Idolatry on Trial

So we come to this point in Elijah's life where it is time for a showdown.

And of course, history is littered with famous showdowns.

This week I was reminding myself about the epic battle between Hannibal and the armies of Carthage

! traveling over the Alps and their elephants in order to take on the might of Rome in 200 BC.

But those epic contests don't just belong in history and military battles.

We also see them in sport.

There's the rumble in the jungle, the Messi and Bappi World Cup final most recently.

And so often we find that in these epic battles there's a revelation, which is stronger, which is greater.

Often weaknesses, vulnerabilities are exposed.

There are, of course, some famous showdowns within the Bible itself.

Perhaps most famous is that of the shepherd boy David taking the field of battle against Goliath.

Or perhaps we think of Moses against the might of Pharaoh and Egypt.

And we can add to that list Elijah taking on the prophets of Baal.

Now, of course, whenever we get to these showdowns within the Bible, there's an extra layer of significance.

Because these showdowns represent a battle between the one true God and the gods of other nations.

They become events in which God's glory is revealed and the emptiness of idolatry is exposed.

So it's a very dramatic scene.

And I think it's helpful for us to picture ourselves there on Mount Carmel.

Not, as maybe our instinct might be, to imagine ourselves as the great hero Elijah,

standing firm against evil, faithful in this bold mission, calling the nation back to God.

But it's also almost certainly not us putting ourselves in the position where we are King Ahab,

or one of those false prophets where we're deliberately giving our lives to idolatry,

where we're viciously opposed to God and His people.

We don't live in that realm either.

I think perhaps the most honest and realistic place for us to find ourselves in the story is on the sideline.

Listen, listening to Elijah, ask us, how long will you wait for?

As we are invited to see once again the power of God as fire from heaven falls,

as God's glory is demonstrated, and our hearts are reminded again,

yes, there is one and only one true God and Savior.

Because I think this is what we find we so often need.

It's the answer to our wavering faith,

the answer to our limping along faith,

that kind of faith where we can feel strong one day when things are going in our favor,

but when disappointment comes,

perhaps we so quickly fall back on old ways or looking to something else to rescue us.

What we need is to encounter the God of power and to give our hearts to follow Him.

We need to hear His great prophet, ultimately the Lord Jesus,

and the message of Mount Calvary as the antidote to the fear and the wavering that we so often experience.

As we get into the story, we're going to use really some of the themes of the text.

So, we're going to think about the beginning, the first couple of verses,

when the people are silent,

to recognize with Elijah the reality of the idols who are silent,

and then to spend a few minutes thinking about the true God who is not silent.

So, verse 20 and 21, the people are silent.

So, the stage, if you've been here for the last few weeks,

the stage has been set for this showdown.

It's been building.

Ahab has turned the nation away from worshiping God,

and now he summons the nation together for this crucial moment.

They're going to see for themselves, we're going to see for ourselves,

who is the true God who is worthy of worship?

And as Elijah meets them there on the mountain, he brings that question,

how long will you waver between two opinions?

Literally, that word is how long will you limp between two opinions?

They've been pulled by these rival claims of authority and weight,

and they're lacking power because of it.

They're also robbing God of glory.

And so, Elijah comes with this message,

if the Lord is God, follow Him.

And so, Elijah says to us,

do we know who our God is?

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that He's the only true and living God.

And if we know that, then let's follow Him.

And to take up this challenge from Elijah,

to follow Him with undivided hearts.

But isn't it striking to notice at the end of verse 21,

the reaction of the people?

It simply says,

the people said nothing.

This call to choose is met with a deafening silence.

So, we don't know what the reason for the silence was.

Did they feel a sense of shame?

We don't know.

Were they skeptical towards Elijah's claims?

Are they waiting to see,

well, show me Elijah,

before I decide which team I want to be on?

We don't know.

But as we move from the experience of the silent crowds to ourselves,

I think it's helpful for us to ask the question,

what makes us limp in our faith?

Or what makes us waver between two opinions?

There is almost the word picture of a desert traveler,

someone who has come to discover an oasis.

Here is where fresh water is,

but not satisfied with that.

