19. The Prophets

What the Story Says

1. Why did King Ahab try to kill the prophet Elijah?

   Ahab was angry with Elijah because Elijah said there would be no rain in the kingdom of Israel. Elijah said this because Ahab and the people of the kingdom of Israel worshiped an idol named Baal (#19-02).

2. How did God provide for Elijah while he hid from Ahab at the stream?

   God sent birds to bring Elijah bread and meat to eat while he hid from Ahab (#19-03).

3. How did God provide for Elijah while he lived with the widow and her son?

   God caused the widow’s jar of flour and bottle of oil to never become empty. For several years, there was always enough food for them to eat even though there was no other food in the land (#19-04).

4. What did Elijah tell the people to decide to do when they came with the prophets of Baal to Mount Carmel?

   Elijah told the people that they should stop changing their mind about God. If Yahweh is God, they should worship him, but if Baal is God, they should worship him instead (#19-06).

5. How did Elijah say the people could tell whether Yahweh or Baal was the true God?

   Elijah and the prophets of Baal would make a sacrifice on an altar. The people would know that the God who responded by sending fire onto the altar was the true God (#19-07).

6. What happened when the prophets of Baal asked Baal to send fire on the altar?

   Nothing happened when they asked Baal to send fire (#19-08).

7. What happened when Elijah asked Yahweh to send fire on the altar?

   Fire fell from the sky and burned up the alter and everything around it (#19-11).

8. How did Elisha heal Naaman of his skin disease?

   Elisha told Naaman to dip himself in the Jordan River seven times. At first, he refused. But then he changed his mind and did what Elisha told him to do. God healed him as soon as he obeyed (#19-14), (#19-15).

9. How did the people try to kill the prophet Jeremiah?

   They put Jeremiah into a dry well and left him there to die. But later, the king sent his servants to pull him out (#19-17).

10. Who did the prophets remind the people that God promised to send to them?

    The prophets reminded them that God would send the Messiah to them (#19-18).

What the Story Means to Us

1. How did the people usually respond to the prophets whom God send to them?

   The people did not believe what the prophets said. Instead, they hated the prophets and often tried to kill them. In spite of this, the prophets continued to speak to the people for God.

2. How did the prophet Elijah survive during the drought and the famine that it caused?

   When there was no rain in the kingdom of Israel, there was also very little food. During that time, God provided food for Elijah in special ways. For a while, he sent birds to bring food to Elijah. Then he caused the food of a poor widow to never end so she could feed Elijah. God took care of Elijah because Elijah obeyed God and spoke God’s messages to the people.

3. Why did Elijah tell the people to poor water on his sacrifice?

   Elijah told the people to pour water on his sacrifice in order to make it harder for it to burn. He wanted the people to know that Yahweh was truly the one who burned up the sacrifice. Therefore, he made the sacrifice so wet that only God could cause it to burn. He knew that nothing was too difficult for God.

4. Why did Naaman not go to the river immediately when Elisha told him to go?

   Perhaps Naaman thought what Elisha told him to do was too simple to cure his disease. At first, he thought he would have to do something more difficult in order to be healed. However, when he did the easy thing Elisha told him to do, he was healed!

5. What did the prophets say the people must do so that God would not destroy them?

   The prophets told the people they just repent. That is, they must change their mind about God and begin to think about him in a different way. They must understand that Yahweh is the true God and stop worshiping other gods. If they did not repent, God would destroy them because they sinned against him.

Summary

God always send prophets to tell the Israelites to worship only him. But the people hated the prophets and refused to listen to them. They served idols instead of Yahweh. They even tried to kill the prophets whom God sent to them. But the prophets continued to speak for God, and God continued to care for his prophets. The prophets warned the people to repent, or God would punish them. Even so, God still promised that he would send the Messiah to them.