31. He took 12 stones. He took 1 stone for each of the 12 tribes. These 12 tribes were named for the 12 sons of Jacob. (Jacob was the man the Lord had called Israel.)
32. Elijah used these stones to rebuild the altar in honor of the Lord. Then he dug a small ditch around it. It was big enough to hold about 13 quarts of seed.
33. Elijah put the wood on the altar. He cut the bull into pieces and laid them on the wood. Then he said, “Fill four jars with water. Put the water on the meat and on the wood.”
34. Then Elijah said, “Do it again.” And they did it again.Then he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it the third time.
35. So the water ran off of the altar and filled the ditch.
36. It was time for the evening sacrifice. So the prophet Elijah went near the altar. He prayed, “Lord, you are the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel. I ask you now to prove that you are the God of Israel. And prove that I am your servant. Show these people that you commanded me to do all these things.
37. Lord, answer my prayer. Show these people that you, Lord, are God. Then the people will know that you are bringing them back to you.”
38. Then fire from the Lord came down. It burned the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the ground around the altar. It also dried up the water in the ditch.
39. When all the people saw this, they fell down to the ground. They cried, “The Lord is God! The Lord is God!”
40. Then Elijah said, “Capture the prophets of Baal! Don’t let any of them run away!” So the people captured all the prophets. Then Elijah led them down to Kishon Valley. There he killed all the prophets.
41. Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Now, go, eat and drink. A heavy rain is coming.”
42. So King Ahab went to eat and drink. At the same time Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel. There he bent down to the ground with his head between his knees.
43. Then Elijah said to his servant, “Go and look toward the sea.”The servant went and looked. He said, “I see nothing.”Elijah told him to go and look again. This happened seven times.
44. The seventh time, the servant said, “I see a small cloud. It’s the size of a man’s fist. It’s coming from the sea.”Elijah told the servant, “Go to Ahab. Tell him to get his chariot ready and to go home now. If he doesn’t leave now, the rain will stop him.”
45. After a short time the sky was covered with dark clouds. The wind began to blow. Then a heavy rain began to fall. Ahab got in his chariot and started back to Jezreel.
46. The Lord gave his power to Elijah. Elijah tightened his clothes around him. Then he ran ahead of King Ahab all the way to Jezreel.