The confrontation on Mount Carmel

Expository Preaching Outline on 1 Kings 18:17-39 – And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou the troubler of Israel? And he said, I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house, because you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and followed Baalim.

Introduction to 1 Kings 18:17-39

This passage takes place at a time when the spiritual tide in Israel was extremely low. Most of the people had turned their backs on the Lord and followed the Canaanite god Baal. It is against this backdrop of apostasy and idolatry that the prophet Elijah enters the scene. He is introduced in 1 Kings 17:1. When he appears, he brings a message from the Lord. It is a clear call to repentance and renewed loyalty to Jehovah.

In this passage, things come to a head. On one side are Ahab, Jezebel, the prophets and priests of Baal and an entire nation, except for 7,000 people of God, 1 Kings 19:18. On the other side are Elijah and Jehovah. The odds may seem to be in favor of evil, but Elijah is about to experience the truth that one plus God is a majority.

As we spend a few minutes analyzing this great passage this evening, I want you to catch a glimpse of the spiritual peaks that stand out in the clouds of this gloomy scene. Some that come to mind now are:

– There is a desperate need for spiritual heroes to stand up against the tide of heresy and apostasy.
– There is a need for God’s people to evaluate their loyalty to the Lord and determine where we really stand when it comes to being on the Lord’s side.
– There must be a willingness to flee the evil that surrounds us and be a people set apart for the glory of the Lord.
– There must be a willingness to renew our commitment to the Lord and put Him above all other pursuits, interests and loyalties.

With these truths clearly presented in the text before us, let’s take a closer look at this great day when there was a confrontation on Mount Carmel. As we analyze this passage, let’s take some time to allow the Lord to speak to our hearts and reveal things that are perhaps not as they should be, whether in our personal and private lives, or in the life of our church. Then, let’s be quick to realize that, for those who are willing to obey the Lord and follow Him with a focused mind, there is the great promise of His presence, power and personal ministry in and through our lives. With all this in mind, let’s join Elijah and consider The Confrontation on Mount Carmel.

I. V. 21-24 THE DILEMMA OF GOD’S PEOPLE

A. V. 21a His Rebellion

This verse tells us that the people of Israel were divided in their loyalties. On the one hand, they liked being called God’s people, but on the other, they loved the sensual and carnal appeal of Baal worship. Elijah described their condition as “limping between two thoughts”. They were torn between two ideas and, as a result, they were accomplishing nothing! This is the path of compromise!

Baal was the main deity of the Canaanites. He, along with his consort, Ashtaroth, were worshipped through abominable practices such as human sacrifices and sexual immorality. In some places, women were forced to serve as prostitutes in the woods!

These people had fallen a long way from the nation that had entered and conquered Canaan hundreds of years before. Now, they were a politically divided and apostate nation.

Can we be honest and say that the same is true for the church at the end of the 20th century? Whether we like to admit it or not, the visible church is in the midst of apostasy and rebellion. However, the Lord said that things would be like this, 2 Thess. 2:3. See also – 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 3:1-3; 2 Tim. 4:3-4

When we see denominations and churches struggling with issues such as abortion and homosexuality. When we see them move away from proclaiming the truth and start producing error, such as new translations of the Bible. When we see this kind of thing starting to happen, isn’t it obvious that we are living in an age of apostasy? I think it is. Some, unfortunately, refuse to see the truth, even though it is right in front of their eyes. People may try to justify this by citing “denominational loyalty” or some other weak excuse, but may I remind you that our loyalty is to the Lord and to Him alone?

B. V. 21 Your Warning

Elijah’s admonition is direct and to the point. He tells them that they need to make a choice! Elijah sees their commitment as an affront to God. He is saying that they must choose which side they will be on, since they cannot genuinely have two gods, (Illustration: Matt. 12:25.)

In the hundreds of years since Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal on Carmel, many things have changed. The culture is very different now than it was then, religious practice has changed, the world itself is no longer what it was then. However, one thing remains the same, God! If a man is going to be right with God, then he must take his stand apart from the world. No one can have it both ways. It’s either God or the world. There can be no compromise, James 4:4.

We need the same spiritual fortitude that Joshua demonstrated when he made his great declaration in Joshua 24:15. It’s either God or the world. It can never be both!

Watch their response – silence! Many people think that by keeping quiet about something and keeping a low profile, it will just go away. If you feel that way, then I have to say you’re fooling yourself and anyone else who might decide to follow you!

C. V. 22-24 Your Willingness

The context. Elijah describes the terms of the challenge and the people accept.

I find it interesting that these people had the audacity to expect God to prove Himself to them. After all, look at all the great things He had done for them over the years, and yet they are willing to give Baal a chance to compete with God. We should give them credit for being willing to accompany Elijah, but they need to humble themselves before a holy God, instead of trying to find a way around His will for their lives!

I. The Dilemma of the People of God

II. V. 25-38 THE DEMONSTRATION OF GOD’S POWER

A. V. 25-29 The Futility of Following Baal

The confrontation. All day long the prophets of Baal prayed and cried out to their god. However, they didn’t receive even a “still small voice”. Elijah saw the foolishness of what they were doing and mocked them, v. 27. This drove them into a frenzy. But when the dust settled and the smoke of their activity cleared, Baal remained as dead as ever, and they stood humiliated and defeated before God’s only prophet.

This will be the experience of every person who tries to follow the false gods of religion and of this world. They are all dead and can do nothing for those who call out to them. I’m sure that many who are caught in this trap feel that they are right and that the men who call for change and separation are fanatics and people to be pitied. However, I would like to remind anyone who thinks they can unite God with worldliness that they are doomed to failure, no matter how right they think they are, Prov. 16:25.

