ZeahABT_Lus

1:56So much of significance in our faith is connected to mountaintops or high places. Abraham's test of obedience to God with Isaac on Mount Moriah, God giving the law to Moses on Mount Sinai, the reminders of the covenant on Mount Ebel and Mount Gerizim, the best-known sermon of Christ, our Lord being raised on the cross at Calvary, all the way in the future to Christ standing on the Mount of Olives and splitting it in two at the last day. Today's message is about another mountaintop experience, this time at Mount Carmel. As mentioned, we'll be in 1 Kings 18, and we will be covering the whole chapter. Yes, I know it's a long chapter. I'll try to move it along. If you don't already have it open, please turn in your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 18, starting in verse 1. While you're turning, let me give you some background and a snapshot of the characters and conditions from today's passage. The cast of characters includes our Almighty, Merciful God, wicked King Ahab, fearful Obadiah, Ahab's chief of staff, bold Elijah, the prophet of God.

3:00The deceitful, futile, false prophets of Baal, and finally, the wavering people of Israel. In contrast to my view from Abram's fall, from the Abram's fall trail, the view from Mount Carmel would have been brown and withered. The condition of the land was dire. It was the third year of no rain and famine, which was at God's direction and was done in judgment of Ahab's wickedness. I want you to see the grandeur of God's character in two primary character qualities so that you will praise him and rejoice in his greatness. If you'd like to take notes, here's the outline I'll be following: God's glorious mercy declared in verses 1 through 19. God's glorious might displayed, in which we see his deity defended, verses 20 through 39, and the deceivers destroyed, in verse 40. And finally, God's glorious might and mingled in verses 41 through 46. I'll read it to you one more time because I know when I hear a pastor give those things, I always miss a few of them. God's glorious might declared, verses 1 through 19. God's glorious, excuse me, mercy declared, God's glorious might displayed, in which we see his deity defended, verses 20 through 39, and the deceivers destroyed, in verse 40. And then finally, God's glorious might and mercy mingled, verses 41 through 46.

4:18So let's look at the text. After many days, the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth. Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now, the famine was severe in Samaria. Why was this a big deal? Well, to answer that, let's talk a little bit more about Ahab. Remember, I called him wicked Ahab in my introduction? Well, why would I say that? A few chapters back in 1 Kings 16, verse 33, the Bible says that Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings who were before him. So he wasn't just bad, he was the worst of the worst. The famine was severe in Samaria. It had been almost three years of no rain and, therefore, famine and hardship. And the lack of rain was directly due to Ahab's wickedness. It was a judgment pronounced by God through Elijah, 1 Kings 17:1. Now Elijah the Tishbite of Tishbe and Gilead said to Ahab, As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word. Let's just think about this for a bit. The land is now in the third year of drought, no rain. Directly due to Ahab's sin and the people in following him. Ahab has certainly not repented. There's no indication that the people have repented either. There have been no signs of anyone even thinking about turning back from wholehearted devotion to Baal and scornful dismissal of God and his commandments. And yet, God tells Elijah, Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth. This is God's glorious mercy, unasked for, unsought out, and unsolicited by King Ahab or The people of God. Here we see the God who unilaterally keeps his covenants, the God who delights in loving kindness, the sovereign God exercising his omnipotent power to keep his promises in choosing to move based solely on his gracious character and glorious faithfulness. In contrast to God's declared mercy, let's read how Ahab was responding to the continued judgment of God. As we read, consider who or what wicked Ahab was trusting in. Back in the passage at verse 3. And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. Now, Obadiah feared the Lord greatly. And when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water. And Ahab said to Obadiah, Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive and not lose some of the animals. So they divided the land between them to pass through it. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself.

7:10Ahab and Obadiah were trying to find some pasture land to save some of the animals, especially the horses and mules. These were considered more valuable animals and were worth the extra effort. So here we see the king of Israel, Ahab, leaving his comfortable palace and all the attendant ease that that brought with him and searching for Some springs of water that would support new pasture to preserve his assets. Wicked Ahab would rather go through the hardship of searching out new pasture than repent of leading the nation in idle worship. So, as we consider Ahab's hard heart, how many times do we go and do hard things rather than repent? Jesus promised that in this world we shall have tribulation, John 16, 33, but how much pain and trouble do we experience because of stubborn refusal to repent? As Christians, we should and must be characterized as people of repentance, those who cast ourselves upon God's glorious mercy while agreeing with his assessment of our sin.

