ELIJAH AND THE WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH

DRAMA WORKSHOP

PASSAGE

Story: 1 Kings 17
Key/Memory Verse: 1 Kings 17:24 (NLT)  "Then the woman told Elijah, 'Now I know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the LORD truly speaks through you.'”

PURPOSE

The children will be divided into groups and use their imaginations and a basket full of props to create skits of the different scenes in this story. They will focus on the characters’ emotions and on the relationship between Elijah, the widow, and God.

Objective(s) for rotation

Lesson Objectives – Participants will be able to:

• Find the story of Elijah in the Old Testament of the Bible.
• Know that Elijah was a prophet of God; that prophets were God's chosen messengers.
• Learn that when we are obedient, God provides.
• Understand that Elijah's time away hiding was a time to strengthen his trust in God, bigger challenges were coming in Elijah's life.
• Contrast Elijah and the woman's view of God at different points in the story. How did Elijah help the widow come to know God? Compare this to our own experiences in helping people to come to know God.

Materials List

• Bibles
• Laundry baskets, 3 -- each with an assortment of props and costume items relating to the three different Scripture passages
• Prop and costume items: have fun providing the kids with imagination-stimulating and odd items such as a crown, newspaper, umbrella, blue towel, bed sheets, a few big feathers or a feather boa, rolling pin, mixing bowl, oil bottle, flour canister, sticks, cups, water bottles, baby blanket, pillows, apron, costume jewelry, sunglasses, wigs, assorted hats, and scarves.
• Markers
• Newsprint pad or whiteboard
  
  

Advance Preparation Requirements

• Three adults (the Workshop Leader and two helpers or Shepherds) need to be prepared to facilitate the three drama “teams.” Touch base with the other adults to make sure they understand the lesson and their part in it.
• Label the three baskets and sort the prop and costume items into them for these three stories:

1 Kings 17:1-9: Elijah, the King, and the Ravens
1 Kings 17: 8-16: Elijah and the Widow Are Fed
1 Kings 17:17-24: Elijah Revives the Widow’s Son

• Write the memory verse on newsprint or whiteboard so all can see it.
• Room setup: You will want to provide the children with lots of space for their dramas. When the children arrive, the chairs should be in one big circle. The three groups can move their chairs into smaller circles at opposite ends of the room. Or better yet, see if one group can work in another space outside the classroom so they don’t distract each other.
• Learn the story to retell in your own words. A sample follows, or find it in a children’s story Bible. Note that it is too long to read the entire Scripture passage.

Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath - SAMPLE RETELLING

Story adapted for retelling by Amy Crane
Adapted from 1 Kings 17, New Revised Standard Version and Today’s English Version
Permission granted to freely distribute and use, provided the source is included.

Long ago, God called a man named Elijah the Tishbite to serve him as a prophet. Elijah was sent with a message for King Ahab, a leader who had given up the one true God in favor of Baal. “The LORD God of Israel says there will be no rain in the land for several years until I say it is time.”

The LORD then sent Elijah east to the Wadi Cherith to hide. “You will find water in the wadi, and I will send the ravens to feed you there,” said the LORD. Elijah went as the LORD commanded, and found water and was fed by birds. But after a while the wadi dried up, for there was no rain in the land.

Then the LORD said, “Go now to Zarephath and live there. I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” Elijah went as the LORD commanded.

When Elijah came to the city gate, he met a widow gathering firewood. He asked her for a drink of water. As she went to get it, he called out, “Bring me a bit of bread, too.”

She replied, “By your God, I have no bread. Only a bit of flour and oil – enough to make one last meal for my son and I. Then we must die.”

Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid. Go and prepare your meal. But first, make a small loaf of bread for me. For the LORD God of Israel has said that the flour jar and the oil jug will not run out until I send rain upon the earth.” So the widow went and did as Elijah said. And she and her household ate for many, many days; and the oil and flour were not used up.

Some time later the widow’s son got sick. So sick that he died. The widow said to Elijah, “Why did you do this to me? You came here and reminded God of my sins, and now my son is dead!”

Elijah took the boy to his room. And he cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, why have you done such a terrible thing to this widow? She has been kind to me, and now her son is dead.” Then he stretched himself over the boy three times and prayed, “O LORD my God, restore this child to life!”

The LORD answered Elijah’s prayer and the life came into the boy again. Elijah took the boy back to his mother and said, “See, your son is alive!”

Then the woman told Elijah, “Now I know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the LORD truly speaks through you.”

TIPS FOR TELLING Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath

Read the story in several translations of the Bible and Bible storybooks to see other ways to tell it. Try to visualize the action, and then describe what you see in your own words. Make sure your retelling includes the memory verse.

This is a dramatic story. Tell it with amazement and excitement. The part about the boy dying should be quiet and solemn, followed by joy at the miracle of life returning to him.

Bring the story to life with your movements and emotions as well as the words. Be stern with the king, watch in amazement as the birds bring food, look at the flour jar and oil jug with wonderment, solemnly carry the dead boy.

If you cannot learn this story by heart, to tell it in your own words, read and reread it until you are very comfortable with it. Then you will be able to look up and make eye contact and interact with your listeners, which will help bring the story to life for them. Consider making your “cheat sheet” copy of the script into a scroll.

