Wavering between two positions

German Lutheran artist, Lucas Cranach the Younger, portrays the prophet Elijah the prophets of Baal on top of Mount Carmel. Both Lucas Cranach the Elder and his son, Lucas Cranach the Younger, were good friends with Martin Luther and strong supporters of the Lutheran Reformation. They each painted several portraits of Luther throughout his life.

In this particular painting of Elijah and the Prophets of Baal, Cranach depicts 1 Kings 18:16-45. Israel’s King Ahab and his wife, Jezebel, promoted Baal worship to such an extent that it became the dominant religion of the land.

On top of Mount Carmel, Elijah challenges the people of Israel, “How long will you waver [literally, shift back and forth] between two opinions. If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him?” (1 Kings 18:20) The chosen people of Israel had been guilty of acting at times as though the Lord was the one and only true God and at other times acting as though Baal alone was deserving of their worship and service. The people stood there with glazed expressions on their faces saying nothing.

Elijah proposes a contest so the people cannot remain divided. It is a test of strength between the Lord and Baal. Two altars are built – one for the false god Baal and one for the true God. The 450 prophets of Baal take turns dancing around the altar, shouting their prayers, and even cutting themselves to show Baal how serious they are. Elijah taunts with divine sarcasm, “Call louder since he is a god, isn’t he? He may be deep in thought or busy or on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep and will wake up!” The holy writer underscores the impotence of Baal by reporting twice: “… but there was no sound. No one answered, and there was no response” (1 Kings 18:27-29).

Cranach portrays the dramatic moment when Elijah calls for God to ignite his offering, and the bull on the altar bursts into flame. Elijah’s altar is on the left side in the foreground. Because of the drought, servants have gone to the nearby Mediterranean Sea for 12 jars of water to pour over the sacrifice and fill up the trench around the altar. The dark cloud in the center of the painting represents the Lord. The fire of the Lord falls from heaven and consumes the altar and sacrifice. Even the water in the trench around the altar is touched by the flame.

The altar of Baal is on the right. Its wood and sacrifice remain untouched by Baal. The Baal prophets continue to dance and pray even as the altar built by Elijah is consumed by flames.

King Ahab is standing between the altars. The much larger crowd in the center and on the right are still aligned with Baal. The smaller crowd on the left falls to the ground in awe crying, “The Lord – He is God. The Lord – He is God” (1 Kings 18:39).

If you look closely at the background in the far upper left corner, you will see the slaughter of the Baal prophets in the Kishon Valley after their defeat (1 Kings 18:40).

The Lord used his outnumbered prophet to challenge the people to no longer waver between two opinions. Elijah was willing to stand up for the one true God in an age of false gods, failed worship, and faulty morality.

Does that sound familiar?

Even as Christians, we often waver between two opinions. We are often like the chosen people of Israel. We have become lazy, apathetic, and uninterested in our faith. We waver between altars – the altar in church and the altar of our own entertainment – a Baal of our own making. We shift back and forth between worshiping one Sunday and doing something else the next Sunday. At times, we are like Thomas in the upper room the Sunday after Easter who confessed, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). But at other times, we are like Thomas in the upper room on Maundy Thursday who asks, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way” (John 14:5)?

When we absent ourselves from worship, it usually isn’t because we’ve become mad with God or upset with members. Most do not run off in a huff over some imagined or real offense. Most of us just gradually and slowly disappear from the landscape of church. We have learned a new habit and that habit does not include attendance at the Divine Service.
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We have become double-minded, like St. James says (James 1:8). We say we are Christian, but then live like we are unchristian. We say our prayers during emergencies, but most of the time our prayers are as non-existent as if we were atheists. We read a devotion or come to church sporadically, but generally we act like we are agnostics – not knowing who the true God is.

Jesus is calling for us to no longer waver between two opinions. How do we do this?

Invoke God’s Triune name every morning. We begin our worship services in the name of the Triune God. Remind yourself that you are a baptized child of God and that He placed His Triune name on you in your Baptism, by calling upon God’s name at the beginning of every day.

Confess your sins. Admit to God how you consistently shift back and forth between the true God and the Baals of your own making. Then receive God’s absolution for your consistent shifting by receiving the constant forgiveness of sins that comes only through Jesus Christ.

Study God’s Word – all of it. At home. In church. With your family. Hear how much your God loves you that He wrote 66 love letters directly to you.

Share the demands of a holy and righteous God. Share the love of Christ that covers God’s anger over our unholiness and unrighteousness.

Hold to the truth of God’s Word. Tell others about that truth.

Don’t be intimidated that we Christians are greatly outnumbered in our world. In this anti-Christian culture, profess the name of Christ … loudly … boldly … proudly.

Don’t be divided. If the Lord is God – and He is – then demonstrate that He is your God with faithful prayer, praise, thanks, and offerings. Devote your time, money, worship, and efforts to the Lord. Don’t divide time between God and anything else.

Worship the Lord. Receive His Sacraments. Martin Luther compared the Lord’s fire that burned the sacrifice to the Lord’s Word and Sacraments. Luther noted that Elijah’s sacrifice was consumed by fire as a “true manifestation of the divine mercy which the wretched people needed in order not to be without some light of the grace of God. In the same way the very Word, Baptism, and the Eucharist are our lightbearers today, toward which we look as dependable tokens of the sun of grace. We can state with certainty that where the Eucharist, Baptism, and the Word are, there are Christ, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life” (AE 1:249).

Lift high the cross. No other god has died for you. Not Baal. Not Buddha. Not your job. Not your pillow. Only Jesus is the true God who came to earth so that He could die for those who murdered Him. He lived the perfect life in your place. He remained undivided. He only prayed to and worshiped the one true God. He never wavered between two positions. He was totally committed to serving His Father by living, dying, and rising for you. He gave His perfection to you. He died for your imperfections. He covered over your constant wavering with His blood shed on Calvary’s cross. He rose from the dead so that you know where you are going (John 14:3). He ascended into heaven to prepare a place for you in His Father’s mansions (John 14:2).

Stop wavering between two positions. Jesus alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). Since the Lord is God, follow only Him.