The prophet who ran across Elijah in the wilderness tells Ahab where to find him and the king goes out to meet him. "So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. When he saw Elijah, he said, 'Is that you, you troubler of Israel?'" (1 Kings 18:16-17) It is Ahab who has troubled Israel, not Elijah. If Ahab had not brought into Israel the religion of his foreign wife Jezebel, thousands of people would not have followed him into idolatry. The drought came as a result of the idolatry but it should have been viewed by Ahab and everyone else as a method of correction. They should have allowed it to change their hearts. Baal was believed to be a god of the sky; one of his duties was to send rain at the proper time. Ahab and the citizens of the land should have realized that if the Lord could prevent Baal from sending rain, the Lord was more powerful than Baal. In fact, they should have concluded that Baal didn't exist at all. If at any time during those three years they had repented of their sins and turned back to the Lord, they would have had relief from the drought. Yet Ahab doesn't blame himself or anyone else for Israel's problems except the prophet Elijah.
Some scholars propose that King Ahab believes Elijah and the other true prophets of the Lord angered Baal and that only by ridding the land of the Lord's prophets will Baal be pleased to send rain again. We've already learned that Jezebel has been systematically hunting down and executing the prophets of the Lord. It could be that these scholars are correct and that Ahab and Jezebel think if they can execute all the prophets---especially Elijah---the drought will end.
Elijah places the blame where it belongs: on King Ahab and those he has influenced into idolatry. "'I have not made trouble for Israel,' Elijah replied. 'But you and your father's family have. You have abandoned the Lord's commands and have followed the Baals. Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table.'" (1 Kings 18:18-19)
I don't think four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and four hundred prophets of Asherah (a fertility goddess believed to be the consort of Baal) literally sat around Jezebel's table for dinner every night. I believe Elijah refers to these prophets as those "who eat at Jezebel's table" to demonstrate that the prophets are supported by the wicked government of Ahab and Jezebel. This evil couple is in charge of both the government and the religion of Israel, which demonstrates to us why it's so important to have separation of church and state. A regime that controls both the government and the religion has almost absolute power over nearly every aspect of the people's lives. I believe many people willingly entered into Baal worship but I believe many adhered to the state-sponsored religion out of fear of the king and queen. The people knew the king and queen might put them to death if they did not swear allegiance to Baal or at least give the impression they served this foreign god.
Elijah is about to show everyone who is boss: Baal or God. He proposes a contest between Baal and God. If Baal wins, then everyone---including Elijah---must admit that he is Lord. But if God wins, everyone should come to the logical conclusion that He is Lord, just as Elijah has declared Him to be. "So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah went before the people and said, 'How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is god, follow him.' But the people said nothing. Then Elijah said to them, 'I am the only one of the Lord's prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let Baal's prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood and not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire---he is God.' Then all the people said, 'What you say is good.'" (1 Kings 18:20-24)
In this setup the people who worship Baal appear to have all the advantages. There are hundreds of them to call on Baal while there is only one prophet of the Lord on hand to call on Him. Heathen people believed that the louder they could chant their repetitive phrases to their gods, the more likely they were to be heard. (Matthew 6:7) The Baal worshipers are to bring two bulls of their own choosing to the site; Elijah does not have a hand in choosing them. Plus, the worshipers of Baal get to choose which of the two they want to offer to their god. This way they cannot say Elijah tampered with their offering in any way. In tomorrow's text we'll find Elijah stacking the deck against himself even more by pouring water all over his offering. He's not even going to pour it on the offering himself, lest anyone assume he is pouring a flammable substance on it, but will ask the Baal worshipers to gather the water themselves and pour it on the offering for him. If fire falls down from heaven when Elijah calls upon the Lord, and if the saturated offering catches fire, this is to be considered a miraculous sign because it is a miraculous sign. It will take a miracle to make a burnt offering out of Elijah's sacrifice. A miracle is exactly what's going to take place.
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