The God Whose Word Is Truth

Prayer

Kings & Prophets, 1 Kings 15-17

As we continue our way through the book of 1 Kings, I want to begin this morning with a quick recap of where we left off last week. Because of the foolishness and unfaithfulness of Solomon and his son, Rehoboam, the nation of Israel is divided into two kingdoms. Ten of the tribes, the northern ones, anoint Jeroboam as their king. That’s the nation of Israel. The other two tribes, the southern ones, stay with Rehoboam as their king, and they take the name of the larger of those two tribes, the kingdom of Judah. The kingdoms then pass to their sons, Abijah, son of Rehoboam, and Nadab, son of Jeroboam.

And because both of the kingdoms move more and more into idolatry, worshiping the gods of their neighbors, we begin to see in these chapters the prophets play a larger role in Israel’s history. Now, the Lord has always used men through whom to speak, but here we’re going to see them play a central part, starting with the man considered the greatest prophet, Elijah.

What we’ll see is that the words of the prophets, for the most part, fall on deaf ears. In Judah, the southern kingdom, most of the kings will be unfaithful, evil, unlike David (remember, King David is held up as the gold standard of what it means to be a faithful king, man after God’s own heart). Only a few of them will be obedient. It’s even worse in the northern kingdom, Israel - there will be no faithful kings throughout its history. None. Every single one will do evil in the eyes of the Lord.

This will go on for a couple of hundred years. I want to point this out because of what God will ultimately do to both kingdoms - destroy them. God’s destruction will not be sudden or rash - it will be after a long time of the Israelites persistently seeking after other gods and God’s continual calling them back, warning them through his prophets. We’ll begin to see that in the part of 1 Kings we’re looking at this morning, chapters 15-17.

1 Kings 15 & 16, kings of Judah and kings of Israel

We’ll start by going through 1 Kings 15, beginning with the kingdom of Judah. We begin with Abijah, who reigns only three years over Judah and he proves to be unfaithful. Vs. 3, He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been. We then turn to his son, Asa, who is noteworthy both because of his long reign (forty-one years) and because he is one of the few faithful kings. Here’s a description of what Asa does to rid Judah of idol worship:

1 Kings 15:12-14, He expelled the male shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his ancestors had made. 13 He even deposed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. Asa cut it down and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14 Although he did not remove the high places, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life.

It’s rough when you have to kick out your own grandmother. Tough choices. Anyway, this part of chapter 15 ends with the note that Asa’s son, Jehoshaphat succeeds him as king.

Now to the kings of Israel. Things get messy here, really messy. Unlike Judah, where it’s a continual reign of line of David, we get a lot more political intrigue and tragedy. That starts with Jeroboam’s son, Nadab, who only reigns two years. His reign is short because he’s murdered by a man from the tribe of Issachar, Baasha. And not just Nadab, but all of his family, to ensure that no one from that family rises up to challenge Baasha as the new king.

Baasha reigns over Israel for twenty-four years. Like Nadab, like Jeroboam, like all the kings of Israel, he does evil in the eyes of the Lord. As we move in 1 Kings 16, we learn that a prophet comes to Baasha to tell him, that like Jeroboam, his whole family will be destroyed. That happens during the reign of his son, Elah, who only reigns for two years before he is killed by Zimri, one of his own officials. Zimri, likewise, kills off the whole family (it’s clearly not safe to be king of Israel - or part of his family).

Zimri, I believe, has the shortest reign amongst all these kings - one week. Apparently the army was not big fans of Zimri and his murdering the king, so they proclaim Omri, the army commander, king over Israel. They lay seige to the capital at that time, Tirzah. Zimri sees that the city has been taken so he commits suicide by setting the royal palace on fire all around him. This is like Game of Thrones stuff going on here.

The nation of Israel is divided at this point about who should be king, but Omri wins out, reigning for twelve years. His reign is significant for several reasons - one being that he builds a new capital on a hill of land he buys, a hill by the name of Samaria, which becomes the name of the city and the capital of Israel (and where we get the name of the people who live alongside the Jews in the time of Jesus, Samaritans).

But it’s likely that it is Omri’s son whose name you might be familiar with, Ahab, who takes over as king after Omri’s death. Now Omri had arranged a political alliance with the Sidonians, who lived to the north, by marrying his son to the daughter of king of the Sidonians. The daughter’s name was Jezebel.

This sets the stage for the role of the prophets coming into prominence. As we move into 1 Kings 17, we are introduced to Elijah. Before we dive into Elijah’s story, we have to set the stage a bit. With Ahab and Jezebel, things have gone from bad to worse. Because now it is not just the worship of other gods mixed in with the worship of Yahweh, but they are working to lift up another god as THE God, above Yahweh - the Canaanite god, Baal. In fact, Ahab builds a temple for Baal in Samaria.

Jezebel is key here, because she’s really the power behind the throne, she’s pulling the strings. Baal is the primary god of the Sidonians and she wants him to be the primary god of Israel as well. So much so that they destroy altars dedicated to the Lord throughout the land. And as those faithful to the Lord speak out, especially his prophets, they begin to kill them. It’s a dangerous time in Israel to be faithful to Yahweh. We’ve seen idol worship among God’s people, but never to this extent.

