Elijah and the prophets of Ba'al

In I Kings 18:16-40 we read about how Elijah whupped on the prophet of Ba'al.  Well he did that on Mt. Carmel.  It's ironic because as many times as I read that story or heard that story I didn't ponder the thought of the mountain part.

The garden where we had our service. 

Our tour took us up to Mt. Carmel where Elijah took on the prophets and showed them who the true God was.   Remember him telling them to pour water over the alter three times?  By golly those guys had to hike down that mountain and get that water.   I'm glad it was them and not me.  I'm sure while they were huffing and puffing up that hill with the water, Elijah was likely giggling in his beard.

On Mt. Carmel we had a beautiful view of the Yizrael (Jezreel) valley although I didn't get a decent picture.   The wind was blowing quite hard and it was chilly but we had a great service in the garden at the top.  Pastor Sam Newman once again came through for us.

Statue of Elijah

Here is some interesting information about both Elijah and Mt. Carmel.
Carmel means Vineyard of God
Elijah means He is my God

It's so cool how everything points back to God isn't it?

It's interesting how Elijah, who stood strong in the Lord against the prophets then a few verses later he ran and hid from Jezebel and was telling God to just take his life because it was too much for him.  We read that story and marvel at how someone can be so strong then so weak BUT how often do we do basically the same thing?  We thank God one minute for taking care of us then start to fret about bills or health or whatever.  Perhaps we should try to remember what God has done for us next time we start to worry.