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Day 15: 1 Kings 18:18-24

“I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

But the people said nothing.

Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set 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—he is God.”

Then all the people said, “What you say is good.

“But the people said nothing.” They said nothing! The people of Israel would not choose between the God who led them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land and Baal. Baal was a Canaanite god, but the term can be used to refer to any such god. As we read through the Old Testament, we see time and again the Israelites having a hard time choosing the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob over the pagan god of the land.

The very first commandment given to them on Mount Sinai was to have no other gods before God. They were called, and agreed, to be faithful to God alone. But they weren’t.

Some may think this is insecure or egotistic of God to demand worship and this kind of faithfulness. But do we not even today demand faithfulness in marriage? God also knew that humans were designed to be worshippers and if they didn’t worship him, they would worship something or someone else. Something lesser. And God know that the worship of anything else leads nowhere.

Some may consider this a problem of long ago. We don’t know of any god named Baal today. Or we consider that because we go to church that this isn’t a problem. But we all have Baals in our lives; they just take different forms than the traditional “god.” Our Baal is the thing that entices us – like beauty, celebrity, or power. It’s the thing we just can’t live without – the thing that if we lost it, we would lose the will to live. This could, for example, be a relationship, like that with a significant other. Baal can be what we put our trust in- perhaps money or military might. It’s what gives us our identity – maybe our career, relationship status, or an ideology. Modern day idols look like the things or people that we would consider ourselves nothing without.

God knows that running after these things, making them the centre of our lives, will ultimately fail us. We will worry about losing our money or looks. People will disappoint or leave us. Power corrupts. The gods we make with our own hands will ultimately lead us nowhere. They can’t give us what we really need- hope, peace, joy, love, eternal life. God wants us to worship only him because he knows that he’s the only one who can meet our real needs. Everything else may help us feel good for awhile, but will never be able to truly fill us in a meaningful way.

So Elijah’s word remains for us today, “How long will you waver between two opinions?”

Let us pray.

O holy and gracious God, thank you for your patience and mercy, that you always give us second chances- and third and fourth and fifth and… – when we turn from you. You always welcome us back with open arms. Help us recognize what Baals we have in our lives, that we may turn from them and turn to you instead. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Questions

What things are Baals in your life? If you are unsure, pray about it. Ask God to reveal where your heart wavers. Ask him to help you be wholehearted for him.

What do we think the false gods in our lives give us? What do they cost us?

What does God offer that no Baal can give?