1 Kings

1 Kings 18: The LORD answers with fire

Begin in prayer

Before we read about Elijah on Mount Carmel, let us come to the Lord together. Ask Him to show us that He alone is God, and to turn our hearts back to Him.

For great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised! He is to be feared above all gods.

Psalm 96:4

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that You alone are God, and help us to trust You and Your Son, Jesus. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

In the third year of the famine, the LORD tells Elijah to show himself to Ahab. Obadiah, who feared the LORD, hides one hundred prophets. Elijah meets Ahab, who calls him a troubler of Israel, and Elijah tells him to gather all Israel on Mount Carmel. There Elijah asks how long the people will waver between two sides, and they do not answer him. The prophets of Baal call on their god from morning until noon, but there is no voice and no answer. Elijah repairs the LORD's altar, and the fire of the LORD falls, and the people say that the LORD is God.

As you read 1 Kings 18, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The LORD alone is God, and He showed it by answering Elijah with fire.

In the third year of the famine, the LORD told Elijah to show himself to Ahab (verses 1 and 2). Ahab called Elijah the troubler of Israel, but Elijah said Ahab had forsaken the LORD and followed the Baals (verses 17 and 18). On Mount Carmel Elijah asked how long the people would waver between two sides, and they did not say a word (verse 21). Elijah proposed a test, that the God who answers by fire would be God (verse 24). The prophets of Baal called on their god from morning until noon, and there was no voice and no answer (verses 26 to 29). Elijah repaired the LORD's altar and prayed that the people would know the LORD is God (verses 30 to 37). The LORD's fire fell, and the people fell on their faces and said that the LORD is God (verses 38 and 39). Then Elijah prayed, and the LORD sent rain, ending the drought He had announced (verses 41 to 45). Christ was revealed once to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Hebrews 9 verse 26).

How does 1 Kings 18 show us that the LORD alone is God, and that He showed it by answering Elijah with fire?

The LORD answers Elijah by fire.

Elijah called on the LORD, and the LORD's fire fell on the offering (verses 36 to 38). The prophets of Baal called from morning until noon, and no voice answered (verses 26 and 29). Elijah had said that the God who answers by fire is God (verse 24).

The people turn back to the LORD.

The people fell on their faces and said that the LORD is God (verse 39). They had agreed that the God who answers by fire should be God (verse 24). Elijah had asked that the heart of the people be turned back to the LORD (verse 37).

Christ put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

The fire of the LORD fell in answer to Elijah's prayer (verses 37 and 38). The fire showed all Israel that the LORD is God (verse 39). The blood of bulls and goats can never take away sins (Hebrews 10 verse 4). Christ was revealed once, at the end of the ages, to put away sin by sacrificing Himself (Hebrews 9 verse 26).

Memorise

Yahweh, he is God! Yahweh, he is God!

1 Kings 18:39

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, do I waver between the LORD and other gods, and will I trust Jesus?

Elijah asked how long the people would waver between two sides. Then they fell on their faces and said that the LORD is God. Jesus calls every heart to choose, and He is the one all must come to.

Wavering hearts like ours cannot pay for their own sin, and the blood of bulls and goats never could. Jesus offered Himself for His people once, at the end of the ages, to put sin away. He was raised, and He lives to save. His one offering is enough.

So come to Him, turn from your sin, and put your trust in Jesus. Do not waver between two sides. Those who draw near to God through Him are made clean, and He saves them to the uttermost.

Parent's note

Tell your children that the LORD alone is God, and that Jesus offered Himself to put away sin. Parents, in verse 40 Elijah carries out Moses' law against false prophets (Deuteronomy 13 verse 5), and that is not ours today. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He alone is God, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burdens, even the God who is our salvation.

Psalm 68:19

Father, thank You that You alone are God, and that You answer Your people. Thank You for Jesus, who offered Himself once for sin. Please give each of us a turning heart, and help us to trust Jesus. Help us to serve You alone this week. Amen.