MAY: GOD SPOKE THROUGH PROPHETS WHEN KINGS MISSED THE MARK
GOD SPEAKS THROUGH US!
Concept:
The people begged God for a king, and finally God relented - but gave a lot of warnings about what all could go wrong when a human was given that kind of power. God was right, of course - the kings were constantly missing the mark. Only three kings - Saul, David and Solomon - ruled the whole land. After Solomon’s death, the kingdom divided, into a Northern Kingdom (Israel) and a Southern Kingdom (Judah). Each kingdom had their own king from then on. The kings weren’t often very good at listening to God, and God stuck with the people by calling prophets. The prophets were people who spoke the truth, even when it was hard, and reminded the people of what it meant to worship God. Elijah was a prophet in Israel in the time of King Ahab. Ahab and his wife, Jezebel, worshiped the god Baal. Elijah had a lot of conflict with them, and in this month’s story, a woman helped him when he had to hide from King Ahab. Even when powerful leaders are leading people away from God and making life really hard for people, God is working through prophets and ordinary people to bring hope and shalom.
The people begged God for a king, and finally God relented - but gave a lot of warnings about what all could go wrong when a human was given that kind of power. God was right, of course - the kings were constantly missing the mark. Only three kings - Saul, David and Solomon - ruled the whole land. After Solomon’s death, the kingdom divided, into a Northern Kingdom (Israel) and a Southern Kingdom (Judah). Each kingdom had their own king from then on. The kings weren’t often very good at listening to God, and God stuck with the people by calling prophets. The prophets were people who spoke the truth, even when it was hard, and reminded the people of what it meant to worship God. Elijah was a prophet in Israel in the time of King Ahab. Ahab and his wife, Jezebel, worshiped the god Baal. Elijah had a lot of conflict with them, and in this month’s story, a woman helped him when he had to hide from King Ahab. Even when powerful leaders are leading people away from God and making life really hard for people, God is working through prophets and ordinary people to bring hope and shalom.
Pray It:
God, sometimes powerful people do some harm in this world. Guide us to be like Elijah and the woman, ordinary people who bring your shalom. Amen.
God, sometimes powerful people do some harm in this world. Guide us to be like Elijah and the woman, ordinary people who bring your shalom. Amen.
Do It:
- Make Miracle Bread. This is an approximation of what the bread the woman made for Elijah and her son would have been like. She probably used something more similar to sourdough for her leavening, but yeast is easier for most of us to find and work with! This recipe comes from onlycrumbsremain.com
- Mix together 2 ½ cups all purpose flour and ½ tsp salt.
- Add 3 Tbsp olive oil and 200 ml water. Mix the flour and liquid together to form a smooth, slightly sticky dough. If the dough is very sticky, mix in a little more flour.
- Cover the bowl and let it rest for 30 minutes
- Divide the dough into 4 equal-sized pieces and roll each one out on a floured surface until it is about the size of the base of your frying pan.
- Heat the pan and lightly oil and when the pan is very hot place a flatbread in the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes. When you see the bread start to bubble up and that the underside is beginning to brown, flip it over and cook the other side until golden.
- Repeat with the other breads, lightly greasing the pan as needed between cooking each flatbread. (Photo by Nancy Hann on Unsplash)
- God called the woman in this story and worked through her to bring shalom. Pray together and ask God to lead you and show you where God might be calling you to bring shalom. Here are some ideas that God might nudge you toward:
- Noticing people who are lonely and inviting them to be part of your lives.
- Giving shelter to people who need a temporary home.
- Providing food for people who are hungry or who simply need some comfort or to know people care.
- Planting a pollinator garden.
- Adopting an animal that has been abandoned to a shelter.
- Picking up trash in a public park.
- Throwing a party and inviting all your neighbors to it - including all the ones you don’t know.
- For older children and parents: A few interesting tidbits for exploring the story more:
- Elijah hides in Zaraphath, which is in Phoenicia. That’s not in Israel - in fact, it’s where Jezebel came from and is right in the heart of where people worshipped Baal. And yet - this woman in Zaraphath is part of God sticking with the people and bringing hope. Tell stories of times when you’ve noticed God working through outsiders. Tell stories of when you’ve been offered hospitality when you’re away from home.
- Baal is the god of weather. The consequence God sends when King Ahab and Jezebel lead the people in worship of Baal is a drought. Pretty ironic! Tell stories about when you experienced this kind of a perfect consequence.
- God created, and it was good.
- God called a family to be a blessing to all the earth.
- God saved the people and they became a shalom community.
- God's steadfast love showed the people the way in a new land.
- God spoke through prophets when kings missed the mark.
Explore It: Notes from Tami
This world isn’t always a peaceful positive place! Our children sense it and feel it - and often don’t know how to respond to it. They may feel unsafe or insecure. We can help them feel secure and help them have confidence to reach out to others in shalom.
This world isn’t always a peaceful positive place! Our children sense it and feel it - and often don’t know how to respond to it. They may feel unsafe or insecure. We can help them feel secure and help them have confidence to reach out to others in shalom.