8:10Verse 7. And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. And Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, Is it you, my Lord Elijah? And he answered him, It is I. Go tell your Lord, behold, Elijah is here. And he said, How have I sinned that you would give your servant into the hand of Ahab to kill me? As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my Lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say, He is not here, he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation that they had not found you. And now you say, Go, tell your Lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And as soon as I have gone from you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you, I know not where. And so, when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I, your Lord, Servant have feared the Lord from my youth. Has it not been told, my Lord, what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord? How I hid a hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water? And now you say, Go tell your Lord, behold, Elijah is here, and he will kill me. And Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today. So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him. As God ordained it, Elijah met fearful Obadiah first instead of wicked Ahab. Now, Obadiah is an interesting character. He was a man caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, he was King Ahab's chief of staff with duties and responsibilities to match. And remember, Ahab was all in on Baal worship. On the other hand, he feared the Lord greatly, so much so that he helped preserve the lives of a hundred prophets of God from the killings that wicked Queen Jezebel had ordered. And I'm sure that was at great personal risk to himself, because I'm sure if she had found out, she would have killed him too. According to verse 7, Obadiah recognized Elijah when he met him. I believe it's not far-fetched to think that perhaps Obadiah was present those nearly three years earlier when Elijah pronounced the judgment on Ahab that the land was presently enduring at the time of which we are reading. As chief of staff, he would likely have been near at hand for Ahab's needs when Elijah came to him. Since Obadiah recognized Elijah, he showed respect by falling on his face. And calling him my Lord Elijah. Elijah then confirmed his identity and commanded Obadiah to tell King Ahab, Behold, Elijah is here. Obadiah's response here is somewhat unexpected, but explains why I'm calling him fearful Obadiah. He responds with, What is my sin that you would send me to my death at the hands of Ahab? Now, why would he say that? Obadiah goes on to say that Ahab has sought Elijah in many places and taken an oath of all those people that he was not there. Now, this implies that Ahab intended violence against anyone who lied and harbored Elijah. Obadiah continues that he fully expects the Spirit of God to carry Elijah away to some unknown location. And if you remember your history, there is precedent for that thought, because that did happen with Elijah in his ministry. And then when he came back with Ahab to the spot where he left Elijah, Elijah would be gone, and Ahab would be so angry that he would kill Obadiah. Obadiah goes on to bring up his good works in saving the other prophets as further reasons why Elijah should not expect him to obey this command. Go tell your Lord, behold, Elijah is here. In the end, Elijah assures Obadiah of his firm intention to show himself to Ahab this very day. Thankfully, Obadiah eventually overcame his fear by choosing to trust in the word of God through the prophet of God instead of in his own good works and obeyed. How many times are we like Obadiah and consumed with fear? As Obadiah eventually did, we must trust God and his word instead of our works and show our faith by obeying him. Remember, fear is not from God, 2 Timothy 1.7. For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control. Picking back up in verse 16.

12:22And Ahab went to meet Elijah. When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, Is it you, you troubler of Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father's house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals. Now, therefore, send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal, and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table. Notice how wicked Ahab greets Elijah. You troubler of Israel. What arrogance. There's not even a hint of remorse on the part of Ahab about his culpability due to his abandonment of the commands of the Lord and following the Baals. So often the world will call good evil and evil good, as Ahab did here. Bold Elijah corrects him and instructs him about what must happen next toward God's fulfillment of mercy. When confronted with the truth of God, we must not be like wicked Ahab in his arrogance. Don't start from the premise, of course I must be right. Instead, executor. Exercise humility by considering, you know, I might be wrong. And cast yourself on God's glorious mercy in repentance. Make God and His Word your standard of right and wrong, not what the world or your deceitful heart says. Now we turn the corner from seeing God's glorious mercy declared to seeing God's glorious might displayed in two parts. Now, this is the best-known part of the whole chapter, and certainly the part I thought of when I was preparing this message, in which we see God's deity defended. Verse 20. So Ahab sent all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. I find it interesting that even though Ahab did not obey God, he did obey Elijah in this case. But verse 21, and Elijah came near to all the people and said, How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal, then follow him. Here we see the wavering people of God. Elijah chose an interesting word here, limping. It vividly depicts the way of life for those who waver between following God and following idols. If you're limping, you won't make nearly as much progress as if you're walking purposefully and freely. God wants us to walk in the light as He is in the light. I urge you to put aside your trust in anyone or anything other than God and trust in Him alone. Verse 22.

14:57Then Elijah said to the people, I am. Even I only am left a prophet of the Lord. But Baal's prophets are 450 men. Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, and put no fire to it. And you call upon the name of your God, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. And the God who answers by fire, he is God. And all the people answered, It is well spoken. Elijah boldly sets up the contest in such a way that only the true God could possibly answer. He's saying, Let's put this to the test. If Baal is God, well, follow him, but if the Lord is God, follow him. The people agree with the contest and declare, it is well spoken. Verse 25.

