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Elijah and the contest on Mount Carmel

A choice between God and false idols.
CC BY-SA
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Elijah had announced God would send great famine in Isreal as a punishment for turning away from God to worship a false idol called Baal. Three years later, not a drop of rain had fallen on the land. Elijah had left the country to live in a town in Phoenicia called Zarephath. <br/>God then told Elijah, ‘Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.’ – Slide 1
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On his way Elijah met Obadiah and he sent him to King Ahab to arrange a meeting. – Slide 2
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When King Ahab met Elijah, he said to him, ‘Is that you, you troubler of Israel?’ <br/>Elijah replied. “You and your family are the ones causing the trouble by abandoning the Lord’s commands and worshipping Baal. Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred other false prophets under the control of your wife Jezebel. – Slide 3
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So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel for the people to assemble along with all the prophets of Baal and other false gods on Mount Carmel. – Slide 4
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Elijah stood before the people. He said, ‘How long will you try to serve both Baal and the Lord? If the Lord is the true God, follow Him. But if Baal is the true God, follow him! <br/>But the people remained silent. – Slide 5
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Elijah continued, ‘So bring two bulls. Let the prophets of Baal choose one bull and sacrifice it. But they are not to set fire to it. Then I will do the same with the other bull. You prophets of Baal, pray to your god. And I will pray to the Lord. The god who answers the prayer will set fire to his wood. He is the true God.’ – Slide 6
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Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, ‘There are many of you. So you go first. Pray to your god, but don’t start the fire.’ <br/>So they took the bull that was given to them and prepared it. They prayed to Baal from morning until noon. They shouted, ‘Baal, answer us!’ But there was no sound. No one answered. They danced around the altar they had built. – Slide 7
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At noon Elijah began to make fun of them. He said, ‘Pray louder! If Baal really is a god, maybe he is thinking. Or maybe he is busy or traveling! Maybe he is sleeping so you will have to wake him! – Slide 8
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So the prophets prayed louder and more frantically. The afternoon passed, and the prophets continued to act wildly. They continued until it was time for the evening sacrifice. But no voice was heard. Baal did not answer. No one paid attention. – Slide 9
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Then Elijah said to all the people, ‘Now come to me.’ So they gathered around him. Elijah rebuilt the altar of the Lord because it had been torn down. – Slide 10
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He took 12 stones. He took 1 stone for each of the 12 tribes. <br/>Elijah used these stones to rebuild the altar in honour of the Lord. Then he dug a small ditch around it. Elijah put the wood on the altar. He cut the bull into pieces and laid them on the wood. – Slide 11
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Then he said, ‘Fill four jars with water. Put the water on the meat and on the wood.’ – Slide 12
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Then Elijah said, ‘Do it again.’ And they did it again. <br/>Then he said, ‘Do it a third time.’ And they did it the third time. So the water ran off the altar and filled the ditch. – Slide 13
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It was time for the evening sacrifice. So the prophet Elijah went near the altar. He prayed, ‘Lord, you are the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel. I ask you now to prove that you are the God of Israel. And prove that I am your servant. Show these people that you commanded me to do all these things. Lord, answer my prayer. Show these people that you, Lord, are God. Then the people will know that you are bringing them back to you.’ – Slide 14
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Then fire from the Lord came down. It burned the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the ground around the altar. It also dried up the water in the ditch. – Slide 15
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When all the people saw this, they fell down to the ground. They cried, ’The Lord is God! The Lord is God!’ <br/>Then Elijah said, ‘Capture the prophets of Baal! Don’t let any of them run away!’ So the people captured all the false prophets. – Slide 16
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Then Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Now, go, eat and drink. A heavy rain is coming.’ So King Ahab went to eat and drink. At the same time Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel. – Slide 17
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There he bent down to the ground with his head between his knees. <br/>Then Elijah said to his servant, ‘Go and look toward the sea.’ <br/>The servant went and looked. He said, ‘I see a clear sky.’ – Slide 18
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Elijah prayed again told his servant to go and look a second time. He returned to report there was not a cloud in the sky. – Slide 19
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This happened seven times. – Slide 20
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Elijah sent his servant to look again. This time the servant returned and reported, ‘I see a small cloud. It’s the size of a man’s fist. It’s coming from the sea.’ – Slide 21
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Elijah told the servant, ‘Go to Ahab. Tell him to get his chariot ready and to go home now. If he doesn’t leave now, the rain will stop him.’ <br/>After a short time, the sky was covered with dark clouds. The wind began to blow. Then a heavy rain began to fall. – Slide 22
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Ahab got in his chariot and started back to Jezreel. The Lord gave His power to Elijah. Elijah tightened his clothes around him. Then he ran ahead of King Ahab all the way to Jezreel. It was about the same distance as a marathon run. – Slide 23
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