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September 1927
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BLACKBOARD OUTLINE H e a r in g —Psa. 85:8. EEDING—Isa; 6:8. ELPING—Matt. 21:28. stones and built up the altar of the Lord which had been broken down, and he made a trench around it. He put wood on the altar, cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it on the altar. Then he said to the people, “Fill four barrels with water and pour it on the altar.” They did this three times, until even the trench was full of water.- Does, water help fife to burn? Elijah wanted the people to see that God could do anything, Now Elijah came near the altar and called upon God, say ing, “Hear me, O Lord, hear me, so that this people may know thou art the true God.” Then the fire of the Lord fell from heaven upon the altar, and burned up the bullock and the wood, and the stones of which the altar was made, and licked up the... water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God! The Lord, He is God!” Then Elijah ordered all the false prophets to be destroyed; for so the Lord command ed it should-, be done to all those who taught the people to serve idols and for sake God. (Teach M. V.) Elijah seemed alone, but God was with him. If you want God to listen to your cry, you must love Him. (Prayer.) a wearied soul has said the same. It in timates a thoroughly discouraged state of mind. But it was not physical death he needed. It was death to self, and re newed spiritual life. It was no time for God to seal that shining ministry. It was God’s plan that his life should close radiantly and triumphantly. It would not have been for God’s glory for Elijah to have passed out while he was “down in the dumps.” What a strange contradiction in Eli jah’s actions! This man who was destined not to taste of death at all, is fleeing from death on one hand, and seeking it on the . other. He tells God that “it is enough,” and; if God had taken him at his word, his life would have gone with out its crowning glory. Well did James say: “Elijah was a man of like passions with us.” .We m i g h t have expected God to rebuke, him instantly for his lack of faith. But God doesn’t rebuke one while he is in a state of nervous exhaustion. It is human to say sharp things to those who are nervously unstrung and not fully accountable for their deeds. God had nothing to say until Elijah had taken a sleep and filled his hungry stomach. We can better appreciate correction when the mind is rested and the stomach satisfied.
use and honor. Do we always obey the Lord Jesus? Today we are to hear about a very Wonderful man who lived a long time ago, whose name is Elijah. We always love to hear about Elijah because he loved God and obeyed His Word. Sometimes we think we can not do very much, because we are just boys and girls; or because we are just one per son, but in our story today Elijah was just one person who had to stand against a king and a large number of wicked peo ple who worshipped idols. He seemed to be alone, but God was standing with him, and when God stands with us we are stronger than all the. people in the world. King Ahab was the king of God’s people, Israel, but he was not trusting in God. He worshipped idols, and led many of the peopleHto worship idols. Because of the sin of King Ahab worshipping idols, God had not sent any rain upon the earth for three years and a half. Now Elijah sent word to the King to call the proph ets of Baal (who Were the men that led the people into worshipping Baal instead of God) together on Mt. Carmel and place their animal for sacrifice on the al tar, and he would also b u i l d an altar and p l a c e the s a c r i f i c e thereon. No fire was to be placed on ■either altar, but the false prophets were given first chance to pray to their god Baal, to send fire and burn the offering. Then they cried out to their idol from -morning until noon. They jumped up and down, and even cut themselves, but no answer. They continued to cry to Baal until evening, but no answer. Then Elijah called all the people to come near, and they came near to him. He took twelve
dience to God is in vain (Matt. 15:7-9; 7:23, 24). V. 37. “Hear me, 0 Jehovah . . . . that these people may know (1) that Thou art God.” The thing which one worships or idolizes becomes his god. The God Whose dame is Jehovah and Who is revealed to us in the Bible is the God of the universe even though unfor tunately the majority of men do not recognize that He is the one supreme, eternal God. As in the days of Paul there were “that are called gods . . . . gods many, and lords many; yet to us there is but one God, the' Father, of whom are all things, and we through Him” (1 Cor. 8 :5, 6) (2) “Thou hast turned their heart back again.” God touches all honest hearts that they may turn to Him (1 Sam. 10: 26; Psa. 83; Acts 4 6 :14). . V. 38. “Then the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed,” etc. God accepted this sacrifice, which had been offered in ac cordance: with His will, in an open and manifest way. . Thus He did with our sacrifice. At the baptism of Jesus, God publicly accepted Him. “This is My be loved Son, in. Whom I am well pleased” (cf. Psa. 40:6-8). Those who bring Him as their sacrifice He will accept (Psa. 50:5; Jno. 6:37; Jno. 14:6). V. 39. “And when all the people saw it they fell on their faces; and they said, Jehovah He is God.” Those who saw the presence of God acknowledged Him. All ‘people today, unfortunately, do not see that the God of the Bible is the God in Whom they live, move and have their be ing ; but, praise God, many have eyes to -see and do see (Matt. 13:16). At present only a few (tbe election according to grace) of Israel; see that Jesus is their promised Messiah, but the time will come when all Israel shall in their distress (Hos. 5:15) see their mistake, repent of their rejecting Him (Zech. 12:10-14), long for His return (Matt. 23:29), and all Israel be saved (Rom. 11:26, 27). At that time every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:9-11). —o— God Hears Elijah’s Prayer. 1'Kings 18:16-46. . Memory Verse: “I love the Lord, be cause he hath heard my voice and my supplications,”’ Psa. 116:1. Approach: In New York harbor many years ago was a great ledge of rock in the way of . Shipping. Preparations were made to blast it. Tons of dynamite were
O ctober 9, 1927 Elijah Hears God’s Voice Lesson Text—1 Kings 19:1-18
D ID you ever notice that the signal failures of many of the eminent men of whose lives we read in the Scriptures, oc curred just at the points of their peculiar
excellence ? In this lesson we see the man who on all other occasions ex emplified the qualities of unfaltering faith and intrepid fearless ness of man, sitting under a juniper tree
planted and electric wires strung. Then one morning th e governor’s daugh ter, m i l e s away, pressed a button. Hundreds of t o n s of rock were loos ened, and the har bor was soon deep and safe.-—Arnold’s
in a fit of the blues. Queen Jezebel had remained unmoved by the tokens of God’s mighty power manifested in connection with the expo sure of the priests of Baal, and their ex ecution following the scene on Carmel. She thirsted for Elijah’s blood all the more. When a forewarning of pursuit and death fell from this woman’s lips, for some reason the prophet was chilled to the bone with fear. On other occasions, he had gone where God had bidden him. This time, he waited not for orders. To Beersheba he went, thence going a day’s journey into the wilderness, where he cast himself down under a solitary juniper tree and prayed God to take him out of the world. “It is enough" (v. 4), he said. Many
Commentary.
Lesson Story: In our beautiful Bible stories we have been getting acquainted with the great prophet Samuel, King Saul and King David, and of course we learn ed many wonderful things about them, but the one great lesson is that only obe dience to God’s Word will make us happy and make us the kind of people God can
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