Unit 12: Elijah and Elisha OT12.1 God Provides for Elijah...Unit 12: Elijah and Elisha OT12.1 God...

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OT12.1 God Provides for Elijah ©Beverly Wilson 2019

Unit 12: Elijah and Elisha OT12.1 God Provides for Elijah

Scripture: 1 Kings 16:29-17:16

Lesson Goal: Elijah was the first and most famous of Israel’s prophets. He was sent to warn the people against worshipping the false god of Baal and to turn them back to God. In this lesson we will learn how God protected and provided for Elijah the prophet as well as a widow and her son. .

Introduction: This lesson is found in the book of 1 Kings. This book tells the history of the kings of Israel and Judah. It is in the second group of Old Testament books called the historical books. These books begin with Joshua and go through Esther. Let's say these books--Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther

Attention Getter: “Pet Tricks”

How many of you have a pet? Have you trained your pet to do any tricks? Many animals can be trained to do tricks. Lions can be trained to jump through rings of fire. Dolphins can be trained to catch a ball. Bears can ride bikes! What would you think if your pet talked? What do you think this dog might say? You’d be amazed if he did talk because that is something animals don’t usually do! What would you think if your pet cat went to the grocery store and brought home meat and bread? Again, you’d be amazed because that is something animals can’t do. In this lesson God used some birds to miraculously protect and provide for Elijah the prophet. God also miraculously provided for a widow and her son as well. We will learn that God also provides and cares for us!

Opening Prayer: "Father, thank You that nothing is too hard for you. You miraculously provided for Elijah and the widow because they trusted in You. You have promised to meet our every need. Help us to trust You and never doubt that You will always love and care for us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Memory Verse: The memory verse is Philippians 4:19 "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus."

Lesson Video: https://youtu.be/TWsL2HHud7E King Solomon was the wisest man in the world but he turned his love away from God. He began to pray to the false gods that his wives worshiped. The nation of Israel began to follow his example and also began to worship the false god of Baal.

Because of Israel’s sin and after the death of King Solomon, the twelve tribes of Israel were divided into two parts. The northern half of the nation consisted of ten tribes and was called Israel. The southern half was two tribes and was called Judah. Each of these kingdoms was ruled by a series of kings who were for the most part very wicked and they continued to worship idols. With no kings or faithful priests to bring God’s Word to the people, God called prophets to try to rescue the people. Elijah was the first of many prophets that God sent to Israel and Judah. He was the most famous and had a very dramatic effect on Israel.

King Ahab who ruled over Israel which was the northern kingdom was particularly evil. The Bible says that he did more evil in the sight of the Lord than any of the kings who went before him. King Ahab

https://youtu.be/TWsL2HHud7E

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married a very wicked woman named Jezebel who came from the Phoenician city of Tyre. Jezebel’s father had been a priest for the worship of Baal. Instead of worshipping the true God, Ahab and his wife Jezebel worshipped Baal, the most popular Canaanite god. To please Jezebel, King Ahab built a temple and altar for Baal. Together they encouraged the people to worship false gods. Baal idols were made in the shape of a bull which represented strength and fertility. People who worshipped Baal often had a lust for power and sexual pleasure.

King Ahab and Jezebel also had some of God’s prophets executed. Others were forced into hiding in fear of their lives. The prophets of Baal took control of the worship instead. People thought that Baal had the power to control the weather and bring good harvests. Most of the people in the northern kingdom of Israel was worshipping this god and doing much evil in the sight of God.

Elijah was one of God’s prophets from Tishbe in Gilead. A prophet is a messenger from God who is sent to preach God’s Word to save the people from their sins. Elijah warned the people to turn away from Baal worship and obey God. The Lord then told Elijah to deliver a message to King Ahab.

When Elijah arrived at the city, he walked straight into the palace where the king was sitting. This took a lot of courage. Elijah could have been killed but he knew he had a message from God that he had to tell King Ahab. He said to King Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be any dew or rain in the next few years, except at my word.”

King Ahab was shocked. He worshiped Baal and he believed Baal was the god who brought the rains that were so important to the people for raising crops.

