1 Kings 20:1

1 Kings 20:1 says, And Benhadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots; and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it.  Benhadad, king of Syria, and thirty-two other kings united and with horses and chariots besieged Samaria.  This was a large force with a lot of armament, and sometimes today Christians are confronted with large and powerful forces united against them.  Verse two adds, And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Benhadad,  Benhadad sent a message to Ahab while he had him surrounded.  Benhadad was in the position of power from earthly terms, and Ahab did not have God's protection since he had started worshipping other gods.  We cannot be Christians in name only and still expect God to protect us from evil forces in the world.  Verse three continues, Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.  Benhadad told Ahab that he was taking all of Ahab's silver, gold, wives, and children, or everything he had of value in other words.  Satan today is attempting to take everything of value that we have, starting with our immortal soul.  Of course, everything we have in this lifetime will one day be gone, so we should never value any earthly thing above our relationship with God.  Verse four states, And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have.  Ahab consented to Benhadad's taking everything and called him his lord.  We as followers of Christ should never consent to allowing anyone to take away the things of God in our life and we certainly should never acknowledge anyone else as our Lord.  Verse five adds, And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Benhadad, saying, Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children;  Benhadad sent a second message to Ahab saying that he knew that Ahab had agreed to give him all that he asked.  Satan is never going to be satisfied with everything we have unless he claims our soul as well.  Verse six continues, Yet I will send my servants unto thee to morrow about this time, and they shall search thine house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.  Benhadad said he was going to send servants tomorrow to search the houses of the people in Samaria and take everything that they saw and wanted.  As just stated, if we begin to give in to the power of Satan, one day he will take all that we have, or we will lose it when Jesus Christ returns.  Verse seven declares, Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeketh mischief: for he sent unto me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I denied him not.  Ahab called the elders of the land and told them that he had done everything Benhadad had commanded, and he still wanted more.  If we begin to give in to the power of Satan, he will never be satisfied until he has it all.  Verse eight adds, And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent.  The elders told Ahab not to listen to Benhadad and not to give him everything he demanded.  We need someone today to tell us to take a stand against Satan and his forces of evil and not to just give in.  Hopefully, as Christians we will tell others the same thing.  Verse nine continues, Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Benhadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do: but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again.  Ahab told the messenger to go back and tell him that he would agree to what Benhadad had originally requested, but he wasn't going to comply with the new request.  We need to be willing to stand up to evil in this world before we give in and lose everything.  Verse ten says, And Benhadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.  Benhadad swore by his gods that he was going to totally destroy Samaria and if he didn't that the gods should destroy him.  Of course, since they weren't real gods, the oath was really useless.  Verse eleven adds, And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.  Ahab told Benhadad that he shouldn't boast until what he said had been accomplished.  Satan and his forces may boast about how powerful they are, but one day they will find out how wrong they were. 

