1 Kings 18:36-37 Go you to the mercy-seat!

 “And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.””

‭‭I Kings‬ ‭18‬:‭36‬-‭37‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice: Some 50 years before this, Jeroboam the King of Israel officially disassociated the citizens of the northern kingdom from the worship of the God of Israel at the temple in Jerusalem. Nevertheless, Elijah still remembered the evening sacrifice that was offered according to God’s commandment every day at the temple in Jerusalem.

b. Let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant: Both were important. It was important for the people of Israel to know who their God was, and who God’s servant was.

c. And that I have done all these things at Your word: This also was essential, and helps us to understand the whole event. Elijah did this according to the word of God. It wasn’t prompted because of his own cleverness, because of presumption or because of vainglory. God led Elijah to this showdown with the prophets of Baal.

i. “It was no whim of his to chastise the nation with a drought. It was no scheme of his, concocted in his own brain, that he should put the Godhead of Jehovah or of Baal to the test by a sacrifice to be consumed by miraculous fire.” (Spurgeon)

ii. Spurgeon recommended that believers use the same principle in prayer, especially those who preach the Word of God: “Go you to the mercy-seat with this as one of your arguments, ‘Lord, I have done according to thy word. Now let it be seen that it is even so. I have preached thy word, and thou hast said, “It shall not return unto me void.” I have prayed for these people, and thou hast said, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much”; let it be seen that this is according to thy word.’”

Go you to the mercy-seat!

My wife and I lead a twelve step program at our church using The Life Recovery Bible which uses the word of God to teach people how to overcome their hurts, hang ups and habits. Towards the end of the program we break into gender specific small groups and in closing of the men’s group each of us pray by going to the mercy-seat, praying for each other, a revival, our leaders, traveling mercies and basically praying as the Lord leads.

Do you use the same principle in prayer?

Blessings 

1 Kings 18:30-34 Come near to me!

 “Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.” Then 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. So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.” I Kings‬ ‭18‬:‭30‬-‭35‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Come near to me: When it was Elijah’s turn to sacrifice, he first wanted to get the attention of the people. This was for their benefit, not his own or really primarily for the benefit of God. They needed to pay attention so they would see that the LORD was a true God, in contrast to the silent Baal.

b. He repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down: Elijah was very aware that he repaired something that once stood strong. There was once an altar of the LORD at Carmel and in Israel in general. Elijah looked to revive something that once was.

c. Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood: In wanting to make a deep impression upon the people, Elijah required more of Yahweh than he did of Baal. Elijah did not even suggest to the prophets of Baal that they wet down their sacrifice once or twice, much less three times. Yet Elijah did this, confident that it was no harder for God to ignite a wet sacrifice than it was for Him to set a dry one ablaze.

i. “There can be no question of trickery, such as the use of naptha [a flammable liquid often used as a solvent] instead of water, or mirrors for ignition as suggested by some scholars. The opposition was observant and close.” (Wiseman)

(Guzik)

Come near to me!

Just as Elijah said Come near to me, God desires the same of us. 

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Recently I ended up in the hospital with an emergency gallbladder surgery. I had been dealing with blood pressure issues for ten months which turned out to be symptoms from the gallbladder! It was my come near to God moment!

But God doesn’t only want us to “Come to Me” in times of trouble, He wants us  come to Him on a daily basis, in good times and bad!

When do you come to Him?

Blessings 

1 Kings 18:28-29 No One There to Answer!

 “So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.”

‭‭I Kings‬ ‭18‬:‭28‬-‭29‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. They cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them: The prophets of Baal were utterly sincere and completely devoted to their religion. They were so committed that they expressed it in their own blood. They had zeal, but without knowledge - therefore their zeal profited them nothing.

i. “The practice of self-inflicted wounds to arouse a deity’s pity or response is attested in Ugarit when men ‘bathed in their own blood like an ecstatic prophet.’” (Wiseman)

ii. “This was done according to the rites of that barbarous religion; if the blood of the bullock would not move him they thought their own blood might; and with it they smeared themselves and their sacrifice.” (Clarke)

b. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention: This is the sad result of worshipping an imaginary god or the god of our own making. We may dedicate great sincerity, sacrifice, and devotion to such gods, but it means nothing. There is no one there to answer. (Guzik)

No One There To Answer!