When there is no rain, they call it a drought. It was a very serious thing in those days. A drought causes a famine, a time when there isn’t enough food to eat. The crops would not grow without rain; because people wouldn’t have enough water to drink or food to eat many would die. The shortage of food and water would affect Elijah, too. So God told Elijah to get out of town. He told Elijah to hide from Ahab and Jezebel. God told Elijah to head east and cross the river Jordan.

God had a hiding place for Elijah in a ravine that had a small brook known as Kerith. It was a lonely place out in the wilderness but Elijah knew that God was with him. God provided for Elijah in a miraculous way. God said, “You will drink from the brook and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.”

So Elijah drank water from the brook and every morning and evening the ravens flew down and came carrying bread and meat in their beaks. Imagine that! The ravens brought Elijah food! Elijah knew that God was providing for his needs and he was very thankful for God’s protection.

Just as Elijah had said there was no rain or dew. People called on Baal to help them but the ground became dry and the harvests failed. The famine went on for many months. Meanwhile, the ravens which are normally very selfish birds brought Elijah bread and meat in the morning and the evening. He drank water from the Brook Kerith. Months and then years went by without dew or rain. People struggled to find water for themselves and their cattle. Food supplies got low and people began to starve. Baal did not come to their rescue.

Without rain even the Brook Kerith dried up. So God told Elijah to leave the ravine and head north. He said, “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.” Elijah headed out of the ravine and towards the country of Phoenicia. This was amazing because Phoenicia was not even in the land of Israel. It was in a foreign country that did not worship God. Once across the border of Phoenicia Elijah headed for the town of Zarephath where God had told Elijah he would find the widow.

Meanwhile King Ahab was beside himself. The situation got worse in Israel. The drought was terrible. King Ahab sent out his soldiers to search for Elijah but no one could find him. No dew or rain fell for over three years!

Just as God had commanded Elijah entered the town of Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me some water in a jar to

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drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And please bring me a piece of bread.” This woman must have thought Elijah was crazy. Didn’t he know there was a drought going on?

“As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread. I only have a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a last meal for myself and my son that we may eat it and die.”

“Don’t be afraid,” Elijah replied, “Go home and make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me. Then bake something for yourself and your son. God says, “The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land again.” The woman obeyed. She used all the remaining flour and oil to make a meal for them all.

Later when she went back to the jar, the flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry. Just as God had promised, no matter how much flour and oil they used, it was always replaced. What an amazing miracle! How grateful they all were that God was providing for their needs!

In this lesson we see that God miraculously provided for the needs of Elijah and the widow woman and her child. First God sent the ravens to bring bread and meat to Elijah at the small brook known as Kerith. Amazingly God can even use the birds to obey His commands! God cared for Elijah and also protected him from King Ahab. God had promised to provide what Elijah needed, and God always keeps His promises!

Then God send Elijah to the widow of Zarephath. Now it might sound selfish for Elijah to ask the woman for food and water in a time of drought but he knew that if she was willing to give the bread to him first, God would bless her in many other ways. This was a test of faith for this woman.

The woman obeyed the Lord and He did provide! God’s provision of flour and oil never failed during the whole drought. The famine lasted for three years and every day God miraculously put oil in the jar and flour in the bin! What an amazing miracle!

God can provide for all your needs, too. God has all power, all wisdom, and He loves you! He is well able to supply all your needs. God does not promise to supply everything we want. But our needs will never go unmet if we trust in God. What are some needs that you or I might have?

We need food, clothing, a place to live, right? When you have a need, what do you do? Do you worry? Do you look to others, such as your parents or friends to meet your needs? Maybe you try to meet your own needs.

Remember that Jesus wants you to look to Him first to provide for your needs. He is your Heavenly Father who knows and cares for you more than anyone else could. He longs for you to call upon Him in your times of need.

Sometimes God doesn’t give us what we ask for because he wants our faith to grow. Perhaps he wants us to learn how to have patience. He loves you and will always do what is best for you.

When you have a need, talk to God about it; and then trust that He will give you what is best. And He will never fail to provide for you, too. God is a great provider who can meet your needs.

Remember trust God to provide for your needs!

Review Questions/ Game: “Name Game” Preparation: You will need alphabet letters such as in scrabble. You can also print letters on small squares of cardboard. Place the letters in a small container or jar. Say: “In the lesson we learned that God provided for the needs of his servant Elijah and for the widow and her son. God knows all our needs and will provide them if we ask. God loves us and even knows our names. Today we are going to play a review game that is about our names?)