The desert traveler then walks off to see if there's a better one.

Is there a better source somewhere else?

And in so doing,

strength begins to go,

and they're dragging themselves along.

It is easy for us to be sapped of spiritual strength,

to find ourselves running from one Savior to another

because we can't fully trust,

or we wrestle with unbelief,

and we keep falling back into unbelief.

When the next challenge comes,

perhaps we look in on ourselves,

and we think, well, what can I do?

How can I fix it?

Rather than looking up.

If we turn to ourselves,

we can feel drained or we can feel alone.

Maybe we can think about Jesus' words

from the Sermon on the Mount.

In those battles for belief,

we need to learn as God's children

to beat a path to our Father's door

and to beat on the door for the help that He can give

and that He wants to give.

The people of Elijah's day,

they had adopted a pick-and-mix approach to religion.

They hadn't totally abandoned the God of the Bible.

They were still looking to worship Him,

but they'd also added in local gods

and especially Baal.

And we might think,

well, why on earth would they have made that choice?

But they were living in a culture

where so many people were saying,

it's these idols that will give you life.

In this land, to have security,

you need to give your offering to Baal.

If you want wealth,

if you want hope,

around here,

you choose Baal.

That was the challenge that the people were living in.

Think about the people who first read this,

the exiles.

They've fallen under God's judgment

because they've also believed that lie.

They've turned to idols

and so judgment has come.

But it's important for us to ask the question,

are we any different

or do we see some of those same tendencies?

When we think about what is an idol,

you know, an idol is anything in life

that we would run to

or even that we would limp to

to find our sense of security and well-being.

And so our hearts, too,

can find themselves divided.

You know, when we're living by faith,

I'm following Jesus,

I'm going to trust Jesus.

But maybe a hardship comes,

opposition comes,

a disappointment comes,

exhaustion comes,

confusion comes,

and our thinking can become confused, too.

I need to find something else,

someone else that's going to deliver me

in this moment.

Elijah's words confronted the people

and they still confront us

with that very stark reality

that we cannot afford to be double-hearted.

Jesus said,

you cannot serve God and money.

You could ask Elijah,

Elijah, can't I serve God

and money or job and success?

Sometimes,

when it seems to deliver a more instant hit,

what's Elijah's answer?

If the Lord is God,

follow Him.

We need to know our God

and follow Him,

that He is our Savior God,

that He is our promise-keeping God,

that He is our Emmanuel God,

God with us.

And for all these reasons

and so many more,

He is the one who deserves

all our heart,

all our worship,

all of the time.

And so it's important

that we know ourselves,

that we would sense

where we waver,

when we would be tempted

to limp back

to our old idols.

And when we are aware

that we're in that position

of weakness,

that's when we need to pray.

That's when we need to remind ourselves

of the truths of the gospel,

that Jesus is better,

that our Father is for us

and He does provide,

and we would ask

for the strength that we need.

I think following on

from the people's silence,

it's also important for us

to ask ourselves,

what kind of silence

is ours

when we are confronted

by the challenge

of God's Word?

And we know the saying,

silence is golden.

I'm trained as a librarian.

I agree wholeheartedly.

Silence can be a wonderful place

of reflection.

Silence is a place

where we can hear

another speak.

But sometimes silence

can be the silence

of defiance, can't it?

I'm not interested

in your authority.

I'm unwilling to engage

and to respond.

Again, we don't know

why Israel was silent

in response,

but we know our own hearts.

We know the times

when we are more likely

to sit and listen

as God speaks

from His Word.

But perhaps,

as we know ourselves,

we also know those times

where we sit,

but we're not going to engage,

and we really don't want

to listen

to God's Word.

And so, again,

it's important for us

both to know ourselves,

but more than that,

to know our God.

And as we know His goodness

and His glory,

that we would follow Him.

Well, having seen the reality

of the people's silence,

let's now move

to the next scene

as the showdown begins

to recognize the idols

that are silent.

So, it's interesting,

on the face of it,

this could seem like

a very uneven contest.

You know,

if this was made into a movie,

the odds against Elijah

seem to be 450 to 1 against.