15:51Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your God, but put no fire to it. And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it, and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, O Baal, answer us. But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. And at noon, Elijah mocked them, saying, Cry aloud, for he is a God. Either he's musing, or he's relieving himself, for Or he's on a journey, or perhaps he's asleep and must be awakened. And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out upon them. And at midday, and as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation. But there was no voice. No one answered. No one paid attention.

16:58Elijah tells the prophets of Baal to go first since they are many. I think that another reason he had in mind was to remove any doubt in the people's mind about whether the Lord is God or not. If Elijah had gone first with the results that we read here, then there might have been people who would have said, well, Baal wasn't given a fair chance to show himself as God. By waiting most of the day on the prophets of Baal to attempt to induce Baal to respond, Elijah removes any possible excuse for Baal in the minds of the people. Notice how the futile false prophets work themselves into a frenzy, even to the shedding of their own blood, as though by their own efforts they could force a response. This reminds me that in coming to God for his mercy and seeking the aid of his mighty power, we should not behave as the prophets of Baal did by seeking to force a response from God, but rather cast ourselves on him in simple faith in his mercy and power. It's all too easy for us to think that if we do certain things, even things that God has commanded that are good and right, we can force God to answer. But God is not beholden to anyone. He has mercy on whom he will have mercy. I think that one of the most telling parts of this with regard to Baal is the list of what did not happen when all these futile, false prophets were calling on him. There was no voice, no one answered, no one paid attention, there was no fire from heaven.

18:24This underscores the deceitfulness and futility of trusting in anyone or anything other than the true and living God. Verse 30. Then Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me. And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be your name. And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two sias of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. And he said, Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt offering, and on the wood. And he said, Do it a second time. And they did it a second time. And he said, Do it a third time. And they did it a third time. And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water. Notice how Elijah told the people to come near. I believe this was to help them see that there was. Was no trickery involved. No one could say, well, we couldn't see quite what you were doing there, so there must have been some sort of sleight of hand involved. In a further effort to make it clear to the people who is really God, Elijah completely and thoroughly soaked the sacrifice, the wood, the stones of the altar, and then filled up the trench around the altar with water. I wonder what was passing through the people's minds when Elijah said, pour water over it. I imagine the thirsty ground, the dry wood on the altar, and the dusty stones pretty much soaked up all the water from that first pouring. And then he said, Do it again. At this point, water would have begun puddling in the trench at the base of the altar. The flesh of the sacrificed animal would have been dripping with water. Finally, Elijah said, Do it one more time. Talk about overkill. After this final drenching, the trench was full of water. The sacrifice was sodden, and there was absolutely no possibility of a small spark lighting the whole thing on fire. Remember also that water was scarce and a precious commodity at this time due to the drought and famine. And here we see Elijah freely pouring it on the ground. This shows his faith in God's unwavering mercy because it would have been deeply irresponsible for him to do this if he weren't confident that God was about to supply rain in mercy on his people.

20:51Verse 36. This is my favorite bit. And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that 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 hearts back. Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, The Lord, He is God, the Lord, He is God.

21:39In contrast, the feudal, raving prophets of Baal, Elijah simply prayed to the Lord to answer by fire. God doesn't need all the raving, the bloodletting, the limping about, the spectacled, and the show. He just commands us to pray. And since He is the living, merciful, and omnipotent God, He answered by fire. Just to prove the point about His omnipotence, our mighty God not only burned up the soggy sacrifice, the minimum needed to satisfy the challenge, the wet wood, expected if the sacrifice is burning, but then He went on to burn up the soaked stones, the damp dust, and even all the water in the trench. Only the one who created all things would have the power to destroy them in this manner. There was no way that the people could say that Elijah had cheated or tricked them. It was God alone who showed his Grandeur and glory by unleashing his power in this spectacular way before the watching people. What a mountaintop moment at Mount Carmel. I would love to have been there when all the people fell on their faces and said, The Lord, He is God. The Lord, He is God. I gladly join in that cry even now. In the face of God's overwhelming power, the people were forced to confess the deity of God. God's deity was amply defended. Seeing God express his glory in such a direct and unmistakable way thrills my heart in adoration, even in the reading of it, much less the experiencing.