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Procedure: The teacher or leader selects a letter from the scrabble letters and calls out the letter. If a student’s name begins with the letter they are to stand. If the student’s name does not begin with that letter then they stay seated. Select someone from those standing to answer the review question. Repeat until all students have had an opportunity to answer a question.

1. Why did God allow the Kingdom of Israel to be divided into two nations? (Because of Israel’s sin and after the death of King Solomon, the twelve tribes of Israel were divided into two parts.)

2. What sin did King Solomon and the nation of Israel commit? (They worshipped false gods of Baal and intermarried with the Canaanites.)

3. Who was the evil king of the northern kingdom and what sin did he commit? (King Ahab of Israel committed the sin of worshipping false gods and marrying the evil Jezebel from the Phoenician city of Tyre. He built a temple to worship Baal and even killed the true prophets of God and replaced them with prophets of Baal in the place of worship.)

4. What shape of animal was Baal and what false things did the people believe about it? (Baal idols were made in the shape of a bull which represented strength and fertility. They believed that the idol could control the weather and produce crops. They believed that it could give them pleasure and power.)

5. Who was Elijah? (Elijah was one of God’s prophets from Tishbe in Gilead. A prophet is a messenger from God who is sent to preach God’s Word to save the people from their sins. Elijah warned the people to turn away from Baal worship and obey God.)

6. What message did God send Elijah to tell King Ahab? (“As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be any dew or rain in the next few years, except at my word.”)

7. Why did God choose a famine to get King Ahab’s attention to stop idol worship? (The idol Baal that King Ahab was worshipping was supposed to control the weather and give good crops. God wanted King Ahab to see that this idol was powerless. God wanted King Ahab to understand that he should be worshipping the one true God.)

8. What is a drought or famine and why is it so devastating? (When there is no rain, they call it a drought. It was a very serious thing in those days. A drought causes a famine, a time when there isn’t enough food to eat. The crops would not grow without rain; because people wouldn’t have enough water to drink or food to eat many would die.)

9. Where did God tell Elijah to hide during the famine? (God had a hiding place for Elijah in a ravine that had a small brook known as Kerith. It was a lonely place out in the wilderness.)

10. How did God provide food for Elijah in this wilderness valley? (God provided for Elijah in a miraculous way. Elijah drank water from the brook and every morning and evening the ravens flew down and brought bread and meat in their beaks.)

11. Why were having ravens bring bread and meat such a miracle? (Ordinarily ravens are very ravenous birds that selfishly keep food to themselves. God commanded them to do this every morning and evening.)

12. When the brook Kerith dried up, where did God tell Elijah to go? (God said, “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.”)

13. Why was going to the country of Phoenicia so amazing? (This was amazing because Phoenicia was a foreign country that did not worship God. It was also the home country of the wicked Queen Jezebel!)

14. Where did Elijah first meet the widow of Zarephath? (He saw her gathering sticks at the city gate as he entered.)

15. What did Elijah first ask the widow? (He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me some water in a jar to drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And please bring me a piece of bread.”)

16. What did the woman say to Elijah in response? (“As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread. I only have a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I

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am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a last meal for myself and my son that we may eat it and die.”)

17. Why did Elijah ask her to give him bread first before feeding herself and her son? (Elijah knew that if she was willing to give the bread to him first, God would bless her in many other ways. This was a test of faith for this woman.)

18. How did God provide for Elijah and the woman and her son? (God says, “The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land again.” And it happened just as God said it would.)

19. Why was it important for God to provide both flour and oil supplied for the widow and Elijah during the famine? (Both flour and water were needed to mix together to make the bread.)

20. What did Elijah learn about God in this lesson? (He learned that God always cares for him and protects him.)

21. How did Elijah and the widow both show that they truly believed and trusted in God? (They both obeyed God. Elijah obeyed by going to the Valley of Kerith and by going to the city of Zarephath. The widow obeyed by preparing the bread first for Elijah.)

22. What lesson can we learn from this story? (God can provide for all your needs, too. God has all power, all wisdom, and He loves you! He is well able to supply all your needs. God does not promise to supply everything we want. But our needs will never go unmet if we trust in God.)

