Chapter 11—Carmel
This chapter is based on
1 Kings 18:19-40
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Standing before Ahab, Elijah demanded that all Israel be assem-
bled to meet him and the prophets of Baal and Ashtoreth on Mount
Carmel. “Send,” he commanded, “and gather to me all Israel unto
Mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and
the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.”
The command was issued by one who seemed to stand in the
very presence of Jehovah; and Ahab obeyed at once, as if the prophet
were monarch, and the king a subject. Swift messengers were sent
throughout the kingdom with the summons to meet Elijah and the
prophets of Baal and Ashtoreth. In every town and village the people
prepared to assemble at the appointed time. As they journeyed toward
the place, the hearts of many were filled with strange forebodings.
Something unusual was about to happen; else why this summons to
gather at Carmel? What new calamity was about to fall upon the
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people and the land?
Before the drought, Mount Carmel had been a place of beauty, its
streams fed from never-failing springs, and its fertile slopes covered
with fair flowers and flourishing groves. But now its beauty languished
under a withering curse. The altars erected to the worship of Baal and
Ashtoreth stood now in leafless groves. On the summit of one of the
highest ridges, in sharp contrast with these was the broken-down altar
of Jehovah.
Carmel overlooked a wide expanse of country; its heights were
visible from many parts of the kingdom of Israel. At the foot of the
mount there were vantage points from which could be seen much of
what took place above. God had been signally dishonored by the idol-
atrous worship carried on under cover of its wooded slopes; and Elijah
chose this elevation as the most conspicuous place for the display of
God’s power and for the vindication of the honor of His name.
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