For additional information on retelling Bible Stories, see Amy Crane's manual on Biblical Storytelling in the rotation.org RESOURCES:  WORKSHOP DESIGN & TECHNIQUES: STORYTELLING: Biblical Storytelling at https://www.rotation.org/topic/biblical-storytelling

PRESENTATION

Open – Introduction

Open with prayer, such as “Lord, thank you for bringing us together today to hear your Word. Guide us as we dig into your Word. Help us to understand your meaning for each of us today. Amen.”

Explain the purpose of this workshop: Today you will hear the story of the prophet Elijah, a king, some birds, a widow, and her son. Then you will have an opportunity to put together a drama of part of that story.

Go over some background material before reading the Scripture. Make sure the children know what a prophet, wadi, drought, and famine are and understand them in context of this story.

Tell the story: “In a moment we will break into groups and read a small portion of a long story. But first, listen as I retell the story from the Bible.” [Retell the story in your own words, emphasizing that the story comes from the Old Testament in the Bible; holding your Bible while you tell is a reminder to the children that they are hearing God’s Word. A sample retelling is included under Advance Preparation. Make sure your retelling includes the memory verse.]

Review the story.  

Ask: Why did Elijah go to Zarephath? (brook had dried up, God told him to) Say: Elijah trusted God. He was obedient to God. 

Ask: What about the widow, when she first met Elijah do you suppose that she trusted God? Do you suppose she knew who God was? (allow all answers)
Say: As we dig further into our lesson lets think about the woman’s relationship with God. 

Talk about the different characters in the stories. Encourage the children to reflect upon what the characters were feeling and thinking as the story progressed.

Read the memory verse together. Discuss what it means and how it shows a change in attitude towards God on the part of the widow.

Warm-up exercises: Just as athletes, dancers and musicians warm up before doing their activities, actors need to warm up. Let’s exercise our drama muscles -- our imaginations.
Everyone mime:

• Elijah telling the king there will be no rain for several years,
• Elijah getting food from the ravens,
• Elijah drinking from the wadi (stream) and watching it dry up,
• the widow using what she thought were her last bits of oil and flour to make bread for Elijah,
• the widow discovering there is more oil and flour,
• the widow when her son was sick,
• Elijah responding to the news that the widow’s son had died,
• the widow reacting to her son’s being restored to her.

Dig - Main Content

Divide the class into three “teams.” Team One will act out 1 Kings 17:1-9: Elijah, the King, and the Ravens. Team Two will dramatize 1 Kings 17: 8-16: Elijah and the Widow Are Fed. Team Three will depict 1 Kings 17:17-24: Elijah Revives the Widow’s Son. Give each drama team a basket of supplies and instruct them that EVERYTHING in it must be used to act out their portion of the story. How they use the supplies is up to them. The dramas do not need to be long, but they should tell as much of the story that the children have been assigned as possible.

An adult should work with each group. Each group should first sit down and read their assigned Scripture. [If time is short, the adult should retell the appropriate portion of the story, reading key verses from the Bible.] The adults should keep the process and planning moving along and should help negotiate when there is a difference of opinion. Make sure the children don’t leave out a part of the story, but let the kids plan the drama. Remind the children to think about what each character was feeling in each part of the story and show that with their actions and words. Group three needs to include the memory verse in their drama.

After about 10-15 minutes of planning, have each team perform its story for the group. Remind the other groups to watch with the same courtesy they expect when it is their turn to perform.

Reflect - Closure

Say: Let’s check in with how we think our characters view God. 
Ask: What about Elijah? (he is still trusting God) 
Do you suppose that he continues to daily learn about God, that God can be trusted? 
What happened when the widow shared her flour and oil with Elijah? (did not run out)
Do you suppose Elijah was surprised at this event? (allow all answers)
What about the widow, how do you suppose she feels about God? 

Say: The widow gets a daily reminder that she can trust God to provide for her needs. But, the biggest test is yet to come. 
Ask: What happens to her son? (he gets sick & dies)

Ask: How do you suppose Elijah felt when the boy died? (verse 20)
What happened when Elijah cried out to the Lord? (the Lord heard his cry & brought the boy back to life)
What did the widow say about Elijah when her boy was returned to her? (refer to key Bible verse)
How has the widow’s attitude changed towards God?
How do you suppose that Elijah helped the widow come to know God?
Do you suppose he talked to her about God in their daily living?
How is this story like our own experiences in helping people to come to know God?

If time permits, read the memory verse together again. Ask for volunteers to say it from memory. Congratulate all attempts.

Ask for prayer requests and close with prayer.

ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS

You will need to decide how best to adjust the lesson for older and younger students and for shorter class times or smaller classes. Keep the children active and involved in activity. Do what works for you and the children. Some ideas in addition to those included in the lesson plan:

Adaptations - Time is short

Leave out the drama warm-ups.

Limit the props and costume items in the baskets or don’t require that everything be used.
The adult facilitators for each group need to help them stay focused on their portion of Scripture by helping them outline their story and assign parts.

Adaptations - Smaller class size

Each of the three drama “teams” should have at least 3 people. If there are less than 9 people in the class, form only 2 groups and do the first two story segments. Then have the entire class work together on the third skits.

Adaptations - Younger Children

For classes composed primarily of pre-readers, show the children how to find the passage in the Bible and then have them do it. After everyone has found the passage, have them close their Bibles, set them aside, and listen while you read.

Give them more guidance for creating their laundry basket dramas.

Adaptations - Older Children

Have them use their Bibles for some of the lines spoken by the actors and create additional dialog.