In this captivating episode, we journey to Mount Carmel to witness one of the most dynamic and electrifying events in the Hebrew Bible. Elijah, the fervent prophet of God, stands alone against the throng of Baal’s prophets. A divine crisis is unveiled as Elijah challenges Israel to choose whom they will serve. This story is more than ancient history; it is a resonant call for us today to examine our own lives and recognize the constant choice we face in serving either the true God or the false idols of the world. Discover the profound relevance of Elijah’s challenge
They were fluctuating between the God of Israel, Yahweh being God, and Baal and Asherah being God. So Elijah is bringing them to a crisis. He’s saying, you need to choose today who you’re going to serve. Today we’re gonna be going to Mount Carmel where was that famous showdown between Elijah the prophet of God and the 450 false prophets of Baal. I know that you’re gonna find application in your life from this message because there’s always a battle that’s going on in our heart. Every day we’re making choices all day long and the question is, beloved, who we choose to serve? We are today in Mount Carmel. This is one of the most exciting incidents in the history of God’s Word. I’m going to take us now to the book of 1 Kings, chapter number 18, where we look at what happened in this spot, in this mountain where we’re standing. I want you to know before I begin, as we read about what Elijah the prophet did, Elijah is one of the primary figures in the entire Hebrew Bible. Elijah is one of the most outstanding characters in Israel’s history. In fact, when Jesus was on the mount that we call the Mount of Transfiguration, who appeared with Jesus? Moses and who? Elijah. Remember the story. Jesus brought three of his disciples to the top of the mountain. And as they were on the top of the mountain, suddenly Jesus was transfigured. He became a being of light. And who appeared with him? Moses and Elijah, the two primary characters of the Hebrew Bible. This incident today in 1 Kings chapter 18 is the most memorable incident in Elijah’s history. Let’s listen to what happened. It says in verse number 17, when Ahab, now who’s Ahab? Ahab was the king of Israel. Ahab had married Jezebel. And when Ahab married Jezebel, who wasn’t an Israelite, Jezebel corrupted the king of Israel, Ahab. So Ahab drifted away from the commandments of the God of Israel and began to practice a foreign religion. He began to be seduced into the religion of Jezebel. And so Israel now, under King Ahab, also fell into idolatry, the idolatry that Jezebel introduced Ahab to, and then Ahab then introduced this idolatry to the children of Israel. So that’s the backdrop of this story. In verse number 17, when Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, is this you, you troublemaker of Israel? Why did Ahab call Elijah troublemaker? Because Elijah was standing for truth while Ahab was leading the children of Israel into worshiping foreign gods. So the two became enemies. So Ahab saw Elijah and said, is this you, you troublemaker of Israel? The same thing happens in the church today. When you have movements, Christian movements, that move into idolatry by forsaking God’s truth, forsaking God’s commandment. We see, for example, in the church today that some denominations now are ordaining homosexual pastors, endorsing. I was invited to speak one time in a mainline church, and the pastor invited me in to speak. As one of the speakers, he had a panel to decide whether it was good to endorse abortion. This was a traditional mainline denominational church that was no longer standing for righteousness and rather than having preachers of truth come in and prophets of righteous come in and saying abortion is the murdering of the innocent, Instead, what they’re doing is they’re having a panel, each one having their own opinion. This is what was similarly happening to Israel in the time of Elijah. They had drifted away from truth and taking a stand on moral absolutes. And instead, it was just a big quagmire of lostness. Elijah was standing for truth still. In fact, Elijah felt that he was the only one left that was standing for truth. And it was in Israel. And the same thing is happening in the church today. Voices of righteousness and prophetic voices are minimalized and marginalized and they’re becoming the minority rather than the majority. So Ahab saw Elijah and said, is this you, you troublemaker of Israel? And he said, I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and you have followed the Baals. You’ve followed the false idols. You’ve compromised. You’ve been seduced. Now then, send and gather to me, Elijah said, all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah, which was another false idol. who eat at Jezebel’s table. So again, these were the gods of Jezebel, Baal and Asherah, and Elijah saying, bring all these false prophets together with me to Mount Carmel. And Ahab sent a message among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel. Elijah came near to all the people and said, he’s speaking to Israel, how long will you hesitate between two opinions? If Yahweh is God, if the Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal, then follow him. But the people did not answer him a word. So Israel, they had received the revelation. They had received the word of the Lord, but they had been seduced away, and now they didn’t know what they believed. They were fluctuating between the God of Israel, Yahweh being God, and Baal and Asherah being God. So Elijah is bringing them to a crisis. He’s saying, you need to choose today who you’re going to serve. It continues on. Then Elijah said to the people, I alone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. Now let them give us two oxen and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up and place it on the wood. Put no fire under it and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood and I will not put a fire under it. Then you call on the name of your God. You call on the name of Baal. And I will call on the name of Yahweh. I will call on the name of the Lord, the God who answers by fire. He is God. In other words, he was saying, we’re going to put your oxen on this altar sacrifice to Baal. And I’m going to put my sacrifice, I’m going to put my oxen on an altar sacrifice. Lifted up to Yahweh and we’re gonna both call upon our gods and the God that answers by fire He is the Living God He was forcing them to recognize that the God of Israel is alive and is the one true God listen again then you call upon the name of your God and I will call upon the name of Yahweh and the God who answers by fire He is God and all the people said it’s a good idea So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, choose one ox for yourselves to prepare it for you are many and call upon the name of your God, put no fire under it. Then they took the ox which was given them and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, oh Baal, answer us. But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they made. It came about at noon that Elijah mocked them and said, call out with the loud voice for if he is God, he is either occupied or gone aside or is on a journey or perhaps he’s asleep and needs to be awakened. He was making fun of them. Come on, where’s your God? Keep calling, call louder. If he’s really God, maybe he’s out for a walk. Maybe he’s asleep, so keep calling louder. Maybe he’ll come back from the journey. Maybe he’ll awaken and he’s making fun of them. So they cry with the loud voice and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances. This is what actually happened in church history. They felt if they hurt themselves, if they beat themselves, that somehow that would earn them favor before God, that God would answer.
