Sunday School Lesson On Elijah

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Sunday School Lesson On Elijah

Introduction

A. The Power of One

During the summer of 2004, Mike Krzyzewski,head coach of the men's basketball team at DukeUniversity, was approached about becominghead coach of the National Basketball Associa-tion's Los Angeles Lakers. "Coach K," as he isknown, had gained a reputation as one of thepremier coaches in college basketball. The highsalary and prestige that accompanied coaching ateam like the Lakers were tempting.

In the midst of his deliberations, Krzyzewskireceived an e-mail that proved to be the pivotalinfluence in his decision. Andrew Humphries, ajunior at Duke, sent an impassioned message forCoach K to stay. The e-mail brought tears to theeyes of Krzyzewski; he rejected the Lakers' offerand chose to remain at Duke.
Andrew Humphries was just one person ye the had the power to persuade! The prophet Eli-jah also was just one man. His voice seemed likea whisper in Israel when compared with thepowerful, government-backed influence of Baalworship. Yet when just one person chooses tostand firm on behalf of the one true God, the re-sults can be one of a kind! Coach K could wellhave made a different decision even afterHumphries' e-mail. Would the people on MountCarmel dared to have chosen Baal after seeingthe power of God before their eyes?

B. What Profit Were the Prophets?

Many associate the word prophet with some-one who has the ability to predict the future. Therole of the Old Testament prophets, however,went much further than this. Every prophet con-veyed a significant message and was raised up bythe Lord during a particularly critical time in thehistory of God's people.
Prophets were raised up by the Lord duringperiods when paganism became an especially se-rious threat to God's people. This is one of thereasons that the prophet Elijah's ministry waspivotal. Ahab and Jezebel (particularly jezebel)were intent on promoting the worship of pagangods throughout Israel. Baal was considered agod of storms and fertility, meaning that he wasbelieved to be in charge of providing life to crops, animals, and human beings.

God used Elijah to counter this false and re-pulsive system of worship. Elijah demonstratedthat the God who had called Israel to be His peo-ple was still in control.

C. Lesson Background

By the time Elijah's ministry began, the nationof Israel had been divided for approximately halfa century. (Israel is often used to designate theten tribes that constituted the northern kingdomwith Judah referring to the two tribes of thesouthern kingdom.) Elijah himself appears in thebiblical record quite suddenly. Nothing is saidabout his parents, his childhood, or even his callto be a prophet.

The first time he is mentioned is in 1 Kings17:1, where he announces a period of drought inthe land of Israel. This challenge was a slap in the face of the god Baal and of those who wor-shiped him, since Baal was believed to be theprovider of storms that would bring rain.

Elijah was then guided through a series of cir-cumstances that served to prepare him furtherfor his ministry and assure him of God's pres-ence. First, he was told to go to the Cherithbrook, where ravens brought him food twice aday (1 Kings 17:5, 6). When the brook dried upbecause of the drought, the Lord told Elijah totravel northward to Zarephath of Sidon. Therethe Lord used a widow to provide Elijah withfood in a miraculous manner. Later when thewidow's only son became ill and died, Elijahprayed to the Lord and the boy was brought backto life (vv. 7-24).

Notice that the miracles had something to dowith providing food in life-areas where Baal wasbelieved to be in control. Sidon was Jezebel'shomeland (1 Kings 16:34 Elijah thus saw God'sclear superiority to the pagan gods!

In the third year of the drought, the Lord toldElijah to "Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I willsend rain upon the earth" (1 Kings 18:4 Elijahsent a message to Ahab through Obadiah, an offi-cial of Ahab's who was also a devout follower ofthe Lord.

When prophet and king met, Elijah issued aaliallenge to Ahab to summon all Israel to assem-Die at Mount Carmel. Ahab seas also to gather the450 prophets of Baal "and the prophets of theroves four hundred" (1 Kings 18:19). The term,roves refers to the images of the goddessksherah, who was believed to be Baal's consort.3ecause these images were often made of wood,'Lae term groves (describing groups of such wood)used.
At this point, Elijah did not specify what heplanned to do at Mount Carmel. Our printed textbegins by describing Ahab's compliance with Eli-jah's challenge.

