When Blood Flowed on Two Mountains

“We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). This simple statement forms the backbone of the entire Bible, as it summarizes Scripture’s story about the actions of a loving God to seek and save fallen man. Not only is the statement beautiful; it is also revolutionary when compared to other books of religion and philosophy. Manmade holy books and their corresponding religions do not tell the story of God seeking man. Instead, they describe how man can seek or even in some cases become God, a noble, but ultimately fruitless endeavor. “Who has ascended into heaven, or descended?” (Proverbs 30:4). The answer remained, “No one,” until God came down to enable man to go up (cf. Ephesians 4:8-10).  

Two pictures summarize on the one hand the emptiness of manmade faiths and on the other the efficacy of the faith once and for all delivered by God (Jude 1:3). Interestingly, both involve the voluntary shedding of blood, and both occur on mountains.

To view the first picture, we must ascend to the top of Mt. Carmel, located at the northern extent of Biblical Israel’s ancient territory. Here, over 2700 years ago a prophet named Elijah waged a war for the hearts and minds of a nation torn between serving the God of heaven and serving the gods of the earth. Addressing his fence-sitting audience, Elijah said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21).

To settle the matter for those seeking the truth, Elijah challenged 450 prophets of Baal to a test. They would call upon their god to send fire to consume their offering while He called upon the one true God to consume his. Students of biblical history know how the challenge ended. God consumed Elijah’s offering, but Baal, deaf, dumb, and dead as he was, was of course powerless to consume the offering made by his prophets.

The picture as it stands teaches a very clear lesson, but we can learn more by looking closer. To call Baal’s attention to their pleas, his prophets tried everything. They spent half a day crying to Baal, even leaping upon the altar in their frustration. After midday, the record says they took even more drastic measures, “So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them” (1 Kings 18:28). The prophets thought that if they shed their blood, Baal would spring into action (it was even “their custom” to call upon him in this way!). Of course, there was no action, because there was no Baal. He was a figment of their imagination.

Herein lies the tragedy of this first picture: the manmade faith and the god it upheld were powerless to honor the sacrifice of the prophets. Their blood flowed to heaven, but no voice responded and no hand was extended. It is exactly the same with each pursuit of every philosophy and every faith created by man.

The second picture we will consider is even more tragic, though for a different reason. From Mount Carmel, we travel south to a hill called Mount Calvary (Luke 23:33), also sometimes called Golgotha, literally, the place of the skull (Matthew 27:33; Mark 15:22; John 19:17). On this hill over 700 years after the events that formed our first picture, Jesus, the sinless Son of God, was crucified by wicked, cruel, indeed, “lawless hands” (Acts 2:23). The conclusion of the events of that tragic day is recorded by John: “But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out” (John 19:34).

In this picture lies a beauty that far exceeds its tragedy. You see, in manmade faiths like the one held by the prophets of Baal, the blood will always flow the wrong way: from man to heaven. Because of this, the results will always be the same: nothing of any real benefit, whether earthly or eternal. The Christian faith is entirely different, and this is what makes it beautiful. The blood that flowed at Calvary did not flow from man to Heaven but from Heaven to man. God did not ask for our blood; instead, He gave the blood of His only begotten Son (John 3:16; Acts 20:28; Romans 3:25; 5:9; Ephesians 1:7; 2:13; Colossians 1:14, 20; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 John 1:7).

Can you see why John said, “We love Him because He first loved us”? God has not called us to outdo or even to equal His sacrifice to gain His attention. He simply asks for our faithfulness. What a blessing to serve a living God instead of a dead religion!

-Patrick Swayne  
patrick@tftw.org