Bible tale: Contest between Prophet Elijah & 450 idol-worshipping prophets

 

Contest between Prophet Elijah & 450 idol-worshipping prophets

Psalm 46 v 1 God is our refuge Part 3

re-told by Debbie Dunn

Story highlights:

* Contest between Elijah & Queen Jezebel's 450 idol-worshipping prophets

* Elijah won contest vs Jezebel’s idol-worshiping prophets

* Elijah told King Ahab to hurry home before rainstorm broke the drought

Bible tale begins:

As we continue this series about how we can always call on God to help us in times of trouble, let's have a volunteer read Psalm 46:1.

 

Psalm 46:1 (NLT) God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

 

Question: What does refuge mean?

Answer: A safe hiding place.
To help you remember this word better, imagine yourself playing Hide-and-Seek. Just like you try to find a safe hiding place for yourself, God guides us to find safe hiding places, as well.

 

Here is an exciting Bible story of good versus evil.

 

RINGLEADER: Who are the evil ones?      

[Group repeats]

 

The evil ones include King Ahab, the beautiful but cruel Queen Jezebel, and 450 idol-worshipping priests.

 

uestion: What is an idol?

Answer: A false god often taking the form of a sculpture or statue.

RINGLEADER: Who is the good guy in this story?  

[Group repeats]

 

The good guy in this story is the prophet named Elijah.

 

As you may recall, before Elijah hid out for over three years, God told him to say this to the evil king and queen.

 

GOD: Elijah, tell King Ahab that until I, the Lord your God, gives the word, for the next few years, there will be no rainfall.”

 

Near the end of those 3-plus years of no rainfall, God told Elijah this.

 

GOD: Elijah, it is time for you to leave your safe hideout with the widow and her son. Travel back to your homeland and say this to King Ahab, “After your long wait, God will soon send rain to the land.”

 

King Ahab went out to meet Elijah at the bottom of a mountain. Before telling King Ahab the good news that rain would soon fall, Elijah challenged the king to a contest.

 

RINGLEADER: What would the contest prove?

[Group repeats]

 

The contest would prove that God is the real and only God, and the idols the king worshipped were nothing but false gods with no power.

 

ELIJAH: King Ahab, I challenge you to a contest. Gather your people and all 450 prophets who worship the Baal idol. Prepare two altars and bring firewood and two bulls.

 

When the king, those evil priests, and the people of Israel had gathered, Elijah turned to the people and said:

 

ELIJAH: How long will you waver between the opinion of either worshipping the real God or worshipping those false gods?

 

But the people of Israel appeared too afraid to speak.

 

Then, Elijah told those 450 idol-worshipping prophets to choose one of the two altars.

 

RINGLEADER: What is an altar?    

[Group repeats]

 

This stone altar was like an outdoor fireplace where the people would worship either the real God or those false gods by killing an animal and burning it up with the fire. Elijah said:

 

ELIJAH: Choose one of those 2 bulls. I will take the other bull. We both will cut up our bull. We will each lay those animal pieces on the wood of our particular altar. Instead of us lighting the wood on fire, we will each pray to the one we worship to do it for us. The god who answers by setting fire to the wood is the true God. You 450 prophets can have the first turn.

 

Those 450 idol-worshipping prophets called on their false god from early morning until noon.

 

The 450 prophets shouted, “O Baal, whom we worship, answer us.”

 

Of course, no fire came raining down from the sky. Elijah mocked those silly idol-worshipping priests. He called out:

 

ELIJAH: Perhaps you need to shout louder. Perhaps your Baal idol is daydreaming, going to the bathroom, away on a trip, or asleep.

 

All afternoon, those 450 silly prophets danced and shouted as loud as they could. They even cut themselves with knives and swords until blood gushed out. But no matter what they did, no fire came down from the sky.

 

Then, it was Elijah’s turn. Before he prayed to God to send down fire on his altar, he dug a trench around it. Then, Elijah had the people fill 4 large jars with water to pour over the stone altar, the wood, the cut-up bull pieces, and the trench. After doing this 3 times, Elijah then prayed out loud. He said:

 

 

ELIJAH: O, Lord God, prove to these people that you are the one and only true God by lighting this altar on fire.

 

Sure enough, God sent fire from Heaven. That fire not only burnt up the cut-up pieces of bull, the wet wood, and the altar stones, but it even burnt every drop of water in the trenches.

 

When the people saw this, they fell on the ground and cried out to the real God: They declared:

 

RINGLEADER: Yes, the Lord is the only true God!   

[Group repeats]

 

After that, Elijah ordered the people to seize all those false prophets and kill them.

 

Then, Elijah told this to King Ahab:

 

ELIJAH: King Ahab, get something to eat and drink, for God says that a mighty rainstorm is on its way.

Question: Any questions or comments?

Are you a Bible enthusiast or do you lead a Youth Group or Family Bible Study? To get a FREE PDF download of this story, click on this link below:

Free PDF download of About Elijah part 3.

Do you want more stories about prophets like Elijah, Elisha, Samuel, & Nathan? If so, visit the More Prophets of Israel chapter from my EXPLORE BIBLE STORY dot org website.

Click here to get more stories about prophets like Elijah, Elisha, Samuel, & Nathan.

My ever-expanding Explore Bible Story dot org website includes Bible stories and Biblical Family Trees about

• Creation, Adam, & his Descendants
• Noah, the Ark, & the Flood
• Abraham & Sarah
• Isaac & Rebekah, Esau & Jacob
• Jacob & his 4 wives
• 12 sons of Jacob who became known as the 12 Tribes of Israel
• Moses who was from the line of Levi
• Joshua who became leader of Israelites after death of Moses
• 12 Judges of Israel including Deborah, Gideon, & Samson
• Kings of Israel including Saul, David, & Solomon
• 4 Major Prophets of Israel: Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel
• 12 Minor Prophets of Israel
• More Prophets of Israel: Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, & Elisha
• Women from Old & New Testament
• Jesus Christ, our Messiah, Lord, Savior, & King of king
• 12 Disciples of Jesus
• Apostle Paul & other Significant Followers of Christ
• Triune God: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit
• The Free Gift of Salvation & The Sinner's Prayer
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