How strange it must have seemed to Israel, then, when Elijah the prophet was preparing his sacrifice on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18). If you don't know the story, Elijah is a faithful prophet of the LORD. But Israel is under the domination of ungodly leaders. The people, while giving lip service to the true God, are also worshiping Baal, a chief god of the Canaanites. Elijah decides to challenge 450 prophets of Baal to a duel: both parties will prepare a sacrifice, but not light the fire. Whichever deity sends fire to consume the sacrifice will be recognized as the true God. The unspoken penalty for whichever prophet fails is death. Elijah has a lot riding on this challenge!
Given all this, you would think that Elijah wants to make things as simple for the LORD as possible. Pick the driest wood for the fire. Pick a small, easily consumed animal. Maybe wait for a dry day. Work smarter, not harder, Elijah. But that isn't what the prophet does.
First of all, he allows the prophets of Baal to go first. He's got a lot of confidence that Baal is NOT going to answer. In fact, Elijah lets them go all morning, until noon and even then he doesn't start! He just begins to mock the false prophets of Baal. (1 Kings 18:27) Like some arrogant boxer boasts before even setting foot in the ring, Elijah throws down the gauntlet to Baal's men.
After waiting a long time and mocking his opponents, Elijah finally gets to work. He prepares the altar, digs a trench around it, and gets the wood and sacrifice ready. Then he does something crazy. He orders his servants to get a bunch of water, four pots full, and dump it all over his preparations. The sacrifice and the wood are all drenched in water. Then he orders them to do it again and a third time. Three times Elijah has his sacrifice covered in water. I don't know if you've ever tried to start a fire with wet wood, but it's a pain. It's challenging enough just to get the stuff to catch flame, never mind make a big enough flame to consume a whole animal!
He's purposefully making God's job "harder"! Apparently his parents never taught him about working smarter instead. Elijah goes before his drenched sacrifice and wood and offers a simple prayer to the God of Israel: no showiness, no elaborate ceremonial dance, (1 Kings 18:26) no cutting himself to get God's attention (1 Kings 18:28). A simple prayer to God...and the God of heaven sends the fire to consume the sacrifice. The wet wood instantly ignites in a roaring fire. It burns up the animal sacrifice, and even vaporizes the water in the trench around the altar. Why does Elijah do it this way?
The prophet is deadset (literally) on showing the supreme power of God. If the challenge is going to be completed, he wants there to be no doubt that it was the God of Abraham who did it. God must get all the glory! In the eyes of Israel there must be no question that the LORD alone is God. And it works! The people see the miraculous power of God, fall on their faces, and worship. In a demonstration of their renewed loyalty to God alone, the 450 prophets of Baal are taken down to the brook Kidron and executed. No false gods and no phony prophets will be tolerated in Israel anymore.
I was meditating on this story while thinking about ministry the other day. In many ways, the little ministry that God has entrusted to me has a lot of water on it. My congregation meets in a funeral home (ick!); we have a simple worship service, primarily focused on the explanation and application of the Bible (snoozer!); we don't even have acoustic guitars (yet!). We sing from a hymnal and even psalms from the Psalter (who even does that!?). There are many reasons why, from a worldly perspective, this thing just shouldn't work. Too much water!
But I delight that these things are the way they are! Lord willing, as my little congregation continues to grow, there will be no doubt that it is God doing the work. The only way this sacrifice is burning up is if the fire of God's Holy Spirit falls on it and sets us on fire for the Lord! God willing, 10 years from now, when we've seen lost sinners saved and brought to faith in Christ; when we've seen families redeemed and children discipled into mature Christian adults; when we've seen an impact made by this ministry, there will be no doubt in anyone's mind that it was God who did it. It wasn't the preacher (he's a bit of a dunce). It wasn't the programs (we didn't have any). It wasn't the building. It had to be the Lord alone. In that day my prayer is that I will see the glory that came from watering the sacrifice; not glory for me, the church, or anyone else, but glory for God the LORD, the only one who can give the fire from heaven. The only with power to consume completely all the wet sacrifices we bring Him.
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