1 Kings 18:24 Study Bible: You call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD, and the god who answers by fire, he is God." All the people answered, "It is well said."

◄ 1 Kings 18:24 ►

Then you may call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The God who answers by fire, He is God." And all the people answered, "What you say is good."

Study Bible

Then you may call on the name of your god,

Elijah permitted Baal’s prophets to appeal publicly to the deity they claimed served Israel’s needs. Baal was revered in Canaan as a giver of rain, fertility, lightning, and agricultural abundance. During a prolonged drought sent by the LORD, Baal’s supposed authority over rain and storm had already proved empty. The altar test exposed whether Baal possessed any life, power, or ability to act.

Isa 45:20 Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives…
Psa 115:4-7 Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.…
Jer 10:5 Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols…

and I will call on the name of the LORD.

Elijah stood alone as the LORD’s prophet, yet he relied upon the covenant God who had revealed Himself to Israel and bound the nation to Himself. Yahweh was not one deity among many, but the Creator and Lord over heaven, earth, rain, fire, and every nation. Elijah’s appeal would seek God’s glory and Israel’s restoration rather than personal vindication.

Psa 116:4 Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, deliver…
Gen 12:8 From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel…
Jol 2:32 And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved…

The God who answers by fire, He is God.”

Fire from heaven would provide an unmistakable verdict before the assembled nation. The test confronted Baal in an area claimed as his own, since lightning and storm were associated with his worship. The LORD had previously revealed His presence through fire at the burning bush, on Sinai, and in the wilderness; now He would reveal that He alone was God and that Elijah’s ministry carried His authority. The consuming fire would also show that Israel’s deepest need was not rain alone, but reconciliation with the God they had forsaken.

1Ch 21:26 And there he built an altar to the LORD.…
2Ch 7:1 When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down…
Lev 9:24 Fire came out from the presence of the LORD…

And all the people answered, “What you say is good.”

The people accepted the fairness of the challenge, though they had been wavering between devotion to the LORD and allegiance to Baal. Their agreement placed them under the witness of the coming event and prepared the way for a decisive call to repentance. Like Israel at Joshua’s renewal of the covenant, they would be required to recognize whom they would truly serve.

Ezr 10:12 And the whole assembly responded in a loud voice:…
Exo 24:3 When Moses came and told the people all the words…
Jos 24:24 So the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD…

Persons / Places / Events

1. Elijah
A prophet of the LORD, Elijah is central to this account. He challenges the prophets of Baal to demonstrate the power of the true God.

2. Prophets of Baal
These are the false prophets serving the Canaanite god Baal, whom Elijah challenges to a spiritual contest.

3. Mount Carmel
The location where the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal takes place. It is a significant site for demonstrating God's power.

4. The LORD (Yahweh)
The God of Israel, whom Elijah serves and who ultimately demonstrates His power through fire.

5. The People of Israel
The audience witnessing the contest, whose faith and allegiance are at stake.

Teaching Points

The Power of Prayer
Elijah's challenge emphasizes the importance of calling on the name of the LORD. Believers are encouraged to pray with faith, trusting in God's power to respond.

God's Sovereignty
The contest on Mount Carmel illustrates God's supreme authority over all false gods. Christians are reminded to trust in God's ultimate power and sovereignty in their lives.

Faith in Action
Elijah's boldness in confronting the prophets of Baal demonstrates active faith. Believers are called to stand firm in their faith, even in the face of opposition.

The Reality of Spiritual Warfare
This event highlights the ongoing battle between truth and falsehood. Christians are encouraged to discern and stand against false teachings.

Witness to the World
The people's response to the demonstration of God's power serves as a reminder that our lives should testify to God's reality and power.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does Elijah's challenge to the prophets of Baal demonstrate the importance of faith in action? Reflect on a situation where you need to act boldly in faith.

2. In what ways does the event on Mount Carmel illustrate God's sovereignty? How can this understanding impact your daily trust in God?

3. Consider the role of prayer in this account. How can you cultivate a more fervent and effective prayer life, similar to Elijah's?

4. What are some modern-day "false gods" that compete for our allegiance, and how can we remain faithful to the LORD in the face of these challenges?

5. How can the demonstration of God's power in this passage inspire you to be a witness to those around you? What practical steps can you take to share your faith?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Exodus 3:2
The burning bush where God reveals Himself to Moses, showing God's presence through fire.

Leviticus 9:24
Fire from the LORD consumes the offering, demonstrating God's acceptance and power.

Hebrews 12:29
Describes God as a consuming fire, emphasizing His holiness and power.

James 5:17-18
References Elijah's fervent prayer life, highlighting his faith and God's response.

