The word of the LORD trusted: (Elijah, a man of God & the word of the LORD
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1 Kings 17:8-24
Introduction:
- “Sojourner” and “pilgrim” are words that we seldom use, other than referencing the “The Pilgrim Fathers/American Thanksgiving” and “Pilgrim’s Progress” (John Bunyan)
- But “sojourner/pilgrim” are descriptive words and accurately describes one who journeys in foreign lands or is a wayfarer traveling to a shrine or holy place as a devotee.
- While “pilgrim” is an older term and parallels “stranger” (KJV), it still accurately reminds us that this world is not our home, we are passing through – Gen 15:13; Ps 146:9; 1 Pet 2:11
Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.
The Lord watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
Like Elijah, we must never forget that we are sojourners, exiles, aliens, and pilgrims. The ministry of Elijah provides us with excellent examples of what it means to live as a sojourner. The Scriptures are clear. Sojourners and the word of the LORD must be inseparable. Elijah was directed and controlled by a complete trust in the word of the LORD. His trust was a testimony to others (Ps 37:23-24)
The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
when he delights in his way;
though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the Lord upholds his hand.
In our text we see that the word of the LORD:
1. Comes to those who listen – 1 Kings 17:8-9
- The word of the Lord came to two people facing life and death situations:
- Elijah when the brook Cherith had dried up.
After a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. Then the word of the LORD came to him.”
As an obedient prophet, as a man of God, Elijah did not act on his own initiative, but followed the orders of Yahweh.
1 & 2 Kings Commentary
It is not his own power but the help of Yahweh that secures his survival in a time of need triggered by a drought.
The word of the LORD came only after the brook Cherith dried. That would have been a slow process. Only when the brook dried up did the word of the LORD come.
- Widow of Zarephath and her son who were about to eat their last meal and die.
Faced consequences of a widespread draught that lead to shortage of food, famine and death.. The widow seemed resolved to the death of her and her son. Being from the lower strata of society with no social safety net, they had ingredients for one basic meal.
Handful of meal and a little a little oil
Make a little cake, eat it and die , so obviously already dangerously malnourished
Facing death for her son and her, she listened to God. She listened even though she was from another country.
There were many widows in Israel, but from Jesus reference to the widow of Zarephath, she was either the only one who listened to the God of Israel or would welcome Elijah.
And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
2. Commands those who obey – 1 Kings 17:10-12
- Elijah - Go to Zarephath
Did not make sense:
At least 135 km probably more because would have avoided most travelled routes in Israel
Jezebel had cut off the prophets of the LORD.
and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.)
Had been extensive search for Elijah:
As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say, ‘He is not here,’ he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you.
Foreign country - Phoenicia - Zarephath that belonged to Sidon - northern segment of Phoenicia.
As at the brook Cherith, God could care for Elijah in any unlikely location using one whom we would least expect to listen to an obey God.
Irony:
1 Kings & 2 Kings Notes
Zarephath lay on the Mediterranean seacoast 8 miles (13 km) south of Sidon. The irony of King Ahab’s wife Jezebel, whose ancestry was “Sidonian” (see note on 16:31), coming to the land of Israel, over against Elijah the Israelite prophet being sent to the region of Sidon should not be missed (Wiseman 1993:165).
Elijah obedient, not selfish or presumptive.
1 Kings & 2 Kings Notes
17:10–11 a little water … a bite of bread. These were modest requests (contrast the provisions of “bread and meat” twice a day in 17:6, MT) but still far beyond the widow’s ability to supply. Those perhaps dismayed by Elijah’s seeming selfishness here should be reminded that Yahweh had commanded Elijah to do this (17:9). Elijah, therefore, was to expect a miracle here
“Bring me a morsel of bread.”
- Widow – Feed you - the man of God.
By obeying the Lord, she also provided for her son and herself.
God’s methods:
1 Kings & 2 Kings Notes
Whether it be wild ravens (17:1–7) or a foreign widow, God’s methods of provision are often quite surprising
Did not make sense.
Famine not removed, but in the midst of the famine the Lord cared for the three people until it reigned.
Would not expect a widow to listen to and obey the God of Israel.
If Jezebel could kill the prophets of the LORD and force Israelites to worship Baal Hadad “Lord of the Storm”, we are reminded that Phoenicians could also acknowledge the power and person of the God of Israel.
Bring me a morsel of bread.
“As the LORD your God lives = I swear with Him as my witness.
And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.”
Enough flour and oil to makes one small cake.
Not enough for two, much less three.
That we may eat it and die. Although they had a little water, which was also scarce, their malnutrition was such that they had no strength left. They would share the small cake, hold each other and die.
Symptoms of malnutrition - loss of appetite, loss of interest in food or drink, extreme weakness, tired all of the time.
3. Calms the fearful – 1 Kings 17:13-16
- “Do not fear.
Although he had personally experienced God’s provision, his calming statement did not begin with a personal testimony of what God did, but rather what the LORD, the God of Israel said, was saying. The God of Israel lives and speaks to His people.
God had calmed Elijah’s fear, after he stood before Ahab.
“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel
For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’ ”
The widow obeyed & the three of them were ate for many days.
Many days plus “after many days” - 1 Kings 18:1 - suggests that Elijah might have lived with the widow for more than a year - in which 2 notable miracles, God’s provision of continued flour and oil, and the LORD’s restoring the widow’s son to life.
God also protected each of them from appearance of evil - Elijah lived in a separate upper chamber - 1 Kings 17:19-
God kept His word.
And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
4. Comforts in calamity – 1 Kings 17:17-23
- Illness and death.
- Remembrance of sin.
5. Confirms our testimony – 1 Kings 17:24 -
After this
- Elijah, the man of God.
- Truth of the word of the LORD.
This portion of the Scriptures and the examples of Elijah’s sojourn transitions encourage us to affirm two foundational truths and wrestle with three personal faith questions.
1. The word of the LORD still comes to those who listen and obey.
2. The word of the LORD continues to calm and comfort those who trust in the Lord.
3. Do I long for the Lord’s presence and direction more than anything else?
4. Where is the Lord commanding me to sojourn?
5. Who is the Lord using me to see God provide for their physical and spiritual needs?
“Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah” Is 58:11
AWV/Sept 16/23