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Elijah is Taken Away

n the last Lesson, we saw that Elijah wasa prophet whom God used to perform a

number of amazing miracles. He was God’smessenger warning the nation of Israel ofHis punishment for their rebellion and idol-atry. This commission brought him beforethe evil king Ahab and his equally wickedwife, Jezebel.

He told them that a three-and-a-half yeardrought would befall Israel—and it hap-pened!

Elijah later confronted 450 prophets ofBaal in a public showdown. It gave theIsraelites dramatic proof that Elijah servedthe true God, and that Baal was a false,imaginary god, invented by deceived men.After this event, the false prophets wereexecuted.

Jezebel’s Vow

When Ahab told Jezebel that the prophets ofher pagan religion had been killed, she wasfurious. She sent the following message toElijah: “Within the next day, I am going tomake sure that you are dead like those

prophets. If I fail, let the gods end my life!”She then began plotting to turn her wordsinto reality.

When Elijah heard that the Queen ofIsrael had placed a death sentence on hishead, he was stunned—and began to feeloverwhelmed. His head was spinning as hethought, “Jezebel is the second-most pow-erful person in this nation. She has govern-ment officials and an army at her beck andcall. How will I escape?”

Although he had seen God performmiracles—and many of these miracles wereperformed through him!—Elijah allowedhimself to become discouraged. He letdoubts about God’s purpose for him creepinto his mind. Fill in the blanks in the fol-lowing verse to find out what he asked Godwhile he was in this state of mind: “He__________ that he might ___ , and said, Itis enough! Now, LORD, ______ ______ _________ ; for I am no better than my fathers”(I Kings 19:4).

Elijah was so downcast that he wantedGod to end his life! He saw that, despite allhis hard work and his warnings, the nation

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Elijah is Taken Away

1 Children’s Bible LessonIllustrations by Paula Rondeau

of Israel would not repent of idolatry (wor-shiping false gods). He also felt terriblylonely, carrying out his mission on his ownwith no one to help him. After making thismisguided request to God, he lay downunder a juniper tree and fell asleep,exhausted.

God knew that Elijah needed extrastrength and encouragement. So He sent anangel to help him. The angel touchedElijah, who stirred awake. “Arise and eat!”said the ministering spirit. Elijah saw afreshly baked loaf of bread sitting next tohim, along with a container full of fresh,cold water. He ate some of the bread anddrank some water, and then fell asleepagain. The angel touched him again, andtold him to finish the bread, since he wouldsoon set out on a long journey. Elijah ate,and began walking.

Elijah at Mt. Horeb

Miraculously, Elijah was able to travel 40days and 40 nights straight without eatinganother meal (I Kings 19:8)! He walkedall the way to Mt. Horeb, also called Mt.Sinai. This was the mountain from which,many years before, God had given the TenCommandments to Israel through Moses.Elijah saw a cave near the foot of themountain and went inside. God thenasked him, “What are you doing here,Elijah?”

The prophet answered, “I have beenvery zealous for You: for the children ofIsrael have broken your covenant, torndown your altars, and killed your prophets

with the sword. I alone am left; and theyseek to take my life” (vs. 10).

God told him to leave the cave and standon the mountain. A wind began to blow,becoming increasingly stronger. It becameso fierce that it tore huge pieces of rockfrom the face of the mountain. When thewind stopped, an earthquake shook theground. Then a roaring fire made its wayacross the mountain!

After this incredible display, Elijahheard a still small voice, like a whisper.God was showing Elijah that He has infi-nite power, and has perfect control overevents. Again He asked Elijah, “What areyou doing here?” Elijah gave the sameweary answer as before.

God told him that he had three veryimportant tasks to carry out. Read I Kings19:15-16 and list these tasks below:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Then God gave Elijah wonderful news,“I have reserved 7,000 Israelites, all whoseknees have not bowed to Baal, and everymouth that has not kissed him.” He was notalone after all!

