Elijah & Faith
1 KINGS 17:17-24
The Lord teaches believers to ‘walk in a dying way’; teaches believers how to pray; to live as beggars absolutely dependent upon God. Here we see how the Lord does that.
- CONTEXT
1. Zarephath
God’s appointed place: “Arise, get thee to Zarephath...” [17:9].
a. Geographical Significance
Zarephath was in “Sidon” [17:9], 100 miles away north of Samaria on the Mediterranean coast.
§ Elijah had to pass through Israel, and travel northwards between Tyre and Sidon.
§ It was the birthplace of Jezebel: “Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians…” [16:31].
i. Idolatry
This was the heartland of Baalism: “Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and went to serve Baal, and worshipped him” [16:31].
§ It was the place of danger: “Jezebel destroyed the prophets of the Lord…” [18:3].
b. Spiritual Significance
The spiritual significance of the place: “Zarephath…” [17:9].
§ ht'p;r>c - “Zarephath” [17:9], ‘to melt/smelt’; ‘to refine/purify’; ‘to test’; used with reference to “goldsmiths” [Neh.3:31].
§ Divine goldsmith: “I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God” [Zec.13:9].
2. The Blessing
a. Obedience
i. Elijah
Elijah: “so he arose and went…” [17:10].
ii. Widow
God’s word: “go and do as thou hast said, but make me a little cake first…” [17:13].
§ Obedience: “she went and did according to the saying…” [17:15].
b. Blessing
The blessing of God: “the barrel of meal wasted not…” [17:16].
§ Mutual comfort: “she, and he, and her house, did eat many days” [17:15].
Summary.
The path of obedience is the ‘introduction to service’.
§ There Elijah discovers a widow with a ‘confession of faith’ [17:12].
§ Elijah remains with the widow, teaching and instructing her in Israel’s faith and Israel’s God.
§ It is time for God to give an ‘abundance of life’.
- RESPONSE OF WEAK FAITH – THE WIDOW
1. God’s Providence
God’s providence: “and it came to pass after these things…” [17:17].
§ Anticipation of judgement at the end of Ch.16, but instead God’s mercy: “and Elijah the Tishbite…” [17:1].
§ Place of obedience and the anticipation of ongoing peace: “the barrel of meal wasted not…” [17:16].
a. The Trial
The Lord’s way is a ‘dying way’; nothing is permanent: “the son of the woman fell sick…” [17:17].
i. The Son
The position of the “son” in the ANE was critically important in order to propagate the husband’s name. The “son” was the heir that would carry forward the ‘name’ and the ‘hopes’ of the family/household.
ii. The Death
The widow faced the loss of her only son: “son fell sick…there was no breath left in him” [17:17].
§ חָלְיֹו - “sickness” [17:17], ‘to become weak, tired, feel pain’;
§ חָזָ֣ק - “sore” [17:17], ‘to be strong’; ‘to become strong’;
§ נֹֽותְרָה - “left in him” [17:17], niphal perfect, ‘remainder’; ‘excess’; ‘pertaining to a portion of the whole’;
§ נְשָׁמָֽה - “breath” [17:17], ‘breath of life’: “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life…” [Gen.2:7].
Summary.
2. The Widow
a. Elijah’s Teaching
Elijah was there to teach and instruct the widow of Zarephath in the ways of Yahweh.
i. The Sovereignty of God
The Hebrews adhered to the Mosaic teaching: “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand” [Deu.32:39].
§ In antiquity, disease was thought commonly to be demonic in origin, and many rituals were devised by priests to combat the activities of demons.
§ לְהָמִ֥ית - “slay” [17:18], hiphil infinitive construct, ‘to die’; from מוּת ‘to die’;
§ מוּת “death” was the god of the underworld in Canaanite mythology.**********
§ Must the “Lord God of Israel” [17:14] like Baal bow the knee to מוּת the god of the underworld.*****
§ The Hebrews were unique in the ANE in that they repudiated the demonic concept of disease origin.
§ Sickness and health were directly related to god’s curse and blessing [Deu.28].
ii. The Power of God
Death speaks of the majestic, unstoppable power of God: “love is as strong as death…” [SoS.8:6].
§
iii. The Voice of God
God speaks to everyone through every death: “it is appointed unto all men once to die…” [Heb.9:24].
