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This morning, I would like to begin with a question, a potentially dangerous and frustrating question that has been asked for centuries. “What do you want to eat?” We have all had this question drag us into an endless, frustrating debate. Someone says they don’t care, you go back and forth proposing ideas, only to have each one shot down. You are surrounded by good options, but everyone is paralyzed by indecision. That same paralysis, that same refusal to decide, is exactly what we find in 1 Kings 18.

Leading up to 1 Kings 18, Israel is spiritually and physically starving. A famine has gripped the land for years, the result of a drought sent by the Lord. This drought was because the wicked King Ahab had married the pagan Jezebel. Jezebel used her position to establish the worship of a false storm god known as Baal. Quickly, Baal worship had become the national religion of Israel.

During this time, the Lord’s prophets were persecuted and killed. Eventually, Elijah was one of the few remaining prophets in the northern kingdom of Israel. Elijah himself had been on the run from Jezebel and her forces for years.

Our people are desperate for rain and food. The solution is simple: choose the Lord and repent of our sins. But our people refuse to make that choice. They are frozen by apathy and indecision, unwilling to choose between Adonai and an idol. They faced the same decision we all do. Everyone must decide who they will serve wholeheartedly: Adonai, the True King who answers His servants, or an empty, dead idol that dazzles the world but delivers nothing.

Even though Baal worship had been aggressively promoted, not everyone enthusiastically embraced these pagan practices. Many tried to worship Baal and the Lord. But everything dramatically changes in 1 Kings 18, when Elijah confronts Ahab and challenges his false prophets of Baal to a spiritual battle. Elijah tells Ahab to bring 450 prophets of Baal, along with the people of Israel, to Mount Carmel. There, the question will be answered once and for all: Who is truly God: Adonai or Baal? Ahab accepts this challenge and summons the false prophets and the people.

We pick up in 1 Kings 18:21, just before the confrontation, as Elijah addresses the assembled people of Israel.

Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling [limping] between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent.

Elijah’s question to our people reveals the purpose of this entire conflict. Our people are limping, unwilling to truly commit to the Lord or to Baal. They are trapped in a loop of silent indecision, trying to do a spiritual hokey pokey: one foot in for Baal worship, the other foot in for worshipping Adonai. Now they will be forced to decide, to choose in this very moment whom they will follow.

Elijah ignores the silence of this vast crowd. He does not try to argue with them. Instead, he knows what is about to happen will truly show who really is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Elijah states he is the only prophet of the Lord left to stand against this idolatry. Assembled to represent Baal are 450 false prophets. Elijah then explains what is about to happen. There will be two altars and two sacrifices, but no one is allowed to start a fire. The God who answers by fire is the true God, and the other is an idol.

What is interesting about this contest is that, from an earthly perspective, everything seems designed to give Baal an advantage. Mount Carmel was a sacred site for Baal. Fire from heaven was considered favorable as well, since Baal was supposed to be a storm god. And, of course, there are 450 Baal worshipers versus one servant of Adonai.

This imbalance was intentional, meant to prove to the crowd, without a doubt, that Adonai is superior to a fake idol. Afterward, no one could argue that the contest had been rigged for the Lord, the way people complain after their favorite sports team loses.

After the rules are explained, everyone agrees, and the contest begins. It is also worth noting that no one expected both sides to be victorious. There were no “Coexist, every god is equal” shirts in this crowd. Only one God would win.

The 450 prophets are invited to go first, and they build their altar. Then, 450 people begin to dance and shout to Baal. As a number on a page, it might not seem impressive, but consider how many people are in our congregation right now. Then double that number and imagine everyone shouting and dancing together. Picture the sound of hundreds of feet stomping on the ground and the sheer force of their voices like thunder as they cried out to Baal.

It would have been an impressive, and frankly intimidating, sight. Many in the crowd would have thought something spectacular was about to happen. With such effort, Baal would answer with fire, and the contest would be over. Verse 26 tells us what happens:

So they prepared one of the bulls and placed it on the altar. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noontime, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no reply of any kind. Then they danced, hobbling [limping] around the altar they had made.

For all their shouting, pounding of feet, dancing, and limping around the altar, absolutely nothing happens. The word for limping, or hobbling, is the same one used to describe the crowd’s indecision. There is an intentional connection between the limping of our people and the limping of these false prophets. This is a point we will return to later. But in this verse, we see there is no response to all this shouting and dancing. No one at all answers.

