Wildside 01.12.20

Wildside January 12, 2020

Elijah Ran from Jezebel

Bible Passage:

Main Point: God revealed Himself to Elijah in a whisper.

Key Passage:

Big Picture Question: How many gods are there? There is one true God who alone deserves worship.

Small Group opening

(10–15 minutes)

Large Group Bible study

(25–30 minutes)

Small Group activities

(25–30 minutes)

Leader BIBLE STUDY

The prophet Elijah had just witnessed God’s great display of power over the false god Baal. God had sent fire from heaven and then ended a long drought with a great rain. Elijah must have felt a sense of victory; the evil King Ahab could not deny the one true God. But trouble awaited Elijah in the form of Ahab’s wife, Jezebel.

When Jezebel heard what happened at Mount Carmel, she threatened to kill Elijah. Elijah ran away and hid in the wilderness. What a change Elijah experienced! He went from a man faithfully and confidently praying for God’s glory to be displayed at Mount Carmel to a man begging the Lord to take away his life. (See .)

God was merciful to Elijah. An angel of the Lord brought Elijah food and drink while he rested. Then Elijah traveled to Horeb for a personal encounter with God. Horeb—another name for Mount Sinai—was a familiar place in the history of Israel. It was the place where God gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelites and where Moses met with God.

After the events in , Elijah might have expected a grand display of God’s presence, but what he experienced was just the opposite. The Lord was not in the wind. The Lord was not in the earthquake. The Lord was not in the fire. God revealed Himself to Elijah in a voice, a soft whisper.

Elijah’s circumstances were difficult, but God didn’t leave him. God gave him Elisha, a friend and successor. God assured Elijah that he was not alone; there were 7,000 people in Israel who had not turned to worship Baal.

God’s prophets suffered, but their lives and messages pointed forward to the ultimate prophet, priest, and king—Jesus Christ—who suffered for the sins of the world. Jesus was hated and killed, but His death and resurrection brought victory for God’s people.

The BIBLE Story

Elijah Ran from Jezebel

Elijah was a prophet. He knew that God was powerful. God had shown King Ahab and all the people that He is the one true God. King Ahab told his wife Jezebel what had happened at Mount Carmel, and Jezebel was angry. She sent a message to tell Elijah that she planned to kill him.

Elijah ran far away into the wilderness where Jezebel could not find him. He prayed to God, “Lord, I’ve had enough. Take my life.” Then Elijah lay down under a broom tree and fell asleep.

God sent an angel to help Elijah. The angel touched Elijah and said, “Get up and eat.” Elijah got up and saw a loaf of baked bread and a jar of water. He ate and drank and lay down again.

A second time, the angel came and touched Elijah. “Get up and eat,” the angel said. “This journey will be hard.” Elijah ate and drank. The food gave him strength to travel 40 days and 40 nights to Horeb (HOH reb), the mountain of God.

When Elijah got to the mountain, he spent the night in a cave. The word of the Lord came to Elijah. God said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

“Lord, I’ve done my best to obey You,” Elijah replied, “but Your people have not obeyed You! They are trying to kill me!”

“Go out and stand on the mountain,” God said. A strong wind rushed by the mountain, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, 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. And after the fire, there was a voice—a soft whisper.

Elijah hid his face and stood at the opening of the cave.

“What are you doing here, Elijah?” a voice asked again.

“Lord, I’ve done my best to obey You,” Elijah repeated, “but Your people have not obeyed You! They are trying to kill me!”

The Lord told Elijah to anoint three men as leaders—Hazael (HAZ ay el) would be king in the land of Aram (A ruhm), Jehu (JEE hyoo) would be king in the land of Israel, and Elisha would be a prophet after Elijah.

Elijah obeyed God. He found Elisha plowing a field, and Elisha left his work to follow Elijah and serve him.

Christ Connection: As a prophet of God, Elijah faced enemies who wanted to hurt him. Elijah’s life points forward to Jesus, the greatest Prophet, who was hated and killed for sharing and teaching God’s Word.

Small Group Opening

Session Title: Elijah Ran from Jezebel

Bible Passage:

Main Point: God revealed Himself to Elijah in a whisper.

Key Passage:

Big Picture Question: How many gods are there? There is one true God who alone deserves worship.

Welcome time

Greet each kid as he or she arrives. Use this time to connect to your group and make sure each student is checked in.

Invite kids to share something they are afraid of and what makes that thing scary. How do they overcome their fears?

Say • God promises to be with us always, so we have no reason to be afraid. Even though you may face scary or difficult circumstances in your life, God will never leave you. Today we will hear a Bible story about the prophet Elijah’s very scary situation!

Activity page

Invite kids to complete the “God Was In It” on the activity page. Kids will trace the paths to discover which path is complete. Only the path leading from Elijah to the “soft whisper” is complete.

Say • In today’s Bible story, God revealed Himself to Elijah. How do you think God might appear? In Elijah’s experience, God was not in an earthquake. He was not in a fire, and He was not in the wind. God revealed Himself to Elijah in a whisper.

Table Wars

Transition to large group

Large Group LEADER

Session Title: Elijah Ran from Jezebel

Bible Passage:

Main Point: God revealed Himself to Elijah in a whisper.

Key Passage:

Big Picture Question: How many gods are there? There is one true God who alone deserves worship.

Welcome back, everyone! I am so excited that you’ve joined me. We had a great time exploring God’s Word last week as we looked for evidence that pointed to the one true God.

Today we have another Bible story to explore together. Last week, we talked about some different things that scientists do to learn about the world around them. They observe things, ask questions, make predictions, conduct experiments, and form conclusions based on the evidence that they find. We are doing the same thing as we study God’s Word because everything in the Bible teaches us something about the one true God and His plan to rescue us through His Son, Jesus!