1 Kings 19:9

1 Kings 19:9 says, And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?  While Elijah was hiding in a cave from fear of Jezebel, God's word came to him again asking him what he was doing there.  We have no record of Elijah asking God what to do about Jezebel's threats, nor do we have any record of God just telling him to go hide.  Sometimes, God may have to ask us what we as followers of Christ are doing, especially if we are hiding in fear of the world.  Verse ten adds, And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.  Elijah began by bragging on himself a little bit.  He said he had been jealous of or faithful to God while everyone but him had deserted God and torn down His altars and killed God's prophets.  I believe he was speaking out of self-pity.  We should never reach the point where we believe we are the only one following God's will, especially if we are hiding out in fear without looking to Him for direction.  Verse eleven continues, And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:  Elijah was told to go and stand on the mountain, and when he did God passed by and a strong wind and an earthquake occurred, tearing the mountain to pieces, but we are told that God was not in the wind or the earthquake.  These were some mighty displays of power, and even though he was there when they occurred, Elijah was not hurt.  We may be looking for mighty displays of power today to prove God is at work in the world, but just because we see them doesn't mean that God is always at work through them.  Verse twelve concludes, And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.  After the earthquake, there was a fire, but God was not in the fire either.  I will state again, God may not always be in great displays of power in the world, though we often attempt to attribute all natural disasters to His judgment.  After the wind was a still, small voice, and this is how God will often speak to us, or at least that is the way He usually speaks to me.  Verse thirteen states, And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?  After all this, Elijah returned to the cave, and God's voice came to him again asking him why he was there.  He had just witnessed mighty displays of God's power, even though he did not find God in them, and he was once again hiding from Jezebel in a cave.  We as Christian often acknowledge the great power of God but still hide away in fear of the world.  Verse fourteen adds, And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.  Elijah repeated what he had said the first time, still not putting his faith in God.  Hopefully, if we are hiding from the world in fear and God asks us what we are doing and we see the proof of His power, we will not return to hiding in fear once more.  Verse fifteen declares, And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:  God told Elijah to return to the wilderness of Damascus and when he got there to anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.  We might wonder why God was not working through His chosen people but must remember they had deserted Him.   We need to pray that God doesn't have to work through non-believers today to get His people, those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ, to follow Him.  Verse sixteen adds, And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.  Elijah was then told to also anoint Jehu as the king of Israel and Elisha as the prophet in his room or to be Elijah's successor as prophet.  God was not only going to work through Syria, but He was also going to work through Israel, His chosen people, to bring them to repentance.  As Christians, we need to be the one's that God works through today.  Verse seventeen continues, And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.  God said that He was going to work through all three, a king who was not a part of God's chosen people, a king who was, and God's prophet to punish His sinful people.  I believe that God still has that power today, and all we as Christians need to do is put our faith in Him no matter who is in power in the world.  Verse eighteen concludes, Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.  God told Elijah that he was not alone in serving and worshipping God, and neither are we today.  The remnant was small, but it was there.  Verse nineteen says, So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.  Elijah first found Elisha plowing a field and put his mantel on him.  Verse twenty adds, And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee?  Elisha left his oxen and ran after Elijah.  We may have to leave what we have been doing and even the place where we are doing it in order to obey God's calling.  Then, Elisha asked Elijah for permission to go and kiss his parents before he followed Elijah.  When God calls us to do something for Him, we should never allow anything to keep us from following His will, even our parents. God must come above everything else.  Elijah told Elisha to go back again and asked what he had to do with Elisha.  Of course, we know that God had told Elijah to anoint Elisha as his replacement, so he did have something to do with Elisha.  Verse twenty-one continues, And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.  Elisha returned, killed his oxen, and used them to feed the people.  When God calls us, we need to leave everything behind and begin to feed people with the gospel of Christ.  We should not attempt to hang on to the things that we had before but should give everything to God to be used for His purpose.   

