1 Kings 18:30

And Elijah said unto all the people [He has now done with the priests. They have had their opportunity; his turn is come], Come dear unto me. [Hitherto they had gathered round the altar of Baal, and some, it may he, had joined their prayers to those of the priests ( 1 Kings 18:24 ). In 1 Kings 18:21 , he "drew near"—same word—to them. Now they must stand round the altar he is about to build. He will have "eyewitnesses and ear-witnesses" (Keil). There must be no suspicion of imposture.] And all the people came near unto him And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. [It has been already suggested that this altar may have dated from the time when there was no house built unto the name of the Lord. But it is just as likely that it had been restored, if not raised, by some of the "seven thousand who had not bowed their knees unto Baal," or by some of the faithful remaining in Israel after the calf-worship and the hostility between the two kingdoms had made worship at Jerusalem an impossibility. Anyhow we can hardly be mistaken in holding that this was one of the "altars" ( 1 Kings 19:10 ), thrown down" by command of Ahab or Jezebel. Elijah's repairing it wag an act of profound significance. It showed him as the restorer of the law and the true religion.]