Elijah and the Prophets of Baal - The One True God

But there was one prophet who stayed faithful to the one true God. His name was Elijah. Elijah was brave and bold! He wasn't afraid to stand up for what was right, even when everyone else was doing wrong. God spoke to Elijah and gave him messages to deliver to the king.

One day, Elijah went to King Ahab with a serious message from God: "Because you and your people have turned away from God, there will be no rain in Israel - not even dew on the ground - until I say so!" And it happened just as Elijah said! For three whole years, no rain fell! The streams dried up, the crops died, and there was a terrible famine in the land. It was God's way of showing the people that Baal was not a real god - if Baal were really the god of rain and storms like they claimed, why couldn't he make it rain?

After three years, God told Elijah, "Go and present yourself to King Ahab. I am going to send rain on the land." So Elijah went to find the king.

When King Ahab saw Elijah, he was angry! He said, "Is that you, you troublemaker of Israel?"

But Elijah wasn't afraid! He said boldly, "I haven't made trouble for Israel! YOU have! You and your family have abandoned the LORD's commands and have followed Baal! Now summon ALL the people of Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel's table!"

So King Ahab sent messengers throughout Israel, and all the people gathered on Mount Carmel. Thousands of people came! The 450 prophets of Baal came. And there stood Elijah - just ONE man - representing the one true God!

Elijah stood before all the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him! But if Baal is God, follow him!" The people didn't say a word. They were silent, not knowing what to believe.

Then Elijah said, "I am the only one of the LORD's prophets left, but Baal has 450 prophets. Let's have a contest! Bring two bulls for sacrifices. Let the prophets of Baal choose one bull, cut it up, and put it on the wood - but don't light the fire. I'll prepare the other bull the same way. Then you call on the name of your god, and I'll call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire - HE is God!"

All the people agreed! "What you say is good!" they shouted. This was going to be an amazing showdown!

Elijah told the prophets of Baal, "You go first. Choose one of the bulls and prepare it. Call on the name of your god, but don't light the fire."

So the prophets of Baal took their bull, cut it up, and placed it on the wood. Then they began calling on Baal: "Baal, answer us! Baal, answer us!" They called from morning until noon. They danced around the altar they had made. They shouted louder and louder. But there was no response. No one answered. No fire came down. Nothing happened at all! Their god was silent because their god wasn't real!

At noon, Elijah began to make fun of them! He said, "Shout louder! Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he's sleeping and needs to be awakened!" Elijah knew Baal was just a fake idol made of wood and stone!

So the prophets shouted even louder! They danced more wildly! They even cut themselves with swords and spears, thinking that might make Baal answer. All afternoon they raved and shouted and carried on. But still nothing happened! No voice. No fire. No answer. It was getting embarrassing!

Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me!" The crowd gathered close. Elijah took twelve stones (one for each tribe of Israel) and rebuilt the altar of the LORD that had been torn down. He dug a trench around it. He arranged the wood on the altar. Then he cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood.

But then Elijah did something strange! He said, "Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood!" The people did it.

"Do it again!" Elijah said. So they poured more water on it.

"Do it a third time!" So they did! By now, the sacrifice and the wood were completely soaked! Water ran down and filled the trench around the altar! Why would Elijah make it so wet? Because he wanted everyone to know that when God sent fire, it would be a REAL miracle! There would be no doubt that only God could light a fire on such a wet altar!

Then, at the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah stepped forward and prayed a simple, powerful prayer: "LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command. Answer me, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that You, LORD, are God, and that You are turning their hearts back again!"

Suddenly - WHOOOOSH! - fire from heaven fell! It was like lightning, but even more powerful! The fire burned up the sacrifice! It burned up the wood! It burned up the stones! It burned up the soil! It even licked up all the water in the trench! The fire consumed everything!

When all the people saw this, they fell on their faces and cried out, "The LORD - He is God! The LORD - He is God!" They said it over and over! There was no doubt now! Baal couldn't send fire. Only the one true God could do this!

Then something wonderful happened. Elijah told King Ahab, "Go and eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain!" Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed down to the ground to pray. He sent his servant to look toward the sea. "There's nothing there," the servant reported. Seven times Elijah sent him to look. On the seventh time, the servant said, "A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea!"

That little cloud grew bigger and bigger! Soon the sky grew black with clouds! The wind rose! And then - after three long years - the rain came! Sheets and sheets of rain poured down! The drought was over! God had proven He was the one true God who controls the rain and the weather!

This amazing story teaches us so many important lessons! First, there is only ONE true God - the God of the Bible! All other gods are fake idols. Second, God is all-powerful! He can do things that are absolutely impossible for anyone else! Third, we need to be brave like Elijah and stand up for God, even when everyone else is going the wrong way.

Most importantly, this story shows us that God answers when we call on Him! He hears our prayers! He shows Himself to be real and powerful! Just like the people on Mount Carmel said, "The LORD - He is God!" we can trust in Him completely! He is the only God who can truly help us, save us, and answer our prayers!