1 Kings 17:1-24
1 And Elijaha 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 afterb a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
8 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,
9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath,c 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 sendethd 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 bye Elijah.
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 stretchedf 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.
ELIJAH PROPHESIES A DROUGHT
(vs.1-7)
Ahab was suddenly confronted by a prophet who had never been mentioned before, Elijah the Tishbite, the first prophet of God spoken of as arising from among the ten tribes. He came from Gilead and in God's name announced that for some years there would be neither dew nor rain in Israel until Elijah gave the word. James 5:17 tells us that Elijah had prayed earnestly that it might not rain. Why? Because of the gross evil of Ahab that infected all Israel. Elijah evidently realized it would require drastic measures to turn Israel back to the Lord.
But the prophet himself must suffer on account of the drought, as well as the people. The Lord told him to leave and hide himself by the Brook Cherith. He was not to remain to boast in the fact that his prophecy came true. God knows how to teach the messenger that the messenger is not important, but his message is. He provided for Elijah, however, with water from the brook and food brought by ravens. Israel was in no condition to care for a prophet of God, and God used the unclean birds for this. Ravens, as their name suggests, are ravenous, so that it was a miracle of God that they would bring food to the prophet, both in the morning and the evening. Thus Elijah learned literally not to worry about his life as to what to eat and drink (Matthew 6:25).
Yet Elijah's time there was limited, for the brook dried up because of the drought. God sees fit to change our circumstances that we might learn in various ways our dependence on Him.
CARED FOR BY A WIDOW
(vs.8-16)
The Lord then sent Elijah a long distance from the area of the Jordan River to Zarephath in Sidon, outside the borders of Israel (vs.8-9). Elijah would be puzzled to think that God had commanded a widow in that place to care for him. But this was because of the low spiritual state of Israel. Though there were many widows in Israel at the time (Luke 4:25), yet God sent Elijah outside of Israel to be cared for by a Gentile widow.
When Elijah came to the gate of Zarephath he saw a widow gathering sticks and asked her to get him a drink of water (v.10). She willingly went to get it and he called after her to also bring him a little bread to eat (v.11). But this was too much for the poor woman. She told him she had no bread, but only a little flour and a little oil from which she planned to make a small meal for herself and her son, before expecting to die from famine.
But God was not only caring for Elijah. He also intended to care for the widow and her son. It may sound selfish on Elijah's part that he should tell her to first make him a small cake, and afterward make this for herself and her son. But this was a test of her faith. Elijah is a type of Christ, and if we put Him first, we will have all our needs supplied. Elijah promised the widow that her store of flour would not diminish nor the jar of oil run dry until the day that the Lord would send rain.
Though the widow was a Gentile, she believed the word of an Israelite who spoke in the name of the Lord God of Israel, and her faith was fully rewarded. She and her son and Elijah were all supplied with food for many days. Thus Elijah was kept in seclusion until the Lord later sent him to announce the restoration of rain to Israel.
THE WIDOW'S SON RAISED FROM DEATH
(vs.17-24)
The widow had experienced the grace of God in saving her and her son from a dreadful end. But God had another vitally important lesson to teach her, which could only come through pain and sorrow. Her child became seriously ill and was taken by death (v.17). For some reason she connected his death with Elijah and felt that God was punishing her for her sins. But God was seeking the pure blessing of her soul.
Elijah took the boy and laid him on his own bed. Then he prayed earnestly to the Lord and stretched himself on the child three times. Direct contact with the one who had life resulted in life coming back to the child. The three times speaks of resurrection. Thus it is only by direct contact with the Lord Jesus raised from the dead that we find the blessing of resurrection life. The Lord answered the prayer of Elijah and the soul of the child returned. Thus the widow learned that God was able, not only to save from dying, but to restore life after death. Mary and Martha learned this lesson in John 11:1. They had only thought of hoping the Lord would come to them in time to preserve Lazarus from dying. Both of them told the Lord, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died" (John 11:21; John 11:32). But the Lord had a more important lesson to teach them, that He can bring life out of death.
Elijah restored the boy to his mother, saying, "See, your son lives" (v.23). How appropriate was the widow's response, "Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth" (v.24). Similarly, when we have learned that the Lord Jesus has the power of resurrection life, we know He is not only a man of God, but the eternal Son of God, whose resurrection takes from us the fear of death.