And not only that,

the geography

is against Elijah as well,

because this is taking place

on Mount Carmel,

which is right smack

in the middle of Baal

worship territory.

And as well,

it's important for us to know,

and we've said this a few times,

that Baal,

he's the storm god.

So, ancient art

will picture him

holding the lightning bolt.

So, he seems to have

all the cards.

And then we get to that point

later on in the story

where Elijah further tips the scales

with a soaking wet sacrifice.

But in so doing,

the whole story

is going to demonstrate

with greater power

the glory of the one true God.

But notice,

as the story is told,

the emphasis on

the noisy worshippers.

So, look at verse 26.

Here they are,

calling on the name of Baal

from morning till noon.

Baal, answer us,

they shouted.

Verse 28,

they shouted louder,

they're slashing themselves

with swords.

Verse 29,

they continued

their frantic prophesying

until the time

for the evening sacrifice.

So, literally,

all day,

getting louder

and louder

and louder

in their worship.

Again,

just to observe this,

in verse 26,

end of verse 26,

it says,

they danced around the altar

they'd made

in our NIV here.

Again,

literally,

the language is,

they limped around the altar.

And so,

we're being drawn attention

to how powerless

and how pointless

their worship really is.

It's full of energy

and commitment,

but it's a waste of time

because their worship

is directed

to the wrong God

who will be of no help

in this key moment.

And so,

the message

at the same time

rings loud

and clear

that while

the worshipers

are making a racket,

their God is silent.

Verse 26,

after their shouting,

there was no response.

No one answered.

Verse 29,

there was no response.

No one answered.

No one paid attention.

And Elijah's

kind of sarcastic

responses to them,

it really served

to expose

that reality

and to expose

for them

and for us

the folly,

the weakness

of trusting

in any created thing

rather than

the creator

for their life

and their well-being.

That this contest

is a rebuke

to the nation

for leaving behind

the one true God

in order to pursue

worship of the false.

It's one thing

that you find

all through

the work

and the ministry

and the writings

of the prophets.

So,

early on

in the prophet

Jeremiah's ministry,

God comes

and speaks

through Jeremiah

and says,

my people have

committed two sins.

Not only have

they rejected me,

the source

of living water,

they're also drinking

from empty cisterns.

They're going

to broken cisterns

that hold no water.

They could have

had fresh,

wonderful,

life-giving water,

but instead

they're choosing

to drink

from dirty puddles

instead.

And so,

this great showdown

between Elijah

and the prophets

of Baal

is putting

idolatry

on trial

and in this

very public stage,

this very public

spectacle,

with the eyes

of the nation

watching,

Baal again

comes up

empty.

That must have

been something

of a shattering

experience,

certainly for the

prophets,

but perhaps

for the people

as well.

we place

so much

hope

and emphasis

on this

idol

and now

we're discovering

it is of no

value

when the

time comes.

And again,

maybe we've

learned that

ourselves

from bitter

experience.

In a time

of weakness,

in a time

of crisis,

perhaps we've

looked to

that person

in our life

or to that

sort of wealth

or that status,

that position,

whatever,

that we relied

on before,

thinking,

deliverance

will come

again,

only this time

it failed

to satisfy.

Sometimes

that's what

brings us

to church.

We come

to an end

of ourselves.

We've been

looking for

salvation

from other

things and

they come

up empty

and we're

looking for

something more.

We're open

to God.

We can draw

two important

lessons for

ourselves,

I think,

here.

The first,

and it comes

from a book,

a really helpful

little book

by Greg Beale,

We Become

What We Worship.

It's one theme

that runs

through the Bible.

We sang it

in Psalm 115.

He summarizes

this whole book

in a sentence.

What we revere

or what we worship,

what we revere,

we resemble,

either for ruin

or restoration.

We become

what we worship

for good

or for ill.

And the message

of the Bible

and especially

the message

of the prophets

is that if we

choose idols,

if we give

our hearts

to a non-thing,

then what happens

is that our hearts

become hardened.

Our senses

become dulled.

Our spiritual

sense becomes dulled.

We become

spiritually

lifeless

and we come

to be ruined.