There may be times in our lives when we feel that the good Lord doesn’t answer our prayers. It’s in times like this that we need to do a self examination of ourselves and see if we have any sin that may be separating us from God. For it is written:

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

‭‭I John‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭28‬:‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

If you are going through a period of doubt and wondering and why He isn’t answering, pick up your Bible, spend some quiet time with Him and never forget that Jesus loves you!

I am reminded of the acronym for the Bible, basic instructions before leaving earth.

Have you read your instruction manual that leads to grace and mercy?

Blessings 

1 Kings 18:25-27 Gone to the bathroom?

 “Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made. And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.”” I Kings‬ ‭18‬:‭25‬-‭27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us”: The prophets of Baal had a devoted prayer life. Here, they prayed long and with great passion. Yet because they did not pray to the real God, their prayer meant nothing. There was no voice; no one answered.

b. They leaped about the altar which they had made: The prophets of Baal had an energetic prayer life. Their worship was filled with enthusiasm and activity. Yet because it was not directed to the real God, their prayer meant nothing.

c. Elijah mocked them: Elijah could not resist the opportunity to mock the prophets of Baal for their evidently foolish faith.

i. “Elijah’s irony bordered on sarcasm” (Patterson and Austel). The words meditatingand busy can be translated “to be engaged in business” and may be a euphemism for bodily elimination.

ii. “Rabbi S. Jarchi gives this the most degrading meaning; I will give it in Latin, because it is too coarse to be put in English; Fortassis ad locum secretum abiit, ut ventrem ibi exoneret; ‘Perhaps he has gone to the -------------.’ This certainly reduces Baal to the lowest degree of contempt, and with it the ridicule and sarcasm are complete.” (Clarke)

(Guzik)

Gone to the bathroom?

I used Ai to translate this from Latin to English, so if it’s incorrect blame Ai! 🤣

“The Latin phrase "Fortassis ad locum secretum abiit, ut ventrem ibi exoneret" translates to "Perhaps he has gone to a secret place to relieve himself." This phrase is used in a context of mockery regarding Baal in the biblical narrative.”

Going to the bathroom is no laughing matter especially when you are old, sick or infirm. It humbles you when you require assistance which is what recently happened to me with two separate visits to the ER and I had to relieve myself!

But In these verses Elijah mocks their man made god with ridicule and sarcasm because he’s not responding to their prayers.

The good Lord always hears our prayers if we confess our sin and humbly ask them. I’ve attached a link that explains, Does God hear my prayers?

I personally have had prayers answered, have you?

Blessings 

Does God hear my prayers?

1 Kings 18:22-24 Fire from Heaven!

 “Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” So all the people answered and said, “It is well spoken.””

‭‭I Kings‬ ‭18‬:‭22‬-‭24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. I alone am left a prophet of the LORD: Elijah had reason to know this was not true. In the recent past, Obadiah told him that he sheltered 100 prophets of God against the persecution of Jezebel and Ahab.

b. Let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves: In this proposed test, Elijah was careful to give the prophets of Baal every potential advantage. They picked the two bulls, and picked which one they would sacrifice and which one Elijah would sacrifice.

c. And the God who answers by fire, He is God: The fire would not come from either Elijah or the prophets of Baal. It had to be supernatural in origin, and supplied by either Baal or Yahweh.

i. Again, Elijah gave plenty of advantage to the prophets of Baal. It was thought that Baal was the sky-god, lord of the weather and the sender of lightning (thought to be fire from the sky). If Baal were real, he certainly could send fire from heaven.

ii. To put God and himself on the line before the gathered nation of Israel took a lot of faith. Elijah learned this faith over the many months of daily dependence on God, both at the Brook Cherith and at the widow’s house at Zarapeth.

iii. Of course, Elijah had plenty of reasons for confidence in the LORD God. First, he was following express instructions from the LORD (1 Kings 18:36). Second, he knew from the history of Israel that God could and would send fire from heaven upon a sacrifice (Judges 6:20-21 and 2 Chronicles 7:1-7). (Guzik)

Fire from Heaven!

There will be a time in the future when God sends fire from heaven for it is written:

“The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭8‬:‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I don’t want to be around for the tribulation, do you?

BTW, I consider myself a pretribber! 😇 

“ A "pretribber" is a term used to describe someone who believes in the pretribulation rapture, which is the doctrine that Christians will be taken up to heaven before a period of great tribulation occurs on Earth.”

Blessings 

Tribulation

God is Good!

