The First Gospel: Elijah & The Prophets of Ba’al | Josh Harrison
The Divided Kingdom, Forgotten Context, and a Showdown on Mount Carmel
We arrive at the thirtieth week of Citizens Church’s “First Gospel” series—a journey through the Old Testament intended to resituate these stories in their rightful place: as accounts not of an arbitrary or angry God, but of a consistently good, redeeming one. The premise is deceptively simple: read the Old Testament with an honest eye, and you’ll discover a tapestry of mercy, kindness, and slow redemption playing out in very real landscapes, real history, and real lives—a God whose commitment to goodness predates Matthew’s Gospel by centuries.
But a second thread runs through this series: restoring narrative context to stories we often treat as isolated fables—disconnected vignettes floating in a sort of spiritual Narnia. Josh Harrison described his own experience of family history as a jumble of anecdotes, stripped of context and meaning. In the same way, Old Testament stories only reach their full impact when read as chapters in a single, sweeping narrative—a story through which God is working redemption, even (and especially) when humanity stumbles.
From United to Divided: Background to the Story
By the time we reach 1 Kings 18, the grand narrative has shifted. The twelve tribes of Israel, once united under Saul, David, and Solomon, have split into bitterly divided northern and southern kingdoms—Israel and Judah. The split arises from real grievances: Solomon’s taxing and forced labor left northern tribes feeling exploited. Rehoboam’s refusal to ease this burden (and, in fact, his foolish boasting that he’d be harsher than his father) led the north to revolt, enthroning Jeroboam and founding a rival kingdom. The north, wealthier by virtue of controlling profitable trade routes, is marked by political instability and religious pluralism; the south (Judah), though poorer, remains more politically stable under David’s lineage, maintaining (at least nominally) fidelity to Yahweh.
It is in this fractured context that our story unfolds.
Contest of the Gods: Baal versus Yahweh
Fast forward seven kings into Israel’s northern experiment, and we meet Ahab and his infamous wife, Jezebel. Their agenda is to complete Israel’s transition from quaint but exclusive monotheism to modern polytheistic pluralism—bringing with Jezebel a horde of Baal and Asherah prophets, each serving gods tailored to every human need and whim. In this world, gods exist to serve our changing interests; worship is fluid, transactional, and self-oriented. The call of Old Testament Israel, by contrast, is loyalty to one God who is sovereign not by virtue of utility, but because he alone is worthy of every affection.
Into this religious smorgasbord strides Elijah, prophet and inconvenient truth-teller, called to remind Israel of its singular identity and calling as witnesses to Yahweh.
The Showdown on Mount Carmel
The iconic showdown is as dramatic as it is revealing. In a contest stacked in Baal’s favor (he is, after all, the storm god), 450 prophets plead, dance, and self-harm in a desperate bid for fire from heaven. Nothing happens. Then Elijah, after repairing the altar and soaking it with water, whispers a simple prayer: let them know you are God; turn their hearts back. In response, God answers—not with demands for blood, not with noise or theatrics, but with fire so pure and consuming it leaves no earthly doubt.
In this moment, the contrast is laid bare. Idols demand ever more anxious sacrifice from their followers and give nothing but silence. Yahweh’s fire falls in compassion and conviction—not upon the people but upon the sacrifice provided in their place. Grace, not performative religion, is the true fire from heaven.
Living with One God or Many
And so, the story asks timeless questions of us. Do we treat God as a convenient add-on—one more voice on the shelf, competing for our devotion amongst all the other claimants? Are we content with the emotional highs of worship until God asks for access to our relationships, our calendars, our money, our politics? Elijah’s message cuts through: Stop wavering. Choose. God is not content with a seventh of your life. He wants—and is worthy of—it all.
Key Lessons from Elijah and the Prophets of Baal
Context is Helpful: Our spiritual stories only make sense inside the larger narrative—the drama of God’s ongoing faithfulness and our repeated wanderings. Isolated “episodes” can’t sustain our faith.
Idolatry Is Subtle but Deadly: It’s easy (and popular) to treat God as just one more option among many. True faith means submitting all of life—heart, soul, strength—not just adding God to our pantheon of personal pursuits.
Worship Is Not Transactional: The living God is not manipulated or impressed by performance. Grace is given, not negotiated for. The gods of our making demand ever greater sacrifices and leave us empty.
God’s Fire Is for Redemption, Not Destruction: In the heart of this story is grace—the consuming fire falls on the sacrifice, not on the idolaters. God’s aim, from beginning to end, is always to turn hearts back, not to destroy.
In next week’s reflection, we’ll explore how these ancient patterns still shape our current lives. For now, may we have the courage to choose whom we will serve—wholly, without wavering.