When all this is over and the dust of this life settles out of the memory of eternity, God will still be God, and His way and His Word will still be right, and everything else will still be wrong! It is futile to follow the course of this world!

B. V. 30-37 The Prophet’s Faith

The context. After the prophets of Baal had finished their mischief, Elijah moved on. Looking at what he did is very interesting. First, he repaired God’s altar, v. 30. Then, he chose 12 stones to remind Israel that they were a nation in God’s eyes. Then he had 12 barrels of water poured over the sacrifice, the wood and the altar. He did this to remove all doubt about who should receive the glory for what was about to happen. Then he went forward and prayed a simple 63-word prayer, and God’s fire fell from heaven and consumed every part of the sacrifice, the altar, the water in the ditch and even the dust around it. God responded with a spectacular display of power in response to His servant’s faith.

Guys, it takes faith to be an Elijah! This man had sharpened his faith on the whetstone of affliction. He had already seen God do the miraculous: no rain – 1 Kings 17:1; food provided by ravens – 1 Kings 17:2-7; an endless supply of flour and oil – 1 Kings 17:8-16; and the resurrection of the widow’s son – 1 Kings 17:17-24. This man knew that this small thing was nothing to the Lord. He was willing to risk his life because he believed he was serving a God who acts in response to the prayers of His people.

C. V. 38 The Lord’s Faithfulness

The context. God answered his servant’s cry and gave Elijah exactly what he had asked God to do.

The liberal class can attribute this event to anything they want. When all is said and done, the fact that God honors the faith that honors Him is the only explanation! Elijah stepped out onto a dark stage and threw the spotlight on God and said, “My God can!” God always responds to that kind of faith!

Illustration: Matt. 17:20

All I’m saying tonight is that when you and I decide that we are going to exercise our faith in God and take our stand, we will see God act for us. The reason we don’t see this kind of miraculous display of God’s power can be attributed to two major failures on the part of God’s people. 1.) Many fail to separate themselves from the world and the apostasy that surrounds them, and God cannot bless! 2.) Many refuse to exercise their faith in God, and God does not act in response to their doubt!

I want you to know tonight that when you, as an individual, and we, as a church body, reach the point where we are willing to stand for the Lord alone and are willing to exercise our faith in Him, then God will not leave us hanging out there to sway in the wind. When we take our stand for Him, He will take His stand with us! If you don’t believe me, just try it and see!

I. The Dilemma of the People of God

II. The Demonstration of God’s Power

III. V. 39 THE DECISION OF GOD’S PEOPLE

We have to give these people credit. They said they would honor the God who responded with fire, and when He did, they did! These people made a decision on Mount Carmel.

A. They Experienced God in Power

He had answered the prophet with fire in his presence. There was no denying the reality of what they had seen. After that moment, it wasn’t just some stories about God told by gray-haired old men, it was reality. They had seen it and responded to it.

There is no other way to know God than to experience him in a personal way.

I am convinced that this is the root of all apostasy. When men meet the Lord, they are changed. When they only follow some form of religion, they are led and motivated by the flesh. Perhaps this explains why there is a cry from the heart of every saved soul to be free from the bondage of godless religion, to be free from the form of godless piety that dominates the world, and to be free from worldliness in all the forms it takes in the world around. Finding God will change you forever! I’ll go further and say that being saved will make you unsuitable for what is happening in the religious world around you. You will be different, and the Lord will bless the difference!

B. They Exalted God in Prostration

The context. When the people see the Lord acting in such a miraculous way, they fall on their faces before him in genuine humility. This signals a desire on their part to worship and honor the Lord God of heaven. This is the greatest indicator of change. They are highlighting God as the sole object of their worship.

When we reach the point where we are willing to separate ourselves from all the other gods competing for our attention and surrender to the God of heaven, then we will find ourselves drawn to Him in true heartfelt worship. Nothing in this world is more precious than a heart that burns with love for the Lord and a heart that burns with the desire to see God glorified, whatever the cost.

Does that describe you? Does that describe our church?

C. They Exalted God in Praise

The context. The last sound that the prophets and priests of Baal heard as they were led away to their deaths, v. 40, was the sound of God’s people shouting praises to their Lord. What a scene and sound that must have been!

Nothing in this world is as liberating as finding yourself focused on God and Him alone! When He has your attention, your affection and your loyalty, He will be pleased, and so will you! Nothing frees the saint more than knowing that you are in a place in your walk with the Lord that pleases Him. That there is nothing between you and God. That all sin, all worldliness and all sinful associations have been put aside.

When you get there, God can and will bless you with joy in your heart and gladness in your soul. And that, my friends, is worth any price that has to be paid! Remember, Jesus came to set us free – John 8:36. As far as I know, everything I said tonight was true, and the truth is what will set us free – John 8:32.

Conclusion of 1 Kings 18:17-39

Are there areas of your life tonight that, if you were honest, you would have to say are worldly and an abomination to God? Perhaps you would like to come to this altar and confess those things and experience the power of God in forgiveness. Can you see the apostasy that abounds around us? If so, perhaps you would like to come and pray for the churches, and pray for this church, that we will always be quick to recognize apostasy and that we will take our stand for Jesus.

Perhaps you have never been saved and would like to meet this all-powerful and all-loving God. If you come to Him, He will receive you and save your soul if you ask Him.

Whatever your heart and life need tonight, please bring it to the Lord. Will you do it now?

The confrontation on Mount Carmel – 1 Kings 18:17-39