Confrontation on
Review:
It is
important to note the particulars of what Elijah did:
(1) To remove any possible
excuses and to show the complete futility of their faith, he let them go first
and gave them plenty of time.
(2) Later in the day he added
some cold and cutting sarcasm, he did this to highlight and make the issues
dramatically conspicuous.
(3) Furthermore, note the odds. Elijah made this entire scene as difficult as
possible, not only for the prophets of Baal, but also for the LORD.
So What's the Point? God does not ask us to give Him a hand with the impossible.
The test was
obviously designed to manifest and prove to the people which is the true
God.
They needed
to come to the conclusion that it is foolish to worship what is false, or to worship in a false way because to do so is
an exercise in futility.
Application: We each need to examine the authenticity of our own spiritual lives. Who and what is the object of our worship our reverence and awe?
There are two
general tests to consider:
1. Am I really saved? Have I put my trust in Christ by faith. No on can experience real life and the power
of Christ in their life if they are not a child of God by faith in Jesus
Christ.
2. But as a child of God, a
believer in the person and work of Christ, can also fail to experience God's
power in his or her life by not living the transformed life.
Some important questions we might ask
ourselves are:
(1) Am I
growing and advancing spiritually?
(2) Has the word heard and understood changed your thinking?
(3) Do I
manifest the fruit of the Spirit?
(4) Am I
consistently faithful to God and others?
(5) Are my values and priorities in line with DVPT?
(6) How is my relationship with others, all categories; spouse, with
my children, with those at work, at church?
(7) Am I ministering to others, sharing the gospel, etc.? In other words, is there divine good
production?
The test
consisted of an answer "by fire."
Elijah
declared, "The God that answers by
fire, He is God." But why fire?
(1) Baal was worshipped as the
Lord of Fire, the Lord of the Sun. Some
even worshipped him by passing their children through the fire (2 Kgs.
16:3).
So the
failure of Baal to bring down fire would demonstrate the fallacy of their
beliefs about Baal.
(2) In Scripture, fire is used
symbolically to communicate certain spiritual principles according to the
contexts:
1. In the Old Testament fire was a
sign of the presence of the Lord (e.g.,
the burning bush in Exodus 3:2, and the pillar of fire in Exodus
2. It was a sign that God had accepted the priests, their sacrifices,
and their service, and that Israel could have access to God through the
priestly ministry inaugurated in the Old Testament (Lev. 9:1-24).
3. Likewise, the fire in 1 Kings 18 would also demonstrate God's acceptance of Elijah's sacrifice and ministry and His rejection of the Baal prophets and their sacrifice.
4. Fire was viewed as a means of purification (Num. 31:21-23).
5. Finally,
fire is a sign of divine judgment and wrath against sin and rejection of God's
plan.
Over
and over again it is a picture of God's wrath and judgment (Isa. 26:11; Heb.
Summary: The answer of God by fire to consume the sacrifice would clearly demonstrate that:
(1) Yahweh was the only true God,
(2) that God had completely rejected and judged Baalism and the Baal prophets, and
(3) that access to the true God could comes only through the prescribed sacrificial system of the Old Testament that foreshadowed the person and work of Christ as the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).
The activity
of the Baal priests was a total waste, an exercise in utter futility, and it
illustrates the futility of all false religion and all forms of idolatry.
False religious systems are futile for two reasons.
First, they are futile because they cannot give access to God.
1. The religions and idolatrous systems of the world may vary in their particulars, but they all have certain ingredients in common that demonstrate they are false.
These we
need to know so we can recognize them for what they are.
They have people working, doing something to be saved or to become spiritual.
2. They reject the person and work of Christ as God's one and only means of reconciliation and salvation.
The Baal priests built their own altar while Elijah repaired the altar of the Lord, a shadow of the cross and a portrait of coming to God through Christ.
3. They tend to be ecumenical (eclectic or syncretistic). They readily combine and accept many beliefs as legitimate means of access to God.
They may accept Jesus as one of
the great religious leaders or prophets, but not as the Son of God and the one
and only Savior of the World.
4. While friendly to those religions that are eclectic, they eventually become hostile and engage in some form of persecution against those who proclaim the truth.
The second reason all false religious systems are futile is because they fail to give access to the true God.
Note the cutting sarcasm here in vs:27.
Some Thoughts on Idolatry:
The Bible teaches us there are many forms of idolatry including greed and covetousness (Eph. 5:5; Col. 3:5).
Today, people do not generally
construct gods of wood and stone, but they do make gods out of their own ideas,
opinions, and strategies for life.
What are
some of the forms of idolatry we might engage in? What are these gods of idolatry today?
Some important
questions we might ask ourselves.
1. Is
pleasure and comfort our god?
2. Is business or mammon our god?
3. Is social standing and position our god?
4. Since covetousness is a form of idolatry, an important question to
ask is who and what we are coveting or depending on to meet what we envision as
our needs and believe will fulfill our desires.
Satan, as the deceiver, is very powerful and is able to bring some answers to man's prayers, but only under the permissive will of God, and never to man's ultimate blessing or benefit.
So today, people can find some
semblance of joy and peace in false religions and in the details of life,
money, power, and position, but they will always fall short of true and lasting
peace.