3 May (1 Kings 18)

1st Kings 18

(v.19) This is the great scene where Elijah stacks up the only true God, with 850 pagan priests and their gods! God loves those odds!

(v.21) Elijah tells the people to make a choice...either follow God, or the pagan gods of this world. We are all faced with that decision, and even daily, we can follow God in our actions, or Satan and his worldly lusts.

(v.27) This is a case where God lets Elijah mock the priests. I teach my kids that our worldly gods will fade and fail us, but the true living God, Jesus, will always be with us!

(v.31) Here we see Hebrew numerology again...Elijah uses 12 stones, which symbolizes the 12 sons of Jacob. We also know them as the 12 Tribes of Israel. I remind my kids that if we do our worship according to things in the Bible, God is more likely to hear and bless us.

(v.34) Elijah uses another powerful number in Hebrew culture...the number 3 means redemption. I remind my kids that Jesus spent three days in the grave, and redeemed us when He rose again!

(v.36) Here we see that God told Elijah to do all this, and God blessed Elijah for his courage and faith.

(v.44) We learn another good lesson here...keep praying! God's timing is not our timing, so we should keep praying for things that we ask of Him. Also, Elijah uses another important number in Hebrew culture...the number seven means completion. If you read in Revelation, the number seven is all over the place, mainly because that book completes God's work. Also, God rested on the seventh day in His creation...it was complete!