The Living Word of God: 1 Kings 18:20–24
“Ahab … sent for all the Israelites and gathered the prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah went up to the people and said, ‘How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him!’ But the people said nothing.” (18:20–22a)
As soon as the king accepted the prophet's command, he obeyed and had the people and the prophets gathered on the mountain. They come to see Elijah and to find out what his power looks like, but also to listen to the king and respond to Elijah's challenge through their obedience. This is one side of their being. The other is their service to Baal, their continued resistance to God.
Elijah sees them before him. He recognizes the part of obedience they have shown, but he cannot be satisfied with it. For it is inconsistent with their disobedience to God, and there is no sign of anyone among the people making an effort to bridge this contradiction. Elijah is wholly devoted to God; he considers himself the only remaining prophet. Whenever he acts, it is so evident in the name of God that there is no visible conflict between God and him. There is no lack of alignment, no wavering, no imperfection in his service. God's voice speaks to him; he speaks as a prophet, and through his words, the listeners hear the word of God. His mediation is flawless. And when he now rebukes the people and they do not want to continue to endure their limping between two opinions, it is done in God's name. For him, God's word is the only valid truth.
Even the king, who listened to Elijah, does not stand on his side. He stands with the people. Among all the limpers, he is the greatest. And thus, God's demand for absolute following becomes all the more apparent. God can never be satisfied with a yes, but attitude. He also does not allow those who belong to him to consider the limpers as walking straight. Just as He demands, He also asks of His prophets: everything, without exception.
“...but there are four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal. Let them bring us two bulls. Let them choose one bull, cut it into pieces and lay it on the wood, but they must not set fire to it. I will do the same with the other bull: I will lay it on the wood, but will not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The God who answers by fire, he is God.” The people all answered, “What you say is good.” (18:22b–24)
Elijah stands before the people alone. This solitude is similar to the loneliness of the Son on the cross, who stands before the sin of the whole world and fights against it by bearing it himself. This battle here looks different. It remains a confrontation, a statement of realities that, through the silence of the people, become even clearer. In his speech to the people, Elijah first gives what seems to be a neutral proposal. He gives both the true and the false God the same chance in the eyes of the people. For himself, who believes, there is no neutrality. He knows: God is with him; He will not abandon him, he himself acts in the greatest obedience – and now it is time. Now that God's voice has sent him to the king, a decision must be made. And his obedience allows him to follow a path about which he initially knows no more than that he simply set out on it, in accordance with his truth and mission.
The true God is to answer by fire. For Elijah, it is decided; for the people, the question remains open: Who will answer? The people go along with the game: the chances are the same, and they fundamentally risk nothing themselves. They have nothing against following the more powerful God. And if there really were a connection between the prophet's word and the drought, it is good to give him and his God a chance. These sinners have really not committed themselves to either the false or the true God. Everything remains a matter of chance: what fits better at the moment. The people's agreement cannot be taken as an expression of their opinion, at most as consent to the spectacle offered.
Excerpted from the book: Elijah
Author: Adrienne von Speyr
Published by: KNA
