The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 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
wavv praacherl

Copyright, 1904 by ]. NJ. Edson.)
LESSON TEXT.
q Kings H:l-1s: Memory Verses. 10. h)
1. And Elijah the Tishbite. who was of the
Inhabitants of Gilead. said unto Ahab, As
the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom
J. 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,
8 Get thee hence. and turn thee east
ward, and hide thyself by the brook Che
nth, that is before Jordan.
& And 1t shall be that thou shalt drink
OF the brook; and have commanded the
ravens to feed thee there.
s. So he went and did according unto the
word Of the Lord: for he went and dwelt
oy the brook Cherith. that is before Jordan.
8. And the ravens brought him bread
and flesh in the morning, and bread and
hesh in the evening: and he drank OF the
brook
2. 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 zarephath. which be-
longeth TO Zidon, and dwell there: behold.
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
ering of sticks: and he called to her. and
said. Fetch me. l pray thee little water
In vessel, that 1 may drink
| II. And as she was going to fetch 1t. he
called to her. and said. Bring me. pray
| thee. morsel of bread in thine hand.
| L. And she said. AS the Lord thy God
liveth, 1 have not Cake. but an handful OF
meal In a barrel. and little oil in a cruise:
and, behold. 1 am gathering two sticks.
that may go in and dress 1t for me and
my son. that We may eat IL, and die
| L. 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.
II. 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.
Is. 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.".
ii Peter So.
| TIME.-Ahab reigned from sis 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
lprophesy for a period OF ls to Is years.
| PLACES.-Samaria, Ahab's capital; the
brook Cherith, a small stream emptying
Into the Jordan from the east; Zarephath. a
Itown between Tyre and Sidon.
| INTRODUCTORY NOTE-The wicked
Queen Jezebel had gained complete ascend
ency over Ahab. and Phoenician idolatry
was rapidly displacing the worship OF the
true God when Elijah makes his public
protest and pronounces the Divine judg-
ment of long drought
comparing Scripture with Scripture.
FAITHFUL Elijah was
ln A Man of Prayer (Jas. 5:17-1s). and
hence A Prepared Man. He learned
Gods will and he received Gods mes
sage and the answer to his prayer. q
John 5:14-15.) Jesus remarkable min.
/ istry was marked by much prayer. whole
nights being thus spent. One reason
why Christians are often so lily preparef
to deliver Gods message is because they
have failed to wait before God in prayer
to learn His will and His message.
(2) A Man Full of Faith.-"Accordint
Ito my word" that is Gods word as re
lvealed by God to Elijah.-Matt. 1920.
(3) A Fearless Mantle faced th'
wicked king boldly. and spoke his un
5 welcome message.-Acts 1929; Matt
3 1923; Josh. 1:s.
(D A Plain-Spoken Man.-Withou
? decentralization or fiowery introduction
lElijah went right to the heart Of hi
= message, and he declared "the who'll
lcounsel of God" (Acts 20:27) A
witnesses for God there is solemn obli
CATION hsre.-Ezek. 1878.
(5) An Obedient Man.-Protectiol
,, and food depended upon prompt obedi
! ence. Had Elijah delayed departure 70
I the brook Cherith, he might have per
Iished with the prophets slain by Jezebel
q Had he failed to go promptly to Zareph
l ath he might have missed the widoy
0 at the gate. Do you realize how mucl
a our safety and welfare depend upol
: prompt obedience to God?-Jer. 42:6.
A FAITHFUL GOD.-Q) In punish
, lment Of sin. Drought was the promises
punishment for national idolatry.-Se
' lDeut. 11:16-17; 1928. These years.
.
Il ly the duration Of this drought
(2) In Care Of His Servants.-What
b comfort the 23d Psalm must hav
4 lbeen to Elijah Elijah was protected
q psalm 1920; Bat. Elijah was fed. Tn
+ lraven was an unclean bird, and yet uH
lder Divine dispensation 1t became tn
/. holy instrument of ministering to tn
Ineeds of Gods servant. Faith, humil
ity and submission made Elijah obedien
: to the Divine will. How this shoul
q teach us to receive at Gods hands Hi
8 provision for us. whatever that may be
: 'The Brook Dried Up."-Here wa
e announcement to faith, in that Eliza
o saw that Gods word was being fulfilled
. and also a fresh test of faith in tina
Elijah saw his water supply giving out
II the prophet had been like man
3 Christians he would have been a nery
n Gus wreck from worrying ere the las
< drop had been drunk.-Phil. 4:6, z. 10.
THE GOLDEN TEXT.
He careth for you" % For the sir
: full and disobedient? Yes. The faithfl
Shepherd is out on the mountainside {
sin seeking the lost sheep. God follow
u us by affiiction and seeks to draw U
f back to Himself. BY drought and famin
= God was caring for Ahab and Israel.
: was the care of disciplining love. e
2 For the obedient and faithful? All, ho'
tender and faithful and constant is God
care of His obedient children. tn
Cheriths and the Zarephaths lie in th
u pathway where God leads. He caret
l q L. hA - In
@ love.