In response to Elijah’s instructions about assembling hundreds of false prophets to a particular location (see 1 Kings 18:16-18), Ahab complies and summons them. I’m not sure if Ahab was still trying to recognize the true God among his other idols, or maybe trying to bring his prophets in for moral support against the truth that Elijah was speaking, or maybe just making a last-ditch effort to stop a long-running drought.
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.
1 Kings 18:20-21 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1ki.18.20-21.NIV
Now, I’m not sure if this was all happening the same day as the start of this chapter, when Elijah spoke with Ahab about this event. Getting 850 prophets assembled, plus what appears to be a gathering of other people of Israel, might have taken a while, especially in an era before phones and cars.
Regardless of the timing, Elijah presents a challenge to the people, and it’s pretty simple: they have to choose between God (i.e., Yahweh, the great I AM) and Baal (a regional false god of that time and place). The people can’t serve both.
The first commandment (see Exodus 20:3) made it clear that the true God’s people must not serve other gods. (By the way, since God is the source of all good, this was for the people’s own good.) As a result, not obeying this key commandment meant that they weren’t truly following Him. As Hudson Taylor has been quoted, “Christ is either Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all” [Hudson Taylor quote: Christ is either Lord of all, or He is not…]
I suppose that maybe Baal worship allowed its adherents to worship other false gods. Since Baal wasn’t real, anyway, I don’t know who decided what the rules were for Baal worship, though. If you think about it, there are other beliefs today that permit followers to believe other things at the same time, in a sort of “additive” or “mix-and-match” theology.
Since there is only one God of the universe, though, and He is wise, loving, and powerful, trying to mix the ideal life that He wants for us with anything else can only – by definition – make things worse.
At the time when I taught this (a few months back), one of my sons had recently broken his leg, and needed help (crutches, a walker, or someone else to lean on) to get around. It seemed timely that the NASB translation specified the literal translation of what the people were doing here (i.e., when they tried to walk the line between God and Baal) as, “limp on the two crutches”!
God would allow His people to live a blessed life and walk upright on their own, if they would rely only on Him. However, as they looked to idols to fill their needs, whether seeking rain, good crops, or military victory over their enemies, it was like trying to get around on crutches when they could have walked with God perfectly fine. That is, the idols became their crutches, but the irony wasn’t merely that the idols couldn’t help them in the first place: it was that walking with God – and only Him – would have eliminated the need for these idolatrous “crutches”.
As a side note, some claim today that religion itself is a crutch. False religion can indeed become a broken crutch: one that cannot support those who lean upon it. The truth, though, is that merely living the way that we were created, in a close relationship with our loving Creator, is crutch-free! It’s liberating, straightforward (although not easy), and rewarding. And, that’s what one would expect when living out the best possible life that we could choose, while relying on a God who is always faithful and who we can always trust.
How many times, though, do people – including Christians like myself – look to worldly solutions (like people or power or popular opinion) as crutches to help us get through situations? Not only does the wrong kind of support fail us, like the guy who built his house on the sand (see Matthew 7:24-27), but we don’t need extra help (beyond God’s provision) in the first place.
When my son broke his leg and needed crutches, it was awkward and slow for him to get around at first, even with help. A week prior to that, though (i.e., before he broke his leg), it would have been pointless for him to hobble around on crutches when he could walk perfectly well on his own.
Let’s take a look at the people’s reply in the next article. In the meantime, though, let’s not turn to crutches that just make things worse, when God offers us a joy-filled life with Him.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for May 11, 2025
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – 1 & 2 Kings, by Jesse C. Long, Jr. © 2002 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 