“Then Elijah…repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down. He took twelve stones, one to represent each of the tribes of Israel, and he used the stones to rebuild the altar in the name of the LORD.”
1 Kings 18:30-32
After hobbling around and shouting at their silent god all day long, there was one man who still believed in the LORD, and Elijah knew his God who would answer by fire. But as with all miracles, there had to be preparation.
Elijah began by repairing the altar of the Lord that had been torn down. The children of Israel were the ones who had rejected relationship with God, so until their place of worship and surrender was restored, there would be no connection through which God’s miracles could flow.
Interestingly, Elijah used twelve stones representing the tribes of Israel to rebuild that altar. God never intended that His people live isolated lives. Instead, in relationship with each other we get to share the miracles of our individual relationships with God TOGETHER!
Finally, the people watched Elijah dig trenches around the altar and then soak the offering with water. Those seemingly crazy actions were simply a sign of faith that God would do way beyond what Elijah even asked, because that is how the God of relationship operates!
I wonder if some of our altars have been torn down over the years, or if any of us have silently slipped away from the community. Isn’t it time to rebuild our relationships with God AND each other? After all, that is how we prepare for God’s miracles!
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