I. People Addressed(1 Kings 18:20-24)
A. The Place (v. 20)

20. So Ahab sent unto all the children ofIsrael, and gathered the prophets together untomount Carmel.
Ahab does as Elijah says, sending wordthroughout all Israel and gathering the prophetson Mount Carmel. Later Elijah observes that the450 prophets of Baal are present (v. 22), but hesays nothing about the 400 prophets of Asherah.For some unknown reason, Jezebel apparentlyforbids her prophets to come to Mount Camel.
Probably her failure to comply with Elijah's chal-lenge is simply an act of defiance. Maybe Ahab iswilling to do what Elijah says, but Jezebel is notabout to!

One may ask why Mount Carmel serves as theplace for this assembly. Mount Carmel is actu-ally a mountain ridge some 12 miles in length.Near the summit of the ridge is a plateau where acontest such as this one can take place. A springof water is close at hand. It flows even during ex-tremely dry seasons. This is why Elijah can have12 containers of water poured on his sacrifice(vv. 33, 34, below) even though this incident oc-curs during drought conditions.

B. The Plea (v. 21)

21. And Elijah came unto all the people, andsaid, How long halt ye between two opinions? ifthe LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, thenfollow him. And the people answered him not aword.

Elijah begins his address to the Israelites witha question: How long halt ye between two opin-ions? In the antique language of the King JamesVersion, the word halt in this passage does notmean "stop." The term (translated from Hebrewto Greek) can also convey the idea of limping orlameness (Luke 14:21; John 5:3). In certain casesin the Gospels it describes those who could notwalk whom Jesus healed.

Elijah thus is describing the spiritual unsteadi-ness of the people in the crowd that day. The al-ternative to such hobbling will be a confident,steady walk with the Lord, which they do notpossess.

The issue facing the people on this occasion isremarkably simple. Two options confront them:the way of the Lord and the way of Baal. Intoday's pluralistic religious climate, Elijah'sstatement is still timely. We may choose a nar-row road to salvation or a wide road to destruc-tion (Matthew 7:13, 14).
Observe the audience's passive, apathetic re-sponse: the people answered him not a word. Per-haps they are cowering in fear, knowing that toanswer in favor of Baal will displease Elijah,while answering in favor of the Lord will ignitethe rage of Jezebel. Perhaps their silence reflectstheir lack of passion for or interest in anythinghaving to do with spiritual matters. It is also pos-sible that Elijah's uncompromising words makeall too clear their failure to obey the Lord; thustheir silence may indicate a sense of shame orembarrassment. In any case, the safe response(from a worldly point of view) is to keep quiet.

C. The Plan (vv. 22-24)

22. Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even Ionly, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Basil'sprophets are four hundred and fifty men.Elijah observes that he is the only one of theLord's prophets left. Yet we know from an ear-lier statement in 1 Kings 18:4 that Obadiah, oneof Ahab's officials, has hidden 100 prophets ofthe Lord from Jezebel's murderous fury. In addi-tion there are prophets such as Micaiah (22:8)and various unnamed men who are part of thegroup known as the "sons of the prophets"(20:35). Elijah probably means that he is theonly one of the Lord's prophets who is presentfor this confrontation.
Elijah's emphasis on the contrast between 1and 450 highlights a key principle: truth is notdetermined by the numbers who embrace a cer-tain position. Truth is truth, no matter howmany OT how few hold to it at any given time.

23, 24. Let them therefore give us two bul-locks; and let them choose one bullock forthemselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it onwood, and put no fire under: and I will dressthe other bullock, and lay it on wood, and putno fire under: and call ye on the name of yourgods, and I will call on the name of the Loan:and the God that answereth by fire, let him beGod. And all the people answered and said, It iswell spoken.
The rules of the contest are simple. Each side isto prepare a bull in the some manner: cut it inpieces, and My it 017 wood. Then each side is to calfon the name of its deity. The God who responds byfire will prove himself to be the true God.