1 Kings 19:1

1 Kings 19:1 says, And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.  Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, including his killing all the prophets of Baal.  If we had been following a false god, and someone told us about a man of the true God killing all the prophets of the false god, how would we react?  I would think that we might react by accepting the true God, but Jezebel didn't.  Verse two adds, Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.  Jezebel said let the gods kill her if she didn't take Elijah's life by about this time the next day.  She ignored the fact that four-hundred and fifty prophets of those gods had failed to defeat Elijah.  Some people are always going to see themselves as more power than God in spite of all the evidence to the contrary.  Mathew Henry said he wasn't sure why she didn't kill him then or why she warned him unless it was out of s feeling of self-pride or self-importance, but she didn't immediately try to kill him.  There are still too many people today who believe themselves to be more powerful than God.  Verse three adds, And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.  When Elijah heard this, he fled for his life.  He seemed to still not truly trust God to keep him safe, since we are not told that God told him to flee.  He went to Beersheba in Judah and left his servant there.  I am not sure when he acquired a servant, but our status in the world often changes.  We should never run away in fear if we are called on to stand for God.  Verse four states, But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.  Elijah didn't stay in Beersheba but went a day's journey into the wilderness where he sat down under a juniper tree in self-pity.  He told God to just let him die since he was no better than his fathers, or ancestors.  Elijah was running from the death threat of Jezebel to a death request by God's hand.  We as Christians should never run from death threats in the world by asking God to kill us himself, but we should always run to life in Jesus Christ.  We should never allow fear and despair to overcome our faith in God to keep us safe as we do His will in our life.  Verse five adds, And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.  While Elijah was sleeping under the juniper tree, having given up, I believe, an angel came and touched him and told him to get up and eat.  As followers of Christ, if we are ready to give up in despair, I believe the Holy Spirit, Who is much greater than an angel, will touch us and tell us to get up and eat, or go on with our life.  Verse six continues, And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.  When Elijah looked, there was a cake baking in the coals and a cruse of water at his head.  These had been provided by God, and should have revived Elijah's faith, but he ate and lay down again.  If God provides for our needs in times of despair, this should make us want to get up and get busy doing what He has called us to do instead of just staying spiritually asleep.  Verse seven says, And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.   While Elijah was sleeping again, the angel came too him a second time and told him to get up and eat but added that the journey was great for Elijah.  God does not expect His people to be asleep in self-pity, and again, I don't believe the Holy Spirit will just leave us alone if we are.  We will always be called to action for God, and if we are faithful, God will provide for our needs as we do what He has called us to do.  Verse eight adds, And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.  Elijah did as the angel told him to do and ate, and the food sustained him on a forty-day journey to Horeb the mountain of God.  God will always sustain us if we are obeying His call, and we don't have to go to a particular place to meet Him.  As Christians, the Holy Spirit is always with us to equip and empower us. 

1 Kings 18:40

1 Kings 18:40 says, And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.  Elijah told them to take the prophets of Baal and not let any escape and they brought them down to the brook of Keshon and he killed them there.  Not only had Baal, their god, failed to bring rain, but he failed to save them as well.  Even if people are successful in life today following other gods, these gods will never be able to save them, and one day they will be sent away into everlasting destruction, no matter how long their life here on earth may be.  Verse forty-one adds, And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.  Elijah then told Ahab to get up and eat, because he heard the sound of an abundance of rain.  We are not told that anyone else heard this, but Elijah did so by faith.  Even if others do not see or hear evidence of God's promises to us being fulfilled, by faith we should.  Verse forty-two continues, So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,  Ahab listened to Elijah and went to eat and drink, but Elijah went to the top of Mount Carmel and humbled himself before God.  He did not stand up in pride for having defeated all the prophets of Baal who were against him.  When we have a greet spiritual victory in life, we should never become filled with pride but should always humble ourselves before God.  If we are awaiting the fulfillment of God's promises, we should still wait in humbleness.  Verse forty-three states, And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.  Elijah told his servant to go and look toward the sea for the rain clouds, and he came back and told Elijah there was nothing to see.  Seven times Elijah told his servant to go and look.  We might have given up after four or five times with no evidence of God fulfilling His promise, but we never should give up until it is fulfilled or until we die.  Either way, we must continue to act out of faith even if we never see the result.  Verse forty-four adds, And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop thee not.  The seventh time, the servant came back and told Elijah he saw a cloud about the size of a man's hand.  This still wasn't much visible sign of the coming of the rain, but Elijah told his servant to go and tell Ahab to get in his chariot and go home while he could because a great rain was coming.  Matthew Herny says that Ahab rode in his chariot while Elijah walked instead of Ahab showing honor to Elijah by allowing him to ride.  Of course, Elijah was not doing this for his honor but for God's honor.  Those that we witness to may never show their appreciation to us, but that is okay, because we do not witness for our honor, but for God's honor.  Verse forty-five continues, And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel.  While Ahab was still on his way, the skies darkened, the wind blew, and there was a great rain.  God's promise to withhold the rain had come pass, and now His promise to restore the rain was being fulfilled, both as had been prophesied by Elijah.  Some people still might have written this off to coincidence, but both happened just as Elijah prophesied that they would.  People today will still attempt to credit the work of God to anything but God.  Verse forty-six concludes, And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.  We are told that God's hand was on Elijah, and he ran before Ahab, who was in a chariot, all the way to entrance to Jezreel.  We can be certain that as followers of Christ that God's hand will always be on us, and we can do whatever He calls us to do if we remain faithful to Him.

