The God of Everything

BIG IDEA: God's providence is wider than all Israel and and more tender than his chosen prophet and a gentile widow's family.

ME

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Have you seen all those memes about 2020?

There’s this one: (colonoscopy prep)

And this one: (nice cup for 2020)

Or this one (6 month after coma) or my plans vs. 2020

And yes, we are still in the middle of a global pandemic.

WE

So it’s easy to lose hope and be in despair as you continue to practice social distancing and wearing a mask for the seventh straight month, as you wait for long grocery line-ups, not able to visit your family and loved ones, especially your senior family members, a dad or mom, a grandfather and grandmother, and for those who are going to school, its just not the same when you can’t have group work, having to enter different doors to go to your class even if your siblings and you go to the same school. There’s zoom fatigue, fear of travelling beyond your social bubble. And as the number of cases start creeping up, and you wonder if there will be a resurgence.

In the midst of all of this, it’s easy to look around and wonder: Why is all of this happening? Why doesn’t God intervene? Is there some big lesson we are supposed to learn? Does He even care? As we look in God’s word, we find that the story of God’s providence to a prophet and a widow can help us make sense of what is happening today.

GOD

Just a quick recap, we have started our series Days of Elijah two weeks ago with providing the background to what was the political, religious and cultural setting through looking at several dynasties in chapter 16 of the First Book Kings. We talked about how King Omri built Samaria and his son Ahab, the current king in this series for Israel through a political marriage with the Sidonian princess, daughter of Ethbaal King of Tyre, brought the major Canaanite god Baal and Asherah into regular worship. We note Baal was the god of storms, and the cycle of nature, well we will see how God, who made a covenant with Israel, demands exclusive worship, and is about to expose this false god and cult. With that said, here’s today’s BIG IDEA:

God's providence is wider than all Israel and and more tender than his chosen prophet and a gentile widow's family.

1 Kings 17:1

I. God judges Israel through quenching Baal with a drought (Hag 1:10-11, 1 Kgs 17:1)

1 Kings 17:1 ESV

1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”

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It’s interesting how Elijah just appears on the scene. His arrival and his departure are equally sudden as we shall see. We know he is a Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead. There’s a debate whether Tishbe is a long forgotten small village back in the days of Elijah or actually refers to Elijah himself, because “Tishbe” can mean sojourner, wanderer, stranger, resident alien, which would fit his sudden appearance. Gilead though is a famous mountainous city in the region of Manasseh, bordering three foreign nations, Ammonites to the Southeast, Moabites to the South, and Arameans to the North. He went to king Ahab in an undisclosed location, possibly Samaria. “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives,” a language of oath. Here’s what the LORD promised and swear by his own name and reputation, there would be no dew no rain, except by my, that is Elijah’s word.

Elijah represents God in his interaction with the people of Israel, represented by King Ahab. This is a national edict which will affect all the people in the land. To understand the severity of this judgment from God, we have to understand the climate in Palestine. From April to October, there is no rain in this region, but what does happen is dew drops form from the cool air in the morning and sustain the crops and vegetation, vineyards and even small animals. Dew is considered a gift of God because it brings and sustains life in the otherwise dry season until the rain season. To say there is neither dew nor rain means then the totality and the scope of this drought will be severe and thorough. The gift is removed and now the land of Israel is cursed because of the sins of Jeroboam through King Ahab! Only at another appointed time of the LORD’s choosing will there be rain again.

But there is also a cosmic battle line that has been drawn, relating to Baal who is supposedly the god over storms and the cycles of nature. Well, the creator God who spoke all things into existence in Genesis, spoke through his prophet Elijah and trampled on Baal’s turf! Just like that, it’s declared, and it’s done! A showdown which will culminate in our next message has begun!

Naturally, this national calamity not only is battle between gods, but it will affect every living creature, including Elijah and though not explicit, King Ahab would not have taken this threat kindly. Hence our second point:

II. God protects and provides for his prophet Elijah through ravens and miracles to bless the Sidonian widow’s family (1 Kgs 17:2-6, 8-16)

1 Kings 17:2–6 ESV

2 And the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

Verse 2 mentions the LORD asking Elijah to hide, obviously from King Ahab’s pursuit in light of the pronounced judgment and head East of the Jordan river. Where is the brook Cherith?

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It is most likely a wadi or stream in Northern Gilead which Elijah would know very well, having originated from there. Note how exact verse 4’s instructions are and also how exact Elijah followed the instruction. He drank from the stream and waited on ravens to bring him bread and meat two times a day. It’s interesting to see the contrast between the drought over all Israel with the abundance of water and food for God’s servant. Also, if we know anything about ravens, who are carrion eaters (i.e. they will eat dead animal carcasses), and they tend to look out for themselves only, it is uncharacteristic of ravens to provide and not hoard food, yet God provides Elijah all that he needs through his chosen instrument.

However, eventually the drought spread to Gilead and the brook dried up.

What God ask Elijah to do next is even more out of character!

1 Kings 17:8–9 ESV

8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.”