23:09God was merciful in answering Elijah's prayer and revealing himself in his might to his people. Consider how pitiful God's mercy would be without his omnipotent power to back it up. If God were merciful but not omnipotent, he would be in the pitiable state of wanting to do good to his people but being unable to bring it to pass. If you are omnipotent but not merciful, he would be a God who should be feared but not adored. But praise the Lord. We serve a God who is both merciful and omnipotent and has the power to carry out his merciful desires. As I stated in the introduction, we all need mountaintop times when we see God's glory clearly revealed as this helps us trust him more. Pray that God would show himself to you in his glory and power and mercy, that you may love and trust him more. Oh, we are not quite finished. With this mountaintop experience. Remember, I mentioned those deceivers being destroyed? Verse 40. And Elijah said to them, Seize the prophets of Baal, let not one of them escape. And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there. Here we see the deceivers destroyed. The feudal prophets of Baal had deceived many, and here received the just recompense of their deeds. Sometimes the mercy of God on some results in the death of others. This is a hard truth. We need to remember that in all that God does, he is both good and without sin. We cannot judge God by our standards, rather, we are judged by his. The ultimate example of this mercy is found at the cross, 2 Corinthians 5:21. For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Sometimes God will remove things or people from our lives that he knows, don't help us love him, or even perhaps are, like in the case of the prophets, actively seeking to turn us away from him. We might be tempted to murmur or complain. Instead, we should thank God for his mercy in removing, even if it seems severe.

25:13At last we come to see God's mercy and might mingle together to deliver his people from drought and famine. Verse 41. And Elijah said to Ahab, Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Once again, I find it interesting to note, Ahab believed Elijah that rain's coming, even if he didn't believe God, when Elijah tells him, There is the sound of the rushing of rain. What I read of Ahab's character, it's just baffling to me that he would obey, but he did. Continuing on in verse 42. So Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel, and he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again, seven times. And at the seventh time, he said, Behold, a little cloud, like a man's hand, is rising from the sea. And he said, Go up, say to Ahab, Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you. And in a little while, the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

26:36It's worth noting that God did not send rain until Elijah had continued in this season of prayer, even though God had previously directly told Elijah that he was planning to send rain upon the earth. I wonder what was going through Elijah's mind when God did not answer this prayer as quickly as he did the previous prayer on this very same Mount Carmel. After all, God had answered on the first prayer to Elijah's prayer for the marriage. For fire. But here, Elijah continued to pray, not once, not twice, but seven times. It wasn't until the seventh time that the beginnings of God's mercy and might were mingled together in the form of a little cloud, like a man's hand. The fact that it was in God's heart to bring rain revealed his mercy, but it was his might that was required to control the weather and bring rain. For this reason, I say that we can see God's mercy and might mingled together in this event. In his providence, God works through prayer to execute his will. How many times do we miss out on experiencing God's blessings, blessings that have been promised in his word? Because we don't pray, or especially don't pray perseveringly and fervently. James 5, verses 17 through 18 actually talks about this event. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months, it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. As the hymn, what a friend we have in Jesus, says, Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. If Jesus, the perfect God-man, needed to pray to have the strength to fulfill his Father's will, how much more do we need to spend time in prayer? In conclusion, we saw the grandeur of God's glorious character revealed in two different character qualities. First, we saw the declaration of his glorious mercy to People who were not even seeking him. Then we saw God's glorious might declared to those very same people in two ways by defending his deity and destroying the deceivers. And finally, we saw God's mercy and might mingled together by his provision of much-needed rain. Let us praise God for his heart of mercy and rejoice in his mighty power that can bring it to bear in our lives. Consider ways in which his mercy has been declared to us and then delivered to us by God's overwhelming power, and let that drive you to praise and thanksgiving to our God.

29:04I went into this study thinking that it would primarily be about the wonders of God's power and might and overwhelming ability to overcome anyone or anything that stands in his way. The phrase that stood out to me when I was beginning this study is the people saying, The Lord, he is God. I was looking for a mountaintop view of God's glory and power. And I definitely did see this. But additionally, I was overwhelmed with the picture of God's amazing mercy. I did get my mountaintop view, but I didn't see only what I expected. I also saw the mercy of God spread out in refreshing and glorious array, which caused me to love him more. May God kindle a fresh love for him in our hearts as we gaze upon his mighty mercy and power. Let's pray.

29:48Father, thank you for your word. Thank you how you reveal yourself to us in your word. Lord, I'm reminded of Hebrews, where it says that he that cometh to God must believe that he is. And that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Lord, may we believe that you are all that you say you are, all that you tell us you are, in your word, and not believe what our deceitful hearts tell us, not believe what the world system would have us believe, not believe what the accuser of the brethren would have us believe, but to believe what you say about yourself in your word. And in so doing, may we come to love you more, trust you more, and rejoice in you more. Thank you for all this in Jesus' name. Amen.