Elijah on Mount Carmel: Fire from Heaven

The drought has lasted three years. Elijah comes before King Ahab and proposes a contest on Mount Carmel to settle the question that is tearing Israel apart: is the Lord God, or is Baal? Ahab convenes the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah.

Elijah stands before the assembled people and puts the question directly: How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him. If Baal, follow him. The people say nothing. They have been trying to serve both.

The terms are simple: two bulls, one altar for Baal's prophets, one for Elijah. No fire provided. Each side calls on their god. The god who answers with fire is God.

The prophets of Baal go first. They call from morning until noon: O Baal, answer us! Nothing. Elijah begins to mock — one of the most biting passages of satire in the Hebrew Bible: perhaps Baal is meditating, or has wandered away, or is on a journey, or is sleeping and needs to be awakened. The prophets dance more frantically and cut themselves with swords and lances until blood flows. Evening comes. No voice, no answer, no one paying attention.

Elijah repairs the broken altar of the Lord using twelve stones, one for each tribe. He digs a trench around it. He places the wood and the bull. Then, the gratuitous touch that makes the story unforgettable: Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood. He has them do this three times. Water runs off the altar and fills the trench. The whole thing is soaking.

Elijah prays a single, short prayer: Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your word. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God.

Fire falls. It burns the offering, the wood, the stones, the soil, and licks up the water in the trench. The people fall on their faces: The Lord — he is God! The Lord — he is God!