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”

‭‭I Chronicles‬ ‭16‬:‭34‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Have you ever had one of those days when your health becomes an issue? For me it happened last Saturday evening. After experiencing a health crisis for about an hour my wife says maybe we should go to the emergency room because if you fall down I won’t be able to pick you up. So after midnight I spent four and a half hours on Easter Sunday in the ER then I was released. Sunday nite I started to feel bad and had a temperature of 101*. By morning it was 103*. Back to the hospital and after some tests I was talking to a surgeon and ended up with a gallbladder removal!

When I woke up in recovery my wife was there along with two dear friends and I was released to go home. God is indeed good!

This morning when I woke up it was the first time in several years I didn't have lower back pain!

This morning I give thanks to the Lord for He is good and His mercy endures forever!

Do you give thanks to the Lord?

Blessings 

1 Kings 18:20-21 Whom will you serve?

 “So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.”

‭‭I Kings‬ ‭18‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Ahab sent for all the children of Israel: It is hard to know why Ahab did this, carrying out the instructions of Elijah. Perhaps he hoped that the people would be so angry with Elijah for the last three years of drought that this crowd would turn against the prophet.

b. And gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel: These prophets of Baal hated Elijah. They loved the favor of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, and they enthusiastically promoted the persecution of any true follower of Yahweh. But over the last three years, they had been severely humbled by Elijah and the drought sustained by his prayers. All their cries to the weather-god Baal were ineffective for three years. They hated this prophet of God who humiliated them and their sham priesthood so thoroughly.

i. “See, with what malignant glances his every movement is watched by the priests. No tiger ever watched its victim more fiercely! If they may have their way, he will never touch yonder plain again.” (Meyer)

ii. “That lone man, of heroic soul, stemmed the fearful torrent of idolatry, and like a rock in mid-current, firmly stood his ground. He, alone and single-handed, was more than a match for all the priests of the palace and the groves, even as one lion scatters a flock of sheep.” (Spurgeon)

c. How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him: This was a logical and useful question. In general, the people of Israel were in a spiritually lukewarm condition. They wanted to give some devotion to both Yahweh and Baal, but the God of Israel was not interested in such divided devotion.

i. Spiritually speaking, Israel was like an unfaithful partner in a marriage who doesn’t want to give up their marriage partner, but also does not want to give up their illicit lover. The marriage partner has a legitimate claim to the exclusive devotion of their spouse.

ii. How long will you falter: The ancient Hebrew word translated falter means “to limp, halt, hop, dance, or leap” (Dilday). It is the same word used in 1 Kings 18:26where the prophets of Baal leaped about the altar. It may be that Elijah meant, “How long will you dance between two opinions?”

iii. Adam Clarke had a slightly different understanding: “Literally, ‘How long hop ye about upon two boughs?’ This is a metaphor taken from birds hopping about from bough to bough, not knowing on which to settle.”

iv. The appeal of Elijah made it clear that there was a difference between the service of Baal and the service of Yahweh. Perhaps in the minds of many, there was not a great difference - the only important thing was to have some kind of religion, and to be sincere about that, following your heart to whatever god your heart might lead you to. Yet Elijah knew that it could never be this way. You either served Baal or you served Yahweh; there was a difference.

v. Elijah’s appeal also called his hearers to account for the period of time in which they had not made a decision between Yahweh and Baal. “How long,” he asked them. “How many more sermons do you want? How many more Sundays must roll away wasted? How many warnings, how many sicknesses, how many tollings of the bell to warn you that you must die? How many graves must be dug for your family before you will be impressed? How many plagues and pestilences must ravage this city before you will turn to God in truth? How long halt ye between two opinions?” (Spurgeon).

d. But the people answered him not a word: There was no objection and no repentance. They lacked the courage to either defend their position or to change it. They were willing to live unexamined lives of low conviction.

i. Elijah could so accurately see their hearts because he could see their actions. Spurgeon explained Elijah’s idea: “I know you are not decided in opinion, because you are not decided in practice. If God be God, follow him; if Baal, follow him. You are not decided in practice.”(Guzik)

Whom will you serve?

There’s a famous song by Bob Dylan with the lyrics: 

“But you’re going to have to serve somebody, yes indeed

You’re going to have to serve somebody

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you’re going to have to serve somebody.”

It basically comes down to two choices, Baal or Yahweh, ie the devil or the Lord!

“How long halt ye between two opinions?”

Blessings