I Kings 18:20-19:18
On top of Mount Carmel in Israel of old,
Elijah, the prophet, stood sturdy and bold.
He called forth the people and challenged the horde,
" Now who is your God? Is he Baal or the Lord?
I, only I, serve true God who won't fail;
Four hundred and fifty false prophets serve Baal.
Let them give us two bullocks, and let them choose one,
And I'll take the next for the work to be done.
They'll carve one and lay it on wood without flame,
And I'll take the other and do just the same.
Let them call on their gods in this vital hour,
And I'll call on my God's infinite power.
Let this be the test of our fervent desire.
Let Him be our God who will answer by fire."
Then from morn until noon, the prophets of Baal
Leaped on their altar. They cried, screamed and wailed.
Elijah then lifted his voice to deride,
"Is he walking or talking or sleeping inside?
Scream louder, perhaps you will wake him in time."
They cut themselves, blood gushing over their grime.
Past noon into evening, they writhed and they roiled,
But no god regarded their blood and their toil.
Elijah then cried to the people around,
"Come near to the altar of God, broken down."
Then twelve stones, he gathered, of Israel's clans,
And rebuilt the altar of God with his hands.
Moreover, he dug out a trench in the ground.
He made it to circle the altar around.
He put on the wood in the order he should.
He laid the bull's pieces on top of the wood.
Elijah commanded, not one time but thrice,
"Dump four barrels, full, on the whole sacrifice."
The people obeyed, and the altar was drenched.
The water ran down, even filling the trench.
The prophet hailed God at the close of the day.
"Oh God of the Patriarchs, hear me I pray!
That I have obeyed you, and I am your seer,
Let this people know you're the God we should fear."
Then the fire from God fell like fast-burning pitch,
Consuming the whole, and the wet in the ditch.
The people all fell with their faces to sod,
And they loudly confessed: "The Lord, He is God!"
Elijah cried, "Take the false seers that remain."
Then he brought them to Kishon, and there they were slain.
Elijah called wicked King Ahab to hand.
"With three years of drought the Lord's punished this land.
Now get to your palace, God's will becomes plain.
I hear in the distance the coming of rain."
On top of Mount Carmel, he cast himself down
With his face to his knees and his head on the ground.
Elijah said, "Servant, go look to the sea."
His servant returned and said, "Nothing to see."
Elijah commanded, "Go seven times more."
His servant obeyed and completed the chore.
When seven times tested, God's Word proves pure gold.
The servant cried, "Now, a small cloud I behold."
Elijah cried, "Ahab, get down from the flood.
For shortly, your wheels will be sunken in mud."
Then mighty winds howled, and the heavens turned black.
The force of the rain showed no mercy or slack.
King Ahab drove hard to get home to Jezreel,
But thick clung the mud to his chariot wheels.
Again, the Lord proved that His presence was real.
Elijah ran first to the gates of Jezreel.
King Ahab slogged homeward, too weary to grouse.
Ignoring Elijah, he entered his house.
He met his vile Queen, and began to complain.
"Elijah has won, and your prophets are slain."
Then red fire like flame flashed in Jezebel's eyes,
"Send a message at once to this man I despise.
Tell him: So let my gods do more to me too,
If tomorrow you're not like the ones that you slew."
Elijah looked this way and that with a moan.
No people of God. He was standing alone.
Elijah lost courage and fled for his life,
And came into Judah, a land without strife.
On into the desert, he thought he'd be free.
So there he sat under a juniper tree.
In sorrow, Elijah cried out in despair:
"Oh Lord, take my life! More than this I can't bear.
The prophet slept, thinking his God he would meet.
An angel said, waking him, "Get up and eat."
Elijah beheld a cake baked on the coals,
And water the angel supplied from a bowl.
Thus nourished, the prophet lay down once again.
The angel stood guard on the health of God's man.
The angel said, "Get up now, eat, and don't balk.
The journey is hard. You've a long way to walk."
That heavenly food gave great strength as he trod,
Forty days unto Horeb, the mountain of God.
He lodged in a cave. There God's word became clear.
God said to him, "Man of God, why are you here?"
Elijah replied, "I have guarded your Word.
Yet your prophets, the Godless have slain with the sword.
No covenant, no worship, no altar to pray.
Only my life is left, and they'll take that away."
God answered, "Go forth and stand on the mount there.
I will pass by and show I have power to spare."
A wind blew so strong that the mountain was rent,
But God did not dwell in the wind that He sent.
The Lord sent an earthquake that buckled the ground,
But God did not dwell in its shake or its sound.
Then God sent a fierce fire that leaped to the sky.
He dwelt not in its flames or its embers that die.
To win men by power is seldom God's choice.
The prophet heard God in a quiet, small voice.
So he covered his face with his cloak and went out,
And stood in the mouth of the cave, still in doubt.
Then again, the voice came to him, trying to cheer.
God said to him, "Man of God, why are you here?"
Elijah retorted, "I've guarded your Word,
But your prophets, the Godless have slain with the sword.
No covenant, no worship, no altar to pray.
Only my life is left, and they'll take that away."
The Lord did not argue. He simply said, "Go."
"You have work to do and you must not be slow.
You've a prophet, a prince, and a king to anoint.
My will, they'll accomplish, and that is the point.
The ones that are worse, then the better shall slay.
That's how, in the future, the good will hold sway.
But I've left in my land, seven thousand of them
Have not bowed unto Baal, nor have they kissed him."
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