The Jesse Tree: Day 15

There was a new king in Israel, Ahab. And this was anything but good news. His first administrative decisions included building an altar for Baal, the Canaanite god, promoting worship of this false deity throughout the kingdom and turning people away from the LORD. And for a while, even with this change, the kingdom flourished. All seemed well. And people began to believe that their flourishing was the work of this strange new god, Baal.

Then God chose to correct these notions. He sent his messenger, the prophet, Elijah, a man famously unkempt and disheveled, but faithful to God. Elijah proclaimed to the king:

Understandably, Ahab was upset. So Elijah went into hiding. For three years, nobody saw or heard from him. And no matter how much they called out to Baal, not a single raindrop fell. A three-year drought. So much for the provision of Baal, the “storm god.”

But still, this wasn’t enough to turn the people’s hearts away from Baal and fully to the LORD. So God acted again.

He sent Elijah to King Ahab. And as Ahab saw this shaggy and bedraggled prophet striding boldly into his presence, he spoke these words:

The Baal prophets went first, like a battalion of mad priests. From morning till noon, they cried out to the skies, cutting themselves and limping around their altar, hoping to persuade their god to act.

But nothing happened.

Then went Elijah. But instead of wounding himself and limping around, he ordered jars to be filled with water and dumped on the altar until it was soaked. In the midst of a 3-year drought, an audacious waste of water. But even beyond that, it didn’t make any sense. The goal was fire. Water doesn’t help fire; it makes creating it more difficult. Elijah’s strategy seemed nonsensical.

But that was the whole point.

By the time the altar was drenched in precious water, Elijah called out to the LORD. And then this happened.

Elijah called, and God answered, demonstrating with startling clarity that he alone is the one true God. And then, he also sent rain. In ending the drought, God provided for his people, not Baal. The point being that if the people of Israel were to call out to anyone for help, it should be the LORD.

Years later, God would reveal himself again. And in that revelation, we learned that we too find salvation and hope in calling on the name of the LORD alone. But now we recognize that name as Jesus.