SPEAKER 01 :
You’re listening to Discovering the Jewish Jesus with Rabbi Schneider, and he’ll be right back. But first, did you know that this program is available in Hebrew, Russian and Spanish? If you know somebody who speaks one of these languages, now’s your chance to share the blessing. To access the language version that’s right for them, just go to discoveringthejewishjesus.com and click the watch forward slash listen tab and choose an available alternate language channel right there. Do you want to be an instrument for God’s work on the earth? Well, join us as a new monthly partner and receive a handcrafted shofar that’s made in Israel. This instrument will announce Jesus’ second coming one day. And by supporting these teachings, you’re helping prepare the way for His return. So would you prayerfully consider joining us? Visit DiscoveringTheJewishJesus.com or partner with us by calling 800-777-7000. 7835. And now back to Rabbi. Let’s continue on.
SPEAKER 02 :
So they cried out with the loud voice and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood blushed out on them. When midday was passed, they raved. That’s a funny word, they raved. Elijah uses that language to describe these prophets of Baal. When midday was passed, they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice. No one answered and no one paid attention. Then Elijah said to all the people, come near to me. So all the people came near to him and he prepared the altar of Yahweh. He prepared the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. Elijah took 12 stones according to the number of the tribes of Jacob. Again, Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, so these are the 12 tribes of Israel. Elijah took 12 stones, according to the number of the tribes of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, Israel shall be your name. So Elijah’s being used to call Israel back to their God. They had drifted away. They had fallen into idolatry. Elijah is now the prophet that’s sent to call them back to pure and unadulterated worship. So with the stones, he built an altar in the name of Yahweh, in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two measures of seed. The point is, is that Elijah’s gonna so drench his sacrifice with water, we’re gonna see, that it would be impossible to start this altar on fire with natural fire. He drenched it in water. So with the stones, he built an altar in the name of Yahweh, in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two measures of seed. Then he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood. And he said, do it a second time. And they did it a second time. And he said, do it a third time. And they did it a third time. And the water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water. He so drenched it with water that there’s no way that this altar caught a fire and the sacrifice was consumed with fire except a supernatural fire fell on it. That’s the point. At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, oh Yahweh, Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me that this people might know that you, Lord, that you, Yahweh, are God, and that you have turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord 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. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, Yahweh, he is God. Yahweh, he is God. Then Elijah said to them, seize the prophets of Baal. did not let one of them escape, so they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Ishron and slew them there. So many things that are communicated here. The first thing that I’m called to face is lukewarmness. You see, Israel, beloved one, was vacillating between two opinions. On the one hand, they said that the God of Israel was their God and that they were Israel, his people. They recognized that the word of God had come to them, but at the same time they had been seduced through the king of Israel, Ahab, that had married Jezebel into worshiping false idols, the Baals and the Asheron. So they were fluctuating between two opinions. I wonder how many of us are living lives like that. We love God. We worship God, we give our tithes, we attend services, but yet if we put our lifestyle under a magnifying glass, we’re just like these people in ancient Israel. We have two opinions. We’re walking two different lives. We have two different dynamics going on. On the one hand, we’re in the world, but in addition to being in the world, we’re actually part of the world. We’re supposed to be in the world, but not of the world. But each one of us here, there are areas we know in our lives we’ve compromised. And I think right now, the Spirit of God is wanting to speak to us to show us an area in our life that he’s calling us to make a decision about. He’s saying, if I’m your God, then forsake this thing and choose me. If I’m not God, and this other system’s God, if the world’s the right way to walk, if the world’s right, then go the way of the world. But if I’m really God, and you want me to be God in your life, then choose today who you’re gonna serve. And of course we go over the same things so often in services, those of you that worship with us together, and we talk about the ways that we compromise. You know, our worship leader made a covenant with the worship team that because you’re being used as sanctified worshipers, I want you to make a covenant with the Lord that you won’t listen to any secular music. That the only music you’ll listen to is worship music that’s actually singing to God and glorifying God. Some people accuse that of legalism. But you know what? When people don’t want to live for the Lord, that’s the first thing they shout when you’re calling them to holiness. They say legalism. It wasn’t about legalism. It was about following