The Bible In Paintings: ELIJAH VS. BAAL’S 450 PROPHETS

[Hebrews 11:6]

The Bible In Paintings 2
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR APPRECIATING AND APPLYING GOD'S MESSAGE

REVELATION 3:14-16
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth."

1
RICK WIENECKE
"The Lukewarm Church"

1^st KINGS
CHAPTER 18

Ahab went to meet Elijah. When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”

“I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the LORD’s commands and have followed the Baals. Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

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Source

3
"Elijah Warning Ahab"

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Source

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.

Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the LORD’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”

Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” So they took the bull given them and prepared it.

Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “O Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.

At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.

5
JAMES TISSOT
"The Prophets of Baal Leap upon the Altar"

6
"Baal’s Prophets"

7
PHILIPS GALLE
"The Story of Elijah and the Priests of Baal"

8

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Source

Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which was in ruins. Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it. He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”

“Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.

“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

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Source

11
"Elijah’s Altar"

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Source

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Source

At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

14
LUCAS CRANACH the Younger
"Elijah and the Priests of Baal"

15
J. A. MARIENHOF
"The Sacrifice of Elijah"

16
ALBERT JOSEPH MOORE
"Elijah's Sacrifice"

17
MUSA son of Stefan
"Elijah Thanks God after the Triumph over the Priests of Baal"

18
DOMENICO FETTI
"Elijah’s Triumph"

19
"Elijah's Sacrifice"

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Source

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Source

22
"Elijah and Baal"

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Source

24
"Elijah Calling down Fire"

25
"Elijah Praying to God to Set Fire to His Altar
in Front of the Prophets of Baal"

26

"Elijah’s Sacrifice Consumed by Fire"

27
Source

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Source

29
MARC CHAGALL
"Offering of Elijah"

30
JAMES TISSOT
"Elijah Bringeth Fire from Heaven"

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Source

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Source

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Source

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Source

When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried,

THE LORD—HE IS GOD!
THE LORD—HE IS GOD!

Then Elijah commanded them, “SEIZE THE PROPHETS OF BAAL. DON’T LET ANYONE GET AWAY!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.

35
JUAN DE VALDÉS LEAL
"Elijah and Baal’s Prophets"

36
GUSTAVE DORÉ
"Slaughter of the Prophets of Baal"

→ a n d... f i n a l l y ←

37
JULIUS SCHNORR VON CAROLSFELD
"Elijah Goes after Prophets of Baal"

New International Version ©1984, Abrdgd, EMPHASES Added
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[Bob434]

.ol.at number 6- what fools they must have looked like dancing around writhing in agony as they tried to appeal to,their false gods while Elijah sat by watching.

Elijah however was quite mocking of them- quite sarcastic. Th3y must have been furious lol.

[InkStone]

Good morning Dan, and good morning to all.
An exciting moment Dan. Thank you!

How many times did God’s children see Him move...

How many times do we likewise see Him

[spankalib]

One of my favorite stories... here's Elijah up against 450 Baal plus 400 Asherah...a thousand screaming people at least...all clamoring and frothing and bloody. What a scene!

#15, Marienhof, we've seen his work a few times here...seems to capture 'movement'; Elijah's hands and face, the color is muted, almost pastel, yet drama-filled as the fire consumes. How did he do that? Get that effect? Brilliant. The horse moving on the right, the guy under the altar on the left, all seems to be moving. Even the jar in the foreground seems to roll...remarkable talent.

Then of course, for drama, there's Dore, #36...
- the overhead axe swinging down
- the bodies falling
- the spear-thrust (on the right)...
Another amazing artist!

[Hebrews 11:6]

The man represents the church, which is still bogged down in the world, only half-emerged, still shackled. I find it eloquent.

[Ciexyz]

💛💙💚💛💙💚

[Hebrews 11:6]

All who truly seek God, even if initially they just showed up to watch the spectacle, will see Him prove Himself.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Thank you, John. Always you give me a fresh look at works I’ve seen a dozen times.

[Hebrews 11:6]

! ! ! ! ! !

[Bob434]

Ok i can see that- they are still under the shackles of the law unnecessarily. Lots of churches like that today, where they pretend to be pious, but are really proudly trying to do “good works”, mostly for the praise of men. ,ot of,churches today don’t want to offend anyone with the harsher messages of the word, so they skip those, preferring to be liked and applauded by the congregations instead. Some even go so far as to reinvent parts of,the Bible to accommodate growing trends in society, ie churches catering to lgbtq, and twisting gods word so that the people won’t be offended in any way. But those churches though are false churches as opposed to lukewarm ones. They have abandoned gods word because they prefer the apllause of men more.

[Hebrews 11:6]

false churches as opposed to lukewarm ones

Is that not a distinction without a difference, given that Jesus says He is vomiting them up?

[Bob434]

I and many others beleive they are saved, but just not .iving close to God. One can be saved and lukewarm, saved and backlsidden, not living for him as they should. Paul spoke to such churches calling them brethren, not “former brethtren”. Christ said of certain saved people that he wil. Hand them over to,gheir sinź thjs doesnt mean they lost their salvstion, only that since they wont lesve the sins they are caught in, they wil, have to suffer fhe ck sequences of their decisions. There are those thougn thst beleive they are not saved. I disagree. I’ll leave it at that as it can be a contentious subject.

[Hebrews 11:6]

I concur. It's not our call to make.

Still, I don't think I'd want to be upchucked by Jesus.

[telescope115]

Looking forward to it!

[Bob434]

True. Being goven over to the world” (or to sin since the person chooses to live a carnal life) is also not good. The person caught in alcohol will die a miserable death with liver failure, other issues, the drug abuser will suffer tremendously, lose family, etc So many hurts come from choosing to backslide, but some people just have to learn the hard way, and their relationship with God really suffers. Not thst Living for God protects us from life’s ills, BUT it does mean we can lean on him when they come, and he will help,us through them. The backslider has only their drugs or alcohol or their particular sins to turn to to cope because God is not close to them, as per thr choice of the carnal Christian. IS like they have this huge Nanuet table spread before them, just out of reach, a d they refuse to,take the effort to reach the table and be filled. They starve just a few feet away from the table.

[Rebelbase]

“When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried,

THE LORD—HE IS GOD!
THE LORD—HE IS GOD!

Then Elijah commanded them, “SEIZE THE PROPHETS OF BAAL. DON’T LET ANYONE GET AWAY!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.”

Were that to happen today the US House, Senate and White House would cease to function.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Saving a spot for you, Pete, in the front row!

[Hebrews 11:6]

We render unto Caesar....

[Hebrews 11:6]

Often I have imagined what Jesus’ millennial reign will be like.

[left that other site]

Good Morning, Dan! :-)

[Hebrews 11:6]

Mary-Lou! If you’re interested, we saved a few Baalites for your sword....