Elijah, the Tishbite

It was evident to all that Baal was unable to assist. For hours, the priests of Baal had danced around their altar, imploring their god to reveal himself with fire, cutting their bodies so that blood flowed from their wounds to persuade Baal to intervene. However, their bloodshed only served to reveal the deception of idolatry. Exhausted, discouraged, and filled with fear, they now stand around their altar and wait for the things that are to come.

Will God respond with fire? Any Israelites who were familiar with their history would know that this had already happened in the past. The first sacrifice Aaron offered was consumed by fire from heaven, a sign that it was pleasing to God (see Leviticus 9:24). When Solomon’s temple was dedicated, the Lord also showed His approval by sending fire from heaven to consume the burnt offering (see 2 Chronicles 7:1). Would God do that again today?

So that no one could think that Elijah had secretly set fire to the sacrifice, he had the sacrificial animal and the altar doused with water three times. It should be truly evident that the almighty God would provide the fire.

God revealed Himself wonderfully on Mount Carmel! He is the living and almighty God! He is also the God of grace and faithfulness! 

Allow us to pose the question: “Are there certain prerequisites today for God to reveal Himself?” There is no doubt that God desires to reveal Himself repeatedly to His people and to each of His children. However, do such revelations from God occur independently of human behavior?

The fact that God still cared for His people during the time of Elijah can only be attributed to His grace and faithfulness. He had every reason to reject these unrepentant people. Yet He did not do so, but instead sought to win the souls of His people through His prophets for many years. With infinite patience, He bore with them and forgave them repeatedly. Whoever reads the Old Testament prayerfully cannot doubt that God’s grace and faithfulness are infinitely greater than we can imagine. Paul did not exaggerate when he wrote in Romans 11:29: “ For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

When we are unfaithful, He remains faithful! How He cares for each and every one of His children to this day! Just as He cared for Israel, just as He revealed Himself and testified to them again and again, so He continues to do so today in the lives of His children. It is His mercy and faithfulness that draw us to Him again and again. We should rejoice in such unchanging goodness of our God!

However, there are prerequisites for God’s revelations. We can see three extremely specific things in Elijah:

Trust

James says that Elijah was a man just like us. This means that Elijah was not above human weaknesses but was subject to them just as we are. We know from his later life that he was not immune to fear. We see in 1 Kings 18:22 that he suffered from the thought that he was the only prophet of the Lord left. Yet how this man stands before this great crowd! He stands alone against the 450 priests of Baal! He also stands alone against the king who is hostile towards him.

One man dares to trust God! God uses this one man to reveal Himself. This trust is not a human characteristic but grows out of the Word of God. Therefore, we cannot excuse ourselves and say, “I just can’t trust like so-and-so!” If we read the Word of God with a childlike faith, then this living trust will be awakened and strengthened in us through the Word.

Surrender

Elijah built the altar in the name of the Lord. The altar was the place where Israel met its God. Through the offering presented on the altar, Israel consecrated itself to its God, and God in turn met his people at the altar by looking graciously upon the sacrifice. Since Israel was now serving Baal and other gods, the altar had been destroyed.

We, too, must surrender ourselves to the Lord as a whole sacrifice. The Lord expects complete consecration. Unfortunately, however, it often happens that we slowly and imperceptibly take back a piece at a time. We once surrendered ourselves with all that we are and have to the Lord, and after some time, we find that we are once again masters of ourselves and of all that we are and have. We have made ourselves independent again. Certainly, we believe in God, we read the Bible, we go to church, and we even give offerings for the mission. However, can the Lord truly rule over us and all areas of our lives? Who is Lord in our lives? Ourselves, the Lord, or even some other person? 

If we want to experience new revelations of God in our lives, it will be necessary for us to first “build the altar,” that is, to renew our surrender!

In some families, the home altar, praying and studying the Bible together, must also be rebuilt if God’s blessing is to flow.

Faith

“Without faith it is impossible to please God!” (Hebrews 11:6) 

Elijah took 12 stones and built the altar! Why didn’t he take 10? The northern kingdom where he lived consisted of only 10 tribes. Elijah knew that, but in faith he ignored political reality. He believed in the God of faithfulness, and so he took 12 stones to tell all the people: I believe in the unity of God’s people, even when they are torn apart!

How often does our “faith” go no further than the point that our minds consider possible? Elijah does not look at the actual circumstances, but at God, for whom nothing is impossible. “Faith breaks through steel and stone and can grasp omnipotence!” God wants to work faith in us if we are willing to follow Him.

In His mercy, God leans toward us. He wants to reveal Himself to us if we give the Spirit room to work these prerequisites in us: trust, surrender, and faith.