Fire for Mount Carmel

One crowd stand quiet for di side of one mountain. For one altar, one offering lie down, nobody touch am, after one whole day of shouting. For di other one, one offering wey water soak sidon inside one trench wey full with water. One man raise im face go sky and pray. Then di fire fall.

For three years, rain no fall for Israel. Farms don turn to dust. Streams don dry. King Ahab and im queen, Jezebel, don lead di nation to worship Baal, and Jezebel dey hunt di prophets of Di Lord. One palace official wey dem dey call Obadiah, wey dey honour Di Lord, don hide one hundred of dem for two caves, fifty for each one, and e dey keep dem alive with bread and water. Now God send di prophet Elijah to face di king. When Ahab see am, e talk with contempt. Na you be dis, you wey dey trouble Israel? Elijah no shake. No be me trouble Israel. Na you, because you abandon di commands of Di Lord come dey follow di Baals. Then e put one challenge for ground. Gather all Israel for Mount Carmel, and bring di prophets of Baal.

So dem come. Four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and one big crowd of Israelites, all of dem climb go di top of Carmel. Elijah stand in front of dem and ask one question wey enter heart. How long una go dey limp between two opinions? If Di Lord na God, follow am. But if Baal na God, then follow am. Nobody talk anything. So Elijah arrange di test. Two bulls. Two altars. Wood, but no fire. Una call di name of una god, and I go call di name of Di Lord. Di God wey answer with fire, na im be God. And now di people find their voice. Dat one good.

Di prophets of Baal go first. Dem prepare their bull and start to call. O Baal, hear us! Whole morning dem dey shout. Nothing. Dem dance round their altar. By afternoon, Elijah no fit hold imself. Shout louder! E be god, abi? Maybe e dey think deep. Maybe e busy, or e travel. Maybe e dey sleep and somebody need wake am. So dem shout louder pass, and for their desperation, dem even cut their own body with swords and spears, as their custom be, until blood dey run down for their body. Di afternoon drag go. Dem dey shout like mad people until di time of di evening offering. But di Bible talk am plain. No voice. Nobody answer. Nobody pay attention.

Now na Elijah turn. Come near me, e tell di people, and dem crowd come near. E repair di altar of Di Lord wey don scatter with twelve stones, one for each tribe of Israel. E dig trench round am. E arrange di wood and di offering for top. Then e do something wey be like say e no make sense. Fill four big jars with water, pour am for di offering and di wood. Dem do am. Do am again. Dem do am. Do am di third time. Water soak di wood, run down di stones, and full di trench. Then Elijah step forward and pray. No shouting. No dancing. Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, make people know today say you be God for Israel, and say I be your servant. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so dat dis people go know say you be God, and say you dey turn their heart back again.

And di fire of Di Lord fall. E burn di offering, di wood, di stones and di dust, and e lick di water wey dey di trench. Di people fall for their face. Di Lord, na im be God! Di Lord, na im be God! Elijah order make dem catch di prophets of Baal, and di Bible record, with serious face, say Elijah carry dem go down to di stream Kishon and kill dem there. Then Elijah climb go di top of Carmel, bow down reach ground, and put im face between im knees. Seven times e send im servant make e go look towards di sea. Six times di servant come back. Nothing dey. For di seventh time e talk, One small cloud dey rise from di sea, small like man hand. Soon, di sky turn black with cloud and wind, and heavy rain start to fall.

Why contest about fire, for land wey dey wait for rain? Because of who people believe say Baal be. Old writings wey dem find for Ugarit, for di coast of Syria, describe Baal as di storm god, di one wey dey ride di clouds, wey dey send di rain wey dey make crops grow. Jezebel na daughter of di king of di Sidonians, from dat same coast world. So three years without rain, and one god wey no fit send even small spark, hit di very thing wey Baal worshippers dey trust am for. Di question for Carmel simple. Who really dey send fire, and who really dey send rain?

Fire for Mount Carmel. You go find am for First Kings, chapter eighteen. Di people don dey limp between two opinions, dey try keep one leg for each side. Dat day, God answer, and dem know. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. Where you dey limp between two opinions, and how e go be if you follow God with your whole heart?