Can you think of ways that we can learn about God? [Allow kids to respond.]

Great answers! We can observe the things God has created because God’s fingerprints are on everything He has made. We can use our five senses to learn things about God. Who can tell me what our five senses are? (tasting, seeing, hearing, touching, smelling)

We can use our five senses to explore God’s creation and learn about Him. We can also use a few of those senses to explore God’s Word. That’s what we will be doing today!

Last week, we heard the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Elijah built an altar for the one true God, and the prophet of Baal built an altar to Baal. They conducted an experiment to see who was the real God. The one true God was the one to send fire from heaven. Only the Lord, the one true God, sent fire from heaven.

The one true God defeated the prophets of Baal. Even though Elijah had just seen an amazing display of God’s power, he was still afraid of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. Elijah ran away and wanted to hide because he was afraid they would kill him. That’s where our story picks up today.

Big picture question

Leader • Remember that one thing all scientists do is ask questions. Our big picture question is, How many gods are there? Last week we talked about how there is one true God who alone deserves worship.

As we listen to the Bible story, let’s think about our question and listen for more evidence that points to the one true God.

Tell the Bible story

Open your Bible to . Let’s watch the Bible story video “Elijah Ran From Jezebel.”

Leader • Wow, what an incredible story! It’s so amazing that God speaks to us in different ways, and sometimes He surprises us! Elijah probably expected God to speak to him in a loud, booming voice—especially after everything that he had witnessed on Mount Carmel. Instead, God revealed Himself to Elijah in a whisper.

Elijah knew that God is powerful, but God showed Elijah that He would protect him and take care of him, even when Jezebel wanted to kill him.

In some ways, Elijah was like Jesus. As a prophet of God, Elijah faced enemies who wanted to hurt him. Elijah’s life points forward to Jesus, the greatest Prophet and God’s own Son, who was hated and killed for sharing and teaching God’s Word.

Key passage

Leader • Last week we introduced our key passage, which tells us how God speaks to us today. Can anyone remember what book of the Bible our key passage comes from? (the Book of Hebrews) Let’s stand up and say together.

Show the key passage poster. Lead the boys and girls to read together .

Leader • In Bible times, God spoke to people through prophets. The Bible says that God sent His Son. Jesus showed us what God is like. Now we know about Jesus’ teachings and life because we have God’s Word, the Bible. Thank You, God, for Your Word!

Discussion starter video

Leader • Do you remember why Elijah was running away? (Jezebel wanted to kill him.) Elijah was a prophet of God, and God had shown His power as the one true God when He sent fire from heaven. But even though Elijah served God, life wasn’t easy. He had enemies. Let’s watch this video.

Show the “Unit 13, Session 2” discussion starter video.

Guide kids to explain why the cupcakes did not like the fruits and vegetables.

Leader • What might cause you to have enemies? Has anyone ever disliked you because you follow Jesus? [Allow kids to discuss.]

Elijah was hated for his message as a prophet. His life points to Jesus, who was hated and killed for His message. We may face enemies on earth, but Jesus was hated and killed so we can be loved and accepted by the One who matters most—God—when we trust in Him.

Pray

Invite kids to pray before dismissing to small groups.

Leader • God, thank You for speaking to us through Your Word. Help us hear Your voice this week as we read the Bible. Make us aware of Your presence and give us hearts that want to worship You alone. We love You, Lord. Amen.

Dismiss to small groups

Small Group LEADER

Session Title: Elijah Ran from Jezebel

Bible Passage:

Main Point: God revealed Himself to Elijah in a whisper.

Key Passage:

Big Picture Question: How many gods are there? There is one true God who alone deserves worship.

Key passage activity

Show the key passage poster and choose a volunteer to read it aloud. Then instruct kids to stand shoulder to shoulder.

Explain that kids will make a wave as they say the passage. The first kid will hold up his arms as he says the first word. As he puts his arms down, the second kid will raise her arms and say the second word. Continue down the line until kids complete the key passage.

Play several times to help kids memorize the verses.

Say • You all did a great job! Keep practicing the key passage at home this week, and I bet by next week you will know it by heart.

Bible story review

Guide students to open their Bibles to the Book of 1 Kings. Lead them to use the table of contents if necessary. Point out that 1 Kings is in the Old Testament, and remind them that today’s story comes from chapter 19.

Say • We heard a wonderful story that is full of evidence that points to God’s great love for His people. Let’s see how much you can remember. I will ask a question, and you raise your hand if you believe you know the answer.

Ask the following review questions. Encourage kids to look over to check their answers.

Who tried to kill Elijah? (Jezebel, )

What did God’s angel guide Elijah to do when he was discouraged? (to eat and sleep, )

What did God provide for Elijah to eat? (bread and water, )

How long did Elijah travel before reaching Mount Horeb? (40 days and 40 nights, )

Why was Elijah so discouraged? (The Israelites no longer worshiped the one true God, )

How did God reveal Himself to Elijah? (God revealed Himself to Elijah in a whisper, )

Say • Great job, everyone! Did anything about this story surprise you? What did this story tell you about God? [Call on volunteers to respond.]

prayer

Distribute pencils and journal pages. Invite the kids to write on their page something they are afraid of. Encourage them to also write what they know is true about God that could help them when they feel scared.

Say • Because we know God, we can be comforted when we are scared. God doesn’t leave us on our own to deal with our fear. God is always with us, and He is in control of everything. We can trust Him.

Lead kids in a brief prayer, thanking God for His presence. Ask Him to make His presence evident to kids, especially when they feel afraid or alone.

As time allows, lead kids to complete the “Main Point Path” on the activity page. Lead kids to begin by putting their pencil on the first letter, G, and then tracing a line through the rest of the letters to spell out the main point of the Bible story: God revealed Himself to Elijah in a whisper.