We’ve been studying the life of Elijah from 1 Kings. Last week we saw the results of a contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. The prophets of Baal called on their god for several hours with no results. Elijah prayed for about a minute, and God sent down a fire that consumed the sacrifice and the entire altar.

What happens next is a bit puzzling. The large crowd of people saw the miracle and professed, “The LORD, he is God.” Th at makes complete sense; that response is entirely reasonable. But the text doesn’t indicate that Ahab made that profession himself. He saw the futility of Baal worship. He observed the incredible, dramatic, undeniable power of God. But we don’t see any particular response from Ahab. He apparently was not convinced. That seems odd. Put yourself in his place—would you be convinced?

Next we see Elijah take up a rather unusual position for prayer. And then we find that Elijah is able to outrun the king’s chariot from the top of the mountain to a village located about 8 miles away. So these are some rather interesting and unusual events.

Is there anything for us to learn here? Yes, these three unusual events teach us three important lessons.