CSSA 1-3-06 - ELIJAH THE PROPHET

Language English

56. ELIJAH THE PROPHET

"There shall not be dew nor rain these years but according to my word"

Aim

To show how (rod sent a drought upon the land but cared for Elijah and blessed the widow of Zarephath for her kindness to Elijah.

The northern kingdom of Israel began very badly. As we have seen, the first thing that Jero boam did was to change the true worship of God to idolatry. One wicked king followed another. Before long there was a king on the throne named Ahab, who "did evil in the sight of Yahweh above all that were before him " (1 Kings 16:30). He made God more angry than any other king. Not only did he follow in Jeroboam's sins, but he married a very evil woman € Jezebel, the daughter of the king of the Zidonians.

1 Kings 17

GOD SENDS ELIJAH TO WARN AHAB: 1 Kings 16:31-33; 17:1

Israel had forgotten Yahweh their God. They had forgotten His commandment, which said: "Thou shalt not make thee any graven im age" (Deuteronomy 5:7-8). The wife of Ahab, that wicked woman Jez ebel, had set up altars to her god, Baal, throughout Yahweh's land and encouraged the people to bow down to idols and serve them. King Ahab also made a temple for Baal in Samaria, where he reigned over the ten tribes and worshipped his graven image.

No wonder God was angry. He sent His prophet Elijah to announce to the king that there would be a famine in the land. So Elijah came before the king, dressed in his rough sheepskin cloak tied with a leather girdle (2 Kings 1:8), and cried out for all to hear. "As Yahweh God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word" (17:1). God would punish the people for their sins and give them time to remember their God and repent of their wickedness.

GOD PROVIDES FOR ELIJAH: 1 Kings 17:2-9)

Ahab was very disturbed by this news and Jezebel was angry. They searched everywhere for Elijah (18:10) but God had sent him to the brook Cherith on the other side of Jordan to hide. God told Elijah, "// shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there " (v 4). Every morning and every evening the ravens came, bringing bread and meat to feed the faithful prophet. So God sustained Elijah while Israel suffered from the drought. Soon, however, even the brook Cherith dried up, because there had been no rain. God spoke again to Elijah, saying, "Arise get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman to sustain thee" (v 9).

ELIJAH AND THE WOMAN OF ZAREPHATH: 1 Kings 17:10-16

Zarephath was in Zidon, where Jezebel herself had come from. Yet God had sent Elijah there to care for him. When Elijah came to the gate of the city he saw the widow woman gathering sticks. He called out to her: "Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink" (v 10). As she went to get the water, he said, "Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand" (v 11). In such a time of drought, water and food were scarce, as Elijah knew. The poor widow must have recog nised Elijah, for she turned and said, "As Yahweh 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 " (v 12).

How could this poor widow help Elijah, when she had only enough for one last little meal for herself and her son and then they must die? But Elijah gave her hope and encouraged her to trust in Yahweh the God of Israel, who had sent him to her.

"Fear not, " he said, "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" (v 13). "For thus saith Yahweh, God of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that Yahweh sendeth rain upon the earth" (v 14).

The widow believed Elijah and trusted in the God of Israel. She went and did as Elijah said. From that time on her flour and oil never failed, no matter how often she used them to cook for Elijah and herself and her son.

THE WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH'S SON: 1 Kings 17:17-24

Some time later, a sad thing happened. The widow's son fell sick and died. The poor woman was very distressed. She thought that God was punishing her for her sins. Elijah took her son out of her arms and carried him up to the room where he lodged in the widow's house. He laid him upon his own bed and cried out to God for help. Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times and cried unto God, "O Yahweh my God, I pray thee, let this child's life come into him again" (v 21). God heard his prayer and brought the boy to life again! How happily Elijah would have taken the child downstairs and given him into his mother's arms once more. "See, thy son liveth," he said (v 23). With her heart full of joy and thankfulness she said to Elijah, "Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of Yahweh in thy mouth is truth" (v 24).

LESSON FOR US

God's people Israel had forgotten Him, but a poor Gentile woman in another land had heard of the God of Israel and believed in Him. We are all Gentiles by birth, but we have heard of Yahweh the God of Israel. We read of His mighty acts every day in our Bibles. If we have such faith as the widow of Zarephath, God will always provide for our needs, as He did for her and her son. Troubles came upon her, as they will surely come upon us, but God gave her joy and gladness in the end, because she trusted in Him. Let us trust in Him too, and He will give us everlasting joy in His kingdom.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

One of the most important lessons that God wanted His people to learn was that "man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the month of Yahweh " (Deuteronomy 8:3). In the days of Ahab the people of Israel had shut their ears to the word of God. They did not want to hear. They were so full of Baal-worship that they had no thought to spare for Yahweh. To teach them a lesson, God sent a famine, which meant that their daily bread would soon run out. If they would not listen to His word, He would not give them bread.

God saw that the widow of Zarephath was a different kind of per son altogether. She believed in the God of Israel. She trusted His prophet Elijah and listened to the word of God which he spoke. Because of the great faith she showed, God provided her with her daily bread right through the drought. So long as her faith continued, she never lacked meal and oil to make her bread.

The Lord Jesus Christ mentioned this poor widow, who was rich in faith, when he tried to teach the word of God to people in his home town of Nazareth. Their hearts were hardened and they did not believe him (Matthew 13:58), so he told them that, although there were many widows in Elijah's day, he was not sent to the widows in Israel. He was sent to a widow in Zarephath, because God knew that she had faith in Him (Luke 4:24-28).

QUESTIONS

Short Answers

Who was Ahab 's wife?
What god did Ahab and Jezebel worship?
What commandments had Israel forgotten?
What warning did Elijah give to Ahab?
Where did God send Elijah to hide?
How did God care for Elijah in the drought at Cherith?
When Elijah asked for "a morsel of bread", what did the widow of Zarephath have left?
How did God help the widow of Zarephath, because she fed Elijah?
What sad thing happened to the widow of Zarephath's son?
How did Elijah help the widow of Zarephath when her son died'?