In a contest designed to favor their god, Baal is silent. Remember, this goes on for several hours. Imagine how the crowd would feel watching the same dancing and shouting, continuing with nothing to show for it. These false prophets are pouring all their energy and faith into this ceremony, thinking they will finally be rid of Elijah, but nothing happens. However, things change at noon. A powerful voice is heard, but it is not the voice of Baal.

About noontime Elijah began mocking them. “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!”

Elijah was many things: a prophet, a Tishbite, a Gileadite. But here in verse 27, we see he possessed another skill, the ability to mock with scathing sarcasm. Online trolls, who intentionally provoke people, could learn a thing or two from Elijah in this verse.

Some argue that this mocking was sinful, but I do not believe Elijah is sinning. These false prophets deserve this treatment because of how they led God’s people into idolatry. They have persecuted and killed His people, and now they are challenging the Lord directly. Elijah’s mocking also benefits the crowd. These people are stumbling in their indecision. But nothing has happened for hours, and Elijah can even blaspheme Baal with no consequences. It all shows how completely useless Baal is. If Baal were real, he should have killed Elijah for his comments.

Going back to Elijah’s actual insults, they are more than just biting sarcasm. Elijah offers four “reasons” for Baal’s silence. Maybe he is lost in thought? Maybe he is using the toilet? Maybe he is out of town enjoying a nice vacation? These are insults that would work well today. But the final “reason” is very clever, maybe Baal is asleep? Maybe if you shout louder, he will finally hear you? In these insults, we see Elijah’s confidence. He is not arrogantly trusting in his own power; he is completely certain that Adonai is Lord, not Baal.

Things are now getting more tense. Baal has been blasphemed, nothing has happened, and Elijah is turning the crowd to his side. Baal’s prophets are now desperate, and they latch on to Elijah’s last suggestion, which I think was intentional on Elijah’s part. In verse 28, they decide to shout even louder:

So they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out.

Screaming and shouting even louder, they begin their dancing again. But still nothing has happened, so they employ their final strategy to make Baal respond. They begin cutting themselves until blood gushes around them. If things weren’t intense before, they certainly are now. These aren’t tiny cuts; swords are involved. This is severe bloodletting, grotesque self-mutilation, combined with hours of frantic shouting and chanting from 450 people. After performing for hours, they would be covered in blood, and so would the ground. It is a perverse and intimidating sight. So, what happens after hours of yelling and bleeding?

They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply, no response.

They have raved for hours, using a word that usually means to prophesy. Their mindless, fake prophetic acts have accomplished absolutely nothing. Verse 29 is completely damning: there was no sound, no reply, no response. Nothing supernatural has happened. All that remains after hours of this spectacle is 450 exhausted, bleeding, and raving false prophets.

The prophets of Baal teach us what every false religion, every kind of faith rooted in this fallen world, really offers us. They have a great many people, sometimes thousands or millions, following a false god or belief. They often have a great deal of impressive spectacle: ceremonies that seem grand, grotesque, or overwhelming, often endorsed by famous and powerful people. But despite the people, despite the spectacle, it all leads to a great deal of nothing. No real transformation, no Shalom, and no abundant life in this world or the world-to-come. So false religions have a lot of people and a lot of spectacle, but really a lot of nothing.

At this point, Baal’s prophets are finished. Now it is Elijah’s turn, and unsurprisingly, he is the exact opposite of these false prophets. First, Elijah calls the people to come near him. They respond and show they are willing to make a physical choice, though not yet a spiritual one. Still, they are moving, literally, toward Elijah and the Lord.

Elijah then rebuilds the altar of the Lord that had been torn down in this place. Elijah deliberately chooses twelve stones, one for each of the tribes. This was an intentional reminder to the crowd about their history. They were not always pagan or indecisive; they are supposed to be Adonai’s people, like their ancestors.

Elijah then modifies the altar by adding a trench around it. He has the crowd pour water over the sacrifice and the wood three times, filling the trench with gallons of water. This would have shocked the crowd. Now it is even harder for the sacrifice to burn; it is soaked in water.

But this is a very deliberate choice. No one can accuse Elijah of cheating or using a trick, because no human being could light this fire. It also makes what is about to happen even more impressive, displaying the infinite power of Adonai. Elijah then begins to pray in front of the altar in verses 36-37:

At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.”

