Lesson - Elijah - The Only One Left?

VERSES:   1 Kings 19:1-18

MEMORY VERSE:   1 Kings 19:14.  "...and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life..."

BOOK TO REMEMBER:   Isaiah.  Write "Isaiah" on small slips of paper and hand out to the students at the end of class, so they are able to memorize one more book of the Old Testament.

PRAYER:   Pray that we will all be strong believers in the LORD, knowing how much He does for the one who love Him and belong to Him.

SPECIAL SONG:  Elijah (see March - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #4 on this blog)

VISUAL AID:   A picture of a juniper tree. A map, showing Mount Carmel, Beersheeba, Mount Horeb, and Damascus. Divide the whiteboard into four sections like the last page of the activity (see Activity below and picture above).

LESSON POINTS:

• When bad things happen in the world, there may be times in our lives where we may think that we are the only ones who are worshiping God.  That is what Elijah thought, too. 
• When wicked King Ahab told his wicked wife, Jezebel, what had happened on Mount Carmel, Jezebel was very angry at Elijah. She didn't like it one bit that the LORD God answered Elijah's prayer and sent fire from heaven and burnt up not only the offering , but the wood and the stones and the water and even the dust, proving that the LORD God was the Only God. She should have been angry with her idol, Baal, because the stone statue had not answered her 450 prophets of Baal, but she was angry with Elijah instead! She sent a messenger to Elijah who said what Jezebel was going to do to Elijah what had been done to the prophets of Baal. What was that? What had happened to the prophets of Baal? They had been killed! Jezebel was going to kill Elijah! When Elijah heard that, he ran for his life! He went to a city called Beersheba and dropped off his servant there, but he went by himself out into the wilderness and sat down under a juniper tree.  He was very sad. He asked God to take away his life and he went to sleep under the tree.
• While Elijah was sleeping, an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat." When Elijah saw that there was a cake cooking on coals and a container of water close by, he ate the bread and drank the water and laid down back again.
• The angel again touched him a second time and said, "Get up and eat because you are going on a long journey." So Elijah got up and ate the bread and drank the water and the Bible says that the food and drink Elijah ate and drank gave him the strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Horeb. Mount Horeb was also called the mountain of God.
• While at the mountain, Elijah found a cave and spent the night there. God spoke to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"  Elijah talked to God and told him all about the Israelites forsaking God, how they tore down the altars of the LORD, and killed the LORD's prophets with the sword and how they were trying to kill him, too.
• God told Elijah to go out and stand outside on the mountain because the LORD was going to pass by. So as Elijah stood outside his cave, the LORD passed by and there was a terribly strong wind that broke the rocks apart, but the LORD was not in the wind. Then there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. Then, there was a small, still voice. When Elijah heard the small, still voice, he wrapped his coat around his face and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then the voice asked Elijah, "What are doing here, Elijah?" Elijah again told all the terrible things that the Israelites had been doing and then he said, "And I am the only one left and they are trying to kill me, too."
• The LORD told Elijah to go back by the way of Damascus and anoint three people. He was to anoint Hazael king over Syria, Jehu king over Israel, and Elisha to take over for Elijah. Those that escaped the sword of Hazael Jehu would kill, and those that escaped Jehu Elisha would  kill. Then the LORD said something very surprising to Elijah. The LORD said that there were still 7,000 in Israel that had not bowed and worshiped Baal! 
• Sometimes, we think that we are the only ones who are worshiping God, but just like in Elijah's time, there are others that we do not know about. We must just keep obeying God, no matter if there is 7,000 or just one. We must obey God!

"Older Student" Tips:

• Just like Moses hid his face when God spoke to him from the burning bush and he was afraid to look at God, Elijah hid his face as well, as a sign perhaps of respect.
• God is so smart and knows everything! He told Elijah to go back by way of Damascus because He knew that Jezebel would not find him by going that way. 
• We must always remember that we are never alone; God is always with us.

ACTIVITY:   The Small, Still Voice
Materials needed:  9" x 12" white paper, crayons.

1. Hand out paper.
2. Fold paper in half.
3. Fold paper in half again.
4. On the outside of the paper, completely folded, write " Elijah stood on Mt. Horeb and..." and "1 Kings 19."
5. Open up the paper once and write "The LORD passed by, but..."
6. Open the paper to full size and draw a line on the folded places.
7. In the first box, write "The LORD was not in the wind."
8. Draw the wind blowing in Box #1.
9. In the second box, write "The LORD was not in the earthquake."
10. Draw a picture of an earthquake in the Box #2.
11. In the third box, write "The LORD was not in the fire."
12. Draw a picture of a fire.
13. In the last box, write "The LORD was in the small, still voice."
14. Write "What are you doing here, Elijah?" in a speech bubble in Box #4.
15. Fold paper up to take home.