Origin: 1 Kings 18:20-40 in the Bible
Once upon a time, in the land of Israel, there was a prophet named Elijah. Elijah loved God with all his heart and spent his days teaching people about God’s love and power.
But during that time, many people in Israel had turned away from God and started worshiping a false god named Baal. King Ahab, the ruler of Israel, and his wife Queen Jezebel encouraged this false worship, and they built altars and temples for Baal all across the land.
Elijah knew that God was the one true God, and he was determined to show the people of Israel the error of their ways. So he challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest to see which God was real.
Elijah gathered all the prophets of Baal together on Mount Carmel, along with many people from all over Israel. He said to them, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, then follow him.”
The prophets of Baal agreed to Elijah’s challenge. They built an altar and prepared a sacrifice, calling on Baal to send down fire from heaven to burn up the offering.
All day long, the prophets of Baal shouted and danced around their altar, calling out to Baal to answer them. But there was no response. Baal did not send down fire to burn up their sacrifice.
Elijah watched as the prophets of Baal grew tired and discouraged. Then, it was his turn. He rebuilt the altar of the Lord that had been torn down and placed his sacrifice on it. Then he dug a trench around the altar and poured water over the sacrifice three times, completely soaking it and filling the trench with water.
Elijah prayed to God, “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant.”
Suddenly, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and even the water in the trench. The people of Israel were amazed and fell down on their faces, crying out, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”
Elijah had shown the people of Israel that God was the one true God, and they turned back to Him with all their hearts.
And so, children, the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal teaches us that God is powerful and mighty. He always hears our prayers and answers them in His own time and in His own way.
