The Tupelo journal., 1904-08-05
THE SUNDAY BIBLE SCHOOL
Lesson in the International Series
for August Z, 19O4-"God TAX
ing Care of Elijah"
prepared by the Highway and By
way" Preacher.)
Copyright, 1904, by j. M. Edson.)
LESSON TEXT

" ttS ~ StiAc Ap> -
1. And Elijah the Tishbite. who was of the
inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab. AS
the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom
l stand, there shall not be dew nor rain
these years, but according to my word.
2. And the word of the Lord came unto
him, saying,
3. Get thee hence, and turn thee east
ward, and hide thyself by the brook Che
rith, that is before Jordan.
4. And it shall be that thou shal drink
Of the brook; and | have commanded the
ravens to feed thee there.
5. So he went and did according unto the
word Of the Lord; for he went and dwelt
by the brook Cherith. that is before JORDAN.
6. And the ravens brought him bread
and flesh in the morning, and bread and
flesh in the evening; and he frank OF the
brook.
Z. And it came to pass after awhile that
the brook dried up. because there had been
no rain in the land.
s. And the word of the Lord came unto
him. saying,
8. Arise, get thee to Z%arephath. which be-
longeth TO Zidon, and dwell there: behold,
l have commanded a widow woman to sus-
tain thee.
10. So he arose ana went to Zarephath.
And when he came to the gate of the city,
behold, the widow woman was there gath
SAihb VI oliNhS. anu III diICG L hSi oiu
said, Fetch me, l pray thee, a little water
In a vessel, that l may drink.
II. And as she was going to fetch it. he
called to her, and said. Bring me-, l pray
thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.
II. Ana she said, AS the Lord thy GOD
liveth, | have not IL cake, but an handful or
meal in Il barrel, and a little oil in a cruise:
and. behold, i am gathering two sticks,
that l may go in and dress it for me and
my Snn thar wa ms v nnf il and die
Is. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not;
go and do as thou hast said: but make me
thereof a little cake first, and bring 1t
unto me, and after make for thee and for
thy son.
IA. For thus saith the Lord God Of Is
rael, The barrel of meal shall not waste,
neither shall the cruise of oil fail, until the
day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the
earth.
10. And she went and did according to
the saying of Elijah, and she and he, and
her house, did eat many days.
16. And the barrel of meal wasted not,
neither did the cruise of oil fail, according TO
the word of the Lord, which he spake by
Elijah.
THE LESSON includes all of the seven
teenth chapter, giving the closing incidents
in the life of the widow and her son. There
is no parallel in Chronicles.
GOLDEN TEXT:-''He careth for YOU"
Il Peter 81.
TIME.-Ahab reigned from 9S TO SS7 B. c..
and Elijah, in the opinion of Sir George
Grove. began his mission in Israel in the
tenth year OF Ahab. and continued to
prophesy for a period of 10 10 Is years
PLACES-Samaria. Ahab's capital: the
brook Cherith. "A small stream emptylng
into the Jordan from the east; Zarephath. a
town betw cen Tyre and Sidon.
INTRODUCTORY NOTE.-The wicked
Queen Jezcbel had gained complete ascend
ency over Ahab, and Phoenician idolatry
WAS rapidly displacing the worship OF the
true GOO. when Elijah makes his public
protest and p~ronounces the Divine ]ucS-
ment of a long drought
Comparing Scripture with Scripture.
AFAITHFUL WITNESS.-"Elijah was
m A Man of Prayer GAS. 5:17-1S), and
hence A Prepared Man. He learned
Gods will and he received GODS mes
sage and the answer to his prayer. Il
John 5:14-15.) Jesus remarkable min
istry was marked by much prayer, whole
nights being thus spent. One reason
h Christians are often SO lily prepared
to deliver Gods message is because they
have failed to wait before God in prayer
10 learn His will and His message.
(2) A Man Full of Faith.-"Accordlng
IN nv word" that is Gods word as re-
vaaIed bv God to Elijah.-Matt. 1920.
az A Fearless Mantle faced the
wicked king boldly, and spoke his I'M
welcome message.-Acts 4:29; Matt.
TO- %; Josh. 1:9.
MIL, Cn0Ian Man -WjthOnt
cfrcumlocution or 1owery introduction,
Elijah went right to the heart of his
MESSAGE. and he declared the whole
counsel of God" (Acts 20:27.) AS
witnesses for God there is solemn obi
cation here.-Ezek. 33:7-9.
(5) An Obedient Man.-Protection
and food depended upon prompt obedi-
ence. Had Elijah delayed departure for
the brook Cherith, he might have per-
ished with the prophets slain by Jezebel.
Had he failed to go promptly to Zareph-
ath he might have missed the widow
at the gate. Do you realize how much
our safety and welfare depend upon
prompt obedience to God?-Jer. 1875.
A FAl1 f1F Oh boD' III PuiASA
ment of sin. Drought was the promised
punishment for national idolatry.-See
Deut. 11:16-17; 1928. These years"
Luke 4:25 and James SIT, fixes definite
" the duration of this drought.
(2) In Care of His Servants.-What a
comfort the 23d Psalm must have
been to Elijah. Elijah was protected,
Psalm 1920; BAT. Elijah vas fed. The
raven was an unclean bird, and yet un-
der Divine dispensation it became the
holy instrument of ministering to the
needs of Gods servant. Faith, humll-
itv and submission made Elijah obedient
to the Divine will. How this should
teach us to receive at Gods hands His
provision for us, whatever that may be
'The Brook Dried Up."-Here was
encouragement to faith, in that Elijah
saw that Gods word was being fulfilled
n also a fresh test of faith in that
Elijah saw his water supply giving out
If the prophet had been like many
Christians he would have been a nerv-
Gus wreck from worrying ere the last
drop had peer drunk.-Phil. 4:6, 7, 10.
THE GOLDEN TEXT.
"He careth for you" % For the sin.
full and ~disobedient? Yes. The faithful.
Shepherd is out on the mountainside Of
sin seeking the lost sheep. God follows
us by affection and seeks to draw III
back to Himself. By drought and famine
God was caring for Ahab and Israel. Il
- 70,