Daily Tanach Thursday Sefer Melachim 1 Chapter 18: The prophets of Baal are not successful in bringing a fire

1. The prophets of Baal are not successful in bringing a fire:

• The prophets of Baal prepare their offering and pray, but no fire comes: The prophets of Baal took the bull that Eliyahu gave them [as it had run away from them, not wanting to be offered to idolatry^[1]] and they prepared it on the altar. They prayed to their deity Baal from the morning until noon, asking him to answer their prayers, but there was no response. They even preformed a dancing ceremony on the altar that they had made [for the sake of invoking their deity Baal to draw down fire from the sky].
• Eliyahu taunts the worshippers of Baal: In the afternoon, Eliyahu began scoffing at them, and said to them sarcastically, “Why don’t you call to your deity Baal with a louder voice, as after all isn’t he the G-d. Maybe he is in middle of a conversation or is engaged in war with his enemies or he is in the bathroom, or perhaps he is sleeping and if you call him, he will awaken.”
• The Baal worshippers continue to pray to Baal in vain: The prophets of Baal [took Eliyahu seriously and] prayed in an even louder voice and gashed themselves with swords and spears as was their custom, until blood gushed out onto them. They did this throughout all the afternoon and tried to prophesy until the time came for the Mincha sacrifice to be brought. However, there was no response to their call, no sound or voice.

2. Eliyahu draws a fire from heaven and proves that Hashem is G-d:

• Eliyahu gathers the people: Eliyahu told all of the people to come near him [to witness what would take place], and so all the people came near to him.
• Eliyahu fixes the altar: Eliyahu then repaired the destroyed altar of Hashem. Eliyahu then took twelve stones, corresponding to the 12 tribes of Yaakov. He built the stones into an altar for the sake of Hashem, and he made a ditch that could hold two se’ah, around the altar.
• Eliyahu prepares the wood and bull offering on the altar: Eliyahu arranged the wood on the altar, and he cut up the bull and placed it on top of the wood.
• Water is poured onto the altar, wood, and offering until it is drowned in water: Eliyahu instructed [his servant Elisha^[2]] that four pitchers be filled with water and that they should be poured over the meat and onto the wood. This was done three times [for a total of 12 buckets of water being poured onto the altar^[3]]. The water flowed around the altar, and into the ditch that surrounded the altar, thus filling it with water.
• Eliyahu prays to Hashem: Towards the time of Mincha, Eliyahu Hanavi prayed to Hashem as follows: “The G-d of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yisrael, today let it be known that You are G-d in Israel and that I am Your servant, and at Your word have I done all these things. Answer me, Hashem, answer me, and let the nation know that You are Hashem, and that You have allowed them to stray against you.”
• A fire comes from Heaven and consumes the entire altar: [Immediately after the above prayer] a fire of Hashem fell [from the heavens] and consumed the Olah offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the earth. Even the water which was in the trench became consumed by the fire.
• The people voice their belief in G-d: When the people saw this they fell on their faces, and said, “Hashem is G-d, Hashem is G-d.”
• The prophets of Baal are slaughtered: Eliyahu then said to the people: “Seize the prophets of the Baal and do not allow anyone to escape.” So, the people seized them and Eliyahu took them down the brook of Kishon and slaughtered them there.

3. It rains:

• Eliyahu instructs Achav to eat: Eliyahu then instructed Achav to go up and eat and drink [in celebration^[4]], as he will soon hear the rumbling sound of rain. So, Achav went up to eat and drink.
• Eliyahu prays for rain: Eliyahu went up to the top of Mt. Carmel and crouched on the ground, and put his head between his knees [and began to pray for rain^[5]].
• A servant of Eliyahu is sent to lookout for rainclouds: Eliyahu sent his servant to go up and look towards the sea [to search for rainclouds coming from the sea^[6]]. So, the servant went up and looked, but he saw nothing. Eliyahu instructed him to go again for a total of seven times.
• The rainclouds are seen by the seventh time: By the seventh time, the servant saw a cloud as small as a man’s palm, rising from the sea.
• Eliyahu informs Achav to quickly return home: Eliyahu then instructed his servant to tell Achav to quickly prepare his horses and descend Mt. Carmel, lest they get stopped by the rain.
• A heavy rain falls: In the meanwhile, the heavens became dark with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain.
• Achav arrives to Yizrael but is preceded by Eliyahu: Achav rode and went to Yizrael. However, Hashem gave Eliyahu extra powers and he was able to run before Achav and arrive to Yizrael before him.

[1] Rashi 18:26

[2] Rashi 18:34

[3] Radak 18:34

[4] Metzudos Dovid 18:41

[5] Rashi 18:42

[6] Rashi 18:43