Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20030824.htm

1 AND 2 KINGS: ENJOYING GOD'S BLESSINGS IN AN APOSTATE ERA
Part XXII: Giving God Room To Reveal His Truth To Those In Deep Darkness
(1 Kings 18:17-39)
  1. Introduction
    1. When a party we know slips into even illogical spiritual darkness, we may be tempted to "preach at" them.
    2. However, as those in such darkness stay there since they think they are on the right path, and assume anyone who tries to correct them himself needs help, such "prechiness" usually does little if any good!
    3. In such cases, like 2 Timothy 2:24-26 teaches and like Elijah exampled, we need to "back off" and let God show Himself in power to the deeply deceived so they might come to their senses and repent:
  2. Giving God Room To Reveal His Truth To Those In Deep Darkness, 1 Kings 18:17-39.
    1. When Ahab blamed God's prophet, Elijah for the 3 year drought that Ahab's god of rain, Baal, could not reverse, thus making Ahab's charge an incredibly illogical one given from a king in deep spiritual darkness, Elijah did not "preach at" Ahab, but briefly explained the truth, 1 Kings 18:17-18.
    2. Then, Elijah minimized HIS OWN role as a "preacher" to give room for God to reveal the SENSIBLE TRUTH in POWER to Ahab and Israel: Elijah called Ahab to a test where every chance was given for Baal to show his power versus God's power with a minimum of Elijah's involvement, 1 Kings 18:19-37:
      1. First, Elijah asked Ahab to call the nation to mount Carmel, the place the Phoenicians thought was the "sacred dwelling place of Baal," Bib. Know. Com., O.T. , p. 526. This location would give Baal ample room to feel at "home" so his power versus God's power could be seen to the fullest (1 Kings 18:19a).
      2. Second, Elijah called for all 450 of the prophets of Baal plus all 400 prophets of Baal's consort, the Asherah to come to the contest to compete against the one lone prophet of God in Elijah, 18:19b, 22. This would additionally offer Baal the maximum opportunity to prove his power against God's power.
      3. Third, Elijah openly challenged the people to stop mixing the worship of God with Baal worship, a move designed to give them opportunity to challenge one theological system with another:
        1. The KJV word "halt" in v. 21 is from pasach = "limp," B.D.B., Heb. Engl. Lex. of the O.T., p. 820.
        2. This verb is errantly rendered "leaped" in 1 Kings 18:26b KJV when it should picture a limping pagan dance in Baal worship, something Elijh here implied Israel was practicing on a regular basis!
        3. Thus, the people of Israel had mixed or "syncretized" the false worship of Baal with God's true worship, so Elijah sought to set forth God and Baal as competing deities, 1 Kings 18:21!
      4. Fourth, Elijah gave the false prophets opportunity to select which of the two animals for sacrifice they wanted, and to be the first to try to arouse their god to send fire from heaven to ignite their sacrifice, 18:23-24. Since Baal was the god of lightening and storms, the god who produced the lightening to consume the sacrifice would be inarguably seen as the true God, I Kings 18:24; Ibid., p. 526.
      5. Fifth, Elijah mocked the Baal worshippers in their efforts to elicit Baal's help as though he were trying to incite Baal's wrath, and gave half a day's worth of time to arouse Baal's intervention, 1 Kings 18:26-29a. This would room for Baal's wrath to be expressed at least against the mocking Elijah!
      6. Sixth, when Elijah's turn came, he did what he could to make his sacrifice impossible to ignite, and this gave Baal every advantage and God every (mortal) disadvantage, 1 Kings 18:29b-35.
      7. Seventh, when Elijah prayed, versus the long hours of extensive effort by Baal's prophets, Elijah said a simple, short prayer to give God -- not himself -- credit for lighting the sacrifice, 18:36-37, 26-29.
    3. In the test where Baal had every apparent edge over God, and where Elijah's role was kept to a minimum, Baal miserably failed and God powerfully succeeded as God sent fire that burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the altar stones, the water in the trench and the dirt dug up from the trench, 1 Kings 18:29b, 38!
    4. With such indisputable evidence supplied by God alone in this test, the people of Israel fell on their faces in worship of God, saying, "The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God," 1 Kings 18:39.
Lesson: Elijah played a "low key" role and let BAAL have EVERY OPPORTUNITY to COMPETE to the FULL against GOD so that those in illogical spiritual darkness could VIVIDLY SEE the TRUTH!

Application: INSTEAD of "PREACHING AT" those in illogical and deep darkness, an effort that tends to harden them, we must SIMPLY STATE the truth and GIVE the EVIL they adopt and GOD every ROOM to COMPETE against EACH OTHER to EXPOSE REALITY, 2 Tim. 2:24-26; 3:6-9!