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Elijah went to confront Ahab. He did so with very obvious confidence. There is not the slightest suggestion of any reticence on his part.

That is the way it should always be. For every true servant of the Lord. In every situation, as we move to obey the Word of the Lord.

Review the facts. The Lord had spoken to Elijah. Elijah immediately acted in complete obedience to the Word of the Lord. He knew that what he was doing was the will of the Lord. He was fully and unshakably convinced: he was in the center of the will of the Lord.

For the prophet the focus was: The Lord! The Word of the Lord. The will of the Lord. With absolute assurance that the Lord would never fail him.

Every other consideration was kept subservient to those vital realities.

Every servant of the Lord has that same privilege. To keep the Lord as the constant focus. The Lord will speak His Word. He will reveal His will. We can know that it is His Word revealing His will to us personally.

Therefore, we can be confident that we are in the center of His will. That as we are doing is His will for us, our obedience to His Word guarantees His unfailing faithfulness.

It is in the context of that relationship with the Lord that we are equipped by Him to be able to claim glorious victory! "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10: 4).

Therein lies the secret of Elijah's confidence. The spiritual weapons which he wielded were mighty through God. He was moving forward in the Name of the Lord. Moving to pull down the strongholds of Baal.

In those words we see a most interesting emphasis. An emphasis which has to do with attitude. Clearly revealing the demeanor of the two men involved.

Elijah had issued his instructions to Obadiah. "Go tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here!"

Then Elijah waited. In quiet calm confidence. He was fully in control of himself. Of his feelings. His emotions. He quietly, confidently waited for Ahab to obey his summons!

He could be quietly confident. He knew that the Lord was in complete control. The Lord would work His purposes out. Elijah knew that he was in the will of the Lord. That there he was secure. That he would accomplish his mission.

By contrast, Ahab acted quite differently. He heard the news that Elijah had come, and he immediately rushed off to meet Elijah!

Ahab's response was the response of selfassertive bluster. He would show this prophet who had the authority and the power. Yet Ahab was not in control, neither of himself, nor of the situation.

It is most informative to study the contrast between these two contrasting personalities, especially in of each of their confrontations.

In each case, Ahab came out so very poorly. While Elijah continued to stand strong in the Lord. Elijah was most effective in the work which the Lord gave him to do.

"And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?"

It was a question, but it was an accusation. It is so very obvious that Ahab had a problem. He had no idea how to express this indefinite accusation.

It had been three and one half years earlier that Elijah had confronted Ahab. Then Elijah stated, “As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”

At that time Ahab had been unable to respond to Elijah. There is no record of him saying anything, suggesting that he found himself overawed with the imposing presence of the prophet of the Lord.

But in the years which followed, Ahab would have brooded over those words. They had become the most consuming obsession with him. On every occasion when the effects of the famine were felt, he thought of Elijah, and the words of Elijah. As the situation worsened his anger intensified.

As he had waited so impatiently for this opportunity, being convinced that sooner or later it would come, he continually brooded over what he would say. How he would put that trouble-maker of a prophet in his place!

In this we see the marks of the enemy. Brooding! Becoming obsessed. Repeatedly going over what he was going to say. What he would do. How he would get the upper hand. Goaded on in all this by the spiritual forces of evil.

That is what happened then. That is what happens today. Make no mistake about that! The devil will make sure that that kind of thing will continue to take place today!

People will brood over imagined hurts. Their thoughts becoming increasingly distorted. They progress to a dark obsession. Blown out of all proportion. The only thought is to cut that other person down to size.

Ahab made his accusation against Elijah. "Art thou he that troubleth Israel'," It was a totally unsupported accusation. There was nothing to substantiate it. Yet Ahab had convinced himself that he felt fully justified in making that assertion.

There is one thing which should always be obvious to us. In the conflict with evil the first casualty is always: the truth! That should never surprise us.

Yes, the Christian must be fully committed to the truth. Hold to it without wavering. That is the Christian's strength. He wields the sword of truth! "Take ... the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God" (Ephesians 6: 17).

