From Carmel to a Cave

Devotions for Growing Christians

From Carmel to a Cave

Take a moment and create a mental image of the prophet Elijah.

What’s the first picture that popped into your mind? 

Maybe you visualized a fearless prophet dressed in rough, dark-colored wilderness garb.  Maybe you envisioned a long-haired, bearded man courageously calling down a raging inferno from heaven.   Yep, you got it.  That’s him.  Elijah is best known for living in the wilderness, and the showdown at Mount Carmel where the Lord proved in spectacular fashion that pagan gods are nothing but helpless idols.   

Did anyone picture Elijah as a weak character sulking in a lonely cave?  Probably not.  Elijah’s time in the cave at Mount Horeb was not memorable moment in his life.  In fact, the cave experience was a spiritual low in the life of the great prophet.  Even so, God used that valley experience as a turning point in Elijah's life and ministry. 

All Christians experience spiritual highs and lows.  We all have Mount Carmel moments, and then there are caves.  Let's trace the path of Elijah from the triumph of Carmel to the trauma of the cave.  For this devotion, we’ll assume the reader knows the general story surrounding the well-known events at Mount Carmel, but if you need a refresher, check out 1 Kings 17-19.

Background 

Elijah came on the scene at a time when Israel had turned away from God.  The glory years under David and Solomon were long gone.  The kingdom was now split, and northern Israel was filled with idolatry.  All ties were cut with worshipping the Lord at the Temple in Jerusalem (in the southern kingdom).  

Evil King Ahab of the north built a temple for Baal worship in the capital city (1 Kings 16:28-34), and married an idolatrous foreigner, Jezebel.  She systematically killed off many prophets of the Lord (18:4, 13), and even let pagan priests move in and live at government expense (18:19).  It’s no wonder that we read Ahab "did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel that were before him" (16:33).

The Lord needed to confront the idolatry, and Elijah was just the man for the job.  But before anything else, the people needed to see that the false gods they worshipped were useless.  They had to witness God's blessing being withdrawn from the land.  How did God do this?  Elijah told Ahab that there would be no precipitation for 3 1/2 years (17:1).  Rain was a well-known sign of God's blessing (Deuteronomy 28:12).  A prolonged drought was a sign of God’s punishment (Deuteronomy 28:24).  The desired result:  the people would quickly see that their pagan gods could not make it rain!

For 3 1/2 long years God conditioned Israel for the dramatic show-down at Mt Carmel between Elijah and the pagan leaders.  We may wonder why the people kept worshiping their helpless idols during the long drought, but we could easily ask the same question about our own world today.  Nations around the world appear bent on self-destruction, serving other “gods,” and increasingly abandoning the God of the Bible.  

Elijah in isolation

While the nation of Israel was going through the drought, Elijah was being prepared for Mount Carmel.  After telling King Ahab about the nation's upcoming troubles, Elijah disappeared into the wilderness.  For the next 2+ years, God gave Elijah miraculous provision and protection.  He not only endured the same severe drought and famine as everyone else, but he was also on Ahab and Jezebel’s “Most Wanted” list (18:10).  Through it all, God protected and provided for Elijah.

Have we come to know God as the one who can provide for and protect us in any and all situations?  Like Elijah, we must learn to depend on the Lord, and gain confidence in Him as our all-caring and all-capable God.  

Mount Carmel

After his time in the wilderness, Elijah met King Ahab.  The faceoff at Mount Carmel was set.  With confidence from the Lord, Elijah boldly challenged the prophets of Baal (18:24).  He also challenged the crowd who had gathered to watch: "How long will you hesitate between two opinions?  If the Lord is God, follow Him, but if Baal, follow him" (18:21).   

Is this same challenge relevant in our lives?  Are we hesitating between serving gods like materialism or financial comfort, as opposed to giving our best for the Lord who created you and gave His life for you?

Baal, of course, was no match for God!  It’s easy for us to smirk as we read this account, but these pagan prophets were as serious as many of our friends are today.  They were willing to sell their souls to the gods of this world. 

When it was embarrassingly obvious that Baal wasn’t answering the frantic calls of his prophets, Elijah confidently repaired the altar of the Lord and prepared a sacrifice.  Then he doused the altar, wood, sacrifice and surrounding area with water.  Then the power and fire of the Lord fell and consumed everything including the standing water.  This left no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Lord was the only true God.  What a tremendous victory and spiritual high for Elijah! 

Disappointment and discouragement

Unfortunately, the victory at Mount Carmel was a short-lived mountain top experience.  Elijah assumed that when Ahab saw God’s amazing power, he would turn back to the Lord and send Jezebel packing.  But instead, Ahab merely reported the day's happenings to Jezebel, who in turn threatened to kill Elijah within 24 hours.  Elijah turned and ran for his life.  He told the Lord along the way that he wanted to die because he was a failure (19:4), and then he crawled inside a cave to wallow in self-pity.  What a turn of events!  The mighty Elijah pouting in a cave!

Should we be surprised?  James 5:17 says "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours."  How often do we cycle from mountain-top to valley?  Like Elijah, we’re usually even more vulnerable right after a spiritual victory.  Like Elijah, we’re particularly susceptible to discouragement and disillusionment when we’re fixated on ourselves, rather than on the Lord.  The Lord asked him a simple and convicting question when he was in the cave, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"  What is our response when God asks us the same question?

Encouragement 

The grace of God is certainly emphasized throughout God's dealings with Elijah.  God’s care and protection were evident in every situation as He trained Elijah up to be one of His great servants.  Every growing Christian needs to learn these same lessons.  This valuable direction will go a long way towards overcoming a "cave mentality," as well as inhibiting a "Carmel to cave" cycle. 

- Dave Reid

(Updated 2022, Ron Reid)