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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
June, 1934
little children, it becomes hard to condemn Elijah when he puts to death 450 o f these baby-killers. Even in our present “en lightened age,” most civilized people would approve the death penalty for the fiends who killed the Lindbergh child. Golden Text Illustration Mrs. Pearsall Smith, author o f The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life, was once approached by a lady who had an only child. The lady said, “ I do not care to pray, ‘Thy will be done,’ because I am afraid God will take away my little boy, or will send me some other heavy trial.” Mrs. Smith replied, “ Suppose your child should come to you some morning, say ing, ‘I want to be and do just what you desire today.’ Would you say to yourself, ‘Now is my opportunity to make this child do all the disagreeable duties I want done. I will take advantage of his willingness to please me, by cutting off his pleasures today and keeping him at hard discipline’ ?” “No, no,” said the mother, “I would give him the best day I could possibly plan.” “And can you think,” said Mrs. Smith, “that God is less just and loving than you?” —P ickering . How God Took Care of Elijah 1 K in g s 17:1-16 Memory Verse: “Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom o f God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6: 32, 33). Approach: Not long after the time o f to King Ahab and told him what was going to happen. He said to Ahab, “There shall not be dew nor rain these years.” And that is just what did happen. For three years there was no rain. But God took care o f Elijah, His prophet. There was a little brook in the eastern part o f the country. And God told Elijah to go to live beside this brook. There Elijah would have water to drink, and God prom ised to send him food. Elijah went, and God sent him food in a very wonderful way. Morning and evening, birds—ravens —brought him food. So Elijah was well taken care of. But after a while, because there was no rain, the brook dried up. What was Elijah to do? Then God spoke to him again. He told him to go to another part of the coun try and find there a widow woman who should take care of him. Elijah found her, and when he asked for a drink, she went to get it. But when he asked for bread, she said she had just a handful of flour and a little oil. She was gathering two sticks to make a fire to bake a little bread for her self and her son. She thought that they would eat that one meal and then die, be cause there would be nothing left to eat. Elijah told her not to fear, but to make “a little cake” for him first, and then for herself and her son, for the Lord had promised that the barrel o f flour and the cruse o f oil would not be empty until the Lord sent rain upon the earth so that the crops could grow. Asa the king, there lived a p r o p h e t named Elijah. At this time, Ahab, a wicked king, was on the throne. He stop ped worshiping the true God and set up altars to Baal, a false god. God had to pun ish this wicked king. L esson S to ry : One day Elijah went
And it was as Elijah had said, for no matter how much oil or flour the woman used, there was always a little left. God1 had promised to take care o f His people, and He did.
would improve their looks if they had some pretty dresses? “The lilies are prettier just as they are.” You are right, it is impossible to do things better than God has done them. Well, boys, if the girls do not think it is necessary to make dresses for the lilies, we can go ahead with the building o f our barn. Now that we have the side walls up, we will put on the roof. “What kind o f a barn is this to be?” Don’t you see the name on the front ? It reads, “ Bird Barn—Free Storage.” If we were to put this little barn outside, do you think that the birds would use it as a place in which to keep worms and bugs until the birds were ready to eat them? No, I am sure none would. The birds do not use barns, for the same reason that the lilies do not need dresses, and that reason is that God cares for them. Our Golden Text today tells us that our heavenly Father knows the things for which we have need. It is not necessary or wise that we should worry about our needs, when God has promised to provide for us as carefully and completely as He does for the lilies and the birds. Elijah learned the lesson that God was able and willing to take care of him under any and all circumstances. God wants us to learn the same lesson, and trust Him to supply every need. Elijah’s reply revealed his feeling o f in justice. His attitude gave force to his answer. He appeared to blame the Lord in several-ways. “ I have been very jealous for the Lord,” he began. And seemingly the Lord had failed to support him in his efforts. “ The children o f Israel have for saken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets” (v. 10). Yet it appeared that the Lord had not in terfered to preserve His own honor. “And I, even I only, am le ft; and they seek my life.” But apparently the Lord had not been interested enough in His servant to protect him. “ When one has “the blues,” the pronouns, “ I,” “my,” “me,” “mine,” are prominent in his speech. And all the time, there is the unspoken and thinly disguised criticism of the Lord. Faith would rise above all these things and trust the Lord, whatever might be the outward appear ances. The Christian walks “by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7 ). II. T he W ord of R evival (11-14). 1. The Lord’s power was revealed (vs. II , 12 ). Elijah was told to go forth and stand upon the mount. “And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks.” When such power was the Lord’s, and Elijah was the Lord’s servant, there need be no fear of King Ahab. After the wind, there came an earthquake, which again revealed the might of Jehovah. What was Jezebel’s might in comparison with such power? After the earthquake, there came a fire. What could Baal do against the One who controlled the fire? 2. The Lord’s presence was felt (v. 12). While the Lord’s power was revealed in the wind, the earthquake, and the fire, His presence was felt in “a sound of gentle stillness” (v. 12, R. V. margin). The dis turbances of nature might awe Elijah into silence. But the “still small voice” would quiet and soothe the taut nerves, and pre pare him to listen to what the Lord might
Object Lesson D resses for L ilies and B arns for B irds Objects: A few silk scraps, several lilies, and a small cardboard barn which can be taken apart Lesson : With these pretty pieces o f silk, we shall be able to make some beautiful little robes. This is the way I want you to make them. Run a basting thread about a half inch from the top, draw the thread up, and turn the top back for a collar. “What are you making them for?” Why, don’t you see that these lilies do not have any clothes? Don’t you think it Lesson Text: 1 Ki. 19:9-18. Golden Text: “ Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth” (1 Sam. 3 :9 ). Outline and Exposition I. T he W ord of R ebuke (9, 10). E l ij a h fled when he heard Jezebel’s threat, and in his action there is seen a failure to fully trust the Lord. But God’s grace shines forth in the restoration of the prophet to his former place and atti tude. Following the scene of last Sun day’s lesson, Elijah “came . . . unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word o f the Lord came to him.” In deal ing with His servant, the Lord began with a question: “What doest thou here, Eli jah?” When the words are emphasized, the importance o f the question will be brought out. “What doest thou here?” Elijah had been called to action, but he was merely giving place to despondency. “What doest thou here?” The place in which Elijah hid himself might be a fit habita tion for a coward, but what a place it was for one who had stood manfully before King Ahab, who had spoken the word which sealed up the heavens, and who had fearlessly slain the prophets o f Baal! “What doest thou here?” Elijah was out o f his place; he was running away like a truant child. The location was that o f his own choice, not the Lord’s—yet he was the Lord’s servant. BLACKBOARD LESSON
JULY 22, 1934 ELIJAH HEARS GOD ’S VOICE 1 K in g s 19:9-21
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