Elijah on Mount Carmel

In the third year of the drought, Elijah appears before Ahab, who accuses him of troubling Israel. “It is you,” the prophet answers, because the king has followed the Baals. On Mount Carmel, in front of all the people, Elijah challenges the 450 prophets of Baal: “How long will you go limping between two opinions?” The god who answers by fire is God. From morning until the time of the offering, the prophets of Baal shout, leap about, and cut themselves: no voice, no answer. Elijah then rebuilds the LORD’s altar with twelve stones and has twelve jars of water poured over the offering, in three rounds of four. He prays a simple prayer, and the fire of the LORD falls, consuming everything, even the water in the trench. The people cry out: “The LORD, he is God!” At the top of Carmel, Elijah prays; the seventh time, a small cloud appears, and a heavy rain falls.