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THE KING’S BUSINESS
v. 38. "Then the fire of the LORD fell.” Of course the fire of the Lord fell; how could it but fall? Elijah had met the con ditions, and God always does His part when man meets the conditions. What we need more than anything else in our churches to day is that the “Fire of the Lord’’ should fall. If we would follow in Elijah’s foot steps we would see it fall. v. 39. “And when all the people saw it, they fell on their, faces; and they said: ‘The LORD, He is the God, the LORD, He is the God.'” There was no longer any doubt in the minds of the people as to who really was God: beyond a question Jehovah was God, and Baal a sham. So they “fell on their faces” before him. That is exactly what each one of us should do; we should fall on our faces before Jehovah, the only God. Then they cried, “Jehovah, He is God, Jehovah, He is God.” Those people had more sense than many men have today who boast of their wisdom and scientific attain ments. They were willing to be convinced by a sufficient demonstration; the demon stration was given; they yielded to it, and acted accordingly. What challenge did he make to the peo ple? v. 21. What test did he propose? vs. 22-24. What was the result? vs. 25-29. Does God draw a definite line between men ? Matt. 12:30. Can a man serve two masters? Matt. 6:24. What was God’s charge concerning idols? Lev. 19:4; 26:1. What is back of all idol worship? 1 Cor. 1 0 : 20 . Was the broken altar a sign of the apos tasy of the times? ch. 19:14; Rom. 11: 2, 3. Did Moses build an altar with twelve stones ? Ex. 24:4.
9:22; 10:19, 20; John 14:6). Not only did Elijah typically set forth the sacrifice of Christ on the cross by slaying the bullock before he cried to God, but he also prayed at the very hour of the day our Lord Jesus Christ gave up his life on Calvary (vs. 29- 30). (6) He prayed earnestly. His prayer was not noisy like the prayers of the priests of Baal (vs. 26, 28) ; it was calm but it was intense. While there was none of the vain repetition that the prophets of Baal used (v. 26), that expects to be heard for its mUch-speaking, there was a repetition that comes from intense earnestness. It is the prayer into which we offer our whole heart to- which God attends (Jer. 29:13; Acts 12:5 R. V.; Luke 22:44). Elijah’s prayer was brief but it was right to the point. (7) He prayed persistently (v, 43, cf. Luke 18: 1-8; 11:5-11). (8) He prayed believingly. He had not a shadow of doubt but that he would get what he asked. He had never seen fire fall from heaven, and it would be an awful day for him if it did not fall, but God had bidden him pray for fire, and in magnificent faith he just stepped out on God’s Word, and risked all on God’s Word. That is the kind of prayer that God hears and answers. (1) The Call to the People and Con struction of the Altar, vs. 30-35. Elizah called the people, v. 30. He repaired the altar, v. 30. He took twelve stones representing the twelve tribes, v. 31. He built an altar in the name of the Lord, v. 32. He made a great trench around the altar, v. 32. He put the wood and the sacrifice on the altar, v. 33. He filled the trench with water, vs. 34-35. Questions: What challenge did Elijah make to King Ahab? vs. 19-20.
LESSON OUTLINE
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