Jacob's Ladder Sunday School Curriculum & Lessons : Prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal, Junior - I, Lesson

AGE: 10 - 11 YEARS

STANDARD/GRADE: V & VI

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LESSON – 19

PROPHET ELIJAH AND THE PROPHETS OF BAAL

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In this lesson we are going to learn about one of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament called Prophet Elijah. He was from a place called Tishbe and lived during the reign of a King named Ahab. He was the seventh king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. King Ahab, just like the other kings of the Northern Kingdom of Israel did not obey God. Ahab married a woman named Jezebel from a place called Sidon. Her father’s name was Ethbaal and he was the King of Sidon. The people of Sidon worshipped a god called Baal-Melkart. Jezebel led Ahab to worship Baal-Melkart. Ahab introduced the worship of Baal in Israel also. Jezebel was evil, she tried to destroy anyone who opposed her. She also challenged God’s great prophets including Prophet Elijah.

Prophet Elijah was a brave man of God. Prophet Elijah was not afraid of Jezebel. He spent much time praying and listening to God and knew that God is much more powerful than Jezebel. One day Prophet Elijah went and spoke to king Ahab in the name of God. He introduced himself as the one who stood before God and delivered an important message. Prophet Elijah declared to King Ahab that there would not be any rain in Israel until he commanded it to rain again. King Ahab was furious. If there is no rain in the land, the plants will not grow and there will be drought and famine. Eventually animals and humans will die of hunger and starvation.

Prophet Elijah sealed the skies and there was no more rain. God sent Prophet Elijah to a brook named Kerith and fed him miraculously. Later he was sent to a place called Zarephath where God had arranged for a widow to provide him with food. King Ahab became desperate and sent people everywhere to find Elijah because he thought Prophet Elijah was responsible for Israel’s troubles. After three years, God sent Prophet Elijah back to King Ahab. Prophet Elijah reminded King Ahab that it was he who was to be blamed for the drought, since he had allowed Jezebel to institute the worship of her false gods in Israel.

Prophet Elijah challenged King Ahab to gather the people of Israel and the prophets of Baal together at Mount Carmel for a contest to see whose god was real. King Ahab did as Prophet Elijah said. People from all over Israel came to watch the contest. Elijah was the only prophet of the God of Israel present there. There were 850 prophets of the false gods, (including 450 prophets of the false god Baal and 400 prophets of the false goddess Asherah) sent by King Ahab and Jezebel standing against him. It was one true man of God against 850 false prophets. We have to remember that there were other true prophets of God in Israel at that time but they remained hidden and scattered because of the persecution by Jezebel and her false prophets. There were 100 prophets who were hidden in a cave by Obadiah, one of the officials of King Ahab. There were also 7000 other true men of God who refused to bow before Baal.

Mount Carmel in modern day Israel

Prophet Elijah got ready for his challenge against the false prophets. He told the people of Israel to make a decision that day and not to be double minded thereafter. If Baal was real and powerful, then they need to worship him. If the Lord God of Isreal was real and powerful, then they need to worship Him. Prophet Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to prove that Baal was a god in front of the Israelite people. Prophet Elijah asked the prophets of Baal to build an altar and offer a bull as a sacrifice to their god without lighting a fire. Prophet Elijah would also do the same. The God that answers with fire from the sky would be the real and powerful God. The people of Israel and the prophets of Baal agreed.

The prophets of Baal began the contest and offered the sacrifice. They cried out to Baal to answer them with fire. There was no answer! They became desperate and danced around their altar from morning till noon with no answer from Baal. Prophet Elijah began to mock them and asked them to shout even louder! Prophet Elijah even suggested that Baal must be deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. He also wondered whether Baal was sleeping and must be awakened.

The prophets of Baal seemed to accept Prophet Elijah’s prompting as they shouted louder. They also slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. Midday passed without any response from Baal, so they continued their rituals until the time for the evening sacrifice. There was no response, no one answered, Baal didn’t even seem to pay attention.

Then it was Prophet Elijah’s turn. He asked the people of Israel to come closer. He first repaired the Lord’s altar that had been neglected. He took twelve stones corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel and built an altar. Prophet Elijah named the altar, “Israel.” He then dug a ditch around it, prepared the sacrifice and arranged it on the altar. Prophet Elijah also ordered that four large jars of water be poured over it. There was so much water that it soaked the sacrifice and all of the wood on the altar. It even ran into the ditch around the altar. The Israelites must have been confused by this. Baal and Asherah could not create even a spark in a dry altar, yet Prophet Elijah was confident that the Lord would set fire to an altar soaked in water!

Once the sacrifice was ready, Prophet Elijah prayed a very simple yet powerful prayer. He prayed to God saying, “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” He requested God to prove that he is the one true God of Israel, and that Elijah is his prophet. Immediately, the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust. It also licked up the water in the trench.

The Israelites were dumb struck as the fire consumed the sacrifice, the wood, stones, soil and even the water that had overflowed into the trenches around the altar! The Israelites fell down and proclaimed, “The Lord – he is God!”. They also realized that Prophet Elijah is a true prophet of God. Prophet Elijah captured all the prophets of Baal and destroyed them. After that, God sent heavy rains upon the land of Israel and the drought and famine ended. Later Prophet Elijah anointed Prophet Elisha as his successor. Prophet Elisha along with King Jehu brought an end to the wicked Queen Jezebel’s reign.

Bible Reference: I Kings 18

Memory Verse: Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again, he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. James 5:17, 18 NIV

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ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES

Fill in the blanks:

1. The people of Sidon worshipped a god called ……………….

2. After ……………. years, God sent Prophet Elijah back to King Ahab.

3. Prophet Elijah ordered that …………. large jars of water be poured over the altar with the sacrifice.

4. Prophet Elisha along with King ……………… brought an end to the wicked Queen Jezebel’s reign.