No Rain!

TEXT: 1 Kings 17:1-16

Things were not going well in the kingdom of Israel. The people who lived there worshiped idols instead of the true God. That made God very unhappy, so one day He told His prophet, Elijah, to give King Ahab a message.

"There is not going to be any more rain in this land until I say so," Elijah told the king. No rain! Well, you can imagine how King Ahab felt. He knew that without rain the plants would die and there would be no food to eat. It it did not rain, the rivers and brooks and streams would dry up and there would be no water to drink. The animals needed food and water in order to live. And what would happen to the people?

God knew that this message would make King Ahab very angry and he would try to hurt Elijah. But Elijah was not afraid. He knew that God would take care of him. After Elijah delivered the message to the king, God told him to go and hide by a brook called Cherith. It was near the Jordan River.

When Elijah came to the brook he found that he had plenty of water to drink but there was no food. Yet God had told him that the ravens would feed him! Can you imagine that! How could birds feed a man? But Elijah was not worried because he believed God. And sure enough, every morning and night God sent the big, black birds to Elijah with bread and meat.

After a while the brook dried up because there had been no rain in all the land. But God had another plan for Elijah. He sent him to a city called Zarephath. There Elijah was to go to the home of a certain widow lady. God told Elijah that the lady would give him food to eat.

When Elijah arrived at her home he found her outside collecting sticks for a fire. He asked her to please get him a drink of water. As she was going to get the water Elijah also asked her for a piece of bread to eat.

She stopped and told him that she didn't have any bread. All she had was a handful of flour and a tiny bit of oil. That was just enough flour and oil for one little cake. She had planned to prepare that for her son and herself. But Elijah said that if she would prepare some for him first, God would make her little bit of flour and oil last until the rain would come again. Some people might not believe that God could do such a miracle but this lady did. So she shared what she had and God did make the flour and oil last until the rain came again.

God has power to do wonderful things. He will take care of those who trust and obey Him!

PARENT'S CORNER

Emphasize to your child how God used His power to provide for Elijah. Using the letters of the alphabet, play a game of naming things that God has provided for us. For example, the letter M might bring to mind such words as mother, milk, meat, and money.

If your child gets stuck, let him choose a new letter or help him think of things by drawing a clue on a chalkboard. Or he might enjoy drawing a picture of each item he thinks of, and having you guess what it is. With each of your answers you can emphasize God's power and love in providing it for us.