Thu Mar 5

Listen up, little ones

Especially for the littles in your household.

Listen for the words afraid and ran.

Reading

1 Kings 19:1-3—Running for His Life

Keys for kids

Also for the littles. Young households might choose, after Keys for Kids, to go directly to praise and prayer.

Elijah had a great victory over the prophets of Baal.
Just a little bit later, Elijah ran for his life.
He ran because Jezebel was determined to kill him.

Questions

(Some read the ?s before the notes/ ask them after.)

Why was Elijah afraid?
Why was Jezebel determined to kill him?
What can we do when we are afraid?

Notes

(See Saturday for authors. Today’s notes are from a commentary on 1 Kings by Roger Ellsworth)

How swiftly things can change for the saint of God! For sixteen miles Elijah ran in triumph before Ahab’s chariot. The next thing we know, he is running again. This time there is no triumph but only fear. The author says the prophet ‘ran for his life’ (19:3). Little fear would have caused Elijah to have fled only a short distance. But his was not little fear, so he ran and ran and ran. Elijah ran from Jezreel, situated in the centre of Israel, all the way into the neighbouring kingdom of Judah. He was not even content to get out of Israel. Once in Judah he continued his journey to Beersheba, which was at the southernmost edge of the kingdom and 130 miles from Jezreel. …

What was it that caused Elijah to shift so abruptly from running in triumph to running in fear? It was none other than the wicked Jezebel. When Ahab reported to her the day’s events and the execution of her prophets, she flew into a rage and swore to kill Elijah (19:1–2). … Elijah ran from Jezebel because he desperately wanted the struggle with Baal to be over, and Jezebel’s response made it clear that it was not. Not only was the struggle not over; the outcome of it must now have seemed to the prophet to be in doubt.

The story of Elijah would be sad indeed if it ended with the prophet running in terror from Jezebel, but God would not let it end in such a way.

We’ll keep reading tomorrow.

Swedish Method questions

See the Sunday notes for meaning of the symbols.

Praise

Psalm 10b, 65d

Prayer

If you’re afraid, ask the Lord to help you trust in Him.
Pray for the preparation for preaching God’s Word this Lord's Day.
Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.