READ: 1 Kin. 18:22-29: …and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” So all the people answered and said, “It is well spoken.” …
The ten-tribe kingdom had become increasingly apostate.. First through the self-willed worship in Dan and Bethel, and later by accepting and worshiping the idols of heathen nations and allowing the killing of God’s prophets.
God now wants His people to make a choice. He will do two things to achieve this.First, He will make all Israel see that serving idols is the utmost folly. Then He will show His power and faithfulness. In this way, He helps the people see the real difference between Him and the idols.
Elijah’s proposal to the people is that the four hundred and fifty Baal priests ask their god for fire from heaven to ignite their offering of a slaughtered bull (1 Kin. 18:23-25).
If Baal can do this and truly answers with fire, then Baal will prove he is God. Then it will be evident that they rightly served him, and Yahweh is the great deceiver. But if Baal cannot do this and Yahweh answers with fire, then Yahweh is God, the only God. In that case, they must serve Him accordingly. They must finally give Him the honor due to Him. They must finally recognize that they have been unfaithful and apostate to the LORD until now. They must repent.
The holy God’s answering fire is meant to help them make their choice. The fact that all this is necessary is a staggering sign of unbelief.
First, the LORD, through Elijah, exposes the powerlessness of the idols: Baal proves to be utterly powerless. For hours, the Baal priests mutilate themselves en masse, but there is no answer to their servants’ cries, no fire, nothing. Not even attention for their self-inflicted wounds (verse 28). The entire service to this idol is a shameful and ridiculous spectacle.
How deceived mankind is in thinking it can be like God and make its own gods. But do we not see a similar development today?
How can we ascertain if God is right?
Sing: Ps. 115:2,3