23. How has God helped people you know? How has He helped you? (Helped me get better when I was sick. Helped me at school during a test.)

24. What is the memory verse? (Our memory verse is Philippians 4:19 "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus.")

Memory Verse Activity: “Roll the Food”

Our memory verse is Philippians 4:19 "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus." Have students locate the verse in scripture and read it together several times. Say: “This verse says that we can trust God to care for us. There is no need too great or too hard for God to supply. God always keeps His promise.” Preparation: You will need 16 cans of food, tape, scissors, 2 yardsticks, and 16 paper stick on labels (large mailing package size). On each can stick a paper label. On the labels write two copies of the memory verse—one set per team. On each can write the following phrases (one phrase on each can): Philippians 4:19 / "My God/ shall supply/ all your need/ according to His riches/ and glory / by Christ Jesus." Say: “How did God provide food for Elijah? When Elijah asked the widow to give him some food what did he say? How did God meet the needs of the widow and her son? Today we are going to play a game using cans of food to help us memorize the memory verse.” Procedure: Divide the class into teams with no more than 8 children per team. Give each team a set of labeled cans and a yardstick. Place the cans on the floor. Show the class that when you line the cans upright in the correct order that they spell out the memory verse. Tell the class that one person on each team will lay a can of food on its side. Using the yardstick the child can roll the can to the end of the playing area and stand the can on its end. Demonstrate how this is done. After setting the can upright in the correct order, the team member can run back to the line and give the yardstick to the next person on the team. That person will push the next can of food to the end of the playing area, stand it on its end,

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and return to the playing area. Repeat until all the cans of food are standing upright at the end of the playing area. The winning team is the one that gets all their cans in the correct order first. Say: “What are some things we need? Can we trust God to give us what we need?” Talk about how God meets the needs of people. Repeat the memory verse together. Say a prayer thanking God for providing for the things we need.

Group Learning Activity: “Choose Your Way” (Grades 2-5) Purpose: To help children apply the understanding that God provides love and protection for his children. Preparation: On pieces of construction paper, make game squares using the words under each of the following categories, putting each word on a separate paper:

Procedure: Lay the game squares on the floor, placing each word in a category its own row: a row of people, a row of places, and a row of objects. Volunteer walks or hops across the papers, stepping on one paper from each category. Then using the words he stepped on, the student suggests a situation in which the person might need God’s love and protection. For example, if the child stepped on “Boy,” “Park,” and “Ball” he might say, “A boy at the park kicks a soccer ball and it hits an old man.

Have the class discuss what that person could do, how they might feel in that situation, and how they would want God to help them.

Group Learning Activity: “Explore Bread and Grains” (Grades K-3) Preparation: You will need several bins or jars of different grains such as barley, rice, cornmeal, flour, oatmeal; cups and scoops; magnifying glasses; and a variety of breads. (Be aware of any allergies that your students may have. Do NOT force children to taste the bread.) Procedure: Display the breads and various grains. Invite children to investigate the grains using the magnifying glass. Guide the children to wash their hands. Place the breads on the table in small samples. Encourage the children to taste the different breads. Review the Bible lesson. Say: “The woman Elijah met only had a little flour to make bread. God helped her have enough flour and oil to feed Elijah, herself, and her son. Flour is made of gains like these. Have you ever eaten any of these grains? We use these grains in a lot of our foods. One type of food that uses grain is bread. Let’s

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taste some different kinds of bread. Which one do you like best?” Talk about what the children do and do not like about the breads. Review the memory verse Philippians 4:19 "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus." Apply the verse to the children’s lives. Say a prayer thanking God for providing the things we need.