Sermons

Altars and Altar Fires	J. H. Jowett, M. A.	1 Kings 18:24
Elijah's Challenge	J. Parker, D. D.	1 Kings 18:24
Fire from Heaven	F. S. Webster, M. A.	1 Kings 18:24
The Fire of the Lord	S. Chadwick.	1 Kings 18:24
The Fire of the Lord	Charles Cross.	1 Kings 18:24
The God that Answereth by Fire	M. G. Pearse.	1 Kings 18:24
The God that Answers by Fire	J. Thomas, M. A.	1 Kings 18:24
Elijah and the Prophets of Baal	E. De Pressense	1 Kings 18:1-46
Elijah and the Prophets of Baal	J. H. Cadoux.	1 Kings 18:19-40
Elijah and the Prophets of Baal	C. J. Baldwin.	1 Kings 18:19-40
The Priests of Baal	Monday Club Sermons	1 Kings 18:19-40
The Prophet of the Lord	H. M. Booth, D. D.	1 Kings 18:19-40
The God that Answereth by Fire	J. Urquhart	1 Kings 18:21-40
The Test of Fire	J.A. Macdonald	1 Kings 18:22-24

People

Ahab, Elijah, Isaac, Jacob, Jezebel, Jezreel, Obadiah

Places

Jezreel, Kishon River, Mount Carmel, Samaria, Zarephath

Topics

Answereth, Answers, Clear, Fire, Gives, Gods, Idea, Prayer, Prayers, Spoken

Dictionary of Bible Themes

1 Kings 18:24

8640 calling upon God

1 Kings 18:16-40

4254 mountains
5541 society, negative

1 Kings 18:17-40

8747 false gods

1 Kings 18:19-40

7774 prophets, false

Library

Obadiah
To the Young '... I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth.--1 KINGS xviii.12. This Obadiah is one of the obscurer figures in the Old Testament. We never hear of him again, for there is no reason to accept the Jewish tradition which alleges that he was Obadiah the prophet. And yet how distinctly he stands out from the canvas, though he is only sketched with a few bold outlines! He is the 'governor over Ahab's house,' a kind of mayor of the palace, and probably the second man in the kingdom. But …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Trial by Fire
'And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose yon one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. 26. And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. 27. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Elijah's Appeal to the Undecided
Now, we have these three classes here this morning. We have, I hope, a very large number who are on Jehovah's side, who fear God and serve him; we have a number who are on the side of the evil one, who make no profession of religion, and do not observe even the outward symptoms of it; because they are both inwardly and outwardly the servants of the evil one. But the great mass of my hearers belong to the third class--the waverers. Like empty clouds they are driven hither and thither by the wind; …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857

Obadiah; Or, Early Piety Eminent Piety
The Lord does not love that his servants, however great they are, should think lightly of their lesser comrades, and it occurs to me that he so arranged matters that Obadiah became important to Elijah when he had to face the wrathful king of Israel. The prophet is bidden to go and show himself to Ahab, and he does so; but he judges it better to begin by showing himself to the governor of his palace, that he may break the news to his master, and prepare him for the interview. Ahab was exasperated …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 30: 1884

The Prophet Hosea.
GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS. That the kingdom of Israel was the object of the prophet's ministry is so evident, that upon this point all are, and cannot but be, agreed. But there is a difference of opinion as to whether the prophet was a fellow-countryman of those to whom he preached, or was called by God out of the kingdom of Judah. The latter has been asserted with great confidence by Maurer, among others, in his Observ. in Hos., in the Commentat. Theol. ii. i. p. 293. But the arguments …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

But Some one Will Say, Does He not Know Without a Monitor Both what Our...
But some one will say, Does he not know without a monitor both what our difficulties are, and what is meet for our interest, so that it seems in some measure superfluous to solicit him by our prayers, as if he were winking, or even sleeping, until aroused by the sound of our voice? [1] Those who argue thus attend not to the end for which the Lord taught us to pray. It was not so much for his sake as for ours. He wills indeed, as is just, that due honour be paid him by acknowledging that all which …
John Calvin—Of Prayer--A Perpetual Exercise of Faith

Selfishness and Prayer. A Contrast.
"So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel, and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees."--1 KINGS xviii. 42. WHAT A CONTRAST! And yet, both men were perfectly consistent. It is in each case what you would expect, and yet how differently it might have been. What a different story it would have been if only Ahab had listened to the teaching of God! How often we see men having chances of turning round and beginning a new …
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread

