Evening star., 1922-01-14
Sunday School Lesson

I were silent at his demand for their
worship to be undivided. then he
issued challenge that the forces Of
Baal were compelled to accept and
Elijah.
Elijah saw the folly and danger of
the nation trying to serve God and
Baal. He determined to try to save
israel by religious test that would
publicly prove the superiority of
Jehovah over the false gods of Baal-
ism. When he threatened the king
aom with famine he had tested the
power OF Baal, who was considered
peculiarly the god Of agriculture. He
/ had won. His proposal OF spec
tacular contest and the sensational
| demonstration by fire appealed to the
t assembly as fair. Baai was the god
OF the sun. The prophet arranged it
so that no fraud could be committed
Pagan priests are adopts at decep-
| ton. At Pompeii may be seen the
secret staircase behind the altar and
the pipes let into the head of Isis
from behind, through which the priest
spoke her pretended oracles."
! Baal, the god of the sun, in spite
OF the feverish and restless prayers
! or his devotees, who were spurred on
/ by the satire Of Elijah, answered not
by hre The long prayers, full of
vain repetition and fanatical per-
formances, continued until the hour
! of evening prayer approached. They
| had cried and worked themselves into
state of frenzy so that they cut one
another with swords and lances. Gov
cred with blood, they had leaped and
| cried to Baal, even during the heat
of the day. The god Of fire failed to
respond.
When the prophets turn came Eli
Jan commenced by calling the people
! to him so that they could observe him
ma nj 1flr bat aInI nod
pro obably ordered broken down. He
took one stone for each of the twelve
tribes He reverently placed the
sacrifices upon the altar and drenched
| them with water He then offered a
short petition 1t was immed lat ely
| answered by fire, that consumed the
sacrifice first. then the wood, next the
altar, the dust of the earth, and then.
hnally. the water in the trenches.
/ Jehovah had answered by fire. The
| battle had been won. The people pro-
claimed that Jehovah was God. But
the nation had only been moved by
! the experiment. Their life had not
been touched by the spirit of Jehovah.
/ Baal had been defeated, but Jehovah
| had not been enthroned in the hearts
! of Israel.
! 1t will pay us to stop and study the
| prayers offered that day upon Carmel
| America, great in her power and
prestige among the nations, is i'm
/, perillcd today by the broken altars
Of family religion. If there could be
a revival that would bring back to
! our land the habit of our fathers TO
| assemble the family and servants for
family prayers daily, we could girdle
, the world with spiritual power-of
! brotherhood that would make democ-
racy safe and fill the world with
peace, power and prosperity.
our battles are not against Baal-
! ism, yet there is a call today in pri
vate and public life for men of piety.
prayer and power to stand up for
Christ and His church. We have seen
the world map changed. New ma
tions have been born, old ones re-
vived. and some modern autocratic
powers destroyed. If these battles TO
save this world for democracy are to
be preserved, then we, as Christians.
must make democracy safe for the
world. The fruits of Christian mis-
sionS proves that Jesus has given to
man what is needed at this moment.
Elijah has had many modern fol-
lowers in missionary work, like
Father Damien among the lepers.
Grenfell in Labrador. Mackay in
Ugandana, Patton in New Hebrides.
Judson in Burmah, Clough in India
and Morrison in China.
The test of religion today is serv-
ice. The spirit of Christ is filling
men with the desire to place service
history is a time of decision. We
must take our stand for Him. If we
love the Lord in our hearts, then We
will prove it by our life and labor
America will not be completely won
for Christ until all who profess to
love the Lord shall by individual ef-
fort seek to introduce the standards
of Jesus into the life of our day and
generation. An undivided life of wor-
ship and work is needed Christ
wants it, Let US follow the example
| of Elijah and give il to Him.