Group Learning Activity: “Walking Blindness” (Grades 2-5) Preparation: You will need two blindfolds, chairs, tables, desks, stacks of books or other objects to use as an obstacle course. Say: “In this lesson, the prophet Elijah was in the wilderness, all alone, for a long period of time. But, he really was not all alone. The Lord was with him. Sometimes we may feel like we are in a wilderness all alone—we need to remember that the Lord is always with us. This activity will help us to understand a little better what it was like for Elijah.” Procedure: Have your children sit on one side of the room against the wall. Choose two “Elijahs” and blindfold them. In the room you will need to place an “obstacle course.” You can put chairs, tables (or desks), or stacks of books throughout the room on the floor. Some of the other kids can sit with their legs crossed to represent rocks and other kids in groups of three can represent trees. All of these things will be the hazards in the wilderness. Ask the “Elijahs” if they would like to try and walk by themselves across the wilderness. Tell them that there will be rocks, trees, wild animals, etc. in the wilderness. If they would like to try without any help, allow them to. See how well they do. If they are having difficulty, then you can help (only the teacher should give instructions). After a minute or two, allow other children the opportunity to be an “Elijah.” Be sure to move around the course. When you are done, gather the children together. Say: “What it was like going through the wilderness alone? What was it like when you had help? This demonstrates what it is like in our lives. We can try to get through life on our own, but it will be full of obstacles. Or, we can go through life with Jesus who will instruct us on where we should go so that we can stay out of trouble. What book of instruction has God given us for our lives? (The Bible is our instruction book for living.) What promises does God give to us as we walk the journey of life? (He provides for our needs. He loves us and protects us. He gives us guidance and direction and a purpose for living.)

Group Learning Activity: “Elijah Dramatization” (Grades K-5) Preparation: You will need an adult who is willing to present the Bible lesson telling it from the first person point of view. Have the adult dress in Biblical costume. You will also need to make a “rock” prop. You can use a stool covered in brown paper. You will also need a blue plastic table cloth to make the brook. Procedure: Have the Elijah actor use the following script.

Presenter holds the Bible and introduces Elijah: Boys and girls, today we are going to have a special visitor. His name is Elijah and it tells about him right here in the Bible. Elijah was a prophet. That means he told people about God and told them how to follow God’s ways. Wow. (Looking into the Bible.) It says here that once God gave food to Elijah in the most unusual way. He used animals to bring it. Wow. I wonder if you can guess what happened? Well, let’s put on our imagination hats and meet Elijah.

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Elijah comes on stage, sits on the rock, and begins to tell the children his story: Introduction: (Holds up the Bible in a dramatic way.) My name is Elijah and I am a prophet of the living God. I know that there is only one God, I am honored to serve him and to tell people about him. I hope that they, too, will serve and love him. But sometimes, even when I tell my people how wonderful God is, they choose not to love and serve him. Wicked King Ahab: In my country lived a wicked king. His name was King Ahab. He was wicked because he did not love God. Instead, he worshiped false Gods. He worshiped golden calves instead of the true God. He married a very evil queen, Jezebel. He prayed to a stone god named Baal. He taught all the people of my country to worship Baal. How evil and wicked he was. So I told him (shouting), “King Ahab, stop worshiping Baal. Stop worshiping false gods. Serve the only true God and love him only.” What do you think King Ahab did? Do you think he stopped worshiping his gods? No. Instead he laughed at me and said “Get out you silly prophet and take your God with you.” Thirsty, Thirsty Land: Since wicked King Ahab did not follow my warnings, God decided to show him that he was the true God. He can control the rain and the food that grows. God decided to stop sending rain. With no more rain, there was very little water and very little food. The rivers were drying up. It was a thirsty, thirsty land with thirsty, thirsty people. As a matter of fact, I am getting thirsty, thirsty just thinking about it. Maybe you are, too. Can you say with me (using a hoarse voice) “water, water, I need water”? Repeat that after me. (“Water, water, I need water.”) Go to Cherith Brook: God knew what I needed. He knew that I needed water and that I needed to get away from wicked King Ahab. So God spoke to me and told me to go to Cherith Brook. When I arrived, there was a stream of cool refreshing water, all that I needed. (Elijah gets off the step stool and walks to the blue tarp set up as a brook. Elijah stoops down and pretends to drink the water.) My, isn’t that good? Maybe you want to practice drinking the water. Pretend with me. Take your hand and dip it into the brook there by your foot. Take your hand and dip it in the water and drink up. What! The birds feed me? God knew what I needed. He gave me a safe place and cool, refreshing water. But what about food? I was getting hungry. And there seemed to be nothing to eat. Then I saw something coming towards me. First they seemed like small dots in the sky but they were coming closer and closer. Look, I can see them now. There are many of them. They are big black birds called ravens. They are flying straight towards me. They are landing! What are they going to do? Here they are right above me. I hold out my hand and in their beaks are bits of bread and then bits of meat. Eat the bread and meat. I hear the birds calling to me – Kaw, Kaw, Kaw – can you say that? Can you flap your wings and sound like a raven? Kaw, Kaw, Kaw. I see so many birds out there. They come every morning and evening to drop in my hands pieces of bread and meat. Now the birds are flying away. Silent pause. God gives me what I need. I thank God: Elijah whispers. Boys and girls, did you see how God took care of me? He gave me just what I need. He kept me safe from wicked King Ahab. He gave me water to drink and even fed me with birds. I wonder what I should do? Do you think I should worship other gods? No. Do you think I should forget about it and not say anything to God? No. Do you think I should tell him thank you? Of course! GOD GIVES ME WHAT I NEED—I thank God. God gives you what you need. God also gives you just what you need. Have you ever prayed the Lord’s Prayer? Do you remember when we say, “Give us this our daily bread”? That means, “Give us just what we

