1 Kings 12–13; 17–22: Lesson 81

1 Kings 17

“She Went and Did According to the Saying of Elijah”

Our loving Father in Heaven and His son, Jesus Christ, often give us opportunities to exercise faith in Them amid life’s difficulties. In the middle of a drought, the prophet Elijah asked a widow in Zarephath to give him the last of her food. As the widow acted in faith, the Lord promised her great blessings. Like the widow, we can demonstrate our faith in God by following His prophets. This lesson can help students act with greater faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ by following the words of prophets.

Student preparation: Invite students to identify something the Lord has invited us to do through His prophet and a promise He has given if we do it. Invite students to come to class ready to share.

Possible Learning Activities

Prophetic invitations

To help students see how Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ provide guidance to us through Their prophets, you could display the following activity. Consider including the current prophet and an invitation he has recently given. Alternatively, students could name several prophets (including the current prophet) and list at least one invitation the Lord has given us through each prophet.

Match the prophets with an invitation the Lord gave to their people:

Brother of Jared Moses Lehi Brigham Young

Leave Jerusalem and depart into the wilderness. Journey to the Rocky Mountains. Build barges to cross the ocean to the promised land. Walk through the Red Sea on dry ground.

Answers: 1–C (see Ether 2:16; 6:4, 12); 2–D (see Exodus 14:21–22); 3–A (see 1 Nephi 2:1–2); 4–B (see Doctrine and Covenants 136:1). You might invite students to ponder whether they would have followed this prophetic direction if they were alive in the days of those prophets.

Invite students to reflect on their responses to the living prophet’s invitations by doing the following.

On a scale of 1–10, how you would rate yourself on each of the following statements:

• I believe the Lord speaks through prophets.

• I am familiar with what the Lord is teaching through His prophets today.

• I am following the Lord’s teachings that are given through His prophets.

As you study 1 Kings 17, pay attention to thoughts and insights from the Holy Ghost. Think about how your study today can affect your feelings about these statements.

Elijah and the widow of Zarephath

The following two paragraphs could be read or summarized.

Because of wickedness, the kingdom of Israel was divided into two kingdoms: Israel and Judah (see 1 Kings 11–12). During the reign of wicked King Ahab, the Lord sent His prophet Elijah to the people of Israel.

Using the power of God, Elijah prevented rain from coming upon the land, which resulted in years of drought. The Lord provided for Elijah’s needs, instructing him to hide by a brook of water where ravens fed him (see 1 Kings 17:1–6).

One way students can feel the power of what they read in the scriptures is to imagine themselves in similar situations.

Invite students to read the following verses and answer the questions through the viewpoint of Elijah or the widow. Be sure to explain that one way the Savior communicates His words to us is through His prophets and that Elijah’s words in this account came from the Lord.

Students could be placed in pairs, with each partner reading the story through a different viewpoint. Students could then use the accompanying questions to interview their partner about what they learned from their viewpoint.

Alternatively, you might watch “Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath,” available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org, from time code 4:09 to 10:06, and follow along in the verses.

Read 1 Kings 17:8–16.

• How did Elijah or the widow show faith in Jesus Christ?

• How was the Lord’s promise fulfilled?

• How can both Elijah and the widow be symbolic of Jesus Christ?

  Invite students to share their answers. One of the ways Elijah may remind students of Jesus Christ is by inviting the widow to follow what he said to be saved. He also promised her that food would be multiplied (1 Kings 17:14–16), like the Savior promised for others (see Matthew 14:15–21). One of the ways the widow may remind students of Jesus Christ is by the way she was willing to sacrifice all she had, like the Savior did.

  Ask what lessons students learned from this account. They may share various principles. If they do not mention the following truth, be sure to add it: Acting in faith on the Savior’s words brings His promised blessings. This includes the Savior’s words through His prophets.

• What can make it difficult to act in faith on the Savior’s teachings?

• What do you know about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that can help you act in faith?

The Savior’s words through His prophets

Invite students to share where the Lord’s words given through His prophets can be found. In addition to scriptures and general conference, students may share places such as Liahona and For the Strength of Youth magazines, For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices, and social media.

Invite students to use any of these sources to complete the following activity. Consider displaying the instructions and giving students a specific amount of time to study.

1. Draw two columns in your study journal. Draw a loaf of bread to represent the widow’s cake in the left column and a cruse of oil and barrel of meal (see 1 Kings 17:12, 16) in the right column.

   

2. Label the left column What Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ Ask. Label the right column Their Promised Blessings.

3. In the left column, make a list of things Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are asking us to do through Their prophets. In the right column, list the promised blessings of obeying Their words.