God sometimes allows us to go throughdifficult times in order to make us stronger.He also wants to know whether we willstand loyally with Him, alone if necessary.However, He will never forsake us as longas we do not turn our backs on Him. Evenwhen we think we are defeated, God canstill win our battles for us!

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3 Children’s Bible Lesson

Elijah’s Student

Elijah left Mt. Sinai, his spirits having beenlifted, determined to carry out the commis-sion before him. He found Elisha plowing afield with a team of 12 yoke of oxen. Elijahput his mantle (coat) on the younger man’sshoulders, a gesture that symbolized Elishacoming under, and sharing, Elijah’s author-ity.

Elisha asked Elijah for permission to saygoodbye to his family, which Elijah granted.He then slaughtered a pair of oxen and usedthe wood in his plow to start a fire. Aftersharing a farewell meal with his relatives,Elisha joined Elijah.

Samaria Under Siege

At this time, the army of Syria, led by KingBenhadad, swept into Israel and surroundedSamaria, the capital. The Syrian army com-pletely cut off Israel’s supply line, causingtheir food to become scarcer and scarcer.No one was allowed to leave the city. Thefuture looked bleak for Ahab and the rest ofthe Israelites.

Benhadad assumed Samaria would soongive up, so he sent men to Ahab to collecttribute of gold and silver. Ahab reluctantlygave in to the Syrian king’s terms. Butwhen Benhadad found out Ahab hadagreed, he wanted more. “I will send my______ to you ________ about this time,and they shall search your _____ and the______ of your servants. And it shall be,that whatever is _______ in your ____,

they will put in their _____ and ____ it” (IKings 20:6). Benhadad wanted everythingin the city.

This was too much for Ahab, so he senta message to Benhadad that Israel wouldnot agree to these new conditions.

This infuriated the king of Syria, and hetold his men to get ready to attack. He wentback to his tent in celebration, assumingthey would have a quick victory over Israel.

While the Syrian army was preparing toattack, God sent a man to Ahab. “I carry amessage from God,” the prophet said.“‘Have you seen how big Syria’s army is?Watch, I will help you defeat them! You willsee that I am God!’”

After the prophet left, Ahab gathered atiny army of 7,000 men and 232 princes.They ran out of the city and attacked theSyrians with all of their strength, knowingthat God was with them. That day, the out-numbered Israelites quickly defeated thelarge army of Syrians, gaining a huge victo-ry with the help of God.

After escaping on horseback, Benhadadwas very angry that he had lost. He did notrealize that it was God who had helped theIsraelites defeat the Syrian army. His ser-vants told him that the reason Israel hadwon was because their gods were gods ofthe hills. “They are stronger in the hills,”they said to the king. “We must get them tofight in the plain where they are weak.” Thissounded like a good explanation toBenhadad. He began to prepare his army foranother invasion. So once again, the Syriansattacked the land of Israel, and Ahab and hisarmy went out to meet them.

Before this battle, God told Ahab that hewould once again overcome the Syrianarmy. Write out I Kings 20:28. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Israelites were victorious, just as Godhad promised. But after Ahab capturedBenhadad, he made a big mistake. He letBenhadad go free and made a truce with him.God told Ahab that because he had done this,Ahab would eventually lose his life alongwith the lives of many of his people.

To the Israelites, Ahab seemed like afearless leader and a great king. He hadtwice defeated king Benhadad’s largearmies with much smaller ones. But Ahabknew that God had given him those victo-ries, and there is no evidence that he wasthankful or gave God any credit for them.

Even with God’s miraculous interven-tion, Ahab, along with his evil wife, Jezebel,continually rebelled against and disobeyedGod. Only once in awhile did Ahab recog-nize God, and it never lasted long.

Naboth’s Vineyard

Now there was a man named Naboth wholived next to Ahab’s palace. Naboth had abeautiful vineyard. One day, Ahab noticedit, and thought to himself, “This would be aperfect addition to my garden.”

