What happened to Prophet Elijah at end of long drought?
Psalm 46 v 1 God is our refuge Part 4
re-told by Debbie Dunn
Story highlights:
* Elijah had to run for his life from Queen Jezebel's rage
* Twice Angel of the Lord provided Elijah with heavenly bread & water
* Elijah heard God speak to him in gentle whisper after wind-earthquake-fire
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.
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.
After the contest ended
between Elijah and those 450 idol-worshipping prophets, two things happened.
The evil king Ahab went
to get something to eat and drink.
Question: What does drought mean?
Answer: No rainfall for many weeks, months, or years.
After Elijah's 7th
prayer, his servant announced, "Elijah, I see a small raincloud rising
from the sea." Relieved, Elijah said:
ELIJAH: Hurry to King
Ahab and tell him to climb into his chariot and race for home before the heavy rain
stops him in his tracks.
Very soon, the sky was
black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrible rainstorm. King Ahab rushed
to his home.
Then, the Lord gave
Elijah a special strength to run super-fast to reach the king's home before the
king arrived.
But King Ahab ignored
Elijah. Instead, he went inside to report to Queen Jezebel that Elijah had
killed her 450 idol-worshipping prophets.
RINGLEADER: Was Queen Jezebel mad?
[Group repeats]
Queen Jezebel was
furious! She announced:
QUEEN JEZEBEL: May the
gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow, I have not killed you
just as you killed them.
Naturally, Elijah was
afraid for his very life. He fled into the wilderness. Sad and tired, he lay
down and took a long nap.
As Elijah was sleeping,
an angel touched him and said:
ANGEL OF THE LORD: Get up and eat!
Elijah awakened and
looked around. There, beside his head, was some bread baked on hot stones and a
jar of water. Elijah ate and drank. Still feeling lonely and sad, he lay down
again.
The angel reappeared
and touched Elijah and said:
ANGEL OF THE LORD: Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.
So, Elijah got up, ate,
and drank this supernatural food that gave him the power to travel 40 days and
nights to reach Mount Sinai. By the way,
this is the same mountain where God appeared to Moses as a burning bush.
Elijah entered a cave
on this mountain to spend the night.
The next morning, God
called out to Elijah.
GOD: Elijah, what are you doing here?
ELIJAH: Dear God, I
have served you faithfully for years. Of all your prophets, I am the only one
left. And now, they are trying to kill me, too.
GOD: Elijah, go out and stand before me on the mountain.
As Elijah stood there,
the Lord passed by. A mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible
blast that the rocks were torn loose.
RINGLEADER: But, ..., the Lord was not in the wind.
[Group repeats]
After the wind, there
was an earthquake.
RINGLEADER: But, ...,
the Lord was not in the earthquake.
[Group repeats]
After the earthquake, a
fire broke out.
RINGLEADER: But, ..., the Lord was not in the fire.
[Group repeats]
After the fire, there
was a sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard this whisper, he wrapped his
face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. The voice
of God quietly said:
GOD: Elijah, what are you doing here?
ELIJAH: Dear God, I
have served you faithfully for years. Of all your prophets, I am the only one
left. And now, they are trying to kill me, too.
GOD: Elijah, go back the same way you came. Then, you are to do three things. First, you will anoint Hazael [hay-zee-ell] to be the king of the pagan country of Aram [ae-rum]. Second, you will anoint Jehu, the grandson of Nimshi, to replace King Ahab as the next king of Israel. Third, you will anoint Elisha as my prophet who will eventually replace you.
ELIJAH: Dear God, what
will happen after that?
GOD: Any Israelite who still insists on worshipping that false idol named Baal will be killed by either of those two new kings or by Elisha, the prophet who will eventually replace you.
RINGLEADER: Were any Israelites faithful to God?
[Group repeats]
Elijah mistakenly
thought he was the only faithful follower of God left among the Israelites. But
surprisingly, God told this to Elijah:
GOD: Elijah, I know you think you are the only one left who has faithfully followed me. But that is not true. There are actually 7,000 others in Israel who are also my faithful followers. In fact, those 7,000 have never once bowed down to that false idol named Baal.
After Elijah heard this
comforting news, he set out to obey God's three orders.
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 4.
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
- About Website: Explore Bible Story.org
- About the author: Debbie Dunn
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