I spent the last week speaking at a children's holiday camp called Lemmings. We were looking at some of the stories of Elijah and Elisha. Here's the reduced version I wrote with my friend Miriam for the final night.
God calls a chosen people – Israel
He tells them his name Yahweh, I AM
They want a king like the other nations
It all starts with Saul
Then David
Then Solomon
Then Rehoboam
Then Jeroboam
Then Nadab
Then Baasha
Then Elah
Then Zimiri
Then Omri
Until we get to Ahab – a new champion of evil!
So God sends Elijah to tell him
That drought is coming, no more rain!
Elijah is a voice standing out in a world of echoes
He is fed by ravens in the wilderness
And then the stream dries up
So God sends him to a widow in Zapraeth
She has almost nothing left
But in her giving, God provides more
And more and more
Things take a turn for the worse
As her son gets ills and then his breathing stops
Elijah calls on God
For whom nothing is impossible
And breath returns to the boy
Three years go by without a drop of rain
and Elijah tells Ahab to bring the people to Mount Carmel
It’s Yahweh versus Baal, who is really God?
The prophets of Baal dance and shout
And nothing happens, not a flicker
Elijah takes his turn
Having made it all ten times harder
As water is poured not once but three times onto the altar
He prays that Yahweh will show himself to be God
And
Fire comes
Burning strongly, all-consuming
The people of Israel cry
Yahweh is God!
Then Elijah prays again
A cloud appears, and then another
And it rains and rains and rains
When Jezebel hears, King Ahab’s wife
She is furious and lets it be known she wants Elijah dead
He’s on the run for his life
Worn-out and wanting it all to end
He collapses under a lonely tree
He is woken by angels who tell him to eat
Not once but twice
And then he’s on the move again
To the mountain of God
Where God is not in the wind, the earthquake or fire
But found in the sheer silence
God is there in the midst of troubles
Every rock-bottom
For God doesn’t grow weary or faint
he’s there in every moment morning and night
He picks up Elijah and tells him to go
Giving him new help in Elisha
Elijah and Elisha become a good team
Doing God’s work together
But then comes the time for Elijah to go to heaven
Just before, he goes to Bethel, Jericho and Jordan, the river
And Elisha wont let him out of his sight
Hanging on to every last moment
In a whirlwind Elijah goes
Leaving only his cloak
Elisha stands watching
And then rips up his cloak because he’s so sad
He then picks up Elijah’s cloak
And its like the baton has been passed
The spirit of Elijah lives in Elisha
There’s a general called Naaman
Proud and important
But covered in leprosy, he’s desperate to be healed
When nothing else works
A servant girl says what about Elisha, the prophet from Israel?
When Naaman arrives at the house of Elisha
The prophet stays indoors and sends out a message
To wash seven times in the Jordan
Naaman is furious with the lack of face-to-face
And the instruction to wash in a river, and the Jordan to boot!
But he’s finally convinced by his servant who helps him see sense
After he washed, seven times in all
His skin is healed and so is his heart
The disease of his soul is cured
Thanks be to Yahweh, the God of miracles
Who is there
In
Every
Situation
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