Jesus so that we can be in the best place to be used by him. And so I wonder, is there an area in some of our lives that has to do with music that God’s calling us to forsake? It’s not just the lyrics, beloved. Sometimes it’s the spirit of the musician. In music, a spirit is carried. A little while back when we were in Safat, the center of mystical Judaism, and the musicians started playing that beautiful song, and it was actually a song out of the Siddur, the Shabbat prayer book, and it was a really beautiful song they played, so I bought their CD because I thought maybe there’d be other beautiful songs like that. But the song that they actually played for us wasn’t on the CD. There was a lot of other songs, and I got a little concerned about what I was listening to. And it reminded me of a time I was listening to some music. It was actually music that was taken from a religious sect in Judaism. Now, I’m a Jew. I love Judaism. I love Jews, so people understand that. But this particular artist, a well-known artist out of the Jewish people, very well-known, he also had lived an immoral lifestyle. and he was kind of known for that. But his music was beautiful and awesome and he sung about holiness and he sung about good things. And I was listening to a CD one day and this particular day, I was listening to it for like two hours because I just had been doing a lot of driving and I really loved it. I mean, I love the I love the Jewish sound. I kept listening to it. But that night when I went to sleep, I had all types of immoral dreams. What I believe happened was his spirit, he was a man that was living in immorality, his spirit came upon me from listening to his music. And so I wanna ask you today, when it comes to music, Which God will you serve? Will you make a decision to cut music out of your life that may be taking you outside of the light that Yeshua is calling you into? We all have choices in our life about how we can follow God, what we’re choosing to let in through the eye gates and through the ear gates. Spirits come in through the eye gates and through the ear gates. And so if there’s something that you’re watching on television, it’s hard to be sitting at home when you’re bored. You want something to do. You want to escape and you want to just kind of go into a zone where you don’t have to think to watch something on television. But let me ask a question. Are we choosing to love Jesus in such a way that we’re applying it to what we watch on television? Every day we have to make those choices. Every day we have to make these choices. And beloved ones, as we’re here today on top of Mount Carmel, the same fire that fell and consumed the sacrifice to bring Israel back to follow God wholeheartedly, That same fire is speaking to each one of us today. I want to ask you, is there an area in your life that you need to come back to the God of Israel, to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, just like Israel was called back to Him here at Mount Carmel? In Yeshua’s name, I just release power over every single one of your lives right now. The Holy Spirit comes in power, and when the Holy Spirit comes with power, He also convicts of sin. the conviction of sin is a gift of the holy spirit because when we’re convicted of sin we’re given an opportunity to turn away from that sin so god can bless us god is calling us to deeper and deeper levels of holiness and the same lesson that the children of israel learned here at mount carmel that they needed to turn away from every false god from every false idol to give themselves 100 back to the true and the living god beloved we’re going to have to make that choice every single day of our lives. So I leave you with this, which God will you serve? If the world is God, serve the world. But if Jesus is God, serve Jesus and you’ll be blessed every single day of your life. You know why the Lord asks you and I to tithe? Because when you and I tithe, we open up our hearts to Him, and in so doing, we’re able to receive in an experiential way His love. You see, when we don’t trust God with our finances, what we’re unconsciously doing is agreeing with fear. That’s why most people don’t honor God with their finances, at least significantly. They might tip God, but they don’t really tithe, which is the precedent of the entire Bible, all the new. Why? Because they’re afraid to. They think if I tithe, then I’m going to fall on my face and I can’t really trust God. I want to encourage you, beloved, and I want to encourage myself. Let’s choose faith, not faith. fear. God told us, if you honor me with the first fruit of your wealth, your barn is going to be full. David said, I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. I want to encourage those of you today that love God. Listen, take that next step. If you haven’t already, honor the Lord and trust him with your finances. Be a giver. Jesus said, it will come back to you pressed down, good measure and running over into your lap.
SPEAKER 01 :
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SPEAKER 02 :
The Aaronic blessing in the book of Numbers, chapter 6, is not a blessing that comes from an impersonal being out there somewhere in the heavens. This special blessing comes from a person, Yahweh, God Almighty, our Creator and Maker. So receive God’s blessing into your life right now.
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with His countenance. And the Lord give you, beloved one, His peace. God bless you and shalom.
SPEAKER 01 :
I’m your host Dustin Roberts and this program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus. Tomorrow Rabbi Schneider takes us to the Red Sea and shows us how the God who delivered Israel still moves in power today. That’s Tuesday on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.
