[Narrator reading title] (gentle music plays)
So, part of God's story is about a guy named Elijah, and it goes like this:
Elijah's job was to talk to God (bell dings)
and tell God's special family, the Israelites, what God said.
So, he was called a prophet. (bell dings again)
Unfortunately, the rulers of Israel were King Ahab and his wife, Jezebel.
They were the most wicked leaders Israel had ever had,
and they didn't care what God had to say.
They made Elijah's job really hard, but just wait until you see what God did for him.
See, Ahab and Jezebel worshiped Baal instead of God.
Baal was a false god, an idol.
Kids, an idol is anything that gets the attention we should be giving God.
Money, stuff, or even people can be idols.
And when Ahab and Jezebel worshiped Baal,
they turned a lot of God's family away from God too. (popping sounds)
But here's the thing,
God wants all of our worship and love, and he totally deserves it.
So, God sent Elijah to tell Ahab and Jezebel
that it wasn't gonna rain for a while. (buzzer)
There wouldn't even be dew. (buzzer sounds again)
That means crops wouldn't grow.
So the Israelites would run out of food, then they would think Baal was angry,
and they'd blame Ahab.
When the King heard Elijah's message, he was furious.
He wanted to kill Elijah. (low hum)
So, God told Elijah to go hide in the wilderness,
and just like he had said, there was no rain. (footsteps)
In fact, for three more years it was dry. (bell dings)
But Ahab and Jezebel kept right on worshiping Baal and asking him for rain.
Of course, that didn't work. So, they stayed mad at Elijah too. (low hum)
They actually killed as many of God's prophets as they could find,
but all that time, God kept Elijah safe,
and Elijah kept telling people to believe in the real God.
A few did.
Like a widow, (boing and bell ding) who saw God do miracles through Elijah,
but most kept worshiping Baal with Ahab and Jezebel.
Finally, in the third year of drought,
(ding, ding, ding) God told Elijah to go talk to Ahab again.
This time, Elijah challenged the king to a contest.
It would show who was real, Baal or God.
Ahab brought 450 prophets of Baal to meet Elijah at a place called Mount Carmel.
They built an altar to worship Baal, and Elijah built an altar to worship God.
They both prayed for fire, and then waited to see whose god brought it first.
And since Baal was a false god,
(thunderclap and burning crackle) you can probably guess who won.
Yep, God!
In fact, he sent so much fire,
it burned up Elijah's altar and everything around it!
After that, Elijah prayed for rain, and God sent it. (raindrops)
It seems like maybe Ahab and Jezebel would follow God after that, right?
But they only got more angry. (pop)
Jezebel sent Elijah a message that she was gonna kill him.
So, Elijah ran away again. (running footsteps)
This time, because he was scared.
Even though God had kept him safe for years,
he wanted to quit being a prophet. (footsteps)
He didn't think anybody listened to him anyway.
He laid under a tree and said, "I have had enough, Lord."
Then he went to sleep. (snores)
God must have understood how Elijah felt,
because guess what he did.
First, He sent an angel to cook Elijah some bread.
Then God let Elijah see him. (Bing)
Elijah talked to God a lot, but he'd never seen him!
While Elijah was waiting for God, he saw a windstorm (wind rushing),
then an earthquake (rumbling), then a fire pass him by (flames crackle),
but God wasn't in any of those.
Then, he heard a gentle whisper. (pop and ding)
[Narrator whispers] There was God.
Elijah had spent his life obeying God, even though people wanted to kill him for it.
But, guess what. Ahab and Jezebel never could kill Elijah.
Actually, Elijah didn't die. Not even of old age.
Instead, God sent a chariot of fire,
and Elijah rode it right up to heaven. (woosh and flames crackle)
We don't know exactly how that happened,
but it did.
God didn't make Elijah's job easier, (fire crackling continues)
but he did take care of him, (gentle music continues)
and in the end, Elijah got to be with his God, (fire crackling continues)
the real God, in heaven.
And that's the story of Elijah.
So, in case you missed it, here's the quick version, (upbeat music)
Elijah was a prophet.
Ahab and Jezebel worshiped idols.
Elijah gave them messages from God.
They got mad.
God told Elijah to run away.
Elijah proved God is real.
Jezebel got mad.
Elijah ran away.
He wanted to quit.
God was gentle with him.
Ahab and Jezebel couldn't kill Elijah.
God took Elijah to heaven in a chariot of fire.
And that's a part of God's Story. (thunderclap and fire crackle)
(music fades)