It may be helpful to provide an example for students. You could offer “living the Word of Wisdom” for the left column. Students could then read Doctrine and Covenants 89:18–21 for the blessings the Lord promises. Alternatively, you could share a recent example from the prophet’s words in general conference.

Invite students to share what they wrote in their columns in small groups. Ensure that each student has an opportunity to share at least one thing from each column. Groups could then discuss the following question.

• How have you seen the blessings of exercising faith in the Lord’s words given through His prophets?

Consider inviting students to share examples from their life of when they have seen blessings from following prophetic counsel. As part of this discussion, you might show “That Night My Family Had Sufficient” (1:47) or “Fathers and Sons” (5:42), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Plan to follow God’s prophets

Encourage students to seek the help of the Holy Ghost as they do the following activity.

1. In the left column, write down or circle something the Lord is asking you to do through His prophets that you feel He would like you to focus on.

2. In the right column, write down or circle how the Lord has promised to bless you if you follow His counsel.

3. Reflect on what you wrote or circled, then write your plan to be obedient to what the Lord has asked you to do through His prophet.

Invite students to find a way to remember what they plan to do. For example, students could take a picture of their response and use it as wallpaper on their phone. Students will have an opportunity to follow up and report on their plan in Lesson 96: “Assess Your Learning 6.”

Consider concluding class by testifying that students will come closer to Jesus Christ through their efforts to follow His prophet.

Additional Resources

Who is Elijah?

Guide to the Scriptures provides more information about Elijah and the significance of the sealing power he held in ancient times and continues to hold in modern times.

What if what I have to give doesn’t feel like it is enough?

Sister Michelle D. Craig, formerly of the Young Women General Presidency, explained:

You and I can give what we have to Christ, and He will multiply our efforts. What you have to offer is more than enough—even with your human frailties and weaknesses—if you rely on the grace of God. (“Divine Discontent,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 54)

How will the Lord bless me as I faithfully follow His prophet?

Elder Randall K. Bennett of the Seventy taught:

I promise that if you will act with faith in your Heavenly Father and His plan—His great plan of happiness—and if you will act with faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement and follow God’s prophets, you will be given power to do whatever the Lord needs you to do and to become whatever He needs you to become, in spite of your circumstances. (“Prophetic Invitations and Promised Blessings,” [Brigham Young University devotional, Mar. 19, 2019], 1, speeches.byu.edu)

Does God continue to ask hard things of His people?

President Russell M. Nelson taught:

God has always asked His covenant children to do difficult things. Because you are covenant-keeping sons and daughters of God living in the latter part of these latter days, the Lord will ask you to do difficult things. You can count on it. …

You will be asked to accept challenging assignments and become an instrument in the Lord’s hands. And He will enable you to accomplish the impossible. (“Becoming True Millennials” [worldwide devotional for young adults, Jan. 10, 2016], Gospel Library)

Supplemental Learning Activities

1 Kings 17:17–24. Elijah raises the widow’s son from the dead

Students may benefit from seeing another example of the faith of the widow of Zarephath in 1 Kings 17. You could invite students to read 1 Kings 17:17 to see what happened to the widow’s son. You might discuss the following:

• Why might this seem surprising to the widow?

• What would you recommend the widow do?

Students could then read 1 Kings 17:19–23 to see how the widow responded to the situation.

• What can we learn from this story?

You could help students see the reality of challenges in our lives even when we faithfully respond to the prophet’s words.

Read 1 Kings 17:24, looking for the testimony the widow bore after this experience.

• How has your faith in Jesus Christ been strengthened by challenges?

Two kingdoms

The events of 1 Kings 17 will be the first scriptural events students will study in seminary that occurred after the kingdom of Israel was divided in 1 Kings 11–12. The following overview may help students understand the context of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

To begin this discussion, you could display the following time line and ask students to identify where King Solomon is.

A student could then read or summarize the following paragraph.

Although Solomon began as a righteous follower of the Lord, he eventually chose to disobey the Lord’s commandments. As a result of his disobedience, the Lord told Solomon that the kingdom of Israel would be taken from him and given to his servant Jeroboam. Jeroboam’s kingdom would become known as the kingdom of Israel, Ephraim, or the northern kingdom. Solomon’s son Rehoboam would become king over the remaining two tribes. Rehoboam’s kingdom would become known as the kingdom of Judah, or southern kingdom (see 1 Kings 11:10–13, 26–40; 12:16–20).

Using the time line, students could then identify the two kingdoms and the prophets who preached in those kingdoms and explain what would eventually happen to each kingdom.

For more about the kingdom of Judah see the following paragraph found in “Judah” in Guide to the Scriptures.

For more about the kingdom of Israel see “Israel, Kingdom of” in the Bible Dictionary.