Between Glory and Ashes 3: Authorized Fire vs. Zeal - Episode 155

What if fire really does fall from heaven…and the nation still doesn’t change? In this episode, Carey walks through Elijah’s showdown with Baal, the prophetic lawsuit pattern, Psalm 82, and how Jesus redirects our zeal so we don’t weaponize “calling down fire” today.

In this Fire series episode, we step onto Mount Carmel and into the divine courtroom. Elijah calls down fire, Baal stays silent, the people shout “Yahweh is God!”—and yet the monarchy doesn’t change, Jezebel still hunts Elijah, and injustice continues.

We trace how this scene works as a prophetic lawsuit rooted in the covenant of Deuteronomy, how it mirrors Psalm 82’s divine council courtroom, and why public spectacle can expose idols but can’t regenerate hearts. Along the way, we explore the difference between magic and covenant obedience, Baal’s “silence,” and why Carmel doesn’t mean rival powers don’t exist.

The episode then jumps forward to 2 Kings 1 and Luke 9, where Elijah’s script is picked up—and corrected—by Jesus. The disciples want to call down fire on a Samaritan village; Jesus rebukes them and re-orders zeal under his timing, his mission, and his authority.

If you’ve ever wished God would “just show up” with a big miracle to settle everything—or been tempted to weaponize judgment texts against your enemies—this conversation on holiness, power, and posture is for you.

In this episode we:

• Frame the Fire series in terms of God as consuming, jealous love
  
  
• Unpack Elijah at Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18) as a prophetic lawsuit
  
  
• Connect covenant drought, Baal’s failure, and Yahweh’s fire as legal evidence
  
  
• Read Psalm 82 alongside Carmel as a divine council courtroom scene
  
  
• Explore why spectacle can expose idols but can’t legislate heart change
  
  
• Distinguish magic-technique vs. covenant obedience in Elijah’s actions
  
  
• Clarify idols vs. gods and why Baal’s silence doesn’t equal non-existence
  
  
• Follow Elijah to Horeb (1 Kings 19) and the remnant that didn’t bow to Baal
  
  
• Walk through 2 Kings 1 and the captains of fifty as a case study in posture
  
  
• Watch Jesus reorient Elijah-style fire in Luke 9 and Luke 10
  
  
• Reflect on James 1 and what meekness, anger, and “strength under authority” look like
  
  
• Consider what it means for us to act as God’s hands and feet without hijacking his judgment

On This Rock Biblical Theology Community:  https://on-this-rock.com/  

Website: genesismarksthespot.com   

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GenesisMarkstheSpot   

Music credit: "Marble Machine" by Wintergatan

Link to Wintergatan’s website: https://wintergatan.net/  

Link to the original Marble Machine video by Wintergatan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvUU8joBb1Q&ab_channel=Wintergatan 

Chapters

• (00:00:00) - Why We'll “Skip” Exodus–Leviticus
• (00:02:02) - Elijah and the Ethics of Power
• (00:07:45) - Covenant Drought, Baal Worship, and Setting Mount Carmel
• (00:10:15) - 1 Kings 18: Elijah vs. the Prophets of Baal
• (00:21:41) - The Prophetic Courtroom: Claim, Evidence, Verdict, Sentence
• (00:24:11) - Psalm 82, Deuteronomy 32, and the Cosmic Ethics of Power
• (00:27:01) - What Fire from Heaven Can (and Can’t) Do
• (00:28:32) - Magic vs. Covenant: Technique, Obedience, and Yahweh’s Turf
• (00:31:15) - Idols, Gods, and Why Baal’s Silence Isn’t Non-Existence
• (00:34:48) - Elijah at Horeb: Remnant, Whisper, and God’s Pursuit of Hearts
• (00:38:44) - 2 Kings 1: Captains of Fifty and the Ethics of Calling Down Fire
• (00:44:36) - Jesus, James & John: When Not to Torch the Samaritan Village
• (00:51:40) - Meekness, Anger, and Acting Under God’s Authority Today
• (00:56:49) - Unseen Realm, Holiness as Fire, and Living Under God’s Jurisdiction