Elijah was a prophet. A prophet is someone who has met God, and can carry messages back and forth between God and people.

Elijah was very mysterious. No one knew where he came from. And, he had many strange powers that God gave to him. Because he was faithful to the Lord, he used these powers to teach the people about the works of God.

During that time, Israel was ruled by a wicked king named Ahab. Ahab did not believe in God. He and his people worshiped a false god called Baal. They believed that Baal controlled the weather. Baal brought rain or sunshine, and they prayed to Baal for good weather.

Elijah went to King Ahab. When he spoke, Elijah was very strong. He said, “Your god is a false god. You must stop worshiping Baal and worship the one true God! Because you are not faithful to God, there will be no rain for 7 years. Your crops will not grow and your animals will starve!”

This made Ahab angry. He did not listen to Elijah’s words. Instead, he told his guards to kill him! But, Elijah escaped from the terrible king. God showed him a place by the Jordan River where he would be safe. Ahab’s men could not find him there.

Just like Elijah said, there was no rain. This is called a drought. During a drought, very little rain falls and plants will not grow. This drought lasted for 7 years, just as Elijah said it would. Elijah stayed hidden at the Jordan River, and the angry Ahab kept searching for him. Meanwhile, the people of Israel starved.

After the 7 years, God said to Elijah, “Now, go and tell the king that the rains will come.” So, Elijah left his safe hiding place and went to the king’s palace. He told the king, “The 7 years of drought have ended and now it will rain. Will you not begin to worship the one true God now?”

“You are a trouble-maker!” Shouted the king.

“No!” Said Elijah. “It is YOU that is a trouble maker. You are hurting the people of Israel by making them worship false gods!”

Elijah had an idea. They would have a test, to see who’s god is the true God. Prophets from all over Israel came to Mount Carmel. There were prophets who worshiped many strange gods, but only Elijah was there for the one true God.

They would have a contest. They put a dead bull on an altar near on the mountain. “Now,” said Elijah. “Ask Baal and your other gods to light the bull on fire!”

The prophets prayed and prayed. They prayed all day, but no fire started. Elijah made fun of them and laughed at them. Still, they prayed with all their might. Some of them grew so tired from praying that they could not go on. Finally, they gave up.

Elijah asked them to pour water over the dead bull. They poured 12 barrels of water onto the bull, until it was soaking wet. Now, Elijah asked God to set the bull on fire and show the people.

As soon as he said it, a great ball of fire fell from the sky. When it struck the bull, it burst into flames. All of the people got down on their knees and prayed to the one true God. The people were shown the right way, and they changed!

From then on, the people of Israel threw away their false gods and worshiped only the one true God. And, that very day it started to rain. It rained and rained, and everyone had enough to eat!

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