Our need

is to be remade,

to be restored,

to become

new creations

in Christ,

for God

to work in us

by His Spirit

to give us

a new heart

with a new capacity

to love,

with a new

and restored worship

to worship

the God

we were made for.

And when we

worship the God

who made us

and who we were

made for,

we discover

that God's

masterpiece,

you and I,

we find ourselves

being restored

more and more

into the image

of the Lord Jesus.

But Elijah's message

becomes really

important for us

to hear

in that we always

need to be careful

who or what

we give our hearts

to.

But there's also

that wonderful promise

within the gospel

if we give

our lives

and our hearts

to Jesus

that He will

never fail us,

He will never

disappoint us,

He is

the Savior

to trust.

Perhaps within

this little section

there's also

a challenge

for us

that is the need

always

to be toppling

our idols.

Maybe we're

familiar with

that famous

saying of Calvin

that our hearts

are idol-making

factories.

It is so easy

for us to hunt

around and look

around and say

if I have this

thing

then life will

go well.

This person

or this thing

is going to be

the key

to the good life.

That's really easy

for us to do.

The Bible says

we give our hearts

to something

and we don't

give our hearts

to God.

It's idolatry.

So if we find

our spiritual

smoke alarm

is going off

we have that

sense am I

giving my heart

to the wrong

thing?

Or if you sense

that you're more

hardened perhaps

to God's word

or to the gospel.

If you look back

and say well

there was days

when I had much

more joy

in worship.

There was times

when my identity

as a child of God

that meant

everything to me

but not so much

now.

That may be

not definitely

but it may be

a sign

that we're

giving our

heart

to something

less than

the one

true God

and we may

be being

sapped

of spiritual

strength.

So we ask

ourselves the

question

and we join

Elijah

in looking

to tear

down

our idols

which we

do

as we

encounter

afresh

the glory

and love

of God

for us

in Christ

Jesus.

It's as our

hearts are

captured by

that greater

love

that we are

then able

to replace

those lesser

loves.

As we come

to understand

this is the

one who my

heart is made

for

then we're

able to set

those lesser

things

aside.

Jesus said

we cannot

serve God

and money

so it's

important for

us to do

that kind

of heart

analysis

where might

I be giving

my heart

away

and to

give our

hearts to

the gospel

to remembering

God's love

for us

in Jesus.

Well let's

think about

the third

part of

our story

where the

showdown

reaches its

climax.

Verse 30

to 46

the true

God speaks

and he

is not

silent.

So Elijah

the prophet

began by

speaking and

the people

were silent

and then the

people were

making a

racket but

the idols

were silent.

The lack

of power

of the idol

is out in

the moment.

It's out

in the open.

It's exposed

for all

to see.

just to

pause for a

moment

and to

think about

this scene

in the

setting of

our own

day.

You and I

know that

many people

have turned

from God.

Alternative

choices for

happiness or

freedom or for

purpose or for

meaning.

people are

busy,

consuming,

experiencing,

building,

but at the

same time

the gods

are failing.

We've never

had it so

good,

but yet we've

never had such

high levels of

anxiety and

loneliness and

loss of purpose

and a sense of

fear.

fear.

There are so

many people

today who are

limping and

lacking power

and looking to

find hope and

they're searching

for more.

And wonderfully,

as we know,

there is more.

There is hope

from the God

who speaks.

And so,

very briefly,

we're going to

think about the

three ways that

God speaks in

these last

verses.

The first way,

the most dramatic

way perhaps that

God speaks is that

He provides the

fire for the

sacrifice.

Look there at

verse 30 down

to verse 39.

We see Elijah

rebuilding the

original altar.

We see him

soaking the

offering so

there is no

doubt that glory

is going to be

given to God

if He answers.

And we hear

Elijah pray.

Verse 37,

as his prayer

closes,

answer me,

answer me,

Lord,

so these people

will know that

You,

Lord,

are God

and that You

are turning

their hearts

back again.

He prays for

glory to be seen

in such a way

people would have

such an encounter

with the glory

and the presence

of God

that their hearts

would be transformed.

That's not going to

be a people thing,

that's a God

thing.

