Monday 29 September 2014

Elijah

Elijah


Elijah . . . 

A godly prophet overcomes evil as he refuses to worship an idol.

The crowd was still and hushed as the words of the great prophet Elijah thundered down from Mount Carmel: “How long will you go back and forth between two opinions?  If the Lord be God, follow him!  If Baal be god, then follow him and be done with it!”  This unforgettable story relives those fateful days when the faith of ancient Israel hung in the balance, and challenges us to consider our faith as well.

How long will you go back and forth between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him! If Baal be god, then follow him and be done with it! – The Prophet Elijah [1 Kings 18:21, NIV]

Elijah, whose name means "God is Lord," was an Old Testament prophet during the time of King Ahab. Elijah the prophet was commanded to tell the King and Queen of Israel that their land would experience a severe drought because they had encouraged the worship of Baal and killed the prophets of Yahweh.
Main Characters:

Elijah, Caleb, Ahab, Queen Jezebel, the Widow and her son, the Prophets of Baal

Scriptural References:
I Kings 17:1-22, I Kings 18:1-40

Overall Theme:
In Elijah we see the ancient Israelites faced with the ultimate decision: Will they follow false gods and idols, or will they accept the power, wisdom and mercy of the one true living God? Their future, and the future of what has become our faith, hangs in the balance.

Elijah - Animated Story from The Bible. Mp4 DOWNLOAD

Summary:
Forced to flee for his life from Queen Jezebel and King Ahab afterwarning about the drought, Elijah was led by God to the home of a widowin Zarephath. This widow prepared her last meal and offered it toElijah, despite the fact that she had a son to feed. However, becauseshe trusted in the words of the prophet, her supply of flour and oilnever diminished.
When challenged by the prophets of Baal, Elijah proved that theyworshiped a false god. After dousing his altar with buckets of water,he asked God to accept his sacrifice. Result? Fire fell from the sky,igniting the drenched sacrifice! Those who witnessed the fireimmediately began worshipping Elijah’s God, the one, true God ofIsrael.

Ahab, a great King of the Israelites, has fallen under the spell of Jezebel, a daughter of the King of the Sidonians. He has rejected the Israelites’ God and embraced Jezebel’s religion: the worship of the idol Baal. At Jezebel’s command, Ahab has ordered the execution of the prophets of Israel, replacing them with Baal’s false prophets. But one man, Elijah, filled with power of the true God, directly challenges Ahab and Jezebel.

God commands Elijah to escape to the desert in the East, where God provides water and food from Heaven for His Prophet. Elijah longs to return to Israel, to save his people. But he is obedient to God.

Then God commands Elijah to go and show himself to Ahab. Elijah tells Ahab to gather the prophets of Baal and meet him on Mount Carmel, where sacrifices are to be placed on two altars.   Elijah challenges Ahab to call onto his God as Elijah calls on his. The god that answers first will then be proven to be the true God.

The prophets of Baal cry out in vain to their idol. When Elijah prays humbly to God, God sends down fire, accepting Elijah’s offering. The people, realizing at last that there is only one true God, kill the prophets of Baal, and God sends the rains again, ending His people’s despair.

Background:
Elijah gave Baal every opportunity to win, He allowed Baal’s prophets the first attempt at calling down fire. The fire that poured from Heaven consumed Elijah’s offering and proved that God alone merits His peoples’ worship.

Although we no longer contend with the prophets of Baal, we wrestle against other temptations competing for our allegiance. Like Elijah, we must resist such idols, trusting only the living God to watch over us.

Elijah - Animated Story from The Bible. Mp4 DOWNLOAD

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