§ Call: “Unto you, O me, I call; and my voice is to the sons of men” [Pro.8:4].
§ Action: “Put your house in order, for thou shalt die and not live” [2Kgs.20:1].
b. The Widow’s Anger
i. Inner Struggle
The widow is troubled inwardly: “what to me and to you” [17:18].
§ מַה־לִּ֥י וָלָ֖ךְ - “to do with thee” [17:18], literally ‘what to me and to you’;
§ The widow questions her whole relationship with Elijah and with “the Lord thy God lives…” [17:12].
ii. Struggle with God
The widow is angry with God: “What have I to do with thee, O man of God?” [17:18].
§ אִ֣ישׁ הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים - “man of God” [17:18], literally ‘man of the God’;
§ There is a way in which she raises questions about ‘the God’. She recognises the hand of God in death according to the teaching of Elijah.
§ She believed the word of the “Lord God of Israel” [17:14] and received the blessing [17:16].
§ But why now? Why, when Baal is “gone” and Yahweh is “here”, should this happen now.
§ The death of her son seems to contradict Yahweh’s declared purpose: “the barrel of meal shall not waste…” [17:14]; “she, and he, and her house, did eat many days” [17:15].
c. The Widow’s Guilt
This raises the question of God rejecting her now: “art thou come unto me to call my sin…” [17:18].
§ בָּ֧אתָ - “come” [17:18], qal perfect, ‘to make linear movement of any kind’; ‘to come or go’;
§ אֵלַ֛י - “to me” [17:18], preposition with first common singular suffix; ‘motion towards’;
i. Sin
Is God rejecting her and punishing her for her sins: “to call my sin to remembrance…” [17:18].
§ עֲוֹנִ֖י - “sin” [17:18], ‘to bend, twist’; ‘to deviate from the way’;
§ לְהַזְכִּ֥יר - “remembrance” [17:18], hiphil infinitive construct, ‘remembrance’; ‘memorial’; ‘of complete inward, mental act’; ‘of such inward acts as are accompanied by external acts’;
§ The providence brings a ‘conscious awareness of personal sin and sinfulness’ and ‘unworthiness before God’.
§ לְהָמִ֥ית - “slay” [17:18], hiphil infinitive construct, ‘to die’;
§ Is this the kind of God that you have brought to me: “Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished being innocent…” [Job.4:7].
§ Just by being there Elijah has focussed God’s attention on the household in an unhelpful way.
Application.
God is “good” [17:16]. Suddenly, the God who does “good” on the one hand is pushing her away with the other!
§ If there were two “God’s”; a “good God” who brought nothing but “good things” and a “bad God” to whom could be attributed all the “bad things”, then everything would be settled.
§ But Elijah, the “man of God”, appears to be a ‘messenger of death’ as well as a ‘messenger of life’.
§ The excuse of an ungodly world: ‘Where was God on 9/11?’
§ Here is the ultimate test of the Lord’s authority! It is one thing to rescue people from the jaws of death [17:4; 17:12], but can God do anything when death has clamped tight its jaws and swallowed the victim up??? Is there a border that He cannot cross? Is there a kingdom in which He has no power?
3. The Lessons
But God has lessons to teach us in our relationship with him:
a. God is Sovereign
God teaches us the perfect sovereignty of His doings. We must bow before God’s sovereignty.
§ Without afflictions we would never bow! When God “breaks us” then we “bow”.
§ With prosperity comes the temptation to forget God!
b. Pattern of Faith
God teaches us that the pattern for the life of faith is one where “blessings” generally pave the way for “great afflictions”.
§ Method: “whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives” [Heb.12:6].
§ Then we learn to “lean” upon God; then we “grow” and “mature” in the faith.
c. Undeserving Sinners
God teaches that His blessing is enjoyed purely because of the grace of God.
§ The widow is more convinced of her sins than ever before: “call my sins to remembrance” [17:18].
§ We need to learn to be cut off from all our own works and experiences
Summary.
A counter to the fashionable ‘prosperity gospel’ from tele-evangelists, etc – ‘if we do all the right things, life will run smoothly’.
- THE RESPONSE OF FAITH - PRAYER
This is the place for refining: “Zarephath” [17:9], where Elijah is going to be prepared for Mount Carmel. What has Elijah learned? How will Elijah respond?