And the fire

falls

and everything

is consumed.

The people see

the true God

provides a sacrifice.

Perhaps they

remember

the God

who provides

sacrifices

for their sin

and they bow

down.

The Lord,

He is God.

The Lord,

He is God.

He speaks

by providing

fire

for the sacrifice.

But He also

speaks

on this mountain

as He brings

judgment

on evil.

Because the story

doesn't end

on that high.

We then look

at verse 40.

Seize the prophets

of Baal,

don't let anyone

get away.

They seized them

and Elijah had them

brought down

to the Kishon Valley

and slaughtered there.

So this mountain

scene becomes

a place

of judgment

as God

brings decisive

judgment

on the wicked

who willfully,

deliberately

reject and

oppose Him.

It's one of

these pictures

that we get

in the Bible

of future judgment

brought into

the present

to give us,

as we read,

a warning,

a reminder

of the certainty

of the Holy

God's judgment

of evil.

But the story

doesn't end

there either.

We get that scene

verse 41 to 46

of Elijah

and his servant

and Elijah

being sent

to look for the

cloud

with the promise

of rain

and God speaks

finally

by providing

the gift of life.

So where the

conflict

began

three years

before

with Elijah

going into

Ahab's presence

saying,

I swear

there's not

going to be

Jew or rain

as a judgment

and now

the rain

is going

to fall

and it's

going to fall

because God

has spoken

because the

true God

is going

to give

life.

And it's

so interesting

that there's

this emphasis

on Elijah

speaking to

Ahab telling

Ahab to get

ready for the

rain.

Perhaps we

remember that

reality of God's

goodness causing

the rain to fall

on the just

and the unjust.

wicked Ahab

gets the rain

that will give

the crops

that will give

life.

But God

speaks

by way

of sacrifice.

God speaks

in this act

of judgment

and God

speaks

as he provides

the gift

of life.

It was Francis

Schaeffer

who wrote

the book

with a wonderful

title,

God is there

and he is

not silent.

We see

that so

vividly

on Mount

Carmel

but our

God is

always

speaking.

He's

speaking to

us in

the beauty

of creation.

He speaks

to us

when we

read his

word.

He speaks

to us

by his

spirit

into our

conscience

and he

speaks

to us

especially

as he

brings us

the good

news of

the Lord

Jesus.

The same

God who

spoke on

this mountain

years later

will speak

on another

mountain.

would speak

that same

message

again.

Think about

Jesus there

on Mount

Calvary.

Jesus becomes

the great,

the final

mountaintop

sacrifice

provided by

God to

take away

our sin

and our

guilt.

Think about

what happens

there on

the cross.

The cross

is a moment

of judgment

from a

holy God

against sin

and evil

and unbelief

but remarkably

the judgment

doesn't fall

on us,

it falls

on the

righteous

Lord Jesus.

But the cross

also,

alongside the

resurrection,

speaks to us

of the gift

of life,

new life

that is ours

in Christ,

arisen and

reigning Lord

Jesus.

And so,

as we think

about this

great scene

in Elijah's

story,

we recognize

that it

points us

to a still

greater story

that reminds

us of Jesus,

the true

and better

Elijah,

sent into

this world

both as

God's

messenger

and as

God's

message,

sent in

order to

reveal in a

new way

glory of

God,

the power

of God,

the life-giving

nature of

God,

and he is

the one

who calls

us saying,

follow me.

He is the

loving Lord

God who

calls for our

undivided

loyalty.

He loves us

so much,

he wants our

best,

he will not

share our

heart with

another.

Jesus is

the one we

need to

hear,

Jesus is

the one we

need to

believe in,

Jesus is

the one our

confused and

hurting world

needs to

discover.

Will we

come to

him and

come to

him again

to receive

the strength

and the

help that

we need?

And then

will we go

for him

with a

mountaintop

message of

Calvary

written on

our hearts

so that we

might proclaim

it in our

lives,

that we

might live

with hope

and we

might point

people to

hope,

pointing people

away from

their idols

to show

them that

something more

that they're

looking for

is found

in and only

in the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

Let's pray

together.