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God basically asks Elijah to go into enemy territory, to Zarephath, the Phoenician port city between Sidon and Tyre and live there! But this is probably strategically clever as Ahab would least suspect Elijah would actually be in the land of Baal. More importantly, God has now encroached on enemy territory and will display His power where Baal failed. (There is one understanding that the prophets of Baal try to argue the reason for Baal’s seeming absence in not delivering the promised rain was because he was killed by another god Mot during the winter months, but then return from death come spring time, so it is with the myths of polytheism). He is once again asked to settle there, our resident alien. There God has prepared a widow to tend to Elijah’s needs. Elijah obeyed and an interaction happens between him and the widow. He asks first for water which the widow obliges, but then just as she left he asked further for a piece of bread. It is at this point that the widow reveals her situation.

1 Kings 17:12 ESV

12 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.”

She swears on oath that she cannot fulfill Elijah’s second request as she planned to gather sticks to light the oven one last time and with not enough flour and little oil, make a small meal (round flat bread buttered with oil) before she and her son will starve to death. Their situation is dire, and also uncommon, as Zarephath in its glory days was so rich in olive oil and grain that it could be exported.

1 Kings 17:13–16 ESV

13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. 14 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.’ ” 15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 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.

Elijah reassured her if you make a small cake for me, there will be enough for the widow and her son. Then he pronounce a prophecy, that miraculously the two ingredients which are in lack will now be in abundance for the duration of the drought! And here we see the obedience of the widow. She went and did as Elijah said. As a result, what the widow thought was her last supper became more than enough to feed her whole family and Elijah. Verse 16 repeats verse 14’s prophecy, which bookends and highlights the fact God promises and delivers.

Lastly,

III. God revives the widow’s son through Elijah (1 Kgs 17:17-24)

1 Kings 17:17–18 ESV

17 After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!”

This last story is interesting in several ways. The son which earlier was going to die with his mother, the widow, now called the mistress of the house ultimately did not die of starvation but an unknown illness. The widow is naturally upset and like all people at the time attributed to her son’s death as divine punishment for some sort of sins she must have done.

1 Kings 17:20–21 ESV

20 And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.”

Elijah we note is equally baffled, and took the breathless son from her bosom (which probably indicates he was a young boy) up to his place of stay, onto his bed and questioned God why did this kind woman who provide food and hospitality for him deserve to not only lose her husband but also now her son?

Though what he does next is detailed in description, what is more important is his cry to the Lord to revive the child. Despite his perplexity as to why this has happened, he also knows only God can heal. Then miraculously the boy was healed.

1 Kings 17:24 ESV

24 And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

And we have the widow declaring and acknowledging Elijah is a man of God, and what he says is truth. Such that Elijah would probably not get the same treatment in his own hometown, especially before the King and yet a Sidonian widow who worships Baal declares this truth! That the LORD God of Israel had done what Baal of the Sidonites could not: He provides abundantly, he heals definitively, and his compassion for even those outside of his chosen people is merciful.

Elijah becomes the archetype of the man of God, until the Man of God Jesus Christ comes, and fed the desolate, healed the broken, and even raised the dead.

YOU

So what are some things we can take away from this first appearance of Elijah, the prophet of the LORD GOD of Israel.

The main takeaway is God is God of everything, as the title of the message says. His plan was to display He is the true God against the ongoing threat of polytheism as Jezebel the wife of King Ahab wanted to make Baal the nation's god to replace and dethrone YHWH. In order to do that, he needed to cause a drought which puts question to the legitimacy of Baal, but also by doing so his people, even his prophet is affected. God will care for his prophet. A neighbouring widow is affected. God will care for the widow, even if she is a foreigner (and in some sense, there’s no foreigner in God’s eye as we are all made in his image) and at every turn, even at a death causing illness, God prevailed with power, love and compassion. So calamity can hit both those who believe in God and not.

So as we continue into our seventh month of COVID-19 shutdowns, do we have the confidence that all things will work out as the LORD continues to care for his people? That God will continue to care for you? See, what we can’t say is COVID-19 was caused by God just like the drought was caused by God. One is explicitly written in His word, the other is speculation at best. But what is universal is the tender, love and care of God for his creatures. We can say that the famine happened because of the drought. We can even say that Elijah tested the widow’s faith and because she obeyed, God provided an abundance of oil and flour to make copious amounts of cake and bread. What we can’t say is that the illness that led to the boy’s death was caused by God. We can say God can and did revive this boy’s life. This provides us the assurance that though we don’t know why bad things happen, we know God cares and can be trusted. And what is our role during anything from personal tragedy, to even a global pandemic, besides know God’s general providential care is as vast as the world and as intimate as our individual lives ? N.T. Wright in the book God and the Pandemic offers us three questions to ask ourselves, not why does it happen and did God cause it, but:

Who is going to be most at risk?

What needs to be done to help?

Who can we send?

And having done what we can, we trust God with the rest. Although our offering has dropped, it has not dropped as much as expected in a pandemic. The Lord provides. In fact, we are able to still bless others. As God blesses Elijah, Elijah blesses the Sidonite widow’s family. As God blesses MCBC, we were able to bless the Lebanese from that explosion a few months back through Canadian Baptist Ministries, so much so, their staff contacted me on the phone to introduce herself and tell us there’s a noticeable giving in the Richmond Hill, Markham area, was that us? That’s you and me, all doing our part, being the hands and feet through which God provides. So do more, care more, call up a brother or sister you haven’t seen for a while, or a family that fell off the MCBC radar. Together, we can extend God’s providence and trust He will supply what else is lacking in each of our personal lives. To God be the glory! Let’s pray!