The great showdown between the Prophet and the prophets of Baal and Asherah is one of the greatest miracles in the Bible. Understand the details of this monumental event and learn lessons of faith that you can apply to your own life from this great miracle.
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Mount Carmel: The Great Showdown Between Elijah & the False Prophets of Baal.
​Location
1. The place marking the great showdown between Elijah and the false prophets is known as Deir Al-Mukhraqa Carmelite Monastery. The Discalced Carmelites are made up of Catholic men and women who dedicate themselves to a life of prayer. The Carmelite nuns live in monasteries and follow a wholly thoughtful and reflective life.
2. Mount Carmel is located about 9 miles (15 km.) east of the Mediterranean Sea in the Carmel Mountain Range, which is in the northern part of Israel. It’s also about 28 miles (44 km.) southwest of the Sea of Galilee.
3. Mount Carmel was a High Place of worship to the false god of Baal and Asherah during Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings.
4. It has a spectacular view of the Jezreel Valley, which is also known as the Valley of Armageddon. Armageddon is where part of the last battle on earth takes place at the end of the Great Tribulation Period.
5. From Mount Carmel, Nazareth and Cana can be seen to the northeast.
Historical Background
1. The great showdown between the Prophet Elijah and the 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah began around 100 years earlier when King Solomon sowed the seeds that would destroy Israel morally.
2. Against God’s clear commandments to the Israelites, Solomon married many foreign wives.
3. These foreign wives worshipped false gods, and in order to honor them, Solomon built high places of worship all over Israel where these false gods could be worshipped. 1 Kings 11 recounts this tragic reality.
4. As a result, the worship of false gods became rampant in the land.
5. Because of the worship of false gods, God pronounced judgment on the nation of Israel, and it was divided into two kingdoms after Solomon’s death.
6. Rehoboam, one of Solomon’s sons, took the Southern Kingdom of Judah, which consisted of 2 tribes, and Jeroboam, one of Solomon’s officials, took the Northern Kingdom, which consisted of 10 tribes.
7. Because Jeroboam was afraid many of his people would defect to Rehoboam’s kingdom by going to Jerusalem to worship God in the temple there, he introduced false gods into the northern tribes of Israel.
8. Jeroboam erected two golden calf altars at Bethel and Dan for his people to worship at instead of going to the temple in Jerusalem. He told his people that these golden calves were the gods who led them out of Egypt.
9. Several kings later, King Ahab, king of the Northern Kingdom, married a foreign wife named Jezebel, who worshipped the false gods of Baal (a male god) and Asherah (a female god). Jezebel promoted worship to these false gods by employing countless prophets of Baal and Asherah. She even supported them financially and fed them at her royal table.
10. Mt. Carmel was one of the key high places in Israel where the people worshiped Baal and Asherah.
12. Baal and Asherah were the gods of the weather. It was for this reason God sent a drought and then later sent rain. By doing so, He showed He was the true God of the weather and everything else. Baal worship was originally from the Canaanite nations God drove out because of their extreme wickedness.
Places of Interest (Please See Maps Above)
1. Mt. Carmel
2. Kishon Stream
3. Jezreel Valley
4. Tel Jezreel
5. Mediterranean Sea
Mount Carmel in the Bible
1. The showdown between Elijah and the false prophets takes place during the reign of Ahab, King of Israel.