1Kings 17 comments

 

1Kings 17:1 ¶  And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. 2  And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, 3  Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 4  And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 5  So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 6  And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. 7  And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.

The great prophet, Elijah, is introduced here. He will not only be translated from the earth without dying, as we will see, but John the Baptist will be said to come in his spirit and power, as a type of Elijah.

Luke 1:17  And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

He was prophesied to do so.

Malachi 4:5  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 6  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

But by the prophecy in Malachi he will return before the Second Advent of Christ, too. First, at the mount of Transfiguration

Matthew 17:1 ¶  And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 2  And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 3  And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.

Then, perhaps, with Moses again in the great tribulation spoken of in Revelation.

Revelation 11:3 ¶  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. 4  These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. 5  And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. 6  These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. 7  And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 8  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9  And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. 10  And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. 11  And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. 12  And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

Strong’s says the site of Elijah’s hometown is unknown but it could have been a town named Tishbe. God tells Elijah to foretell of a drought that God will send on the land. Then, God has Elijah hide himself and here is shown God’s command over the beasts of the forest, that He has ravens feed Elijah. While there are stories about wild animals helping humans they are always in the realm of the unlikely saving from danger. Here is something truly unique, intelligent wild birds doing God’s bidding and feeding a prophet of God.

But then Elijah’s source of fresh water dries up.

1Kings 17:8 ¶  And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, 9  Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. 10  So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. 11  And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. 12  And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. 13  And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. 14  For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. 15  And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. 16  And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

The incident with the widow at Zarephath of the Zidonians, from whence came Jezebel, the wicked queen, could have several significant applications. One of these is God’s attention to small details and seemingly insignificant lives. This unknown woman is remembered in history as the happy recipient of Elijah’s kindness and her faith in obeying the prophet of God’s instructions. Another is that Elijah is doing this miracle in Jezebel’s backyard, so to speak. Also think of the loaves and the fishes in Matthew 14 and be reminded of God’s power over all reality.

1Kings 17:17 ¶  And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. 18  And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? 19  And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. 20  And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? 21  And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again. 22  And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23  And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. 24  And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.

God can bring life out of death and through a person, whether it be a doctor or this prophet. Faith in the face of tragedy and grief is a powerful thing. Acknowledge God’s authority and power seems to be the message here. Have faith in the darkest times. This woman received her child back to life by way of Elijah’s obedience to God and her faith. God acknowledged Elijah’s prayer but then God had always acknowledged Elijah’s prayer, knowing this scene would play itself out as it did. This confirmed the woman’s belief that Elijah was truly a man of God.