“And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken” (1 Kings 18:24).
Scripture reveals a pattern throughout Israel’s history: they follow God wholeheartedly for a while, then fall away. They return to God, only to forsake him again. Ahab is a king of Israel who leads the people astray to worship Baal. A prophet named Elijah confronts them, asking how long they will waver between two opinions. He boldly challenges the prophets of Baal to a public showdown. The one who answers by fire is the one true God.
The prophets of Baal go first. They cry out from morning until noon with no response. They cut themselves with swords and lances; this is their custom. Blood is gushing out of their bodies as they cry aloud. But their god is nowhere to be found. It saddens my heart to think of these devoted prophets inflicting pain on themselves, trying desperately to be heard. They are deceived into thinking their actions (even when detrimental to their well-being) will appease Baal. What kind of god requires that?
Then Elijah calls the people to him. He rebuilds the altar, taking twelve stones to represent the sons of Jacob (Israel). He makes a trench around it, places the wood, and adds the offering. Twelve jars of water are poured on the offering which runs down and fills the trench. Then he prays that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel would make himself known and turn the people’s hearts back to him. Fire falls and consumes not only the offering, but the wood, stones, dust, and water! The people fall on their faces, saying, “The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God.”
Sometimes we can be like the devoted but deceived prophets of Baal, investing all our energy, effort, and devotion into something false that leaves us empty. At other times we have a fickle faith like Israel, dividing our loyalty between God and self… serving God when it’s convenient, worshiping one day out of seven, claiming his name without allowing his Holy Spirit to have any transformative effect on our lives.
Halfhearted devotion not only stagnates our faith, but confuses an unbelieving world, because our inconsistency doesn’t align with God, who is forever faithful, trustworthy, and never-changing. There is no other.
“I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:5-6).
Faithful God, it’s humbling to know that the God of Israel is the same God who pursues us and desires a relationship with us even now. Show us where we’re misplacing our faith and draw us closer to you.
