Reading: I Kings 18:20-40 (Troubled time for the people. The ten northern tribes have separated to form the Kingdom of Israel, leaving the two southern tribes as the Kingdom of Judah. The Kingdom of Israel begins incorporating a few practices of Baalism, the Canaanite religion of fertility and prosperity, into its worship of Yahweh; and when Israel's King Ahab marries Queen Jezebel of the Sidonites, an aggressive Baalist, Ahab grants her desire to make Baalism, rather than Yahwism, the civic religion of Israel. Ironically as soon as this is done -- instead of renewing the fertility of the land and the prosperity of the people as Baal promises to do, a three-year drought ensues and the people suffer terribly under the new regime. Elijah, a prophet of Yahweh, publicly criticizes the King, denounces the Queen, and challenges 450 priests of Baal to meet him on Mt Carmel to see which God -- Baal or Yahweh, will be the kingdom's saviour.)
I like the Elijah stories -- and the Elisha ones that follow, that will be our worship readings for the next 6 weeks. Elijah is a strong and colourful character, committed life-or-death to honouring and following Yahweh in all things. And Elisha is a worthy successor, as devoted to his master as his master was to their God.
And what a delightful story to start with -- 450 priests of Baal putting together a magnificent offering to their god, spending all day doing the right things and chanting the right songs and even offering their own blood in just the right way, to please Baal and have Baal come down and accept their offering by burning it up with heavenly fire.
But ... no Baal, no matter how hard they try.
Then lonely Elijah, having first to repair the altar to Yahweh that's fallen into disuse -- then after putting together an offering to Yahweh, dousing it with water to the point of total water-loggedness (imagine the priests of Baal laughing at that huge mistake!), then asking Yahweh to come down and consume it with fire.
And Yahweh does!! Burns up the whole water-logged mess down to cinders and ashes!!
Yahweh wins. Baal is discredited. And Elijah has the people put the 450 priests of Baal to death.
What a drama!!
The story raises a few questions for me, though.
1. What is Baal and Baalism?
Is it just an ancient pagan fertility religion with strange rites -- some fanciful, some terrible? Something we read about in Sunday school lessons and books about the Bible and ancient people, and don't have to worry about now?
Or is Baalism more universal than that? Even current and contemporary? Just an ancient form of a universal human tendency and temptation to idolize one's own land, one's tribe, one's family and one's home, and to pray and work for the prosperity and well-being of these close things at any cost to one's self and others?
2. Baal promises personal and tribal prosperity to the faithful. Does Yahweh promise prosperity? If so, is Yahweh different from Baal? If not -- if Yahweh's promise is not personal or tribal prosperity, then what does Yahweh promise?
3. The story does not say Yahweh told Elijah to kill the priests of Baal; Elijah seems to have done that on his own initiative. Does Yahweh -- does God approve of it?
4. Is the contest on Mt Carmel all about seeing which God has the most fire, and who is therefore the more to be feared? Or is something else on display here -- something other than the superior firepower of God? Is this a schoolyard battle of "my-god-is-stronger-than-your-god," or does something else get revealed?
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