Jesse Tree Ornament #13 Miracles
THEME 13 SEEING MIRACLES
SCRIPTURE: [1]
When he (King Ahab who mocked the prophet Elijah) saw Elijah, he said, “Is it you—the biggest troublemaker in Israel?”
Elijah answered, “I have not caused trouble in Israel. You and your father’s family have caused all this trouble. You have not obeyed the Lord’s commands. You have followed the Baals. Now tell all Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel. Also bring the 450 prophets of Baal there. And bring the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
So Ahab called all the Israelites and those prophets to Mount Carmel. Elijah stood before the people. He said, “How long
will you try to serve both Baal and the Lord? If the Lord is the true God, follow him. But if Baal is the true God, follow him!”
But the people said nothing.
Elijah said, “I am the only prophet of the Lord here. But there are 450 prophets of Baal. So bring two bulls. Let the prophets of Baal choose one bull. Let them kill it and cut it into pieces. Then let them put the meat on the wood. But they are not to set fire to it. Then I will do the same with the other bull. And I will put it on the wood. But I will not set fire to it. You prophets of Baal, pray to your god. And I will pray to the Lord. The god who answers the prayer will set fire to his wood. He is the true God.”
All the people agreed that this was a good idea.
Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “There are many of you. So you go first. Choose a bull and prepare it. Pray to your god, but don’t start the fire.”
So they took the bull that was given to them and prepared it. They prayed to Baal from morning until noon. They shouted, “Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound. No one answered. They danced around the altar they had built.
At noon Elijah began to make fun of them. He said, “Pray louder! If Baal really is a god, maybe he is thinking. Or maybe he is busy or traveling! Maybe he is sleeping so you will have to wake him!” So the prophets prayed louder. They cut themselves with swords and spears until their blood flowed.
(This was the way they worshiped.) The afternoon passed, and the prophets continued to act wildly. They continued until it was time for the evening sacrifice. But no voice was heard. Baal did not answer. No one paid attention.
Then Elijah said to all the people, “Now come to me.” So they gathered around him. Elijah rebuilt the altar of the Lord because it had been torn down. He took 12 stones. He took 1 stone for each of the 12 tribes. These 12 tribes were named for the 12 sons of Jacob. (Jacob was the man the Lord had called Israel.) Elijah used these stones to rebuild the altar in honor of the Lord. Then he dug a small ditch around it. It was big enough to hold about 13 quarts of seed. Elijah put the wood on the altar. He cut the bull into pieces and laid them on the wood. Then he said, “Fill four jars with water. Put the water on the meat and on the wood.”
Then Elijah said, “Do it again.” And they did it again.
Then he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it the third time. So the water ran off of the altar and filled the ditch.
It was time for the evening sacrifice. So the prophet Elijah went near the altar. He prayed, “Lord, you are the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel. I ask you now to prove that you are the God of Israel. And prove that I am your servant. Show these people that you commanded me to do all these things. Lord, answer my prayer. Show these people that you, Lord, are God. Then the people will know that you are bringing them back to you.”
Then fire from the Lord came down. It burned the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the ground around the altar. It also dried up the water in the ditch. When all the people saw this, they fell down to the ground. They cried, “The Lord is God! The Lord is God!”
THINK ABOUT IT
Stories of miracles occur throughout the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. They show God using people and forces of nature to prove His sovereignty. This one is especially interesting because it was like a Super Bowl Game. It was a showdown of sorts.
There’s a huge audience, for those times. 450 priest who worshiped the false god, Baal, and 400 who served the queen, Jezebel, and others who wanted to see who would win Elijah’s challenge.
Elijah taunts the priest of Baal who were waiting for their gods to burn the sacrifice prepared for this challenge, They waited and waited for the fire to begin.
It didn’t happen. They waited and waited, and nothing happened.
Elijah knew nothing was happening. So, he built an altar of stone, stones representing the tribes of Israel. Remember, stone does not burn. This is important to notice for later.
Then he dug a deep ditch around the altar. Then he killed the bull for the sacrifice. He could have just called down fire from heaven, but no, this was much more impressive.
. Then three times he drenched the altar and the sacrifice with water. The ditch was full of water.
Then, when it was time to burn the sacrifice, he prayed to God that He would prove himself Lord of all. And behold, the fire came from heaven and devoured the wet wood, the sacrifice, the stones and the water!
[1] 1 Kings 18: 17-39 .Ibid.
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