So Ahab sent to all the Israelites, and assembled the prophets at Mount Carmel. 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.” The people did not answer him a word. Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets number four hundred fifty. Let two bulls be given to us; let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it; I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god and I will call on the name of the Lord; the god who answers by fire is indeed God.” All the people answered, “Well spoken!” Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many; then call on the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” So they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, crying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no answer. They limped about the altar that they had made. At noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud! Surely he is a god; either he is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” Then they cried aloud and, as was their custom, they cut themselves with swords and lances until the blood gushed out over them. As midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice, no answer, and no response.
Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come closer to me”; and all the people came closer to him. First he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down; Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name”; with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. Then he made a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two measures of seed. Next he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” Then he said, “Do it a second time”; and they did it a second time. Again he said, “Do it a third time”; and they did it a third time, so that the water ran all around the altar, and filled the trench also with water.
At the time of the offering of the oblation, the prophet Elijah came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your bidding. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and even licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord indeed is God; the Lord indeed is God.” --1 Kings 18:17-39 (NRSV)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen.
When my son was small, he went through a series of phases. Phases of infatuation. Perhaps you’ve experienced this with a small child. From 2-3 years old, he was infatuated with dinosaurs. He could identify and pronounce the names of every dinosaur. From 3-4, it was Spiderman. One Halloween during that time, I made him a Spiderman costume. He loved it so much that every morning for the next three months, when I would go into his bedroom to wake him up, he would be wearing it - having changed out of his pajamas into it at some point during the night. Then, at 5 and 6, it was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Funny, how all that stuff circles back around, isn’t. Raphael, Donatello, Leonardo, and Michaelangelo. It’s only recently I realized that they were named after important artists.
By about 7 or 8, thought, he was moving away from cartoon figures to real-life heroes. It was during this period that he began to get into wrestling. Now, I’m not talking about the usual horseplay and running around and wrestling that siblings or young boys, in particular, like to engage in. No. This was serious wrestling. This was World Wrestling Federation wrestling. Real wrestlers. Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin. Macho Man Randy Savage. The Rock. And on and on. He was hooked.
My ex-husband was, too! So, whenever they could, the two of them would go to World Wrestling Federation matches, where maybe one or two of the matches would feature one of the big stars that my son loved. But, the best matches - the biggest, best, and baddest matches - were the WWF Smackdowns. Everyone went to watch all the wrestling stars. “Who’s the greatest of them all?” That’s what the smackdown was about - to decide who was #1.
Friends, this is what we’ve got today in our story! This is nothing other than a World Wrestling Federation Smackdown!
But, before we get into this Smackdown story, let’s see how we got here. Last week, we heard about the split of the unified kingdom of Israel. Under both David and Solomon, the tribes of Israel were one kingdom. Under Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, the kingdom had split in two, with Israel in the north, and Judah in the south. Today and next week, we will be in the northern kingdom. In Israel.
Ahab, in today’s story, is now king of Israel. He is not a “good” king. In fact, in chapter 16, we hear that Ahab “did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him.” Ahab is a bad king. He is the worst of the worst.
He marries Jezebel, daughter of the king of Sidon. Jezebel serves and is faithful to Baal. Baal is a Canaanite god, associated with weather, and fertility, and thunderstorms. Ahab begins to worship Baal, building and dedicating a “gate” at Jericho to Baal. Engaging in child sacrifice.
This is not a good regime.
Elijah comes into the story in the midst of a drought. A drought that has been going on for three years. Now, Elijah is not your typical prophet. Elijah is kind of rough and wooly - unlike Nathan, for example, who was a court prophet - part of King David’s court. Elijah lives more on the edges of society. But, he, just as Nathan was, is sent by God to call Israel back. And not only the people of Israel, but also their king. Ahab.
As our story opens today, Elijah is on his way to meet Ahab. When he gets there, Ahab greets him. “Is it you, Elijah, you troubler of Israel?” Elijah? Troubler of Israel?
Elijah responds, “I have not troubled Israel. But you have. You, and your father’s house. Because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals.” Remember the shema, Elijah is saying to Ahab. Remember it? “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might!”
Then it is time for the big smackdown. Elijah tells Ahab to call everyone - all of Israel - to Mount Carmel so they can witness a contest. A match. Between the god of Baal. And the God - the true God. Best god wins!
Now, you have to understand the setup of this smackdown. Mount Carmel is the home of Baal in the northern kingdom. So, it’s on their home turf. It’s a contest of 450 to 1. Four hundred Baal prophets to one prophet of the true God. Elijah. And what’s the contest? Whose god can bring down fire. Baal is the god of thunderstorms - of storms and lightening. So, here’s the contest: it’s on their home turf, with 450 of their prophets to 1, and their choice of weapon. Then, on top of all this, they get to go first. And they have all day to get their god to respond.
They set up their altar. And then, Baal’s prophets cry out. From morning to noon. “O answer us!” Then, they start to limp around and to cut themselves, to harm themselves. Perhaps this will get Baal’s attention. They beg for their god to hear them. All day long until it is the time of the offering of oblation. Sunset. Time to make, ironically, the annual offering of loyalty.
Yet, there is no voice. No answer. No response. Nothing. Only silence. Baal - the god of weather and fertility, the god of thunderstorms - Baal is M-I-A.
Then, Elijah steps forward. He repairs the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. Stone by stone. Twelve of them to represent the 12 tribes. He makes a trench around it. Then he prepares the wood and the sacrifice and puts it on the altar, pouring water all over it. Not once, but twice, and a third time. Water runs down over the entire altar and fills the surrounding trench. Finally, Elijah prays to God, to the true God. The god who is indeed God. Fire immediately falls from the sky, consuming the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, the dust, and even the water that is in the trench.
When the people see this, they fall on their faces, saying, This is indeed God. This is indeed God.
On this All Saints Sunday, one might wonder how this story of God’s smackdown of Baal fits into the story of the saints. It’s important to understand that this story, along with all of the historical books of scripture, are a theological history of Israel. Written down during and after the period of exile. At a time when Israel and Judah were seeking to make meaning of everything that had happened and where, in the midst of exile and loss, God could be found. Or even whether God could be found.
You and I come out of a long line of saints. Of those, like Elijah, who bore witness to us of the central nature of God’s claim. That God is a God who brings people out of the land of Egypt, out of slavery and bondage, out of death and loss. Who delivers. And who brings life. Each of us have been blessed with saints in our lives like Elijah, who witnessed to us of this one, true God. God of Gods. Light of Light. True God of True Gods. This God who laid claim to them. Who has laid claim to us. The God in whom they placed their trust. In whom we place our trust. Not some icon - some god who doesn’t respond. But, a God who is faithful. Who seeks relationship with us. Who promises and who gives life. Who calls us, just as God called our ancestors, to this journey of faith. Who promises to be with us. Now and forever.
This is the true God. The God of Elijah. The God of Jacob. The God of Isaac. The God of Abraham. The God of our ancestors. The God of whom John wrote in the book of the apocalypse: “Then one of the elders addressed me, saying,’Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?’ I said to him, ‘Sir, you are the one that knows.’ Then he said to me, ‘These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
This is indeed God. This is our God. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forevermore. Amen.
Preached November 3, 2019, at Grace & Glory Lutheran Church, Goshen, KY.
All Saints Sunday
Readings: 1 Kings 18:17-39; Mark 9:2-4; Psalm 149
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