So Ahab offered Naboth a large sum ofmoney for the land, but Naboth rejected it.Ahab persisted, and asked him, “What if Itraded an even better part of my garden foryour vineyard?” Fill in the blanks withNaboth’s answer found in I Kings 21:3.“But Naboth said to Ahab, ‘The ___ forbidthat I should ____ the ______ of my _____to you!’” Ahab knew he was not going tosucceed in forcing Naboth to sell him theinherited land, so he went home, lay on hisbed and fasted in self-pity.

By coveting Naboth’s land, Ahab wasdirectly breaking the Tenth Commandment,which says, “You shall not covet” (Exodus20:17). When Jezebel saw that Ahab wasnot eating, she asked him what was wrong.Ahab explained the whole situation.

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Jezebel told him that she would take careof everything. “You are the king! Get up,eat, and do not worry. You will haveNaboth’s vineyard soon!” she promised.

So Jezebel sent letters to the offi-cials of Naboth’s city, stamped with theking’s name, and sealed with his seal.She commanded everyone to declare afast and to bring Naboth before theentire city.

She had them bring out two men,false witnesses, who would lie againstNaboth before all the people. Theyaccused him, saying, “This man blas-phemed against God and the king!” Thelaw states that blasphemers are to be

stoned, so the Israelites took Naboth outsideof the city and stoned him to death.

Jezebel was proud of herself when shetold Ahab what she had done. “Naboth istaken care of. His vineyard is all yours!” (IKings 21:15).

Ahab went to see for himself, and sureenough, the vineyard was his for the taking.But God was very upset with Ahab for let-ting Jezebel cause the death of an innocentman, so He sent Elijah the prophet to con-front Ahab.

Elijah carried a special message forAhab from God. “Look, because of whatyou have done, in making Israel sin, andangering Me, I will bring evil on you andyour family.”

Ahab was also told by Elijah thatbecause of what he had done, after he died,dogs would lick up his blood just likeNaboth’s.

Elijah also prophesied about Ahab’s wifeJezebel: “She will also die and be eaten bydogs near the wall of Jezreel.”

When Ahab heard this, he ripped up hisclothes and refused to eat. He was sorry for

what he had done, but this did not cause himto change his behavior permanently. God, inHis mercy, did not let his children die untilafter Ahab had died. This was because Ahabhumbled himself before God.

True or False?

Write T on the line if the statement is true,or write an F if the statement is false.

___1. Ahab was the king of Israel, andBenhadad was the king of Syria.___2. God helped the Syrians overcome theIsraelites twice in battle.___3. Ahab was thankful to God for givingthe Israelites the victory over the Syrians.___4. Benhadad’s wife, Jezebel, had aninnocent man killed for his vineyard.___5. Because of Ahab’s sin, God sent theprophet Elisha to him.

IIssrraaeell aanndd JJuuddaahh AAllllyy

During the time that Ahab was ruling overIsrael, Jehoshaphat was over Judah. Partlybecause Jehoshaphat was a good king, whoput his faith in God, Judah did not drift fromGod as far as Israel did.

Ahab asked the king of Judah to come tohis palace court for a party. At the party,Ahab talked Jehoshaphat into forming analliance with him against their enemy Syria.Ahab wanted to capture the Syrian city ofRamoth-Gilead. He knew that, with Judah’shelp, they could take it.

But before they went out to fight, Ahabasked the false prophets of Jezebel whether

they would conquer the Syrians. “You willcertainly defeat them in battle. Do not fear!”they all said in unison.

Ahab is Warned by God

But Jehoshaphat wanted to know for sure,so he sent for a prophet of God. Ahab calledMicah, one of the last true prophets alive,and he came before the kings of Israel andJudah. Micah had something different tosay about the coming battle. On the linesbelow, write out Micah’s prophecy from IKings 22:17. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Micah also prophesied that Ahab wouldbe slain at the battle of Ramoth-Gilead.Micah’s prophecy made Ahab very angry,so he had the prophet thrown in jail andonly given bread and water.

Despite God’s warning, Ahab went outto fight against the army of Syria. So thatthe enemy would not recognize him, Ahabdressed up as a regular soldier, and rode hischariot into battle.

