for them to find any real delight in God. Their prospects of future happiness too are by no means cheering to their souls : for they have reason to fear, that God will not accept the service of a divided heart. On the contrary, the man " who follows the Lord fully," enjoys now that peace of God wliich passeth all understanding, and looks forward with confidence to that day, when he shall receive the plaudits of liis Divine Master ''.
In every view, therefore, decision of character is most desirable : and it is better to maintain a holy fii-mness with Elijah, though we be opposed by the whole world, than to halt between two opinions, or to be attempting to reconcile the inconsistent services of God and Mammon.]
^ 1 John iii. 20, 21.
Elijah's challenge to the prophets of baal.
1 Kings xviii. 24. Ca/l ye on the name of your gods, and I loill call on the name of the Lord: and the God that an- sivereth hy fire, let him he God. u4nd all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.
UNBOUNDED is the dominion which God exer- cises over the minds of men : '^ the hearts of kings are in his hands, and he turneth them whithersoever he will." The heart of Ahab was exasperated against Elijah in the highest degree ; insomuch that he sought him not only throughout his own kingdom, but through all the neighbouring kingdoms, in order that he might wreak his vengeance upon him. Yet, behold, now Elijah presents himself before him ; and the hands of the infuriated monarch are tied ; yea, the prophet sends him word that he is coming to meet him ; and yet the king, who might have had a band of soldiers at his command, uses no means whatever to apprehend him. Moreover Elijah retorts upon him his injurious accusation, and tells him plainly, that he was " the troubler of Israel, by for- saking the Lord and following Baalim : " nay more, he enjoins the king to summon all the prophets of Baal to meet him at Mount Carmel ; and the king obeys the mandate, as if he had been the subject.
346.^ ELIJAH CHALLENGES BAAl's PROPHETS. 407
and Elijah the sovereign. When they were con- vened, the prophet appears in the midst of them all, unprotected and alone ; yet can neither the king, nor the people, put forth a hand to touch him ; so awed were they and restrained by the invisible agency of Jehovah.
I. The challenge which Elijah gave the worshippers of Baal on this occasion, is the first point to which we shall call your attention —
Neither Ahab nor his prophets would submit to the declarations of God's word : of course, any appeal to the Mosaic writings would have been in vain. But the claims of Baal and of Jehovah might be tried by an appeal to miracles : to them therefore, doubtless by divine direction, he makes his appeal ; and pro- poses, that " the God who should answer by fire," should be acknowledged as the true and only God. Mark,
1. The test proposed —
[No proposal could have been more wise than this. By such a test as this, the matter might be decided without giving any undue advantage to the w^orshippers of Baal. On their side were the king, the court, the prophets ; so that, if any thing could have been effected by means of a confederacy, no doubt they would have strained every nerve to gain their point : and he, being alone, would have been borne down, as it were, by the popular current : but here was no scope for fraud; no contrivances of theirs could counterfeit the sign proposed; nor could any doubt remain on the minds of the spectators when the sign itself should really appear.
Nor could any proposal be more equitable. The very idea of a God supposes, that he is one who can vindicate his own honour, and maintain his ovni authority ; and that he will do so when a just occasion calls for it. When therefore the point at issue between Jehovah and Baal was to be settled for the satisfaction of the whole world, it was reasonable that there should be some display of omnipotence resorted to as the means of establishing their respective claims.