Why Were They Prophets of Baal?

Elijah and the Prophets of Baal

1 Kings 18 records the familiar story of the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. I will not take time in this brief article to review the account. If you are unfamiliar with it, I encourage you to read of the event in 1 Kings 18:17-40.

When we consider this contest, we often focus on Elijah with his great example of faith and willingness to stand alone for God with 450 prophets of Baal opposing him. We also sometimes consider the people’s unwillingness to commit to following either God or Baal. But in this article, I want us to consider the prophets of Baal themselves and ask the question: Why were they prophets of Baal?

The Prophets of Baal Were Wrong

Before we consider the questions about why these men were prophets of Baal, we need to be reminded of something else first. The doctrine and practices of these men were wrong. Their worship of Baal was sinful (Exodus 20:3-5). Their message promoting Baal was worthy of death (Deuteronomy 13:1-5).

Elijah challenged the people to make a choice: “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). There is a clear implication contained in Elijah’s challenge: one way was right and the other way was wrong. Though the people were free to choose, only one choice was acceptable. If following God was right, then following Baal was absolutely wrong.

Elijah proposed a contest that would prove to all that the prophets of Baal were wrong: “Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, and put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, He is God” (1 Kings 18:23-24). If God answered by fire – which He certainly did (1 Kings 18:36-38) – it would have proven two things. First, the Lord was the true God and men were to worship Him. Second, Baal was a false god and men were not to worship him. No one who was present that day missed the point. When they saw the fire consume both the burnt offering and the entire altar, they answered, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God” (1 Kings 18:39). It was clear to all that day that Baal was a false god and his prophets were false prophets.

Why Were They Prophets of Baal?

If Baal was a false god, why were these men acting as his prophets? The Scriptures do not reveal their motives. But as is the case with any religious error, there are basically two possibilities as to why these false prophets would promote Baal worship.

One possibility was that these men sincerely believed in Baal. The fact that they went so far as to “cut themselves…with swords and lances until the blood gushed out” (1 Kings 18:28) in their attempt to cause Baal to answer them suggests that they may have been sincere (though even this is not definitive proof of sincerity). Many in the religious world promote error while sincerely believing that their message is the truth.

The other possibility was that these men knew that Baal was fake, but they wanted to deceive the people anyway. For such false prophets/teachers, their “god is their appetite” (Philippians 3:19; cf. Romans 16:17-18) so they deliver whatever message they believe will bring them the money, power, or popularity that they desire. They are not concerned with truth, but with how they can take advantage of people willing to believe a lie.

Their Motives Did Not Matter

Whether the prophets of Baal were sincere in their error or if they were knowingly deceiving the people, it did not matter in the end. All that mattered was that they stood for Baal and stood against the Lord. For this reason they were all killed. “Then Elijah said to them, ‘Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.’ So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there” (1 Kings 18:40).

Elijah was not maliciously carrying out personal vengeance against these men. Rather, he was executing the punishment demanded by God: “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you…saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; […] But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall surely be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 13:1-5). Nothing is said about determining the motive or sincerity of the false prophet. He was to be judged by his message. This was what Elijah did with the prophets of Baal.

Motives Do Not Matter Without Truth

No matter what our motives may be, if we are not teaching and practicing the truth, we are wrong. Paul said that if he taught something contrary to the truth about Jesus’ resurrection, then it would not matter how good his conscience was (Acts 23:1), he would still be a false witness (1 Corinthians 15:12-15). If one practices something contrary to the will of God, then no matter how he might claim his actions are in the name of the Lord, he will still be condemned for practicing lawlessness (Matthew 7:21-23).

Paul told the brethren in Corinth, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10). We will be judged by our deeds. Yes, we need to have the right attitude and motives as well; but the right works are essential.

Sincerity and good intentions alone will not get us to heaven. James said, “Man is justified by works” (James 2:24). Therefore, let us be sure we “obey” the Lord so that we might obtain “eternal salvation” through Him (Hebrews 5:9).


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Comments

  1. Wow! The article gave a different view of the familiar story, I never thot of asking ‘why where they the prophets of ball’ but after going through the article, I’m determined to review my motives and to start acting more and talk less. Thank you for the articles, its definately food for thought and spirit.