Benhadad, the king of Syria, ordered histop men to hunt down and kill Ahab. “Onlyworry about Ahab, find him and kill him,” theking told them. But because Ahab was dis-guised, Benhadad’s men could not find him.Randomly, one of the Syrian archers drew hisbow back and shot a single arrow into the air.

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This same arrow hit between Ahab’s armorand wounded him. Later that day, aroundsunset, Ahab died from the wound.

Ahab was brought back to Samaria, thecapital of Israel, and laid near a pool ofwater. This water was near the place whereNaboth had been stoned. When the deadking’s servants cleaned the blood fromAhab’s chariot and breastplate, dogs cameby and licked up the blood. This was anexact fulfillment of the prophecy that Elijahmade, that dogs would some day lickAhab’s blood for his disobedience to God.God keeps His word, even to the exactdetail!

Ahaziah’s Short Reign

After Ahab’s death, his son Ahaziah ruledover Israel for two years. Although onlyking for a short time, Ahaziah followed hisfather’s evil ways and angered God by wor-shiping Baal.

One day, while walking in his upperchamber, he fell down to the lower level and

was injured. Ahaziah was not sure if hewould recover from this serious wound, sohe sent men to ask his pagan idol,Baalzebub, if he would get better.

Elijah went out to meet the messengersbecause God had informed him whatAhaziah had done. Elijah said, “Is itbecause there is no God in Israel that youare going to ask of Baalzebub, the god ofEkron?” Elijah had a message from God forAhaziah, and told Ahaziah’s men to tell theking that he would die because he did nottrust in God.

The men told the king everything thatElijah had said to them. After they were fin-ished, Ahaziah asked them, “What did helook like?”

They answered and said, “He was anextremely hairy man. He wore a robe tied atthe waist by a leather belt.” Ahaziah imme-diately realized that this man was noneother than Elijah the prophet.

“Go, and bring this man to me,” he com-manded. After searching for Elijah, theleader of a 50-man group of soldiers foundhim on a large hill and ordered him to gowith them.

God wanted to prove to them that Elijahwas His servant. So He sent fire down fromheaven and quickly killed all 51 of theking’s men! After hearing about this,Ahaziah sent another band of 51 men toretrieve Elijah. Fill in the blanks from IIKings 1:12 with what happened afterAhaziah sent the next group of men. “SoElijah answered and said to them, ‘If I am a____ of ____, let ___ come down from_____ and _____ you and your ____ men.’

And the ____ of ____ came down fromheaven and _______ him and his ____.”

The king was very stubborn so he sent athird group of men to Elijah. This time, anangel of God appeared to Elijah and toldhim to go back with them to see Ahaziah.Once Elijah came before the king, he toldhim that he would die from his wounds.Ahaziah never left his bed.

God Takes Elijah Away

One day, Elijah and Elisha were travelingfrom Jericho to the Jordan River. When theyarrived at the banks of the river, Elijah tookoff his coat and hit the water with it.

Immediately, the waters parted, and theywalked across the river to the other shore.

Elisha knew that he would soon takeover Elijah’s job, and that God had otherplans for Elijah.

In the following lines, write downElisha’s last request to Elijah from II Kings2:9. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Elijah answered him by saying, “If yousee me, as I am being taken away, what youasked for will be given to you. If you do notsee me, it will not be granted to you.”

Elijah and Elisha continued on their waywhen, suddenly, a chariot of fire pulled byhorses of fire came before them. They head-ed straight toward Elijah, separating himfrom Elisha. In a split-second, the chariotand horses took Elijah with them, and heascended into the sky in a whirlwind.

When this incredible display was over,Elisha picked up Elijah’s coat from theground. This special coat was a symbol ofElijah’s authority as a prophet of God. Nowthat Elijah was gone, Elisha would hold thisoffice, to represent God to Israel.

Elisha went back to the bank of theJordan River and struck it with Elijah’s

coat. As it hit, the waters parted so he wasable to cross the dry riverbed.

