The Firemaker

The fire which lit the altar, consuming the bull, the wood, the stones, and the dry dust did not start out as a smoldering fire that Elijah had to fan to keep burning.  There was no time for smoke to gather in the air.  From whence the fire came is part of the mystery which is set forth there on the mountain.  The text says, "Then the fire of the Lord fell..." (I Kings 18:38) so right away we know the Lord lit the fire and apparently it came from above to the ground.  The sky was clear taking away the possibility of a random lightning strike.  It was such a hot and powerful fire that it "...licked up the water that was in the trench." 

 

There were no skeptics that day on Mt Carmel.  "When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces, and said, 'The Lord indeed is God; the Lord indeed is God.' " (I Kings 18:39)  No one can blame any of those who had been watching when they suddenly tried to hide themselves in the hard ground of a mountain top.  To stand in the presence of the Almighty God is a frightening moment.  Such is how the Hebrews experienced it when God came down to Mt. Sinai and such is how the ancestors of those wanderers experienced it as well.

 

The God we talk about today is the same powerful, fire breathing, earth moving God, but we have domesticated Him so that He is not like the roaring lion, but the house kitty cat.  Our trendy theology which turns God into a friendly fellow who is anxious to hang around us is such a mockery.  God is not our buddy.  He never has been and never will be.  He does not exist to serve us.  We were created to serve Him.  We are not His equal.  The Hebrews on Mt. Carmel had it right when they declared, "The Lord indeed is God..."  It is a truth worth some serious reflection.