At the regularly appointed time to worship the Lord, Elijah alone walks up to the altar. There is no dancing, no shouting for hours, no cutting, no empty spectacle. Elijah’s prayer is in a style Rabbi Loren loves: short, simple, and direct. Elijah asks the Lord to show His people that He is God in Israel, and that Elijah is His servant acting according to His will. Elijah also prays that the Lord will answer, so that Ahab and all those assembled will repent and return to Adonai. Elijah is not focused on winning a contest; he is praying for the restoration and repentance of the people of Israel.

Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench!

Immediately after this prayer, the Lord answers Elijah. There is no delay when the Lord acts. The sacrifice, the wood, the dust, and every drop of water are instantly consumed by the fire of God. The Lord’s answer is not small; it is overwhelming. Nothing is left. No obstacle can stop the power of Adonai.

And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The Lord—he is God! Yes, the Lord is God!” Then Elijah commanded, “Seize all the prophets of Baal. Don’t let a single one escape!” So the people seized them all, and Elijah took them down to the Kishon Valley and killed them there.

Seeing the display of the Lord’s power, our people fall on their faces in worship and declare, Adonai Hu HaElohim, “The Lord, He is God.” Elijah calls them to act on their faith. He commands them to show their devotion to the Lord and their rejection of Baal by killing these false prophets. The crowd obeys, and all 450 false prophets are killed. The hearts of this crowd have turned back to the Lord. They have moved from silence and indecision to declaring their faith and acting on it.

At this point, you might think the story is over, but one more person still needs to be addressed: the silent observer of these events, King Ahab. Ahab has just watched 450 of his prophets mocked, utterly defeated, and then executed. Adonai, the God of his fathers, has demonstrated His power, and the crowd has repented.

1 Kings 18 ends with Elijah approaching Ahab and telling him to go back to Jezreel, because heavy rains are finally coming and the three-year drought is over. Ahab obeys Elijah, a wise decision, and rushes back to Jezreel. Elijah then prays to the Lord, the One who truly controls the storms, and it begins to rain. The chapter ends on a cliffhanger: Ahab has returned to Jezreel and Jezebel. Elijah is also now in Jezreel, having been given supernatural speed to reach the same city before Ahab. Next week, Lord willing, we will see how Jezebel responds to these events and how it affects Elijah.

This powerful story illustrates the result of the choices in our lives. Trusting in the Lord brings life. Elijah is saved, vindicated, and given an answer to his righteous prayer. Trusting in a false idol brings death. The prophets of Baal learned this lesson at the cost of their lives. Our lives lead to the same choice: everlasting life with the Lord, or death through rejecting our Creator.

We must make a choice, and we must make the right one. One of the most dangerous traps is thinking that indecision, that simply waiting, is neutral. But limping is not neutral. Remember how, in verse 21, Elijah asked how long the crowd would limp between two opinions? Remember how, in verse 26, the prophets of Baal limped around their altar? God wants us to see the crowd and the false prophets as connected. It is a sobering warning. To try to walk two paths does not place us on a safe “middle ground.” It firmly aligns us with Baal, against God, on the path that leads to destruction.

We cannot say that all religions are the same, that figuring out whether Adonai is God is a priority for later. Nor can we live our lives carefully trying to please society, picking whatever choice seems safest or easiest. If we do, we are no smarter than a squirrel or some other animal frozen in the middle of the road by indecision and fear. As death, in the form of a speeding car, comes racing toward it. Trying to find the spiritual middle of the road is never a safe choice.

Elijah’s challenge is for us as well: How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! Messiah Yeshua makes it even more explicit in Matthew 12:30:

Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.

If you have yet to place your faith and trust in the Lord through Messiah Yeshua, today is the day to do so. Today is the day to commit to the Lord, to escape the trap of indecision and comfort, and to embrace the true freedom found only in Him.

If we are already part of Messiah’s kingdom, then let the example of Elijah encourage us to serve God with the entirety of who we are. Even when situations seem overwhelming, even when our society persecutes us and empowers the wicked, even when the powerful people of this world embrace false teachings, and we feel completely alone, this is the moment to dig in and, through the Holy Spirit, stand for the Lord.

We must declare to everyone, Adonai Hu HaElohim, “The Lord, He is God.” We are called to share the Good News, telling everyone that they must decide who they will serve wholeheartedly: Adonai, the True King who answers His servants, or empty, dead idols that dazzle the world but deliver nothing.

May the Lord enable us to follow Him with all our hearts. May each of us stand against every idol of this world, no matter how powerful they seem. May we all have the faith of Elijah, confidently calling others to return to the Lord to experience the abundant life found only in Him.