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need.” What are some of things that you need and that God gives you? How about water? Yes. How about food? Yes. How about family? Yes. And how about what we need most of all. It is the best gift of all. Point to the cross. Who was it that died on the cross so that our sins and all the wrong things we’ve ever done would be forgiven? Who is it that is alive right now? Who is it that can always be our friend and be with us wherever we go? Yes, it’s Jesus. Practice the take home point. You say the first part; the children respond with the second part. *GOD GIVES ME WHAT I NEED—I thank God. End with the following prayer: Have the children repeat after you. Let’s pray and you say the same thing I do. Dear God, Dear God, You give us what we need. You give us what we need. Help us be thankful. Help us be thankful. You give us water. You give us water. You give us food. You give us food. You give us family. You give us family. And you give us Jesus. And you give us Jesus. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you! In Jesus’ name. Amen. In Jesus’ name. Amen. *GOD GIVES ME WHAT I NEED—I thank God.

Group Learning Activity: “Trusting God” Bible Study (Grades 3-5) Purpose: To understand that we are to trust and obey God and that our obedience can also influence others to do what is right. Say: “In this lesson we learned about Elijah and the widow of Zarephath. They trusted God to provide for their needs in the middle of a great famine. Our words and actions can influence or change the behavior of others. Elijah helped the widow to not be afraid by telling her God’s promise to provide. We are going to read some scriptures that teach us to trust God. We will think about how our trust in God can positively affect others to also trust Him.”

Locate Deuteronomy 13:4 in scripture and read aloud. “You must follow the Lord your God and fear Him. You must keep His commands and listen to His voice; you must worship Him and remain faithful to Him." Say: What does this verse tell us to do? (Fear God and worship and obey Him.) Why do you think doing these things is important? (These things please God and help us to stay focused on Him. Otherwise we will begin to put ourselves and other things first. God must be first in our life if we are to be pleasing to Him.)

Locate Psalm 56:3, 4 in scripture and read aloud. “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Say: “When does the writer of these verses say he will trust in God? (He will trust God when He is afraid.) Why can we trust God to take care of us and not worry about what people do to us? (Mortals or people can only hurt the body which will fade away eventually. God however has more strength and lives for an eternity. We can trust Him because He is eternal and never changes.)” Locate Proverbs 3:5, 6 in scripture and read aloud. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Say: “What does it mean to trust in the Lord rather than follow your own understanding? (It means that we will choose to do what God wants even when we don’t understand in our own human way how things are

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going to work out.) Leaning has the sense of putting your weight on something, resting on and trusting in that person or thing. When we have an important decision to make, we sometimes feel that we can’t trust anyone—not even God. But God knows what is best for us. He is a better judge of what we want than even we are! We must trust Him completely in every choice we make. We should not omit careful thinking or belittle our God given ability to reason but we should not trust our own ideas to the exclusion of all others. We must not be wise in our own eyes. We should always be willing to listen to and be corrected by God’s Word and wise counselors. Bring your decisions to God in prayer, use the Bible as your guide, and then follow God’s leading. He will make your paths straight both by guiding and protecting you. How can praying and reading God’s Word help you to remember God in all your actions? (Reading God’s promises in His Word helps us to remember that God always tells the truth and will never leave or forsake us. He loves us and always wants what is best for us.)” Locate Galatians 1:10 in scripture and read aloud. “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Say: “Do you spend your life trying to please everybody? What does Paul say would happen if he was trying to please men? (When we are trying to please people we are probably not pleasing God. Doing our own thing is always in contradiction to God’s way.) When are some times that it is harder to please God than men? (It is harder to please God when others are making fun of us, when others do not understand or want to please God like we do. When this happens we should ask God for strength to obey Him when the people around us do not obey. We should seek God’s approval above anyone else’s.)”

