The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1915-08-25
SUNDAY SCHOOL NOTES
Side Lights on Next Sundays
Lesson for Teachers and Pupils
Edited by Charles K. Meyers.
August 29-God's Care of e

August 29-God's Care of Elijah
l. Kings II, ZIG.
We have brought before us in. the
lesson OF today one OF the creates,
men of the bible-the prophet Elijah
His career was stirring from first tC
last. He was a star Of the first mag
nitude" in the eyes of all Jews. When
John the Baptist came preaching as
the forerunner of Christ it was said by
many that he was Elijah come to
earth again. Elijah was one of the
men to be seen with Jesus on the
MOupt of TRANSPORTATION. We shall
have a number of lessons with this
man as the important figure, and they
will be of much interest.
At the time of our lesson of today
Ahab was king over the ten northern
tribes. He was fourth removed from
rael to sin, and go off into gross idol
atry. That king was bad enough, but
there seemed yet descending step or
two from him, and Ahab set his foot
on thej last one. His greatest sin or
mistake was in taking to wife one
Jezebel, woman whose name has
come to stand in all history for arch
malignity, cruel cunning, which end
led in utter abandonment to good. with
body thrown in the streets to be eaten
by dogs. Under the influence of his
wife, Ahab gave over the kingdom to
the grossest worship of Baal. With
this went all which pandered to the
baser in men and women and it may
be expected that the king enjoyed a
good time" from the sensual point
OF view.
In the midst OF this awful night of
sin aud falling away from God, there
came flash, like that of fierce light
ming in the heaven. The mighty God
was about to take direct hand in the
affairs of the king and queen and the
idolatrous people Without warning,
that there was such a person in the
world there came bst6re Ahab a full
grown man fIpm the ,desert. country
east 81 the jordan With holiness he
CAS- tAa. ord God sotaIsrael liv-,,.!.55
eth. before swiOm II stand, there 4
shall. not be dew nor rain these
years. but according to my word"
The prophet Elijah had delivered
the message which meant war to the
knife between. the false religion Of
Baal and that OF the true God. The
words said. Elijah dropped out OF the
sight of the king as effectually as If
the earth had Opened and swallowed
him up. While at first Ahab may not
have taken the words of Elijah very
seriously, yet when the time for the
rains came and went and neither dew
nor rains refreshed the parched ground
the situation became desperate, and
the king made the most careful search
for him, even making the people take
oath that Elijah was not in hiding in
their locality.
What was Elijah doing and how was
he kept alive during >the season OF
famine which came after his words?
AS he was Gods man he was provided
for. The record says that he, was di-
rected to hide himself beside GER
tain brook called Cherith, and that
the birds came daily and kept him
in food. 1t must have been a testing
of his faith when the brook began to
go dry and it became evident that it
was to fail to provide the precious
water so necessary for life. Greater
things were soon in store for the
prophet. He was told to take himself
ont of the. country where the Jews
lived, and to d place named Zarephath
and there a widow woman would sus-
tain him. A strange message indeed,
but Elijah Obeyed.
1t would seem that the water famine
into IN oh IN
rephath and when he came there the
people were near extremity for food.
TIL widow woman came to his notice
when he reached the city. He asked
her to bring him water to drink. and
as she turned to get it, added the re-
quest that she also help him with 4
little bread to eat. Alas, the poor
widow She told him that she and
her son were about to eat the last
meal and oil they possessed. and then
expect to starve. She must have be-
come aware from his dress or manner
of speech that he was an fsraelite for
she said in her reply, las the Lord
thy God liveth." Now comes the
great moment of the lesson and for all
time to. come, for that gentle woman
She was told to take the last of her
meal and oil, make a cake first for the
speaker, and rely on his seemingly
impossible of filtilment promise, that
her food supply would not fail until
rain came to the land.
Before this heather woman was
placed situation on which much de-
pended. Should she have faith in the
words of this Israelite stranger, or