Obedient to the Word of God (Part 3) / 1 Kings 17&18

In 1 Kings 18, after three years of drought and famine, the Lord speaks again to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.” This is fascinating – Elijah now knows that rain is coming, but the exact timing hasn’t been revealed. There are still key events that must unfold first.

Elijah encounters Obadiah, Ahab’s servant, who is out searching the land for any sign of water or grass in hopes of keeping some of the livestock alive. Elijah tells him to go inform Ahab that he is in the area. But Obadiah is afraid – he worries the Spirit of the Lord might whisk Elijah away again, and if Elijah disappears, Ahab will surely kill him in his fury. Still, Obadiah delivers the message, and in verse 17, Ahab and Elijah finally meet. Ahab accuses Elijah, saying, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?” It's ironic – this wicked, idolatrous king blames Elijah for the nation’s suffering. But Elijah boldly responds: “I have not made trouble for Israel, but you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and followed the Baals” (v18).

What follows is one of the most dramatic moments in the Old Testament. Elijah calls for a challenge – he summons the prophets of Baal to prove once and for all who the true God is. He declares, “The God who answers by fire – He is God!” The prophets of Baal go first, preparing their altar and crying out to their god. They even cut themselves in desperation. But nothing happens—no fire, no voice, no response. Elijah mocks them, knowing full well their so-called gods are lifeless and powerless.

Then it's Elijah’s turn. He rebuilds the altar with stones, arranges the wood, places the sacrifice on it—and then does something extraordinary: he drenches everything with water. Not once, but with twelve barrels of water, until the sacrifice, the wood, and even the trench around the altar are soaked. It raises a good question – where did he even get all that water in the middle of a drought? But more importantly, Elijah sets the stage for an impossible miracle.

And then he prays.

As Elijah calls on the name of the Lord, fire falls from heaven – consuming not only the waterlogged sacrifice and wood, but even the stones and the water in the trench. It’s a breathtaking, undeniable act of divine power. God answers, and there’s no doubt left about who the real God is.