21 and Elijah cometh nigh unto all the people, and saith, 'Till when are ye leaping on the two branches?—if Jehovah 'is' God, go after Him; and if Baal, go after him;' and the people have not answered him a word. 22 And Elijah saith unto the people, 'I—I have been left a prophet of Jehovah—by myself; and the prophets of Baal 'are' four hundred and fifty men; 23 and let them give to us two bullocks, and they choose for themselves the one bullock, and cut it in pieces, and place 'it' on the wood, and place no fire; and I—I prepare the other bullock, and have put 'it' on the wood, and fire I do not place;— 24 and ye have called in the name of your god, and I—I call in the name of Jehovah, and it hath been, the god who answereth by fire—He 'is' the God.' And all the people answer and say, 'Good 'is' the word.' 25 And Elijah saith to the prophets of Baal, 'Choose for you the one bullock, and prepare first, for ye 'are' the multitude, and call ye in the name of your god, and place no fire.' 26 And they take the bullock that 'one' gave to them, and prepare, and call in the name of Baal from the morning even till the noon, saying, 'O Baal, answer us!' and there is no voice, and there is none answering; and they leap on the altar that one had made. 27 And it cometh to pass, at noon, that Elijah playeth on them, and saith, 'Call with a loud voice, for he 'is' a god, for he is meditating, or pursuing, or on a journey; it may be he is asleep, an doth awake.' 28 And they call with a loud voice, and cut themselves, according to their ordinance, with swords and with spears, till a flowing of blood 'is' on them; 29 and it cometh to pass, at the passing by of the noon, that they feign themselves prophets till the going up of the present, and there is no voice, and there is none answering, and there is none attending. 30 And Elijah saith to all the people, 'Come nigh unto me;' and all the people come nigh unto him, and he repaireth the altar of Jehovah that is broken down; 31 and Elijah taketh twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of Jehovah was, saying, 'Israel is thy name;' 32 and he buildeth with the stones an altar, in the name of Jehovah, and maketh a trench, as about the space of two measures of seed, round about the altar. 33 And he arrangeth the wood, and cutteth in pieces the bullock, and placeth 'it' on the wood, and saith, 'Fill ye four pitchers of water, and pour on the burnt-offering, and on the wood; 34 and he saith, 'Do 'it' a second time;' and they do 'it' a second time; and he saith, 'Do 'it' a third time;' and they do 'it' a third time; 35 and the water goeth round about the altar, and also, the trench he hath filled with water. 36 And it cometh to pass, at the going up of the 'evening-'present, that Elijah the prophet cometh nigh and saith, 'Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to-day let it be known that Thou 'art' God in Israel, and I Thy servant, that by Thy word I have done the whole of these things; 37 answer me, O Jehovah, answer me, and this people doth know that Thou 'art' Jehovah God; and Thou hast turned their heart backward.' 38 And there falleth a fire of Jehovah, and consumeth the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and the water that 'is' in the trench it hath licked up. 39 And all the people see, and fall on their faces, and say, 'Jehovah, He 'is' the God, Jehovah, He 'is' the God.' 40 And Elijah saith to them, 'Catch ye the prophets of Baal; let not a man escape of them;' and they catch them, and Elijah bringeth them down unto the stream Kishon, and doth slaughter them there.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Kings 18:21-40
Commentary on 1 Kings 18:21-40
(Read 1 Kings 18:21-40)
Many of the people wavered in their judgment, and varied in their practice. Elijah called upon them to determine whether Jehovah or Baal was the self-existent, supreme God, the Creator, Governor, and Judge of the world, and to follow him alone. It is dangerous to halt between the service of God and the service of sin, the dominion of Christ and the dominion of our lusts. If Jesus be the only Saviour, let us cleave to him alone for every thing; if the Bible be the world of God, let us reverence and receive the whole of it, and submit our understanding to the Divine teaching it contains. Elijah proposed to bring the matter to a trial. Baal had all the outward advantages, but the event encourages all God's witnesses and advocates never to fear the face of man. The God that answers by fire, let him be God: the atonement was to be made by sacrifice, before the judgment could be removed in mercy. The God therefore that has power to pardon sin, and to signify it by consuming the sin-offering, must needs be the God that can relieve from the calamity. God never required his worshippers to honour him in the manner of the worshippers of Baal; but the service of the devil, though sometimes it pleases and pampers the body, yet, in other things, really is cruel to it, as in envy and drunkenness. God requires that we mortify our lusts and corruptions; but bodily penances and severities are no pleasure to him. Who has required these things at your hands? A few words uttered in assured faith, and with fervent affection for the glory of God, and love to the souls of men, or thirstings after the Lord's image and his favour, form the effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous man, which availeth much. Elijah sought not his own glory, but that of God, for the good of the people. The people are all agreed, convinced, and satisfied; Jehovah, he is the God. Some, we hope, had their hearts turned, but most of them were convinced only, not converted. Blessed are they that have not seen what these saw, yet have believed, and have been wrought upon by it, more than they that saw it.