The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1885-08-13
The Sunday Schools.
LESSON FOR NEXT SUNDAY.
LESSON VII. The Prophet of the Lord.
l Kings is. 30-46.

fNlnSS 10. 0U-46.
~ And Elijah said unto all the people, Come
near unto me. And all the people came near
unto him. And he repaired the altar of the
Lord that was broken down
81 And Elijah took twelve stones, according
to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob,
unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying,
Israel shall be thy name:
80 And with the stones he built an altar in
the name of the Lord: and he made trench
measures of seed.
80 And he put the wood in order, and cut the
| bullock in pieces, and laid him the wood,
and said Fill four barrels with water and pour
| it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.
| 81 And he said. Do it the second time. And
| they did it the second time. And he said, Do
| it the third time And they did it the third
| time.
| 35 And the water ran round about the altar;
and he filled the trench also with water.
36 And it came to pass at the time of the Of
| fering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the
| prophet came near, and said, Lord God OF Abra-
ham, Isaac, and of Israel let it be known this
day that thou art God in Isral, and that l am
| thy servant, and that have done all these
at thy word.
81 Hear me, o Lord, hear me, that this people
may know that thou art the Lord God, and
that thou hast turned their heart back again.
| So Then the fire of the Lord fell, and con-
| sumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and
the dust, and licked up the water that was in
| the trench.
| 80 And when all the people it, they fell
| on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is
| the God; the Lord, he is the God.
40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the pro-
phets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And
they took them: and Elijah brought them
| down to the brook Kishon, and slew them
there.
Al And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up,
| eat and drink; for there is sound of album
dance of rain.
| 40 So Ahab went up to eat and 10 drink. And
Elijah went up to the top of Carmel and he
cast himself down upon the earth, and put his
face between his knees,
| 43 And said 10 his servant, Go up now, look
toward the sea. And he went up, and looked,
and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go
| again seven times.
"A And it came to pass at the seventh time,
that he said, Behold, there ariseth little cloud
out of the sea, like mans hand. And he said,
| Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and
get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.
| 45 And it came to pass in the meanwhile,
| that the heaven was black with clouds and
| wind, and there was great rain. And Ahab
| rode, and went to Jezreel.
| 46 And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah.
and he girded up his loins, and ran before
| Ahab 10 the entrance of JeZreel.
GOLDEN TEXT.-The Lord, he is the God; the
| Lord, he is the God. 1 Kings IS. SO.
| TIME.-B. C. 907, Immediately following the
last lesson.
| PLACES.-1 Mount Carmel; 2 The Brook or
| River Kishon, north of Carmel; Jezreel, at
| the foot of Mount Gilboa.
Elijah had proposed fair test to the
disciples of Baal, the plain offering up of
a petition, and the waiting for an answer.
In the light of gospel, as well as ordinary
intelligence as prevailing at this time, it
may reasonably be inferred that, while
Elijah's faith was of that kind which fully
expected the answer the answer to his
petition, the disciples of Baal went into
the test with some shadow of misgiving,
which rapidly increased as the test pro-
ceeded.
Why might not their God answer pray
er as well as the God of Elijah? There
was an equal chance, in the strange test,
to say the least. But the prayer went up
to Baal, the fire would not come, and the
cause began to look gloomy. The faith
full became utterly exhausted in their
efforts, and were compelled to abandon
the test. Then came the test of the true
Christianity. Elijah gathered twelve
stones, and made an altar, placing thereon
wood, which he drenched with water.
Upon this wet material he placed the
| slaughtered bullock, then offered up a
petition to the throne of Grace Imme-
diately the fire fell, consuming the pile.
The people fell upon their faces and ac-
knowleged the power of the Lord as the
true God. Then Elijah had the false
prophets seized and taken to the brook
Kishon, and slew them. Then came the
petition of Elijah for rain upon the earth,
and the answer in abundance. Thus
Elijah started new reform, and the
cause of Baal fell. The Prophet then
ran with Ahab to Jezreel, in order that
he might be near to assist Ahab in the
work of reform, and the worship of the
true God The lesson furnishes a strik-
ing illustration of the fullness of faith of
the true Christian, and its ready answer
from the Throne of Grace, and the agon-
izing failure of those who worship false
Gods.