by Patrick Sawyer, Missional Living Pastor
If you know me, you know I am a huge college football fan. I love every Saturday how stadiums all over North America fill up with loud fans who travel to cheer on their favorite team as they battle against another team that also brings their loud fans to cheer them on. As I write this blog, it is the end of June, which means you can almost smell college football. Like college football, in 1 Kings 18:20-40, we see a story of a great battle between a prophet named Elijah and 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah. We can learn how to engage our current culture as we look at this battle.
During the book of 1 Kings, because of their sin and rebellion, the nation of Israel had split into two kingdoms. In 1 Kings chapter 16, we see a new king named Ahab, one of the worst kings, if not the worst, to reign in Israel. 1 Kings 16:30 states, "and Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him." In 1 Kings chapter 18, God sends the prophet Elijah to confront Ahab because of his wickedness and rebellion. This would result in a significant battle between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. 1 Kings 18:19 states, "Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table." Ultimately, this is a battle between the true God and the prophet Baal.
As we look at this battle, we quickly learn how God is going to give every advantage to this false god. First, we see this battle will take place at Mount Carmel. Mount Carmel was believed to be the turf of the false God Baal. The enemies enemy would have a home-field advantage. Think about a sporting event. The home team always has the advantage. It's their environment, their fans… it's loud. Not only was God sending Elijah to this battle, but he was sending him into enemy territory. Second, in this battle, each god or God would be requested to bring down fire upon an altar. Baal was supposed to be the god of the sun and the god of the storm, so for Baal to bring down fire should not have been a problem.
What can we learn about engaging the culture as we study this battle?
As we engage the world, we must do our part.
As you read this story, you see how Elijah did his part. He was obedient to what God was calling him to do. Elijah went and confronted Ahab as God told him to. Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal and Asherah to a battle. Elijah set up the altar and called out to God to bring fire to the altar. Tim Keller states, Only God can send the fire, but Elijah still had to build the altar."
As Christians, we are commanded to be obedient to the Great Commission. We are called to engage the world with the gospel of Jesus and make disciples of all nations. God has given us all we need. He has given us His presence and power through the Holy Spirit, who leads and guides us and empowers us to go and engage the world, but we must be obedient and do our part. As Christians, we must go outside the church's walls and take the gospel's truth to a lost and dying world. God will do His part, and we must do our part.
In the book Tactics, the author calls this the "100 percent God and 100 percent man. I am wholly responsible for my side of the ledger, and God is entirely responsible for his. I focus on being faithful, but I trust God to be effective. Some will respond, and some will not. The results are his concern, not mine." [1]
As we engage the world, we must rely on God.
Even though Elijah was obedient and did his part, he still relied on God. Elijah knew he needed God to bring down the fire. Elijah could build the altar and call out to God but knew God needed to bring the fire. But notice, as you read this story, Elijah seems arrogant as he taunted the prophets of Baal. Verse 27 states, "And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, "Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened." The truth is that Elijah was not arrogant, but he was confident. He was not confident in himself but in God. This reminds us of David when he faced Goliath. The reason David was confident he could defeat Goliath was not in himself but because of God. David remembered how God had protected him in the wilderness from bears and lions as he was caring for the sheep. David knew if God protected him in the wilderness, God would protect him against this giant.
As we seek to live out the Christian life and engage the community and world with the gospel, we must be confident—not in ourselves but in God. No matter what happens in this world, God is in control and more powerful than anything, so we can be confident that God is with us, is on our side, and will lead us to victory. This does not mean we will not suffer. We will suffer. We will be persecuted, but at the end of the day, Christ will lead us to victory. John 16:33: "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world."
We must also depend on God for salvation. As Christians, our role is to go and share the gospel, but it's God's role to convict and draw people to Himself. This is why God gives us the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us and leads and guides us. It is the Spirit who not only leads and guides us but also convicts our hearts and reveals the truth. Sam Chan states, "It is God who sends the fire. God pours out his Spirit. God opens the heart of the person hearing the good news. God sovereignly and supernaturally rebirths the person, moving them from darkness to light, from death to life." [2]
As we engage the world, we must expose their false God.
In The Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy and the others get to the Emerald City and approach the Great Wizard, they are terrified until Toto pulls back the curtain and exposes the real Wizard, an ordinary man. When the curtain opened, it exposed the Wizard as a fraud who could truly do nothing. In this story, Elijah pulls back the curtain and exposes Baal as a fraud who can do nothing. He revealed to these prophets that their god can never give them peace, hope, or satisfaction; ultimately, their gods can never truly save them. These prophets called out to their god, but their god never came.