1 Kings 18:31

1 Kings 18:31 says, And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:  Elijah took twelve stones to represent all the tribes of Israel and not just the number of those in the divided kingdom.  We are all a part of the kingdom of God as followers of Christ and should never view ourselves as a divided kingdom.  Even if we are from different countries, we are all an equal part of God's kingdom as Christians, and the same applies to different denominations.  Verse thirty-two adds, And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.  Elijah then built an altar to God with the stones and dug a deep trench around it.  Since the stones represented the tribes of Israel, they were now united in becoming a part of the altar of God to be used to make sacrifices and bring honor to Him.  We as Christians are to be used to bring sacrifices and honor to God.  Verse thirty-three continues, And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.  After Elijah killed the bullock and cut it in pieces for the sacrifice, he told the people there to fill four barrels of water and throw it on the sacrifice.  This hadn't been done to the sacrifice to Baal, and his prophets still had not been able to get him to send fire and consume the sacrifice.  We can always expect God to do even more than any false God can ever hope to.  Verse thirty-four states, And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.  Elijah then told them to do this a second and a third time and they did.  I have to believe that Elijah was doing this under the direction of God and not to just show off.  We need to make certain that we never just start showing of as Christians and presuming on the power of God, but we must always do what He calls us to do for His honor and glory and not for our own.  Verse thirty-five adds, And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.  The water was running about the sacrifice, but Elijah filled the trench as well.  It was thoroughly soaked and therefore would be even harder to be burned.  God will always be able to do whatever He needs to do to prove His power if we are only willing to look to Him by faith.  Verse thirty-six continues, And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.  At the time of the evening sacrifices, Elijah asked God to show that He was the God of Israel and that Elijah had done these things by God's word or command.  Whatever we do as Christians if we are going to be successful spiritually, we must do by God's command and for His glory and not our own.  Verse thirty-seven concludes, Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Elijah again asked God to hear him and show the people of Israel that He alone was God and was calling them back to Himself.  We have no indication that Elijah went through any elaborate rituals or theatrics, but He simply called on God.  We need to always keep the focus on God when we gather together to worship Him.  Verse thirty-eight declares, Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.  God sent fire that consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones of the altar, the dust, and licked up the water as well.  God heard Elijah and answered him in a mighty way, and He will always hear His people today when they call on Him.  I believe that He will also answer in the best way possible.  Verse thirty-nine adds. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.  When the people saw what had happened, the fell down with their faces to the ground and proclaimed that the Lord was God, and they repeated the statement.  God did something even greater when He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins, and we as Christians should always come to Him in an attitude of humbleness.