But what of the enemy? That is a totally different story. Jesus said of the enemy, "When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it!" (John 8: 44).

That is always the unvarying pattern. We see it when Paul stood before Felix. The Jews brought a great many serious charges against him. Paul was able to reply, "Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me" (Acts 24: 13). None of the charges was true.

That was so true then. Yet It did not matter to those making the accusations. Truth was quickly sacrificed to expediency. They were out to destroy the servant of the Lord. They, like the devil they were serving, did not care! They would resort to lies. Even to murder! As they did with the Lord Jesus!

There are two things about this which Christians must note today. We must expect this sort of thing to happen, particularly if we are committed to be faithful to the Lord in all things. The devil will find a way to distort the situation. He will launch a lying attack against us!

The other thing is this. The danger of becoming obsessed. Particularly with an imagined hurt. Using that to justify distortion. Such a response reveals than we have lost touch with the Lord. Such attitudes always have their source in the devil! Always!

"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.”

There was a marked contrast between the way in which the two men spoke. Ahab: an accusing question! A questionable accusation! Coming from the mind which was darkened and distorted by obsession. Totally unable to justify his words. Incapable of providing evidence to support his accusation

Ahab was like so many vile and degraded people. He was weak. Such people seek to draw their strength from their depravity! It is a false strength. A delusion of power. The terrible deception of the forces of evil.

Such people are manipulated. Driven. They imagine that they are in command. In reality they are in stark bondage. Enslaved to all that is evil.

Elijah had nothing in common with Ahab. His words sound similar. Yet even there they have nothing in common

Elijah is spiritually strong. Strong in faith. Strong in the Lord. Strong in the conviction that he is in the center of the will of the Lord. That he is faithfully obeying the Word of the Lord.

That was the strength which was so utterly alien to Ahab. There was no way that he could understand it. He was thoroughly confused by it. In fact, he was reduced to the level where he found himself with no choice. He must obey the spiritual authority of Elijah!

"I have not troubled Israel." The accusing question was so confidently answered. Answered with the ultimate authority of true spiritual confidence. Answered with the answer which was unanswerable. Irrefutable! Undeniable!

"I have not troubled Israel, but thou!" That accusation was turned right back on Ahab.

There was that occasion when, "David's anger was greatly kindled against the man! ... And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man!" (2 Samuel 12: 5, 7).

"Thou art the man!" Ahab: you are the guilty party. That was the verdict of God Himself! "Thou, and thy father's house!"

Ahab did not deny the charge. He could not. When the Lord speaks His verdict: "Thou art the man!" man can say nothing! "That every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God!" (Romans 3: 19).

Sooner or later that moment will come. For everyone. God will speak His verdict. Every mouth will be stopped. Everyone accused by the Lord will be silent.

Elijah proclaimed the Word of God. In the power of God. With the most devastating effectiveness.

Notice: Elijah made no attempt to vindicate himself. Ahab had falsely accused him. He denied that charge. Beyond that he said nothing more. That was not his concern. He was not there to justify or vindicate himself.

He had only one responsibility. To speak the Word of the Lord in the power and authority of the Lord!

We may be falsely accused. Viciously and vindictively. The human reaction is to seek for vindication. We are not here to vindicate ourselves. We have the same great responsibility that was entrusted to Elijah. Speak the Word of the Lord, in His power, for His glory!

Ahab had made his accusation. But could offer no proof to support it. No evidence to justify it.

Elijah was fully equipped to substantiate the Lord's Word of accusation. The Lord's verdict. "In that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.”

There are two aspects of this evidence. The first is, "Ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord!"

"Ye!" "Ye have forsaken!" That points directly at Ahab in alliance with his father's house. All were equally guilty before the Lord.

Ahab's father was Omri. Of him it is recorded: “Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before him!”

The commandments of the Lord had been callously brushed aside. Omri, along with Ahab, totally disregarded the Word of the Lord. Nothing the Lord said was taken seriously.

