He then poured water[1] upon the victim till it ran down on every side and filled the trench around the altar. This being done, he said: “O Lord God, show this day that Thou art the God of Israel, and I Thy servant, and that according to Thy commandment I have done all these things. Hear me, O Lord, hear me; that this Thy people may learn that Thou art the Lord God, and that Thou hast turned their hearts again.”[2]
That instant fire came down[3] from heaven and consumed the holocaust, the wood, the stones and the water in the trench. The people, having witnessed this prodigy, fell on their faces[4], exclaiming: “The Lord He is God! The Lord He is God!” And the prophet, retiring from the multitude, went up alone to the top of the mountain where he prostrated himself before the Lord in praise and thanksgiving.
Then he besought the Lord to refresh the earth with water. And behold, a little cloud arose from the sea, no bigger than the foot of a man, and it spread itself gradually over the heavens, and rain fell in abundance.
COMMENTARY.
The object of miracles. The extraordinary drought, lasting for three years and a half, was the effect of God’s interrupting by miracle the law which He Himself gave to nature. The drought was sent both as a punishment to Achab and the people for their idolatry, and as a means of their conversion. The silence however of the people, when Elias demanded of them a confession of faith, shows that pagan opinions were still dominant among them. The priests of the true God had been killed, so that there was no one to teach the truth to the poor people; and the priests of Baal, whom the king upheld, taught them that the famine had been sent by Baal as a punishment for their lack of staunchness in the pagan belief. But God in His mercy worked new and startling miracles to convince the deluded people of the folly of idolatry and to help them to return to the true faith. It was in
- ↑ Poured water. He did this to prove that the fire was due to no natural causes.
- ↑ Turned their hearts again. The object of his prayer is that the bystanders and all the people should be converted and come back to the true God.
- ↑ Fire came down. It fell from a cloudless sky, for not even the smallest cloud was to be seen, as we know by the conclusion of the story.
- ↑ Fell on their faces. They were now convinced of the impotence of Baal and of the omnipotence of God. Therefore they fell on their faces and wor shipped Jehova.
