Week 5: Session 4 — Fire

1.At the summit of Mount Carmel, Elijah challenges the people with the question that defines the entire session: "How long will you waver between two opinions?" (1 Kings 18:21). Shirer notes that Israel's problem was not outright atheism but spiritual ambiguity — trying to keep one foot in Yahweh's camp and one foot in Baal's. Where do you see this same wavering in your own life? What are the two opinions you find yourself trying to hold simultaneously?

2.The prophets of Baal cry out, cut themselves, and perform elaborate rituals for hours — and nothing happens. Shirer draws from this a powerful contrast: the God of Israel does not need to be worked up, manipulated, or earned. How does the frantic activity of Baal's prophets expose the idols in our own spiritual lives — the sense that we need to perform more, pray louder, or be better before God will respond?

3.Before Elijah calls down fire, he does something unexpected — he repairs the broken-down altar of the Lord (1 Kings 18:30). Shirer lingers on this detail, arguing that before God sends fire, He often asks us to tend to the altar in our own hearts. What does a broken-down altar represent in a believer's life? What does it look like to repair it?