This can be seen from the following chapter of the Book of 1 Kings.ĭid God asked Elijah to kill all those false prophet? Probably not, but the will of God (to kill all those false prophets) was accomplished indirectly by Elijah through his own eagerness and ego. This is what God was trying to tell him, and the work of a God will continue after him or without him one thing for sure is, God will continue to work after Elijah. 1 Kings 18:25-40 Elijah tells the prophets of Baal to prepare a sacrifice and ask their god to consume the offering with fire. He said, I f the Lord be God, then follow Him but if. To remove those physical Idols or false prophet can be easy, but to remove idols from a man's heart is always hard and time consuming. After the King and priests of Baal arrived, Elijah spoke to the people asking them to choose their God. Again, this can be seen from the second portion of the same chapter. Instead, he clung to his wife Jezebel, and finally caused Elijah to flee from Jezebel.Įlijah fled not because he afraid to be killed, rather he lost heart and faith in his own belief after the result do not come in line with his own expectation. Then call on the name of your god, but do not light. 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, Since you are so numerous, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first. And all the people answered, What you say is good.
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However, the result went the other way King Ahab refused to return. Elijah on Mount Carmel 24 Then you may call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. He succeeded in doing so, and by right, these false religions should have collapsed after all their prophets were killed, and King Ahab and the nation of Israel should have turned back to God and worshiped the one true God. The miraculous event of fire from heaven was an answer to the prayer of Elijah. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, I, even I. 21 Elijah then came near to all the people, and said, How long will you go limping with two different opinions If the Lord is God, follow him but if Baal, then follow him. 20 So Ahab sent to all the Israelites, and assembled the prophets at Mount Carmel. Following this event, the Lord finally ended the drought and sent rain upon the land (1 Kings 18:45). Elijah’s Triumph over the Priests of Baal. In 1 King 19:4 he is trying to compare himself with his ancestor, most likely referring to Moses, who had saved and brought The People of Israel out from Egypt.Įlijah must had thought that the best way to turn the nation of Israel back to God was to totally destroy these false religions by killing all their 850 (400 prophets of Asherah and 450 prophets of Baal) prophets. Elijah then commanded the people to put the prophets of Baal to death, in keeping with God’s command in Exodus 22:20. Anson Chong The intention of Elijah is to save the people of God and turn them back from worshiping false gods. Statue of Elijah at Mukhraka (© ) On the northern slope of Mount Carmel, near the Haifa beach, is a cave where the prophet is believed to have meditated before his fateful encounter with the priests of Baal.