Altar of Sacrifice Before the Rain

Insensitivity of Israel

The people of Israel were blessed generation after generation. Slowly, a godless generation started to appear without truly understanding how God had delivered them.

They began to question Jehovah, their Deliverer.

Due to Jezebel authority over Israel, the spirit of Baal manifested among the people of Israel and slowly made them believe that Baal was responsible for their blessings. Except for a few prophets, they remained silent during the killing of so many prophets of God. Obadiah hid the prophets in caves.

“Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, how I hid one hundred men of the LORD’s prophets, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water?” -1 Kings 18:13

They were afraid and skeptical about who the living God really was. The people of Israel became so comfortable living without God’s presence.

Today, remember this: if you have started feeling that your blessing is coming from your hard work, from your father or mother, or even from your church, be cautious.

You may slowly begin worshipping those situational idols instead of the true presence of God.

Satan will use these idols first to convince you that you can live without God. Later, they can make you silent, unresponsive, or numb to the calling of God.

“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. -Revelation 3:15

Baal Could Not Bless Them

“And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.’” - 1 Kings 17:1

The Baal referred to in this chapter was an idol worshipped for rain and prosperity. The people worshipped Baal, believing that it could provide what they needed. But Baal was not able to give them rain or nourishment.

The Lord made them understand that Baal could not bless them.

“And Ahab had said to Obadiah, ‘Go into the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks; perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive, so that we will not have to kill any livestock.’” -1 Kings 18:5

The Lord told Elijah to speak to Ahab. God decided to intervene and bring His people back to Himself. He said that He was going to pour out the rain.

Altar of Sacrifice Before the Rain

But before the rain came, Elijah first built an altar and prepared a sacrifice. Then he confronted and removed every Baal spirit that was in the midst of Israel.

Today, when the Holy Spirit speaks to you about a blessing, the first thing you must do is build a spiritual altar and offer a sacrifice—yourself.

This altar should become a sweet fragrance before our Lord. This offering of worship will remove every Baal spirit that is stopping your blessing.

Remember, the prophets of Baal tried their very best. They cried out, shouted, and performed everything they could. But the Lord shut every possibility of fire for them.

They could not produce a spark.

Then Elijah stood before the Lord and said:

“Lord, hear me!”

And the fire came. The fire of the Lord fell and licked up the offering, the altar, and the water.

That was the moment Israel could no longer mistake who their true God was. The God who had blessed them from the beginning was still there.

The altar had been rebuilt. The sacrifice had been offered. The Baal spirit had been confronted. The fire had fallen.

And then came the rain.

Remember this powerful spiritual principle:

“Before God releases the blessing, He may first require us to confront and remove the spiritual influences that have taken His place in our lives.”

Before the rain, there was warfare.
Before the blessing, there was an altar.
Before the breakthrough, there was confrontation.