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HISTORY'S GREATEST TEST
OP PRAYER
By WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN ,
BIBLE TEXT LESSON -FOR JAN,l'tf
(I. .Kings 18:20-24, 30, 36-39)
So Ahab Hont unto all the children of Israel; and
gathorod tho prophets together unto Mount Garmcl.
And Elijah camo unto all tho people, and said,
How long halt yo between two opinions? . It 'ho
Lord bo God. follow him: but if Baal, then follow
him. And tho people answered him not a word.
Thon said Elijah unto tho people, I, even I only,
remain a prophet of tho Lord; but Baal's prophets'
are four hundred and fifty men.
Lot them thereforo glvo us two bullocks; and
lot them chooso ono bullock for themselves, and
cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no
llro undor: and I will dress tho Other bullock, and
lay it on wood, and put no ilro under: ,
And call yo on tho name of your godsj and I wjll
call on tho name of tlio Lord: and thq God that
answeroth by fire, lot him bo God. And all tho
peoplo answered and said, It is well spoken.
And Elijah said unto the people, Come near unto
mo. And all tho people camo near unto him. And
he repaired tho altar of tho Lord that was brok
en down.
And it came to pass at tho tlmo of tho offering
of tho ovening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet
camo near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac,
and of Israel, lot it bo known this day that thou
art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and
that I have done all these things at tfyy word.
Hear me, O Lord, hear mo, that this people may
know that thou art the Lord God and that thou
hast turned their heart back again.
Thon the flro of tho Lord fell, and consumed tho
burnt sacrifice, and tho wood, and the stones, and
tho dust, and licked up tho water that was in the
And when all tho peoplo saw it. they fell on their
faces; and thoy said, Tho Lord, ho is tho Qod; the'
Lord, ho is tho God. ' '
The things it tells of happened twerity-eight
hundred years ago, yet how crammed with les
sons for us' of today is the eighteenth. chapter
of the first book of Kings!
It continues the fascinating story of that
great Biblical character, Elijah, begun with such,
startling suddenness in the previous short chap
ter. He had appoared before Ahab, wickedest of
tho kings of the ten tribes of Israel, and fore
told a drought as punishment for the nation's
sin of idolatry, introduced by Jezebel, the king's
strong-minded consort. Then, as mysteriously
as he had come, ho had vanished and been fed
by, ravens, in .the morning and in the evening,
and from the widow's barrel of meal that
wasted not and the cruse of oil that did not fail.
And all the while there was sore ' famiie
throughout Samaria. .
"And it camo to pass after many days, that
the word of the Lord came to Elijah,, in the
third yoar, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab:
and I will send rain upon the earth." Thus
the- chapter of our Talk begins.
THE LESSON OF OBADIAH
As Elijah journeyed towards Ahab's capital he
met Obadiah, the governor of the king's house,
who not only feared the Lord greatly, but he
also feared Ahab. When Jezebel, worshipper of
Baal, was slaying the prophets of Israel, he had
been loyal enough to the Almighty God to save
one hundred of them nnd hide them in caves
and feed thorn; but when Elijah told him to
go and announce to Ahab his coming, Obadiah
trembled and explained to the prophet that he
was afraid to do so lest Elijah might vanish
again, and then his life would pay the penalty
for a seemingly false report to the king.
There is so much meat in our chapter that
we cannot devote much time to Obadiah or to
the hundred prophets who hid in caves, although
this part of it has been used as a basis for com
ment on the lack of courage sometimes dis
played by ministers who hide from the wrath of
the unrighteous instead of upbraiding them.
But allowance must be made for the differ
ence in the intensity of convictions. Some have
conviction enough for ordinary times; others
have convictions enough for every emergency.
Such characters as Elijah are valuable there
fore, as a reproof to those who are weak in the
faith and as a stimulus to those who have to
meet great trials. The progress of Christianity
Is slow because tho spirit of the martyrs is not
to bo found in all who profess faith in God
not even in all who openly take upon them
gelves tho name of His Son.
When Elijah met Ahab, tho latter, who had
searched everywhere for the prophet and had
even demanded an oath of the kingdoms where
he failed to And him, gave expression to his
anger in vords that have become historic:
"Art thou he that troubleth Israel" an ac
cusation and a compliment. Why had be hunted
far and wjda for Elijah? Because he believed
that Elijah was tho spokesman of the Almighty
and that the drought which lay. over his king
dom could not bo broken until word came from
Elijah He charged Elijah with troubling
Israel and yet he knew that Elijah was the
only one through whom relief could "be brought.
Elijah's answer was in keeping with the char
acter of that great man of God. "I have not
troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's
house, in that ye have forsaken the command
ments of the Lord and thou hast followed
Baalim."
Thou art the man! There is courage. An
unarmed prophet of Jehovah all the rest of
them had been destroyed or driven into hid
ing, but here is one whom neither the frown
of theking nor the king's armies . could ter
rify. He had not waited unt'l Ahab found him,
but went himself to the king and, hurling back'
Ahab's reproach, uttered before Ahab God's in
dictment of his idolatry.
, THE CHOICE THAT ALL MUST MAKE
Then follows the greatest prayer test re-J
corded in history one of the most sublime, acts
of faith ever displayed by man.
..Taking command of the situation, Elijah or
derod Ahab to assemble the prophets of Baal,
four hundred and fifty in number, in Mount
Carmel, and when these leaders of the idolaters
assembled Elijah spoke unto the people, who
had gathered, to witness the scene. "How long
halt ye between two opinions!" he exclaimed.
"If the Lord bo God, follow Him; but if Baal,
then follow him."
