... and GOD

              Elijah             some ravens at a brook                                

 a widow and her son
      
                                                                 Ahab           Obadiah

                                      450 prophets of Baal                                                      

                                                                                                                       
the people of Israel

                                                                    and  
                               GOD 

God picks a fight.
{Maybe God thought, "Soooooo, you want to worship Baal -- why? OH! cuz you want a guarantee of rain and . . . you think Baal, like, is in charge of that ... storm god / rain. Really?" }

There is no threat, there is no warning, there is no "if you...then I'll..."

Baal is the god of the storm ~ rain in a desert land is a must. Give Baal worship and you get rain; give him worship and he will NOT send devastating storms with lightening.
 So ~

God sends Elijah to Ahab
and
Elijah storms in and says "NO rain ".
                                 In your face, Baal!

 Elijah leaves.
God sends Elijah to a brook on the far side of the Jordan  (maybe 65 miles east of Samaria) and sends ravens to bring him food (ok, that had to be weird: really? birds bring you food?). He stays there until the brook dries up. How long did that take? a year? 2 years? However long, when it dries up God sends Elijah north to Zarephath in Sidon (well outside of Israel, about 80-ish miles from the brook) and lets him live with a widow and her son. There, the poor widow is out of everything...she has enough for one more meal of bread and water for herself and her son. Because she feeds Elijah, God miraculously lets her flour and oil last, and last, and last, and last.  Yeah! You should REALLY be nice to prophets.

So, three years have passed. Things are NOT good. You know the Jezebel-prophets of Baal camp is ticked: Jezebel is slaughtering prophets of God ~ so Obadiah hides and provides for 100 of them. Caves aren't the best vacation spots...but better than coffins, right?

Ahab and Obadiah are out one day
                    -- see, that still intrigues me: OBADIAH and Ahab. Wow, I think when I get to heaven, I want to have a chat with Obadiah. I would LOVE to hear his whole story. "You worked for Ahab? Jezebel didn't kill you! You were devoted to God...and...Ahab's right hand man." --

Obadiah goes one way, Ahab the other ~ they are looking for grass to keep the horses and mules and cattle alive. In the sinewy, shimmery heat ahead on the road, Obadiah sees a figure approaching, Is that
 . . . couldn't be . . . it is! Elijah! Obadiah falls on his face.
"Elijah! Is it you?"
"Yes. Go tell Ahab I want a meeting."
"Right! I go tell him, the Spirit of God takes you off to Timbucktoo, and he kills me."
"It's cool. I'll show."
So they have the meeting and Elijah sets up this awesome contest.
            450 prophets of Baal vs. Elijah ~ Baal vs YHWH.
Elijah says 'let's both build altars and get two oxen. You pick the ox you like best, and you go first. We both sacrifice -- you to Baal, me to God -- and the God who answers with fire wins.'  This should be easy-peasy for Baal, right? Storm gods can send lightening any time. ... oh wait, storm gods should be able to send rain too . . . but Baal hasn't been able to for 3 YEARS! One year...well: dry year. Two years: shift in a weather pattern. Three years : Baal has some serious explaining to do.

So the prophets of Baal put on a show worthy of Las Vegas: yelling - leaping around - dancing - frenzied screaming: "Baal, answer us!" It says from morning till noon. They had to be tired and exhausted ... really they had been at this, likely, the whole 3 years. Now they have the whole nation and the King watching ~ sceptically. Elijah lounges against a tree off to the side, cleans his nails, maybe chats with people in the crowd. At noon he begins to mock: Maybe you should yell louder...maybe he can't hear you? OH, maybe he went for a walk, or -- ummm -- has 'gone aside' . . .or is a sleep! 
The inference of "gone aside" might be, "he is in the little boys' room...and can't come out right now".
I mean, Elijah is just rude! {This scene, by the way, is why I think either Robin Williams, or Hugh Laurie would be perfect for this part.} Elijah lets the show go on till the evening -- the prophets of Baal screaming, jumping, even cutting themselves with their knives.

Then Elijah says, 'OK everyone. Had enough of them. Come here. I will show you how to get fire.'
He rebuilds the altar to YHWH. Great message to the people: Your relationship with God needs to be rebuilt -- and it CAN be.

Then he digs a trench around the altar. What?

Then he prepares the sacrifice.

And THEN he tells the people to go get water and pour it over the sacrifice on the altar
...and do it again
...and again
...until the water drenched the ox and the altar and filled the trench.

Ok that was such an awesome thing to do. First Elijah let there be no doubt that this was a real miracle: not just fire from heaven...but fire onto a soaking WET sacrifice. Elijah sets it all up so all the "odds" are against him ~ 1 vs 450, in a land where Baal was given all the glory; there were no matches, no torches, and
 -- just so you know the REAL God can do anything  . . . NOTHING is too hard for Him --
wet the ox and the altar and fill a trench with water.' But there is something else to this water thing. What was the most valuable thing in the country ... most needed, most wanted? WATER! And Elijah pours it out to God on the sacrifice -- he pours out to God the most valuable commodity possible in that moment. Then, no jumping, no screaming, no frenzy...

Elijah the prophet came near, and said, O Jehovah, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
Hear me, O Jehovah, hear me, that this people may know that thou, Jehovah, art God, and (that) thou hast turned their heart back again.
1 Kings 18:36-37

The point isn't rain, or wealth, or anything else...God makes it clear that Baal is -- well, how many ways can you say "powerless and worthless". God hasn't done any of this because he is insecure about Baal. God has done this because he wants the heart of the people turned back to Him. That is what God wants: our hearts. He set up this 3 year "smack-down" with Baal because he does not want the people to be trapped any longer in the lie that any god, any idol, any lie will be able to give them security, and blessing, and prosperity and life.

And the fire DOES fall from heaven.


Then the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
{How hot does fire have to be to consume wood and stone. I am sure there is a specific answer somewhere...but ~ HOT!}

And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said,
 Jehovah, he is God; Jehovah, he is God.
1 Kings 18:38-39