That one charge was most serious. On its own such conduct fully deserved God's judgment and just condemnation.

But Elijah added the second charge. This one is more personal to Ahab himself. "Thou hast followed Baalim!"

"Ye!" included Ahab with his father's house. “THOU!” That focused most personally on Ahab himself. It was so very specific to Ahab!

"Thou and thy father's house!" But, especially it was: "THOU!" Ahab! "God is pointing His finger of accusation directly at you: Ahab! He is pronouncing His holy judgement on you personally!"

The Lord does that. We all know that. Yet there are times when we are reluctant to do it. We do not want to get too specific. Either, as to the actual sin involved. Or to the specific person involved.

The Lord does get specific. We need to be totally one with Him. Particularly in such a crucial area as this.

"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."

There can be no doubt as to who was in command there. It was not the king! It was the prophet of the Lord: Elijah

This is a most significant revelation for us! The servant of the Lord was exercising the authority of spiritual command! That authority was rightfully his. He was the faithful ambassador of the Lord.

We today understand so very little of this spiritual dynamic. This authority of spiritual command. Yet, our ignorance is our own fault. We have failed to take the Lord Jesus seriously. To appropriate in faith that authority which He has already given to us.

"For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants'' (Mark 13: 34).

He “gave authority to His servants!” He gave authority to us! That is the Word of the Lord Jesus to us!

"Then He called His twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils" (Luke 91: I).

He gave His people power and authority. Over all devils. Over all the forces of evil. He has given us that authority. He has never taken it from us!

"Behold, I give unto you power . . . over all the power of the enemy" (Luke 10: 19).

The Lord Jesus gives to us the assurance of that authority today! “I give you power over all the power of the enemy!” Do we really believe that today?

If we do have that power, if that authority has been granted to us today, why is it that we do not exercise it?

Elijah exercised that authority! It was so clear, so unmistakable in his words to King Ahab. He was: a man as we are!

Why? The disciples were confronted with their failure. They asked Jesus why they had failed. "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible unto you" (Matthew 17: 20).

"If you have faith ... nothing shall be impossible unto you!" The Lord Jesus says that to us. He means it!

Elijah lived that out. Nothing was impossible! There is no mystery how he was able to live at that level.

Faith! He really did believe! He believed God. The Word of God. The will of God. In his belief he lived in the attitude of total surrender and submission. By faith he knew that he was guided by the Word of God. That he lived and acted in the very center of the will of God.

By faith he knew that he was one with God. That God was one with him. That in every area of his life the power of God was fully committed to him. The resources of God were available. The authority of God was expressed in His personal support!

Thus Elijah was able to exercise true spiritual command. Demonstrating true spiritual authority.

He was: a man as we are! All that the Lord made available to Elijah He makes available to us! The same spiritual power. The same spiritual authority. If we will allow the Lord to have His way with us.

That choice is ours. It is always ours. So often, by our unbelief, we choose not to have that power.

Elijah's command to the king was clear. "Gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel."

"To me!" That is not the expression of a man full of himself. It is the command of the Lord through His ambassador!

But not only: "All Israel!" "The prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty!" Those men who had so enthusiastically propagated the worship of Baal.

"And the prophets of the groves four hundred!" Those were the prophets whose involvement emphasized the most degraded aspects of heathenism. The most vilely immoral and depraved characteristics of it.

Elijah noted the special place of privilege granted to them. They were treated with the highest honor by Jezebel. They ate at her table. They represented the Ashorah! That indescribably vile female image which was the consort of the bull of Baal. The worst example of totally vile depravity!

Yet Jezebel gave them the highest honor! To her they were the most important people in the land. They so graphically accentuated her utterly depraved personality. Her immorality was as totally loathsome as theirs.

The Prophet of the Lord asserts His authority. He commands. All Israel must be gathered to him. Along with all those heathen prophets.

Elijah knew: the Lord was on the move! The time for the Lord to act had arrived. The prophet was in step with the Lord.

