Elijah on Mount Carmel

During the third year of a drought in the ninth century BC, Elijah encountered Obadiah, who was over the household of King Ahab. While Ahab and Obadiah searched for grass to keep horses and mules alive, Elijah instructed Obadiah to tell the king he was there. Obadiah expressed fear that the Spirit of the Lord would carry Elijah away, leading to his own death at Ahab's hand, but he eventually brought Ahab to meet the prophet (1 Kings 18:7-16). Elijah then commanded Ahab to gather all Israel and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal to Mount Carmel.

At the mountain, Elijah presented a test to the people of Israel to determine whether the Lord or Baal was God. Two bulls were prepared for sacrifice; however, no fire was to be applied to the wood. The prophets of Baal called upon their god from morning until noon, leaping around their altar and cutting themselves with knives until blood gushed out, but the text says there was no voice and no one answered (1 Kings 18:26-29). Elijah mocked them, suggesting their god might be talking, pursuing, or sleeping. The text does not say how the prophets of Baal felt during this process.

Elijah then repaired the altar of the Lord with twelve stones and dug a trench around it. He ordered that four jars of water be poured over the wood and the sacrifice three times until the water filled the trench. After Elijah prayed, the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the dust, and the water (1 Kings 18:38). Following this, Elijah ordered the seizure of the prophets of Baal, took them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. Elijah then told Ahab to eat and drink, as a rainstorm was approaching.