The world is looking for truth, hope, peace, and satisfaction but looking for it in the wrong places. It seeks false gods that can never satisfy or bring hope and peace. Blasé Paschal states, "We hunt for happiness but find only misery and death. We cannot stop wishing for truth and happiness, and yet are incapable of finding either." [3]Elijah was revealing to these prophets there was no hope in their false god. Phillip Ryken states, "Elijah had to disprove Baal before he could prove God. He had to show that no other god can stand in the ring with the God of Israel." [4]
As we engage the culture, we must first understand their worldview and then debunk their beliefs and worldview. We must reveal to them their false gods can do nothing for them, and ultimately, their gods will only lead them to death and destruction. We see their end in verse 40: "And Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape." And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there."
Tolkien's Lord of the Rings[5] centers around a powerful ring, and anyone who possesses it becomes enslaved to it. This ring is evil, and it not only enslaves you, but it slowly destroys you. Even though they want to be free of the ring, you cannot help but desire it. A group of people led by a Hobbit named Frodo are carrying the ring to the fires of Mount Doom to destroy it. As they reach Mount Doom, there is another character named Gollum who once possessed the ring and wanted it back. Even though the ring did terrible things to him, he could not escape it. When the ring ultimately gets thrown into the fire, Gollum jumps in after it to his death. That is how powerful this ring was. It was a false god that enslaved Gollum and only led to his death and destruction. The truth is that this is like every false god. They are evil and slowly destroy you, and no matter how much you want to be free and need to be free, you cannot help but desire them.
As we engage the world, we must point them to Jesus and the gospel.
Throughout this story, we continue to see Elijah pointing these prophets to the true God and the gospel's truth. Verses 32-35 "and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. And he said, "Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood." And he said, "Do it a second time." And they did it a second time. And he said, "Do it a third time." And they did it a third time. And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water."
Elijah takes these twelve stones and makes a trench. He takes the wood, cuts the bull into pieces, and lays it on the wood. Now, watch what he does. He has the people fill four jars with water and pour it on the offering. He does this three times. Notice he calls the sacrifice a burnt offering. This is a reference to atonement. As the people poured water on the sacrifice, this symbolizes putting or laying their sins on the altar to be atoned for. This is a picture of the gospel. We are all sinners in need of God to save us. Because of His love and mercy, He sent Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice, to come and take our sins to the cross and pay the penalty of our sins so that we can be saved, forgiven, and reconciled back to God. Like the people, we poured our sins onto Jesus, and he was killed on the cross for our sins.
Listen to Isaiah 53:5-6, "But he was pierced for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned-every-one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
This passage also points to the gospel because the people did nothing for their salvation. They merely poured or laid down their sins, and God provided them with atonement. The truth is that we can never do anything to earn our salvation. Only Jesus can save us. Ephesians 2:8-9 states, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Verses 36-38: "And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, "O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back. Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench."
Elijah calls out to God to answer his prayer and, by answering his prayer, make Himself known as the true and only God. Remember, the prophets of Baal had called out to their God, but he did not answer, and Elijah was now calling out to his God. The purpose of this whole event was to reveal who the real God was. As Elijah called out to God to bring down fire, God brought fire and burned up the sacrifice. He showed himself as the only true God by bringing down the fire. By God bringing down the fire, He also atoned for the people's sins. This is another picture of the gospel. Remember, the people had poured out the water on the offering, symbolizing laying their sins on the offering, and when God sent down the fire and burnt up the offering, it symbolized God atoning for the people's sins.
As we engage the culture, we must not only debunk their beliefs and worldview but also point them to the truth of the gospel. We must reveal that Jesus is the only one who can truly save us, forgive us of our sins, and reconcile us to a relationship with God. Jesus is the only one who can give us true peace, hope, joy, and satisfaction. The world is looking for these things, and we know where they can find them, and His name is Jesus.
Conclusion
The truth is that God could do anything he wants to spread the gospel and His kingdom. He could shout out the gospel from the heavens. He could spray out John 3:16 in the sky, but in God's sovereignty, He has chosen to use His people to work through to spread the gospel and His kingdom, and we must be obedient, and we must trust and depend on Him, and we must Go. In his book How to Talk about Jesus (Without Being That Guy), Sam Chan states, "We must play our part in evangelism. The gospel belongs to God. But he chooses to use us to tell it in our natural and mundane human words….using our own personal relationships, listening skills, personalities, experiences, stories, emotions and gospel outlines." [6]
Are you doing your part for the Great Commission? Are you investing in others, building relationships, and sharing the truth of the gospel?
Are you going into your communities and nations with the hope of the gospel?
Are you trusting and depending on the Lord as you share the gospel with the world? Are you allowing the Spirit to lead, guide, and empower you?
[1] Gregory Koukl, Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2019).
[2] Sam Chan, How to Talk About Jesus: Without Being that Guy (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020).
[3] Blasé Paschal, Pensees(Penquin Classics, 1995).
[4] Phillip Ryken, Reformed Expository Commentary: 1 Kings (P&R Publishing, 2011).
[5] Lord of the Rings movie 2002
[6] Sam Chan, How to Talk About Jesus: Without Being that Guy (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020).