I Kings 18:26-29

Perhaps Baal hasn’t sent fire because he has been on the toilet all day?

The Lord had a sense of humor when He sent Elijah by himself to battle against 450 prophets of Baal. Elijah used language on Mount Carmel used nowhere else in Scripture to mock the foolish prophets of a foolish idol.

The folly of the priests of Baal is staggering. In hundreds of years of receiving worship, Baal had never performed one deed great or small. Baal was an idol made of stone. It had a mouth but could not speak; eyes but could not see; ears but could not hear; a nose but could not smell; hands but could not feel; feet but could not walk; it could not make a sound in its throat, and those that trusted in this idol became like the idol itself (Psalm 115:4-8).

Despite Baal’s perfect history of doing nothing except bringing pain and misery to its followers, when the 450 prophets of Baal were presented with the impossible challenge, they accepted it. They cried all day from morning until noon, screaming “O Baal, answer us!” (19:26). But no answer came, no voice was heard. Such is the folly of those who go seeking after other gods. They are left helpless and hopeless in their hour of need. No one hears them.

Rather than give up at the end of the morning, the prophets continued into the afternoon with new fervor, even cutting themselves with swords and knives until blood gushed out upon them “after their custom”* (vs. 28). This is the requirement of the gods of the world, torture of the flesh in hope of receiving a favorable response that will never come.

All day they “raved on” (18:29), even until the time of the evening sacrifice to the Lord, but there was no voice, no one answered, no one paid attention, and most certainly, there was no fire. As the day ended, the prophets of Baal may have been passing out from loss of blood and running around. Their reward for such deeds was to be a picture for all of history of the folly of idol worship.

During the day, Elijah was not silent. He waited until noon watching the spectacle, but then he began to loudly mock the prophets of Baal. He taunted them and their god. Elijah suggested that perhaps Baal was talking to someone, or on the toilet, or on a journey, or asleep (18:27).

God reserves greater condemnation for those who lead others astray, and Elijah demonstrated that at Mount Carmel. Elijah rebuked the foolish Israelites for their foolish ways, but he mocked and scorned the wicked prophets of Baal. Jesus interacted with Israel in much the same way during His ministry. He saved His most critical judgment for the leaders of Israel; the Pharisees, Scribes, and Sadducees. But to the wretched sinner, He most often taught them and gently called them to repentance and faith.

Elijah’s taunts reflect a theological point about the true God that we must not miss as we draw closer to the climax of the battle at Mount Carmel. The true and the living God never slumbers or sleeps. He always hears the cry of His children and answers them. The gods of the world, whether they be stone idols or an image supposedly of Jesus Christ Himself, will never answer. They cannot answer. They are simply idols, the creation of men’s hands. “Yea, one shall cry unto it, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble” (Isaiah 46:7b). Let us repent of such foolishness in our own lives and look in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is not silent but has spoken in His Word by His Spirit and who answers the prayers of His people.

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*This reminds me of the child sacrifices made to the god Molech (Jeremiah 32:35); the torture plans of Nebuchadnezzar for those who did not bow down in the plains of Dura (Daniel 3); and the madness of the people at Ephesus who worshipped Diana and screamed for hours (Acts 19:28-34).

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