God is not interested in halfhearted commitment. Of course, this is a theme that appears throughout the prophets and, indeed, the rest of the Bible. It was not possible for them to serve both or to be double-minded (vv. There, before the people of Israel, Elijah called the nation to choose whom it would serve: the Lord or Baal. This sparked a confrontation between Elijah and the false prophets on Mount Carmel. But the prophet was only doing what the faithful people of God always do, and that is live at peace with others unless and until a response to idolatry is needed. For his opposition to this pagan worship and the kings who endorsed it, Elijah was labeled the "troubler of Israel" by Ahab (18:17). These prophets brought paganism to the ancient Israelites and gave false comfort to the royal court. Under the patronage of Queen Jezebel, prophets of the Canaanite high god Baal had carte blanche to do what they wanted in Israel (1 Kings 19:1–2). King Ahab ruled about 150 years after David, and by that time, the northern kingdom of Israel was practicing the very evil that the Israelites were supposed to have driven out of the land, namely, idolatry. The context for this event is the syncretistic worship of the old covenant community. In this episode we see the courage that the office of prophet required as well as the might of the Lord who sent the prophets to Israel. No look at Elijah's life would be complete without a consideration of the most memorable event of his ministry-his confrontation with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.
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