Remembering that fact let us today listen most carefully to the Word of the Lord. So that we will learn what He seeks to do: today! What He is waiting to accomplish through us: today! All that He is seeking to achieve in His gloriously awesome power. In His amazing spiritual dynamic! Today!

The need today is so very great. Yet: God is on the move! Are we really moving with Him? Are we actually and personally available to Him? Do we really believe the Word of Jesus? That we today do have: "Power over all the power of the enemy"'?

“So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto Mount Carmel.”

The prophet of the Lord had issued the Lord's demand. "So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel!”

Ahab was king. He was used to getting his own way. He was being prodded continually by Jezebel to assert his authority. But here! Confronted by Elijah. Faced with these uncompromising demands. What?

Ahab did not have a word to say. He was incapable of challenging the authority of the prophet. He was reduced to being nothing more than a mere servile messenger. The messenger who must serve the purposes of the Lord.

Being the kind of person that he was, Ahab would greatly resent this. It was humiliating! It was so degrading for the King of Israel to be put in this role. He could think what he wanted to think. Be filled with the deepest resentment. The Lord gave him no choice. The Lord was in sovereign control.

Elijah certainly knew that that was the reality! Thus he was able to stand strong in faith. Strong in the Lord!

"Ahab Sent unto all the children of Israel!" They were all required to go to Elijah. To meet him at Mount Carmel.

Along with all of the prophets of Baal. The message which they received must have been quite a surprise to them. It was so completely unexpected. They were used to being given special consideration. Enjoying a highly privileged position.

After all, they were the prophets of Baal! Ahab and Jezebel had made them so very important in Israel. In every area of the national life.

Highly privileged or not, they were abruptly summoned. Ordered to be at Mount Carmel. They found themselves totally subservient to the orders of the prophet of the Lord! That was a new experience for them.

They felt that they had every reason to believe that Baal was supreme. That the worship of the Lord God of Israel was dead. Yet now one of the prophets of the Lord intrudes. Exerting totally unexpected authority

The prophets of Baal had no choice. Regardless of their numbers. Or their apparent widespread religious victory. In spite of their very great influence in the palace. Now, none of those things carried any weight!

Why were the prophets of Baal put in this humiliating position? For one reason. The Lord God of Israel was on the move! The prophet of the Lord moved with Him. Nothing and no one could impede that progress. The Lord was the only circumstance which counted

Nothing has changed! If only we would believe that today! When the Lord is on the move, all of the evil forces of hell cannot hinder Him! All of the allied resources of the world are totally futile.

We must live by that same truth. The Lord is GOD! That is still all that counts! By faith, allow God to be God! Let Him have His way! Invite Him to do all that He wills to do today!

"And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? If the LORD by God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word."

It was not to Ahab. He had already dealt with the king, clearly defining the king's sin and rebellion. "Ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim!”

Elijah's focus was not the prophets of Baal at this point. Nor the prophets of the groves. They would be his focus: Later! Their evil conduct was already under judgment. Their depraved influence had already come under the Lord's condemnation.

The people! Who were led by that king who is described as: doing "evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him" (1 Kings 16: 30). Subjected to such degrading leadership, the people had become mere pawns. Manipulated. Used.

Add to the leadership of that vile king the influence of his depraved prophets. Men who were totally committed to lead the people away from the Lord. To deceive them. Delude them. As they sought to totally destroy all of the influence of the Lord among His people.

The people: "They fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd."(Matthew 9: 36). Certainly, in Ahab's day they did not have a true shepherd. A shepherd who really cared.

It was to these that Elijah gave his attention. He was so well aware of all that had happened. He was moved with compassion for them. Saw them more as victims than those to be criticized.

Yes. They were guilty. Yes. They did deserved judgment. But they were in a far different category to that of Ahab. Nor could they be lumped together with the prophets of Baal.

Here we see a significant demonstration of spiritual discernment. Discernment which was given by the Lord to the prophet. That discernment which we so greatly need today. It is far too easy to say, They are all guilty! They all deserve to get what is coming to them!

