1 Kings 18: Can Your God Save You?

"And Elijah came near to all the people and said, 'How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.' And the people did not answer him a word." 1 Kings 18:21

1 Kings 18 contains one of my ultimate favorite stories in all of scripture. After the Israelites had all gone astray and worshiped the god of Baal, the Lord decides to show his preeminence through Elijah to those who worship false gods. The story is almost comical, yet extremely applicable all at the same time.

The narrative starts out with Elijah requesting that Ahab gather all of Israel and the false prophets at Mount Caramel. Now that all of the nation is in one place, it is time for Elijah to make God known. He starts out by asking the Israelites a question: "How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” Essentially, Elijah was asking Israel here to choose a master. They had been trying to hold onto both the blessings of God and the "fun" of Baal, yet Elijah told them that they could only entertain one God at a time, and to choose for themselves this day whom they would serve. However, the people did not answer Elijah, so Elijah answered for them.

Over the next few verses in a marvelous display, Elijah shows all of Israel God's superiority over all other false gods. He asks the Israelites to set up an altar to Baal, but to not set the sacrifice on fire. If Baal was truly God, Elijah argues, then the Israelites could call on him and have him set his own altar aflame. However, after the Israelites called to Baal the entire day long, the altar was never put to flame. Elijah, on the other hand, called upon the Lord to start his altar on fire, and even though it was doused with water, the Lord set it aflame instantly. 450 prophets of Baal could not set an altar on fire after calling all day, yet one prophet of Yahweh could start an altar on fire in an instant. The moral of the story is this: the Lord is the only God who can save; all other gods are inferior and pointless with the reality of Yahweh.

So, we reach our question today: can your god save you? In order to answer this question, we must answer another: who is your god? If your God is Yahweh, then he can surely save. Yet, if your god is a false idol like the prophet Baal, you better wish you have a good book to read while you're waiting all day for your altar to be set on fire. Notice here: the Lord will not let any false god take his place. Why? Firstly, for his own glory. Secondly, for our good. Do you not see in this story how God worked this great narrative our for the purpose of bringing Israel to himself? The Lord did not want Israel to be destroyed; he wanted Israel to repent. Likewise, he wants you to repent from your idolatry. Stop worshiping false idols that cannot save, and start worshiping Jesus, who alone can save. Amen.

"The king is not saved by his great army;

a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.

The war horse is a false hope for salvation,

and by its great might it cannot rescue.

Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him,

on those who hope in his steadfast love."

Psalm 33:16-18