1 King 18:25

1 Kings 18:25 says, And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under.  Elijah told the prophets of Baal that they could go first since there were many of them who represented Baal and Elijah alone represented God.  He told them to kill and dress one bullock and put it on the altar, but to not build a fire under it.  They were then, all four-hundred and fifty of them to call on their god to provide the fire.  Elijah was given them more than an equal opportunity to prove that their god was real since all of them were included and not just one.  We should always be fair in our treatment of other people, but no matter how many stand against God and us, our God will always be more powerful and He is the One Who empowers us.  Verse twenty-six adds, And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.  The prophets of Baal did as Elijah asked and killed the bullock and then called on Baal to hear them from morning until noon, but there was no voice to answer them, so the leapt upon the altar.  False gods will always be powerless to answer anyone when they are trying to prove themselves more powerful than God, because they only exist in the minds of those who follow them.  We as Christians serve the only God that is real.  Verse twenty-seven continues, And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.  Elijah who stood alone against the four-hundred and fifty prophets of Baal began to mock them.  He said maybe Baal was busy talking, pursuing someone, away on a journey, or asleep and needed to be awakened.  We don't really need to mock those who believe in other gods, but we can also be certain that our God will never at any time be unavailable if we call on Him, and there's always will be unavailable.  Verse twenty-eight states, And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.  The prophets of Baal began to cry louder and even began to cut themselves as was their manner and blood gushed out of them.  We are not call on to shed our blood for God, but His Son Jesus Christ shed His blood for us instead.  Verse twenty-nine adds, And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.  They spent the rest of the day calling on Baal, but there was never an answer.  Sadly, people today will spend their whole life calling on false gods and even attempting to discredit or disprove the existence of God, and they will never get an answer to their cries.  Verse thirty continues, And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.  Elijah then called on the people to come close to him, and when they did, he repaired the altar of God that had been broken down.  We should always call on people to come to us to hear the gospel, and then we should share it with them.  At times, people may attempt to destroy places dedicated to the worship of God, and if they do, we need to boldly do all that we can to rebuild them. 

1 Kings 18:17

1 Kings 18:17 say, And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?  Ahab saw Elijah and asked him if he was the one that troubled Israel.  The answer was really no, but that Ahab himself and the people worshipping false gods were the cause of the troubles that Israel was having.  People always have liked to blame Christians for the problems in the world and probably always will instead of looking at themselves and their sins as the source of the problems.  Verse nineteen adds, And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.  Elijah told Ahab as was just discussed that he and his father's house were the problem because of their forsaking God's commandments and worshipping Baal.  This could have been a dangerous thing to say, but Elijah was faithful in declaring God's word, as we must be as followers of Christ today.  Verse nineteen continues, Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table.  Elijah told Ahab to gather all the people of Israel at Mount Carmel, and to bring the four-hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of the groves who sat at Jezebel's table.  They had certainly created enough false prophets while attempting to kill all the prophets of God at the same time.  We as Christians may be seriously outnumbered, but we will never be outpowered.  Elijah was not afraid of Ahab or all his false prophets because he was where God had sent him.  If we are where God wants us to be, we should never be afraid no matter how much we might be outnumbered.  Verse twenty states, So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.  Ahab did as Elijah asked.  I believe he did this because he didn't think Elijah was any threat to the false prophets or to himself.  He had faith in the wrong things, as do many people today.  Verse twenty-one adds, And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.  Elijah asked the people how long they were going to be torn between two opinions about who God was.  He said if God was God, follow Him and if Baal was god, follow him.  They could not claim to do both.  We have to make the same decision today.  Either God is God, or something else is.  Elijah said once they decided that they should  follow the one Who was the real God, and there is only One.  Verse twenty-two continues, Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.  Elijah said that he alone stood as a prophet of God against four-hundred fifty prophets of Baal.  If we ever believe that we are outnumbered as Christians, we should just look back at Elijah.  In spite of being greatly outnumbered, he stood faithful to God.  Verse twenty-three declares, Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under:  Elijah proposed a test to see who the real God was.  They were to take two bullocks and the prophets of Baal were to choose one to be sacrificed to their god and Elijah would use the other to be sacrificed to his God.  They were to cut the bullocks up and put them on the wood for the sacrifice, but they weren't to set it on fire.  Elijah was to do the same with the other bullock.  There was no way they could claim foul play.  Still, Christians today are often accused of cheating when they stand firm for God in any contest.  Verse twenty-four adds, And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.  Elijah then said that they were to call on their gods and He would call on his God to send down fire to consume the sacrifice, and to let the one Who answered be God, and the people agreed.  Ultimately today we have to choose who our God is, and there is really only One Who is the true God.