Because of this, the Lord sends Elijah to Ahab, 1 Kings 17:1, Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” So God punishes the people of Israel by causing a severe drought that last for years. A drought of this magnitude leads to famine. Ahab is not happy, so the Lord sends Elijah into hiding on the east side of the Jordan River, near a brook, feeding him by way of ravens, who bring him food (or he gets the food hidden in the crags).

And this brings us to the story I want us to focus on this morning, 1 Kings 17:7-16, Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” 12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’” 15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

The brook Elijah was relying on for water dries up so the Lord sends him to Zarephath. Note where it’s located, in Sidon, Jezebel’s homeland. Then the Lord provides Elijah with food from the least likely of candidates, a widow and her son who are about to eat their last meal and then that’s it, they assume they’ll starve to death. So the drought is not just in Israel, but Sidon as well. Then through Elijah, the Lord miraculously provides just enough flour and olive oil to feed this odd little group until the famine ends. Pretty amazing act of the faith on the widow’s part, to give the little she had to Elijah first. All because she trusted the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

Then, tragedy strikes, 1 Kings 17:17-24, Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” 19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” 22 The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!” 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”

The son dies! Remember, he would have been the future hope for this widow, the person who would provide for her when he was old enough to do so. And I want you to note her word to Elijah - “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” See, she’s used to the Sidonian gods, to Baal, who are fickle, temperamental, hard to please. Having one of their prophets around was always risky - would it be a blessing or a curse?! She assumes Yahweh is just like them. The type of god, who, one minute is providing food, next killing your son - who knows what you did to provoke either? She’s not used to who the Lord God is - the one whose word you can trust. The Lord reveals his power and mercy by raising her son to life.

My God is bigger than your god

This is what this story is really all about, the greatness of Yahweh, the one true God. His faithfulness, his goodness, his mercy, his power. And to really appreciate that, it’s helpful to remember who the Sidonian god, Baal, was believed to be. Baal, this god that Ahab and Jezebel were trying to make the pre-eminent god in Israel, was the storm god. What comes with storms? Rain. He was the god of fertility - the god of fertility makes things abundant, a bountiful harvest - assuming you please him.

One of the beliefs that arose about fertility gods was that they could restore life. Think about the dynamic of the seasons - when winter hits, crops die out, fields are barren. Likewise, the deity himself would die in the winter months, descend to the netherworld, only to rise up again in the spring, restored to life, bringing back fertility to the land. Makes sense then that this god would have the power to restore life to someone who died.

So think about all this in the context of what the Lord God is doing here - first of all, he stops every drop of water in the land. No rain, no dew - this goes on for years. Where’s Baal? Where’s the storm god and the rain he’s supposed to bring? Remember, this famine wasn’t just in Israel, but in Sidon itself. Yahweh was going into Baal’s home turf, the area Baal was supposed to be lord of. And yet the God of Israel is showing himself to be the Lord of Israel and Sidon and all the nations.

And again, Baal is the god of fertility, he’s supposed to make things grow, produce the crops. Where’s all the food - in Israel? In Sidon? Supplies are dwindling. But not in the household of this widow! Everyday, there’s flour. Everyday, there’s olive oil. The jars never run empty, because the Lord promised they wouldn’t.

Finally, when tragedy strikes, the son dies, where is Baal here? The god of fertility who supposedly can restore life? Nowhere to be found. Instead, it is the Lord God, the God of all creation, who brings the son back to life and restores him to his mother. No wonder she proclaims to Elijah at the end, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”

That’s really the issue here, when God tells us who he is, can we trust it? Can we give ourselves over to him and the promises he makes to us? Because there are so many things the world holds out that seem to promise so much to us - that these are the things that will provide for our needs, make us happy, feel secure, feel loved. But can they truly deliver? Or are they more like Baal, the god who is nowhere to be found when needed most.

Remember the widow’s response when her son died - she was angry because she assumed that Elijah’s god was just like all the others, fickle and unpredictable. That’s what makes her statement at the end so telling - now I know, now I know that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth. Or simply put, now I know that the word of the Lord is the truth.

Spiritual Disciplines - How can we cultivate our own trust in God’s word? When he tells us who he is, makes his promises, that we take those to heart?! Mindy Caliguire, Soul Care - life in Jesus requires two things - know the truth (what the Lord’s word is, what Jesus teaches, and to surrender to that truth (to live it, obey it).

Truth to receive, to be encouraged by, root ourselves in - that our identity is rooted in being loved by God, long before we’ve done anything (Tish Harrison Warren - story of Jesus’ baptism, This is my son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased). Lamentations - your mercies are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness! And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Truth to surrender to by obeying (like the widow with Elijah, making the bread for him first). It is better to give than to receive. You must abide in me. Honor the Sabbath. Forgive. Humble yourselves.

Engage in practices that give us space to do both - hear the Word of the Lord (worship, time of teaching, group studies, daily Bible reading and reflection), posture of willingness to receive it, from our Lord, his will. Closing Prayer / Time of Reflection