The Wonders of the Altar

The Wonders of the Altar: Elijah’s Contest at Mount Carmel

Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. – 1 Kings 18:30

In continuation of our series about the power of the altar, the altar is also a place where humans can experience unusual dimensions of the supernatural. Some of the most awe-inspiring incidents in the Old Testament happened at the altar.

One such episode was the one where Elijah and the prophets of Baal had a competition of sorts to prove who was actually serving the true God and whose God was the greatest. This happened when the people no longer reckoned with God during the reign of Ahab and his wife, Jezebel. The knowledge of God was scarce in those days, and only a handful served Him.

However, when God wanted to reveal Himself as the Ultimate to the Israelites, after a spell of drought, He sent Elijah to them. He summoned the people, including the king and the 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah, to Mouth Carmel to show them who was really God.

The contest was simple: each party was to offer a sacrifice on its respective altar. Elijah, representing God, stood on one side, and the prophets of Baal and Asherah, representing their own god, stood on the other. However, no one was to put fire on the sacrifice. The entity they serve will be the one to ignite the sacrifice himself. Then the following ensued:

So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made. And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.” So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention. – 1 Kings 18:26-29

The Scripture records that these priests leapt about the altar, cried aloud, cut themselves with knives and lances until blood gushed out of their bodies. These were some of the customs of their altar, and they dutifully followed them. However, there was no result. Neither Baal nor Asherah showed up.

Why do you think this is so? If your answer is because neither Baal nor Asherah can answer their prophets, then you are wrong.

We will continue tomorrow…

You Will Succeed in Jesus’ Name!

Also read:

• The Sensitivity of the Altar: Serving God on His Terms, Not Ours
• And Then the Rains Came: Finding God’s Peace After Life’s Storms
• Jesus Christ: The Fulfilment of Prophecy
• Men in the Bible: Adam – A Man with A Large Heart
• The King With Four Wives
• I Could Feel a Fresh Anointing

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