Elijah The Cool Prophet

The story of Elijah, prophet of God, vs the 400 prophets of Baal tickles me, I have to admit. I just read it again today. (It's in 1 Kings.) Plus I found a lesson I had not noticed before. Anyway the story goes like this: Elijah is sick of everyone worshiping Baal, who doesn't even exist, and forgetting all about the real God who they should know very well by now, since He has saved them over and over again. He decides to settle the matter once and for all and orders two bulls to be brought. He orders them both cut in pieces and laid on two different altars - one is the altar of the false god Baal, and the other is the altar of the Lord God. He tells them not to lay fire to either one, but each "side " is to appeal to their god to send fire upon their altar. On one side is the 400 prophets of Baal, and on the other, representing God, just Elijah alone. So the prophets of Baal go first. These guys dance around the altar and chant and cry out and carry on, and start cutting themselves till blood is gushing everywhere until finally they're just barely limping around. This goes on from morning, past noon, and on into the afternoon. Nothing happens. Not a flicker, not a spark.

Now this is where I begin to get a kick. Elijah starts taunting these fools while they're all knocking themselves out. He says, "Go on, keep on shouting. Maybe your god can't hear you because he's asleep. Or maybe he's on a trip. Or maybe he's relieving himself." HOO BOY. What an insult! He's suggesting that maybe the great god Baal can't come right now because he's busy going to the bathroom!

Well, after all this ranting and raving, they're exhausted and nothing has happened. Nada. Now it's Elijah's turn.

What he does next would be considered just plain cocky if he were about to take credit for what's about to happen. But it's not cockiness, it's absolute confidence in God that prompts him to do what he does. He carefully builds his altar to God with twelve stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel, then he digs a big trench around it, puts wood on the altar and lays the pieces of bull on top. Then, to really drive home his point, he orders the whole altar, bull and all, doused with four jugs of water. (I'm pretty sure these are big jugs.) Then he says "Do it again." Then he says, "Do it again." Until the whole thing is drenched and the trench around it is filled. Yeah, let's make this really difficult. Then he speaks a few brief words to God in the hearing of the people. He entreats God to answer him so that the people may know once and for all who the real God is. Without doubt.

In the next instant fire comes down from the sky and consumes the bull, the wood, and licks up all the water in the trench. Okee dokee. All done.

I love it.

But there's more, and here's the part I never really thought about before. After this magnificent display of the power of almighty God, Elijah heads up to Mt. Carmel and bows down to the ground, putting his face between his knees. Now I should tell you here that there has been no rain for three years. And God has now told Elijah that He would send rain on the land. A little encore to the altar spectacle. So here's Elijah, face between his knees on the top of Mt. Carmel. He tells his servant "Go up and look at the sea." The servant does so and tells Elijah there's nothing to report. Elijah tells him to go back and look again. Still nothing. He orders his servant to look SEVEN TIMES and finally the servant comes back and tells him he sees a tiny cloud forming way out over the sea, "the size of a man's hand". This little cloud grows and grows and gets darker and darker and fills the sky and sure enough, it rains.

Now here's the part I find interesting. In the first instance, at the altar, it takes just a moment for the results of Elijah's entreaty to God. Fire zooms out of the sky instantly. But right afterward, on the mountain, it takes seven times of going and looking to finally see a small cloud forming. It's the second part that gives me the greater lesson. Sometimes prayer is NOT answered instantly. In fact, most times it's not. But that doesn't mean it won't be answered eventually. In God's time.

Don't give up the prayer.
Don't give up praying. and don't let your faith waiver. Keep praying, and keep looking for the answer.
Just don't lose faith.
Keep praying.
Keep looking.