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15 Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts lives, before Whom I stand, I will surely show myself to Ahab today.
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, Are you he who troubles Israel?
18 Elijah replied, I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, by forsaking the commandments of the Lord and by following the Baals.
19 Therefore send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of [the goddess] Asherah, who eat at [Queen] Jezebel’s table.
20 So Ahab sent to all the Israelites and assembled the prophets at Mount Carmel.
21 Elijah came near to all the people and said, How long will you halt and limp between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him! But if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word.
22 Then Elijah said to the people, I, I only, remain a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men.
23 Let two bulls be given us; let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood but put no fire to it. I will dress the other bull, lay it on the wood, and put no fire to it.
24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the One Who answers by fire, let Him be God. And all the people answered, It is well spoken.
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, Choose one bull for yourselves and dress it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.
26 So they took the bull given them, dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, O Baal, hear and answer us! But there was no voice; no one answered. And they leaped upon or limped about the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah mocked them, saying, Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is musing, or he has gone aside, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.
28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with knives and lances until the blood gushed out upon them.
29 Midday passed, and they played the part of prophets until the time for offering the evening sacrifice, but there was no voice, no answer, no one who paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me. And all the people came near him. And he repaired the [old] altar of the Lord that had been broken down [by Jezebel].
31 Then Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be your name.
32 And with the stones Elijah built an altar in the name [and self-revelation] of the Lord. He made a trench about the altar as great as would contain two measures of seed.
33 He put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood and said, Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and the wood.
34 And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.
35 The water ran round about the altar, and he filled the trench also with water.
36 At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, O Lord, the 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.
37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You, the Lord, are God, and have turned their hearts back [to You].
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust, and also licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and they said, The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!
40 And Elijah said, Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one escape. They seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and [as God’s law required] slew them there.
While we know the story most don’t know the tale of the story.
Its very simple, it doesn’t matter what you think your importance is as it relates to status or position in the world, in God’s kingdom, He has determined who He wants to be His “TRUE” Leaders.
Ahab was Jezebel’s puppet even though he was the man, which is the first problem. God determined the order in the garden, Gen 3:16, and at no point has he changed this.
When REAL Men of God know who they are and whose they are, you will find that nothing or no one will shake them or put any fear in them.
Elijah took on all of Jezebel’s prophets and embarrassed them in front of everyone to see how great his God was and is and also what happens when you attempt to challenge God.
If there is strife or division within the churches in the community and neighborhood, know that Satan has crept into the heart and mind of some of the “so-called” pastors and until it is dealt with, things will never get better.
I will never question the anointing or calling of another man of God, BUT, when your actions contradict the Word of God, I will question your actions.
The sin of silence was the first sin in the Garden when Adam stood there and let Satan beguile Eve without saying a word.
Till next week,
God Bless.
Rev. Dr. Robert L. Harrison, PhD – pastorrobharrison@gmail.com, @drrobharrison, Robert Bob Harrison (Facebook)
Pastor – The Apostolic Open Door Church of God & True Holiness – 2800 41st Ave. N, St. Pete
First Vice President – NAACP St. Petersburg Branch
Chaplain – Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Pinellas
Parent Support for Education Council Member | Chaplain – Dept. Juvenile Justice for Circuit 6