§ This is a great trial for Elijah! God has called him here [17:9] and God has provided for him according to His promise! But what does this mean?
§ The whole matter has been connected to Elijah’s God: “what have I to do with thee…” [17:18].
§ What is Elijah like? What is Israel’s God like?
1. Action
a. Instruction
Elijah and the problem: “give me thy soon…” [17:19],
§ תְּנִֽי־לִ֣י - “give” [17:19], qal imperative,
b. Action
Elijah takes responsibility: “he took him out of her bosom…” [17:19].
§ וַיִּקָּחֵ֣הוּ - “took” [17:19], ‘to lay hold’; ‘to take away’;
§ מֵחֵיקָ֗הּ - “bosom” [17:19], area of body between waist and arms’; ‘where one embraces as an act of love and warmth’;
c. Place
The place: “carried him up into a loft…” [17:19].
§ יַּעֲלֵ֙הוּ - “carried” [17:19], hiphil imperfect, ‘to go up’;
§ הָעֲלִיָּ֗ה - “loft” [17:19], ‘roof chamber’;
Application.
Elijah had faith; he believed God would do a great thing: “through faith women received their dead raised to life again” [Heb.11:35].
§ Faith acts instantly; ‘tomorrow’s faith is today’s unbelief’;
2. Prayer
a. Prayer 1
The first prayer is an accusation in which Elijah expresses the very anger of the widow: “he cried unto the Lord…” [17:20].
§ יִּקְרָ֥א – “cried” [17:20], ‘to call’; ‘to shout or summon’;
§ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהָ֔י - “O Lord my God” [17:20], Elijah was reaching out to ‘God as Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel, the independent and sovereign God and the God of revelation and redemption; Elijah was reaching out ‘from his own personal relationship’: “my God…” [17:20].
i. The Issue = God’s Name
Elijah’s concern is that God’s name is in disrepute: “O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil…” [17:20].
§ הֲרֵעֹ֖ותָ – “evil” [17:20], hiphil perfect, ‘do wrong’; ‘do harm’; ‘to distress’; ‘to break or shatter’;
§ עַל – “upon” [17:20], ‘a special position on another object’; ‘against, upon, above’;
§ מִתְגֹּורֵ֥ר – “sojourn” [17:20], hitpolel participle, ‘to be a stranger’; ‘to sojourn or lodge’;
Application.
Elijah takes responsibility; Elijah places himself in the position of the widow.
b. Prayer 2
Elijah continued to pray: “he stretched himself on the child three times…” [17:21].
§ יִּתְמֹדֵ֤ד - “stretched” [17:21], hitpolel imperfect, ‘to measure’; ‘to stretch out’; ‘to extend the body over an object’;
§ To affect himself with the case and to show how much he was affected with it, and how desirous he was of the restoration of the child – he would if he could put life into him by his own breath and warmth.
§ יִּקְרָ֥א - “cried” [17:21], qal imperfect, ‘to call’; ‘to shout or summon’;
i. Mercy of God
Elijah once more addresses the name of God: “O Lord my God, I pray thee…” [17:21].
§ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהָ֔י - “O Lord my God” [17:21],
§ נָ֛א - “pray” [17:20], ‘a marker of emphasis, with a focus on the desire of the speaker, used to heighten a sense of urgency, intensity; ‘please!’; ‘to beg’;
§ It is a prayer that has no claim but the mercy and goodness of God: “I do not this for your sakes…but for my holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the heathen…” [Eze.36:22].
Application
God brings Elijah into need; there is a necessity for prayer; there is urgency for prayer.
§ Circumstances and prayer come together
§ Story of Spurgeon; neighbour laying bricks/slabs in front of home; using Lord’s name in vain.
§ Spurgeon calls him in; offers him £50 if he never uses the name of God again.
§ Daughter became ill; he cannot pray because of his deal with Spurgeon;
§ I must pray! He threw the money back at Spurgeon and began to pray.
c. The Miracle
Elijah prays for a miracle: “let this child’s soul…” [17:22].
§ תָּ֥שָׁב - “come again” [17:21], qal imperfect, ‘to turn, return’;
§ קִרְבֹּֽו – “into him” [17:21], ‘inward part’;
i. Purpose of Miracles
The purpose of miracles is to authenticate the messengers of God:
§ Moses: “Behold, they will not hearken unto me…for they will say, the Lord has not appeared unto thee…” [Exo.4:1].
