Fire Proof

1Kings 18:30-39

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.”

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Smoke on the water,
A fire in the sky.

"Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple

The burnt offering, just one of many offerings made by priests in the days of the Old Testament. This is a particularly interesting burnt offering though. Starting at Verse 20, Elijah is having a conflict with the prophets of the god Baal. Whose god is the Lord? This is the question. More properly this could be asked "Which God, for there are many, is the God of gods, the Lord over all that is? Well, Elijah is confident.

Elijah offers a proposition, two bulls to be offered by the priests. One for the priests of Baal and the other for Elijah, the priest of the Lord God. Both priests set everything but fire to the offering. The god who puts flame to the offering, accepting the burnt offering is the Lord.

Elijah lets Baal's priests go first and he lets them go. They prepare their sacrifice and nothing happens. Elijah suggests all sorts of things to help the process along but to no avail. It doesn't matter how much singing and dancing the priests of Baal do, the offering remains on the wood.

This is where we enter the scene. Elijah prepares the altar and the wood for the fire. He puts the bull on the wood and asks the priests of Baal to do what they can to hinder the offering. He asks the priests of Baal to pour water all over everything. These jars held 20 gallons of water each. By the time they were finished, the priests of Baal poured 240 gallons of water over the offering. enough to fill the trench surrounding the offering with water.

Elijah prayed to the Lord God and his prayer was answered. The burnt offering, the wood, the stones, the dust, and even the water that was in the trench were consumed by the fire sent by the Lord. Baal couldn't get a spark. The Lord consumes.

Then as it says in verse 39, When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The LORD indeed is God; the LORD indeed is God.”

There's smoke on the water and fire in the sky. By this we know that the Lord is God over all creation. There is no God more powerful than the Lord. Yes, there are still other gods people worship. Money, youth, fame, prestige, and power are just a few of them. We may call them sins, but the way we hold them up, we hold them like they are to be worshiped, we treat them like gods.

Yet let us remember, there's smoke on the water and fire in the sky. By this we know that the Lord is God over all creation. No matter how much water we pour over the offering, the Lord will consume worship.

Fire and water are still important in our worship. We use fire to represent the light of Christ. We use water to wash us in the waters of our baptism. We remember these things in worship. May our worship be a fragrant offering to the Lord.