Some of the young men saw the miracleand quickly realized that God was nowusing Elisha to do His Work. These youngmen were being taught God’s way of life byHis true servants, the prophets. They askedElisha what had happened to Elijah, and heanswered, saying, “God took Elijah to a dif-ferent area in a chariot of fire; in a greatwhirlwind.” They asked Elisha if theyshould look for Elijah, to make sure he wasokay. Elisha wisely answered them that itwould be pointless. Elisha had faith thatGod was with Elijah. But this answer didnot please the young men, so he let themsearch.

After searching three whole days, theyouth were not able to find Elijah, so theyreturned to Jericho.

The “Elijah” to Come

Elijah was specially chosen by God, as aprophet to Israel, to be His tool in witness-ing to a nation that had turned their backs onGod to serve idols.

Hundreds of years later, recorded in theNew Testament, we see another prophetwhom God used, named John the Baptist.He came in the spirit and power of Elijah tomake way for Jesus Christ’s first coming.On the following lines, write out Luke 1:17._______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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After preparing the way for Christ, Johnwas put in jail by the time Christ’s ministryhad begun. Fill in the blanks from Matthew17:10-11 about Christ’s prophecy of yetanother “Elijah” who was to come. “AndHis disciples asked Him, saying, ‘Why thendo the _____ say that _____ must ____first?’ Jesus answered and said to them,‘Indeed, _____ iscoming ____ andwill _____ all_____.’”

John was a typeof the coming“Elijah.” This manwould be sent byGod in the spirit andpower of Elijah tobring a message justbefore Christ’sSecond Coming toreign on earth. Readabout this man inMalachi 4:5-6 andjust how important his coming would be.God said that if He did not send this man,He would destroy the entire earth!

This prophesied Elijah to come wouldpave the way for Christ’s Second Coming,just as John the Baptist prepared the way forHis first coming. This second fulfillment ofthe Elijah was prophesied to “restore allthings,” referring to the restoration of God’s

government in the Church, Christ’s truegospel, and many teachings of the Bible thathad been lost over centuries.

Herbert W. Armstrong fulfilled theseprophecies during his 52-year ministry,which began in 1934 and continued until hisdeath in 1986. Using the latest technology,he brought Christ’s gospel message of thekingdom of God to the world with the mem-bership of the Worldwide Church of Godfaithfully supporting him.

Mr. Armstrong announced the goodnews of God’s coming kingdom to many

world leaders andtook the gospel tothe nations throughradio, television andprint.

The RestoredChurch of God con-tinues the patternestablished throughHerbert W.Armstrong in carry-ing out the Work ofGod through manybooks and booklets,The BibleIntroduction Course,

The REAL TRUTH, The PILLAR, AMBAS-SADOR YOUTH magazines, THE WORLDTO COME audio program, and many othertools. Hundreds of items are all available onthe Internet, and are a crucial part in preach-ing the gospel to the nations. They help toteach and train both young and old in prepa-ration for the soon-coming kingdom of God!

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BIBLE MEMORY: Matthew 17:11-12; Malachi 4:5-6

Published by The Restored Church of God.Printed in the USA; All Rights ReservedCopyright © 2006

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MATCHING

___1. Ahab

___2. John the Baptist

___3. Elijah

___4. Jehoshaphat

___5. Elisha

___6. Jezebel

___7. Ahaziah

___8. Naboth

___9. Herbert W.Armstrong

___10. Benhadad

___11. Micah

A. The Syrian King who invaded Israel

B. The man chosen by God to prepare the way for Christ’s firstcoming

C. Elijah’s successor

D. The king of Israel who was married to Jezebel

E. The man who was killed for not selling his vineyard

F. The prophet who was put in prison by Ahab for giving truthfulprophesies

G. The evil queen of Israel, married to King Ahab

H. Ahab’s son who died from wounds caused by a fall

I. A powerful prophet of God to ancient Israel

J. The prophesied second fulfillment of the “Elijah” who carriedout God’s Work in the 20th Century

K. A king of Judah who allied with Ahab

Match the names on the left with their descriptions on the right by placing the correct letterin the numbered blanks.

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