§ Jesus Christ: “a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him…” [Acts 2:22].
ii. The Issue
This focuses on the issue: is Yahweh the God of life or is it Baal?
§ Elijah: “As the Lord God of Israel lives…” [17:1];
Application.
3. Lessons for Prayer
a. Secret Prayer
We learn the value of secret prayer; the best prayer is reserved for the private chambers:
§ Jesus: “Jairus’ house…he suffered no man to go in but…” [Luk.8:51].
§ Gethsemane: “tarry ye here…” [Mat.26:38].
§ Power with God: “before whom I stand…” [17:1].
b. Pleading
Prayer involves pleading:
§ Elijah pleads on the very name of God: “O Lord my God…” [17:20].
§ The best praying ground: “For thy names sake…” [ ].
§ Elijah prays in the light of the widow’s needs and his relationship with her.
c. Perseverance
Elijah persevered in prayer: “three times and cried…” [17:21].
§ Repetitive prayer; we lose so much because we give up so quickly.
d. Specific Prayer
Elijah’s prayer was specific: “the widow…by slaying her son” [17:20].
§ We pray so often in generalities that when God answers our prayers we hardly recognise it.
Application.
Our response to trials reveals who we are:
§ Think about a water-saturated sponge. If we put even slight pressure on the sponge the water runs out.
§ The same is true of us. We can tell what fills us on the inside by what comes out under pressure.
- THE POWER OF PRAYER - RESURRECTION
1. Answer
God answers prayer: “the Lord heard the voice of Elijah…” [17:22].
§ יִּשְׁמַ֥ע - “heard” [17:22], qal imperfect, perception of hearing; ‘to receive news’; ‘to report’;
a. Specific Prayer/Answer
Exactly what Elijah asked God did: “the soul of the child came unto him again…” [17:22].
§ תָּ֧שָׁב - “came again” [17:22], qal imperfect, ‘to turn, return’;
§ יִּתְּנֵ֖הוּ – “delivered” [17:23], qal imperfect with 3rd masculine singular suffix’;
§ רְאִ֖י – “see” [17:23], qal imperative,
b. Glorified Resurrection
Like the resurrection of Lazarus, this was not a glorified body.
§ It was rejuvenation to a perishable body that would again die.
§ It was a miraculous rejuvenation that reversed the processes of death and decay.
2. Assurance
The widow was assured: “Now by this I know that…” [17:24].
§ זֶ֣ה - “this” [17:24], demonstrative pronoun, ‘this, here’;
§ יָדַ֔עְתִּי - “know” [17:24], qal perfect, ‘to possess intimate knowledge about’: “Adam knew his wife Eve…” [Gen.4:1].
§ אִ֥ישׁ אֱלֹהִ֖ים - “man of God” [17:24],
§ דְבַר־יְהוָ֥ה - “word of the Lord” [17:24],
Application.
Miracles of the Bible contain the fingerprint of God.
§ Miracles are not the norm; they are rather the exception.
§ True godly character, not just external conformity, is always the result of the Word of God in one’s life.
§ The widow’s son’s death seemed to have ‘blown a hole in Yahweh’s words.
§ Was Yahweh, after all, like pagan gods – spasmodic, capricious, and unpredictable?
§ Yahweh is the Victor over Baal and over מוּת.********
3. Spiritual Symbolism
There is a spiritual symbolism in the resurrection of the widow’s son.
§ Like the death and resurrection of Lazarus, this in a symbolic way points to the resurrection of Christ.
a. New Testament Church
God vindicates the Lord Jesus in the resurrection: “God has made that same Jesus…both Lord and Christ” [Acts.2:36].
§ Vindication: “declared to be the Son of God with power…by the resurrection from the dead” [Rom.1:4].
§ We are preserved and able to serve God because the power of Christ lives in us: “glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me” [2Cor.12:9].
§ Through sufferings: “we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus sake, that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our mortal flesh” [2Cor.4:11].
Application.
We already have the miracle! We are called on to “believe…” [Acts16].
§ Jesus’ power extends over and into the realm of death, where he can plunder his prey at will.