Craft Learning Activity: “Craft Bag Raven” (Grades K-5) Preparation: You will need black craft bags and black and orange construction paper. Print the template patterns below for the tuft, eyes, beak and wings. Procedure: Have students use the printed templates to use as a pattern to cut out the shapes from black and orange construction paper. Use black construction paper for the wings and tuft. Use orange construction paper for the beak and claws. Use white for eyeballs and black for the center of eyes. Assemble your puppet: Glue the feather tuft to the top of the head. Glue the eyes onto the head just under the feathers. If you like, you can use wiggly eyes instead of the paper template pieces. Glue the beak under the eyes. It will likely hang down over a little bit of the body. Make sure you just put glue on top of the beak (where it touches the head) so you don’t end up gluing the mouth shut. Glue the wings into the flap. Glue the feet onto the bottom of the body. Glue the tail onto the back.

Craft Learning Activity: “Raven Clothespins” (Grades K-5) Preparation: You will need for each child the following: one spring type clothespin, a copy of the raven printed on cardstock or traced onto black construction paper; assorted feathers, scissors, glue, and a magnetic strip. Optional: stick on wiggly eyes Say: “We are going to make a craft that will remind us of how God provides for our needs. He has promised to be with us and help us.” Procedure: Distribute the supplies above to each child. Help children cut out and glue the raven to the clothespin so that the snap opening will serve as the raven’s mouth. Allow the students to decorate their ravens with feathers. Attach a magnet strip to the bottom side of each clothespin.

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On a separate piece of construction paper have the children write out the memory verse and insert it into the bird’s beak. Say: “Let’s put the memory verse inside our raven’s mouth. The Word of God is spiritual food for us. God has provided His word to us so we can grow in Him.”

Craft Learning Activity: “Widow’s Bread” (Grades K-5) Preparation: You will need cooking utensils, hot plate or electric frying pan, napkins. Recipe: 1 ½ cups flour, 3 Tablespoons oil, dash of salt, 3 Tablespoons honey, and 3 Tablespoons water. Stir ingredients together. Roll dough into small balls and flatten like tortillas, approximately 3 inches in diameter. Pour a small amount of oil in the pan to prevent sticking. Cook bread over medium heat, turning to brown both sides. Say: “We are going to make some bread like the widow might have made for Elijah and her family.” Procedure: Have students wash hands. Carefully supervise the mixing of the ingredients to make the dough. Teacher or leader should do the flying of the flour tortillas while students observe. Encourage children to review the story and tell why making the bread was an act of obedience for the widow to God’s word through the prophet Elijah. Each student tastes the bread when it has cooled. Optional: You can substitute pancake mix and make pancakes for this activity.

Life Application Challenge: “Overcoming Fear” Journal Say: “In this Bible lesson Elijah asked the widow woman to put aside her fear and trust God that He would provide food. Sometimes we are in scary situations that look hopeless. We can remind ourselves that we have nothing to fear when God is with us.

Hand out pencils/pens and the folders for each child.. Hand out a journaling pages. The children should find a place to sit quietly and think and write in their journals. You may need to help the younger children with their writing. Another option for younger children is to draw a picture about the topic. Grade 1-2: What is one problem that you can trust God with? Grade 3-5: What is one problem or fear that you can entrust to God?

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God Provides for Elijah

Philippians 4:19 "My God shall supply all your need according

to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus."

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“Raven Finds Elijah” Maze

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Raven Craft

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Paper Bag Crow Puppet

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Unit 12: Elijah and Elisha OT12.1 God Provides for Elijah...Unit 12: Elijah and Elisha OT12.1 God...

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Transcript of Unit 12: Elijah and Elisha OT12.1 God Provides for Elijah...Unit 12: Elijah and Elisha OT12.1 God...