadiah gets the Oskar Schindler award for saving 100 Jews from certain death (vs. 3-4, 13).

The strange thing about that is that it seems that this event where “Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD” (v. 13) is not recorded anywhere else.

But their death and hiding in caves (v. 4) is hinted at in Heb 11:32, 37-38: “the prophets… were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. …wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”

Footnotes

* Elijah appears at the transfiguration (Matt 17:1-3), and I would say that cements him as the epitome of the prophets

** I want to say that Ahab is actually THE worst (1Ki 16:30), but I’d have to do a little more homework.