The West Coast of Galilee-Carmel.
The people of Issachar had "Carmel and the river for their bounds in length": the people of Zabulon, "Carmel and the sea." Carmel was not so much one mountain as a mountainous country, containing almost the whole breadth of the land of Issachar, and a great part of that of Zabulon. It was, as it seems, a certain famous peak among many other mountain tops, known by the same name, lifted up and advanced above the rest. The promontory Carmel, in Pliny, and in the mountain a town of the same name, heretofore …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Ninth Sunday after Trinity. How Long Halt Ye Between Two Opinions? if the Lord be God, Follow Him; but if Baal, Then Follow Him.
How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him. Was kinket ihr betrognen Seelen [106]Lehr. 1733. trans. by Catherine Winkworth, 1855 Why halt thus, O deluded heart, Why waver longer in thy choice? Is it so hard to choose the part Offered by Heaven's entreating voice? Oh look with clearer eyes again, Nor strive to enter in, in vain. Press on! Remember, 'tis not Caesar's throne, Nor earthly honour, wealth or might Whereby God's favour shall be …
Catherine Winkworth—Lyra Germanica: The Christian Year

Fall of the Western Empire (Ad 451-476)
The empire of the West was now fast sinking. One weak prince was at the head of it after another, and the spirit of the old Romans, who had conquered the world, had quite died out. Immense hosts of barbarous nations poured in from the North. The Goths, under Alaric, who took Rome by siege, in the reign of Honorius, have been already mentioned (p 93). Forty years later, Attila, king of the Huns, who was called "The scourge of God," kept both the East and the West in terror. In the year 451, he advanced …
J. C. Roberston—Sketches of Church History, from AD 33 to the Reformation

Will the Knowledge that Some of Our Own are Lost, Mar Our Happiness in Heaven?
This is a difficult question to answer satisfactorily, on account of our instinctive feelings of natural affection, which arise, and, like a mist, obscure our judgment. Nevertheless, the difficulty is much lessened, and even entirely removed from some minds, at hast, by the following considerations. 1. Our happiness, even in this world, does not depend on the happiness of those who are bound to us by the ties of kindred or of friendship. This is especially the case when their unhappiness proceeds …
F. J. Boudreaux—The Happiness of Heaven

Of Prayer --A Perpetual Exercise of Faith. The Daily Benefits Derived from It.
1. A general summary of what is contained in the previous part of the work. A transition to the doctrine of prayer. Its connection with the subject of faith. 2. Prayer defined. Its necessity and use. 3. Objection, that prayer seems useless, because God already knows our wants. Answer, from the institution and end of prayer. Confirmation by example. Its necessity and propriety. Perpetually reminds us of our duty, and leads to meditation on divine providence. Conclusion. Prayer a most useful exercise. …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

This was Antony's First Struggle against the Devil...
7. This was Antony's first struggle against the devil, or rather this victory was the Saviour's work in Antony [1005] , Who condemned sin in the flesh that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit.' But neither did Antony, although the evil one had fallen, henceforth relax his care and despise him; nor did the enemy as though conquered cease to lay snares for him. For again he went round as a lion seeking some occasion against him. But Antony …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

Upon Our Lord's SermonOn the Mount
Discourse 7 "Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: And thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." Matthew 6:16-18. 1. It has been the endeavour of Satan, from the beginning of the world, …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

Subterraneous Places. Mines. Caves.
Thus having taken some notice of the superficies of the land, let us a little search into its bowels. You may divide the subterraneous country into three parts: the metal mines, the caves, and the places of burial. This land was eminently noted for metal mines, so that "its stones," in very many places, "were iron, and out of its hills was digged brass," Deuteronomy 8:9. From these gain accrued to the Jews: but to the Christians, not seldom slavery and misery; being frequently condemned hither by …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

The First Commandment
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' Exod 20: 3. Why is the commandment in the second person singular, Thou? Why does not God say, You shall have no other gods? Because the commandment concerns every one, and God would have each one take it as spoken to him by name. Though we are forward to take privileges to ourselves, yet we are apt to shift off duties from ourselves to others; therefore the commandment is in the second person, Thou and Thou, that every one may know that it is spoken to him, …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Prayer
But I give myself unto prayer.' Psa 109: 4. I shall not here expatiate upon prayer, as it will be considered more fully in the Lord's prayer. It is one thing to pray, and another thing to be given to prayer: he who prays frequently, is said to be given to prayer; as he who often distributes alms, is said to be given to charity. Prayer is a glorious ordinance, it is the soul's trading with heaven. God comes down to us by his Spirit, and we go up to him by prayer. What is prayer? It is an offering …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Of Passages from the Holy Scriptures, and from the Apocrypha, which are Quoted, or Incidentally Illustrated, in the Institutes.
TO THE AUTHORS QUOTED IN THE INSTITUTES PREFATORY ADDRESS TO HIS MOST CHRISTIAN MAJESTY, THE MOST MIGHTY AND ILLUSTRIOUS MONARCH, FRANCIS, KING OF THE FRENCH, HIS SOVEREIGN; [1] JOHN CALVIN PRAYS PEACE AND SALVATION IN CHRIST. [2] Sire,--When I first engaged in this work, nothing was farther from my thoughts than to write what should afterwards be presented to your Majesty. My intention was only to furnish a kind of rudiments, by which those who feel some interest in religion might be trained to …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

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