Yes, many may be guilty. But they are also victims. Victims who are where they are because of perverted leadership. They have been subjected to the effects of degrading influences. In so many cases, they have had nothing else! They have known nothing better!

Spiritual maturity is marked by spiritual discernment. By genuine compassion for the abused. The victims. There are so many of them! Yes, they are guilty. They need compassion far more than condemnation.

Elijah believed that the people could be turned back to the Lord. Restored! That they could be brought to repentance. Enabled to see that they had been deceived. Inspired to have a genuine faith in the Lord.

The operative word Is: Restore! "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in a spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted" (Galatians 6: 1).

"How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him."

Elijah drew a most effective picture. He was saying to the people of Israel, You are like a crippled person. One who is unable to walk in a straight line. The disability results in him staggering back and forth.

That was a most fitting description. The people were living and acting like spiritual cripples. Staggering about as though they had lost control of themselves. Their's was a very real spiritual disability. One day they thought that they should be serving the Lord. So they gave themselves to Him. But that did not last very long.

Baal worship had once more attracted their attention. So they staggered off after it. Giving themselves to its depraved heathen practices. Living as though the Lord was irrelevant to their lives.

Back and forth they staggered. One day serving the Lord. The next worshipping Baal. Spiritually crippled. Spiritually handicapped. Staggering about as those who had no control over themselves.

Possibly they even recognized the problem. Accepting the fact that the prophet's description of them was accurate. Yet feeling so helpless to do anything about it. Or, not wanting to do anything about it.

They were so much like many people today. People who are so obviously spiritually crippled. Handicapped spiritually.

We see this problem in so many different areas. They will go to Church. Share in the worship of the Lord. They will express a desire to live for Him. To serve Him for His glory.

Yet, later, what a different story. They leave the altar of the Lord to worship at a different altar. The altar of the world. Possibly the altar of television.

There these people become absorbed in portrayals which are so obviously immoral. They condone that which is depraved and depraving. They enjoy being entertained by and addicted to, such obviously evil influences.

Yet they know that such things express outright rebellion against God. It is in open revolt against His Word. Yet they still pretend that there is no problem!

As Paul says, "Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death,... but have pleasure in them that do them!" (Romans 1: 32).

"Have pleasure in them!" Choose to be entertained by them! Are no better than them! To quite justly come under the same judgment as them.

God's Word speaks to us today. "How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, then follow Him!" Really follow Him. Serve Him in total faithfulness. Willingly renouncing anything and everything that may take you away from Him.

Why were they silent? Did they resent the challenge of Elijah? Did they resent Elijah himself? Was it the famine that stirred their attitude? We really do not know.

It may have been something else. Their silence could have meant that they were still waiting. Waiting for more evidence. Waiting to be convinced.

They had seen the worshippers of the Lord attacked ferociously. They had seen the prophets of the Lord exterminated by Jezebel. They knew that it was not a popular thing to do: to worship the Lord.

Their silence may have been inviting more proof. Saying to Elijah: Convince us! Which is exactly what Elijah set out to do.

Today, many hear the Word of the Lord. Many respond in silence. Some do resent the challenge of the Word. They strongly resent both the message and the messenger. But not all. Many are waiting to hear more. Wanting to hear more. Wanting to be convinced.

We are mistaken when we take it for granted that everyone understands. Therefore, everyone should respond. That can prove to be a tragic mistake. A foolish mistake.

We have so much to learn from Elijah. He persevered in his commitment to convince the people.

Elijah knew: the Lord was on the move! Elijah believed: the Lord was seeking to bring His people back to Himself. That to do so, He would work in power. In mighty power! In revival power!

We can believe that! Today! The Lord is on the move! He is seeking to bring the lost to Himself! He is moved with compassion for them!

Today, we must get in on all that the Lord is doing. By faith. For His glory.

There are people who can and will be reached, by those who will allow the Lord to use them. By those who will patiently persevere in reaching out to those who are waiting to be convinced. They can be won!