Fire From Heaven
1 Kings 18
Ahab was still king of Israel. He prayed
to an idol called Baal. He asked Baal
to bring rain, but rain did not fall.
The crops did not grow.
The people cried, “We are hungry!”
The prophet Elijah brought King Ahab
a message from God. Elijah said,
“There is no rain because you worship
a statue instead of the true God!”
This made King Ahab very angry.
Elijah wanted to show the people that
his God was the one true God.
So Elijah gave them a challenge.
He and King Ahab and all the
Israelites marched up Mount Carmel.
Elijah told the worshipers of Baal,
“Build analtar
foryour
god.
I will build an altar formy
God.”
Then they placed an offering on each altar.
The worshipers of Baal cried out
for their god to send fire. They danced
around the altar, but nothing happened.
Elijah teased Baal’s priests,
“Maybe Baal is on vacation!”
Elijah dug a trench all around his altar.
He poured water over everything. Water
even filled the trench. Elijah prayed.
Suddenly fire came down from heaven.
Thesacrifice
burned up.
The stone altar burned up.
Even the water in the trench was gone!
When the people saw what had happened,
they bowed down and worshiped
the one true God. Before long,
God allowed it to rain again.
