A Time for Choosing
In 1 Kings 18:21, the prophet Elijah confronts not just his king but his entire nation with a choice: “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” To hesitate means to limp along or to be lame. To say it in a more colloquial way it means to ride the fence. Elijah is calling the people out of an on-again, off-again commitment to the Lord. He calls them to stop visiting the theological buffet and decide which God they will follow. Elijah’s challenge is just as relevant to us today. If the Lord is God, why don’t we follow Him?
The people didn’t say a word in response to Elijah. They weren’t even committed to their lack of commitment to the Lord. Elijah proposes a contest to settle the matter. The 450 prophets of Baal would set up a burnt offering and he would do the same. Each side would call on the name of their God. The God who answered by sending fire from heaven would be declared the winner. This shouldn’t be hard for Baal—after all, he was the storm God. All he had to do was shoot down a bolt of lighting and the matter would be settled.
Elijah allows the prophets of Baal to go first. They begin their prayer meeting. All morning they pleaded with Baal to answer them. Nothing. Total silence. They leaped around the altar and engaged in frantic rituals, all to no avail. Elijah mocks them. He says, maybe Baal is asleep or deep in thought; just pray louder. In the end, nothing worked. “When midday was past, they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention” (1 Kings 18:29). Baal didn’t answer because Baal doesn’t exist.
Now Elijah calls the people to gather to him while he repairs the altar of the Lord. Symbolically he sets up 12 stones for the 12 tribes of Israel to remind the people that they are God’s people. The act itself raises the question, why are God’s people worshipping that which is not God? Once Elijah rebuilds the altar, he arranges the sacrifice and then just to tilt the odds further out of his favor he saturates the offering and the wood with a deluge of water. Then Elijah prays. His prayer is to the point: “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again" (1 Kings 18:36-7). The fire of the Lord fell and the people fell on their faces and declared: “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God” (1 Kings 18:38). They had made their choice.
1 Kings 18 calls Christians today to stop hesitating and start following. We live in a murky milieu of compromise. First, let’s be clear that divided devotion doesn’t work. We can’t sort of follow Jesus. That is not an option the Lord leaves open to us. Jesus said, “no one can serve two masters.” Let’s get rid of any competing affections in our lives and wholly devote ourselves to the Lord. Second, let’s remember that casual commitment can’t change the world. Too many professing Christians today live lives of moral compromise. These are the days for true disciples of Jesus to shine. After all Jesus did something far greater for us than what the people of Elijah’s day witnessed. God has not only sent down fire, He he sent His son Jesus. Jesus gave His life for us on the cross. He deserves nothing less than our all. Let’s make each day our declaration that the Lord is our God!
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