The account of Elijah's miraculous calling down of fire from heaven to consume a sacrifice is one of the most dramatic demonstrations of God's power in the Old Testament. This event is recorded in 1 Kings 18 and serves as a pivotal moment in the ministry of the prophet Elijah, highlighting his role as a servant of God and a defender of true worship against idolatry.

Context and Background

The miracle takes place during a time of great apostasy in Israel. King Ahab, influenced by his wife Jezebel, had led the nation into the worship of Baal, a Canaanite deity. This idolatry provoked the Lord to send a severe drought upon the land as a form of judgment. Elijah, whose name means "My God is Yahweh," was called by God to confront this spiritual decline and to demonstrate the supremacy of the God of Israel.

The Challenge on Mount Carmel

Elijah's confrontation with the prophets of Baal occurs on Mount Carmel. Elijah proposes a test to reveal the true God: "Let them give us two bulls. Let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood, but not light the fire. And I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood, but not light the fire. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The God who answers by fire, He is God" (1 Kings 18:23-24).

The prophets of Baal accept the challenge and spend the entire day calling upon their god, but there is no response. They engage in frenzied rituals, even cutting themselves, yet Baal remains silent.

Elijah's Prayer and the Miracle

At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah repairs the altar of the LORD, using twelve stones to represent the twelve tribes of Israel. He then prepares the sacrifice and commands that it be drenched with water, ensuring that only a divine act could ignite it. Elijah prays, "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 have done all these things at Your command. Answer me, O LORD! Answer me, so that this people will know that You, O LORD, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back again" (1 Kings 18:36-37).

In response to Elijah's prayer, "the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench" (1 Kings 18:38). This miraculous event leads the people to fall on their faces and proclaim, "The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!" (1 Kings 18:39).

Significance

The miracle of the fire consuming the sacrifice serves multiple purposes. It vindicates Elijah as a true prophet of God and reaffirms the LORD's sovereignty over creation. It also exposes the impotence of false gods and calls the people of Israel back to covenant faithfulness. This event underscores the power of prayer and the importance of faithfulness to God's commands, as demonstrated by Elijah's obedience and trust in the LORD.

The miracle on Mount Carmel remains a powerful testament to God's ability to intervene in human history and to reveal His glory through His chosen servants.1 Kings 18:36,38
And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of 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.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Book I.
... would not be due to me, but to Him who wrought in me ... are all workers of miracles? ...
or in penitence which is a copy of the grace of baptism, through the ineffable ...
//christianbookshelf.org/jerome/the principal works of st jerome/book i.htm

The Return to Capernaum - Concerning the Forgiveness of Sins - the ...
... as to be let down from the roof through the broken ... in whom the Scribes would feign
have wrought disbelief, not ... manner could the object alike of miracles and of ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xvi the return to.htm

Beginning at Jerusalem. --Luke xxiv. 47.
... only despised his person, doctrine, and miracles, but that a ... to work upon, as will,
if wrought up to ... shines, when it worketh towards Christ, through the sides ...
/.../bunyan/jerusalem sinner saved/beginning at jerusalem luke xxiv 47.htm

A Few Sighs from Hell;
... He performed the most astonishing miracles"His doctrines ... the saddest condition, yet
they, through unbelief, or ... men, there are bondmen or servants, and slaves ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/a few sighs from hell.htm

The Jerusalem Sinner Saved;
... and accept of mercy at God's hand through me, lest ... only despised his person, doctrine,
and miracles, but that ... means of his salvation, he has wrought upon them ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/the jerusalem sinner saved.htm

Another Wonderful Record of 25.
... to that faith to say, the age of miracles is past ... so impressed with the thought of
him, and so wrought upon that ... After a jaunt through the storm and snow in the ...
/.../various/the wonders of prayer/another wonderful record of 25 00.htm

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