The fire may refer to lightning. Remember thatthe issue is which deity is in control of the rains.Lightning would serve as a signal of the comingof the drought-ending rains and would demon-strate to those gathered on Mount Carmel whichGod is in control of the forces of nature.
Perhaps the prophets of Baal relish the oppor-tunity to go first. Should Baal respond to theircries, the contest essentially will be over. How-ever, their going first only sets the stage for whatElijah will do, because it will highlight how pow-erless Baal really is.
Verses 25-29 (not in our printed text) recordthe futile efforts of the followers of Baal. Thethreefold emphasis at the conclusion of verse 29provides a solemn closure to the failure of Baal'sprophets: "there was neither voice, nor any to an-swer, nor any that regarded." The stage is nowset for a dramatic display of divine power.

II. Preparation Accomplished(1 Kings 18:30-35)

A. Setting Up the Altar (vv. 30-32)

30.And Elijah said unto all the people, Comenear unto me. And all the people came nearunto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORDthat was broken down.

While nothing is said specifically about thealtar used by the prophets of Baal, it is noted thatElijah repaired the altar of the Lord, which wasbroken down. No doubt this altar had been a vic-tim of the apathy and neglect of the people to-ward the worship of the true God.

31.And Elijah took twelve stones, accordingto the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob,unto whom the word of the La. came, saying,Israel shall be thy name.

The use of twelve stones by Elijah is notewor-thy in light of the fact the nation of Israel hasbeen divided for several decades by this time.Yet Elijah recognizes through this action thatGod's original intention is that the Israelites be12 tribes—yet one nation—under Him.

SYMBOL. STONES

In the sixteenth century English royal powerincreasingly asserted itself over Ireland. Thatpressure set off some four centuries of politicaland religious struggle. The Anglo-Irish war of1919-1921 resulted in two separate countries.Mostly Catholic southern Ireland became inde-pendent. Northern Ireland was moody Protestantand aligned with Britain.

Throughout much of the twentieth century,dissidents hoped for political reunification of Ire-land. These dissidents used terrorist methods totry to force the British out of Northern Ireland.One could have hoped that since each side of theProtestant-Catholic divide claimed to be Chris-tian, they could all act as if they were and quitkilling each other.

The century-long division of the Irish peoplesis somewhat similar to that of God's people ofold. Israel and Judah were divided politicallyand religiously. Israel in the north had turnedmostly to Baalism; Judah in the south had re-mained somewhat faithful to Yahweh (althoughit had dabbled in idolatry also). By building hisaltar out of 12 stones, Elijah hoped that the sym-bolic number would speak to all the tribes of di-vided Israel. Perhaps they would remember theircommon heritage before the one true God.Faithfulness to God is without doubt the bestway for any nation to find internal peace. Thatfact should not be lost on the people of anydemocracy when they go to the polls to electtheir leaders. —C. R. B.
32. And with the stones he built an altar inthe name of the LORD: and he made a trenchabout the altar, as great as would contain twomeasures of seed.

The act described earlier in verse 30 as repairing the altar of the Lord is now described in an-other way: Elijah built an altar in the name of theLord. Elijah is building an altar under the author-ity of and in reverence for the true God. God'sname has lost none of its power, in spite of Ahaband Jezebel's attempts to stamp it out.

This verse also notes that Elijah makes atrench about the altar, as great as would containtwo measures of seed. This computes to about 13quarts. If such an act seems odd to the onlookers,it does not compare with what Elijah does next.

B. Soaking the Sacrifice (vv. 33-35)

33, 34. And he put the wood in order, and cutthe bullock in pieces. and laid him on the wood.and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pourit on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. Andhe said, Do it the second time. And they did itthe second time. And he said, Do it the thirdtime. And they did it the third time.
Elijah proceeds to prepare the sacrifice accord-ing to the rules established earlier. But then hedoes something else quite unexpected: he com-mands that four barrels of water be poured on theoffering three times. As noted earlier, water maybe available from the streams that now at higherelevations, such as that of Mount Carmel, despitethe severe drought that is now in its fourth year(Luke 4:25: James 5:17).

35. And the water ran round about the altar;and he filled the trench also with water.
By soaking completely the sacrifice and thealtar, Elijah sets the stage for an even more im-
pressive demonstration of the power of the trueGod. At the same time, Elijah is also putting hisown reputation as the Lord's prophet on the line.He will look utterly foolish if God fails to answer.Elijah's actions also indicate to the audiencethat he is not engaging in any kind of trickery toignite his sacrifice. If the sacrifice is ignited, theonly possible explanation will be that God hasdone it.
The prayer of Elijah, recorded in verses 36 and37, is not part of our printed text. His simple,earnest plea to the Lord contrasts markedly withthe frenzied madness of the prophets of Baal.And whereas there was no response of any kindto the prophets of Baal, such is not the case now.

