08/30/2026
During this season of Ordinary Time, Monday through Saturday we meet the people in the Bible. On Sundays we will look at a few of the important places the action occurred.
Today: Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel is located in northern Israel, forming a strategic 24-mile coastal mountain range that stretches from the Mediterranean Sea southeast toward the Jezreel Valley.
Geographically, it sat on the border between the tribal territories of Asher and Manasseh.Its name literally means "garden land" or "God's vineyard," reflecting its biblical reputation as a lush, fertile sanctuary heavily blessed with rainfall, thick forests, and rich pastures.
Mount Carmel is famous as the stage for one of the most dramatic spiritual confrontations in the Old Testament, recorded in 1 Kings 18.
King Ahab and Queen Jezebel had led Israel into widespread idolatry, worshiping the Canaanite storm god, Baal. A severe three-year drought hit the land as a consequence.
The prophet Elijah summoned all of Israel and 850 false prophets (450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah) to the summit of Mount Carmel. He challenged them to prepare a sacrifice and call on their deity, while he would call on the Lord: "The god who answers by fire—he is God."
After the prophets of Baal spent hours frantically crying out to an empty sky, Elijah soaked his own altar with water. When he prayed, God instantly sent down fire from heaven, consuming the meat, the wood, the stones of the altar, and even the water in the surrounding trench.
The awestruck people fell face down, declaring, "The Lord, He is God!" Elijah then ordered the false prophets to be seized and executed nearby at the Kishon Stream, and a torrential rain immediately followed, ending the long drought.