This is a practical lesson because it touches
every human life. This is the choice that all
are called upon, to make. From the time we
reach years of accountability until we die, this
is the choice, that we are continually making
choice between God and Baal, between the
Heavenly Father and the false gods that invite
worship and success or failure follows accord
ing to the decision.
Elijah did not allow much time for them to
make up their minds, and but little time is re
quired for this choice. The decisions upon
which our lives turn are made in a moment,
whether we- turn to tho right or to the left we
act instantly.
We may spend time in considering the matter
in pondering over it, but only a moment is're
quired for the decision, whether it is to become
a murderer, a thief, or a criminal or any other
? d ft requires no longer to decide, as
did the Prodigal Son, "I will arise and go to
my iamer.
ELIJAH'S SUBLIME TRUST IN GOD
The people stood mute before Elijah- "an-
poscdathemtenst a Wrd'' Thn the ""
rVVvn onl' remaln a Prophet of the Lord;
but Baals prophets are four hundred arid fiftv
men. He challenged them to bring two bul
locks, they to choose one and put it on an altar
with no fire under it; he would take the othX
bullock and do likewise. Then the prophets of
Baal were 4o call upon their gods to send down
fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice and
he would call upon Jehovah; "and the God that
answereth by fire, let him be God."
Imagine, if you can, a more sublime picture
of trust in God. Not only was Elijah's own life
staked upon the result, but the faith o? the
children of Israel was at stake.
He let the prophets of Baal make their annni
flrst another evidence pf faith. If they had
succeeded, he would not have been given a
chance to call down fire upon the offering he
had prepared. And tho prophets of Baal tried?
they had but little choice, of course, and could
not well refuse. They were brought together
by the command of Ahab, who summoned them
n obedience to the demand of EHh Stan?
tag. in the presence of the people they had to
tfiir God. anC r COnfeSS thG Wtenced $
ATHEISTS AND HIGHER CRITICS
f tTw,.thoyAJnUBt be gIven creHt for a 'larger
faith than those have who .today call the Bible
eight hundred years ago had in their God fT
the atheist 'will not attompt the makim? 'J I
substitute for the Bible. b 0I a
Baal did nol answer and then Elijah gave ad
ditional proof of the completeness of his tniRt
He ridiculed the prophets of Baal, mocked them
before he himself had appealed to his God Nn
man With the slightest doubt would havo taken
the risk of laughing at his rivals before the con
test was over,,- but Elijah had unquestioning
faith and he dared to ridicule the efforts of the
worshippers of a false god, just as today the
believers in a personal God, in an inspired Book
and in a .deified Christ- mock those who would
make tlie Creator impersonal, the Bible a story
book and Christ a mere man.
THE POWER OF PRAYER WITH FAITH
Then came Elijah's opportunity, and hero
again his faith shines forth.
He was not content to call down fire upon
, dry .wood as the prophets of Baal had done. Ho
had the wood saturated three times with bar
, rels of water-possibly the materialists think
it was oil in .disguise, but tho spectators did
not. Elijah prayed, and what a modest prayer
it "was:
"Let it be known this day that thou art God
in Israel, and that I am thy- servant, and that
I have done all, these things at thy word."
Elijah was the conduit- through which tho
power of God flowed; he was the instrument in
Jehovah's hand. Could humility be better ex
pressed? r
He was not thinking of himself, but of tho
children of Israel: "Hear me, O Lord, hear me,
that this people mayknow that thou art tho
Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart
back again."
. A recent writer, a professing Christian, as
sumed to divide the- miracles into two groups,
the individual to make the classification for
himself. In one group would be the recorded
miracles for which there seemed (to the in
dividual) to be no sufficient reason; in the other
- group would he the miracles that might bo
justified (according to the judgment of the indi
vidual) as necessary to produce an effect worth
producing. Even according to this ridiculous
classification, Elijah's prayer test would seem
worth while. It was intended to destroy faith
in idol worship which Jezebel was introducing
and to take the heart of the children of Israel
back .to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and of
Israel.
THE NEED OF UNWAVERING FAITH
"Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed
the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones,
and the dust, and licked up the water that was
in the trench. And when all the people saw it,
they fell on their faces: and they said, 'The
Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.' "
We are surprised at the short-lived faith of a
chosen people; amazed that it was so often nec
essary to coerce them into reverence and obedi
ence by visible acts of power and authority but
why should we wonder? Even today there are
people so called learned people" even who do
not believe. They not only laugh at what they
call "the fables of the Bible," but they reject
evidence far more conclusive than that which
existed in the days of Elijah.
We know of the'vastness of the universe and
of the myriad forms of life, each perfect in its
mechanism and unquestioning in its obedience
to the law woven into its very being. We see
the wonder-working of a Power that is meas
ureless, designs that could only come from an
Infinite Intelligence, and a bounty that be
speaks tho fathomless love of a Heavenly
father. We haye the experience of the ages and
proof of Christ's power to regenerate a world;
and yet even now it sometimes requires a cata
strophe to turn the wandering heart back to
Jehovah. The great lesson of our chapter
teaches the need of an unwavering faith in an
unchanging God.
THE Bn&E'S GREATEST STORY OF
THE TENTH COMMANDMENT
By WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
BIBLE TEXT LESSON FOR JAN. 22
(I. Kings 21:7-10, 16-20) .
And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou
now govern tho kingdom of Israel? arise, a,na?"
bread, and let thine heart bo morry: I will ffiv
, tljee the vineyard of. N.aboth tho Jezreeljto. .
So she wrote 'letters In Ahab's name, and scaiea
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