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Elijah sets up 12 stones to represent the 12 tribes; he lays the bull out on the altar.
He then digs a trench around the altar and he orders water to be poured over the whole
thing so that it's completely saturated and the trench is filled with water. This is going
to highlight, of course, the miracle that's about to occur.
And then he calls upon the name of the Lord, and instantly a fire descends from God and
consumes everything: offering, wood, stone, earth, water, everything. And the people prostrate
themselves and declare, "Yahweh alone is God. Yahweh alone is God."
The prophets of Baal are all seized and slaughtered. Elijah expects an end to the drought, and
a servant comes to report to him that "A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising in the
west," and the sky grows black and there's a strong wind and a heavy storm, and the drought
is finally over. The language that's used to describe this
storm is the language that's typically employed for the storm god Baal. It drives home the
point of the whole satire, that Yahweh is the real god of the storm, not Baal. Yahweh
controls nature, not Baal. It's God who is effective; Baal is silent and powerless, and
Israel's choice should be clear. Yahweh should be the only God for Israel, just as he is
for Elijah, who's name El-i-yahu means "my God [Eli = my God] is Yahweh."
So Jezebel is pretty upset and she threatens Elijah with execution. He flees into the desert,
and he will spend 40 days and 40 nights on a mountain called Horeb, or Sinai. That, of
course, is the site of God's revelation to Moses. Moses also spent 40 days and 40 nights
there, and many scholars have pointed out the numerous parallels between Elijah and
Moses. It seems that there was a conscious literary shaping of the Elijah traditions
on the model of Moses, in more ways than just these two. We'll see a few coming up.
Elijah is in great despair at Sinai. He wants to die. He feels that he has failed in his
fight for God. And so he hides himself in a rocky cleft, and this is also reminiscent
of the cleft that Moses hides himself in in order to catch a glimpse of God as God passes
by. Similarly, Elijah hides in a cleft where he will encounter God.
This passage is in 1 Kings 19:9-12: Then the Word of the Lord came to him. He
said to him, "Why are you here, Elijah?" He replied, "I am moved by zeal for the Lord,
the God of Hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars,
and put Your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they are out to take my life."
"Come out," He called, "and stand on the mountain before the Lord."
And lo, the Lord passed by. There was a great and mighty wind, splitting mountains and shattering
rocks by the power of the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind--an earthquake;
but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake--;fire; but the Lord was not
in the fire. And after the fire--a soft murmuring sound.
Or perhaps a still, small voice. A lot of translations use that phrase, which is very
poetic.
When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his mantle about his face and went out and stood at the
entrance of the cave. 1 Kings 19:13