Archive for the ‘Baal’ tag
July 4, 2010: God Rains Fire
The text for this lesson is 1 Kings 18
Discussion Points
- God had hidden Elijah for three years, but now God commanded him to appear before Ahab. Why?
- Why was Obadiah afraid to take Elijah to Ahab?
- What did Ahab call Elijah? Why?
- What did Elijah tell Ahab to do?
- Were the prophets of Baal up to the challenge?
- What was Elijah’s prayer?
- Did he pray for fire?
- Which commandment did God’s people break in the story?
- Who or what might be a Baal for people today?
- What is idolatry?
- When do we commit idolatry?
- What does it mean to fear, love, and trust God?
October 11, 2009: Elijah and the Prophets of Baal
The text for this lesson is 1 Kings 18:20–46.
Key Points
- Just as the true God revealed Himself on Mount Carmel’s altar, so on the cross-shaped altar of Mount Calvary, Jesus revealed once and for all that He alone is the real God who loves us enough to die for us.
- God demands that I fear, love, and trust in Him alone, yet I sinfully place my trust elsewhere.
- Jesus proved that He is the true Lord when on the altar of God He offered the sacrifice, Himself, that calls me back from my sin to His forgiving embrace.
Context
For three years, the skies above Israel had been sealed shut; not a raindrop fell on the parched land. This was God’s way of getting His nation’s attention, of throwing a bucket of cold water in His Bride’s sleeping face, so to speak, as she lay sprawled in bed with the false god Baal. Coming out of seclusion, Elijah commanded wicked King Ahab to “gather all Israel to [him] at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table” (1 Kings 18:19). It was time for what the Greeks called a theomachy, a God-fight.