Ill. Prayer Answered(1 Kings 18:38, 39)

A. The Lord's Response (v. 38)

38. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and con-sumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, andthe stones. and the dust, and licked up thewater that was in the trench.

In a spectacular display of unmistakably di-vine power, the fire of the Lord consumes every-thing that is part of the preparation for thesacrifice. Even the water in the trench is lickedup by the fire.

B. The People's Reaction (v. 39)

39. And when all the people saw it, they fellon their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is theGod; The LORD, he is the God.

All the people, who were silent earlier whenconfronted by Elijah (v. 21), do not hesitate to
express their reaction after what they witness.What else could they conclude? The Lord, he isthe God.
The aftermath of the contest on Mount Carmelincludes the slaughter of the prophets of Baal.That is in accordance with the Law of Moses con-cerning false prophets (Deuteronomy 18:20). Alsocome the long-awaited rains. The drought hasended, and more importantly the Lord, Hisprophet, and His Word have been vindicated.
"DON'T TRY THIS AT How."

We've all heard of fire-breathing preachers ofthe gospel. Colin Davis, a Church of Englandvicar in Devon, England, is a fire-eatingpreacher! While he was in college training forthe ministry, he saw a fire performer and thoughthe would be able to use the trick to attract atten-tion to the message of Christ. Neither his formerwork as a banker nor his current work as apreacher would seem to predict this particularavocation!

Davis says he uses the trick for its attention-grabbing impact, comparing the feat to Jesus' useof parables. Only occasionally does his perfor-mance take place in church; more often he doesit in school assemblies. On those occasions hemakes students vow before the demonstrationthat they will not try it.
In one sense, Elijah's use of fire was like ColinDavis's use of fire: it certainly captured the atten-tion of his audience! On the other hand, there isa striking difference: Davis's performance is justthat—a trick that has no physical effect. But Eli-jah's fire was sent by God from Heaven to con-sular everything in its path. We can respond,"Don't try this at home" to both. Seeing the constart shower of God's blessings in our everydaylives should be all we need to evoke the same re-action as that of Elijah's audience: "The Lord, Heis the God!" This bears repeating.

Conclusion

A. Demonstrating Power Today

Perhaps after reading an account such as thatof Elijah we may wonder, "Why don't we seedemonstrations of God's power such as thistoday? If we could offer the kind of evidence thatElijah did on Mount Carmel, think of the impactit would have on our culture! Does God nolonger provide these demonstrations, or do we asHis people lack faith?"

We should remember that as Christians webear witness to the greatest of all demonstrationsof God's power: the resurrection of Jesus His Sonfrom the dead. That always has been the essenceof the gospel message (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).Interestingly, when the New Testament in-structs Christians on bow to live in light of thatevent, it points to the quiet, often inconspicuousdeeds of service done in the name of Christ. Themetaphors of salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16) arehardly noisy or flamboyant in how they function.But no one can question their effectiveness ortheir necessity.

Elijah's surroundings demanded the kind ofhighly visible, dramatic manifestation of powerthat God wrought at Mount Carmel. We see simi-lar demonstrations during other critical periodsin biblical history (the plagues in Egypt and themiracles of Jesus, for example). But a primarychallenge issued to New Testament believerstoday is that of a consistently holy lifestyle. Peterchallenged the Christians of his time to live holylives among unbelievers that "whereas theyspeak against you as evildoers, they may by yourgood works, which they shall behold, glorifyGod" (1 Peter 2:12).

B. Prayer

Father, may we have the courage to stand forYou in our time as Elijah did in his. When wefeel intimidated by the strength or loudness ofthe opposition, help us to be unmoved. Help usto remain faithful and consistent in our testi-mony. May we thereby give no one cause toquestion our devotion to Your Son, Jesus. In Hisname, amen.

C. Thought to Remember

God will give us the courage we need for anyopposition we face.

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