The Widow's Son
Notes
Transcript
Summary of last week’s message:
Job, a man of great suffering.
Job, a man who wanted to speak to a future generation.
Job, a man whose theology gave him great hope.
He faced the reality of death.
He had hope beyond the grave.
He knew he would die but he also knew he would be resurrected and see his God in the flesh.
This morning we see the first resurrection in the bible.
Who would God resurrect?
Father Abraham?
The Great warrior, Joshua?
The Great law giver, Moses?
No. In fact it would not even be a Jewish person He resurrected; it would be a Gentile.
It would not even be a man He resurrected; it would be a child.
This morning we consider the story of the widow of Zarephath. I want to show you three things from this text:
1. The Reign of an Ungodly King (16:29-34).
2. The Rise of a Great Prophet (17:1-7).
3. The Resurrection of a Widow’s Son (8-24).
1. The Reign of an Ungodly King.
A. The marriage of Ahab.
Ahab had an ungodly father, Omri. He was the worst king Israel had known.
Ahab exceeded his father in wickedness. For twenty-two years Ahab ruled. By his side was a wicked woman named Jezebel.
Daughter of Ethbaal- meaning “belonging to Baal”.
Didn’t want a wife from among the Jews. He wanted a pagan for a wife. He chose for himself a pagan among pagans.
She was a thief- stole an innocent man’s land (Naboth)
She was a liar (Accused Naboth of a crime he didn’t commit)
She was a murderess (Had Naboth killed)
She was hated even by her servants. When Jehu went to kill her, she was sitting by an upper window in her palace. Jehu shouted up “Who is on my side?”
There were a few eunuchs up there. Jehu told them to throw her out the window. They threw her out the window, she hit the rocky pavement and died. No one even buried her. The dogs ate her where she fell.
But before she died her and her husband led Israel into great sin.
B. The idolatry of Ahab.
He served and worshipped Baal (31). Baal was the Canaanite god of fertility.
He built a temple in Samaria for Baal.
He erected Asherah poles all over the land in honor of the goddess Asherah. She was known as the mother of the gods.
It was the intention of Jezebel and Ahab to make Israel a pluralistic society. They thought they would have more power if religions combined. They wanted Israel to look like their marriage: blended with gods and goddesses of different traditions.
C. The provocation of Ahab.
His actions provoked God to anger. He allowed the city of Jericho to be rebuilt despite the fact that God had said it shouldn’t be rebuilt (Joshua 6:26).
The language suggests the builder, Hiel, sacrificed two of his sons to rebuild the city. It was a pagan custom to kill children, put them in a jar and place them in the wall as a sacrifice to the gods.
Israel became grossly ungodly during the reign of Ahab.
2. The rise of great prophet (17:1-7).
A. He confronted the ungodly king.
Elijah’s name itself was a rebuke to Ahab = “YHWH is God”.
He had no use for the religious pluralism Ahab introduced.
Ahab had a nickname for Elijah. He called him “the troubler of Israel.” These two would butt heads again and again.
Elijah wouldn’t stand by and allow Ahab to destroy the country without a fight.
Elijah pronounced the judgment of God upon Ahab and Jezebel.
He said Ahab would die.
He said all of Ahab’s sons would die.
He said Jezebel would die and be eaten by dogs
While other prophets were hiding from Jezebel in caves (18:4), Elijah was on the doorstep of this wicked couple.
B. He exposed the false god, Baal.
Baal was the god of fertility. It was believed he was the one who made it rain. During the dry season they believed Baal had to submit to the god Mot, the god of death. That’s how they explained the dry and rainy season.
Elijah tells Ahab he’s going to pray that it doesn’t rain for years. In fact the New Testament tells us it didn’t rain for 3 ½ years (James 5:17).
This was an attack against Baal. If Elijah’s God could keep Baal from sending the rain, then He must be more powerful than Baal.
That’s a long time without rain. The country is going to suffer. Some may not like Elijah praying this way.
Sometimes you have to pray “LORD, whatever it takes!”
Lord…
If you have to take their wealth, take it!
If you have to take their health, take it!
If you have to make them miserable, make them miserable!
Getting right with God is more important than being happy in this world.
C. He obeyed the true God (2-7).
God told him to go and hide by the brook Cherith.
That type of preaching and praying will get you killed!
He was probably living in a cave in a wooded area.
He had drinking water, but he didn’t have any food.
God did something miraculous. He used the ravens to feed Elijah. The birds would come and drop food off for him.
They brought him bread and meat twice a day!
We all know birds can be thieves. We see them flying around with a French fry or a piece of bread. Where did they get the bread and meat? We don’t know. Maybe from Ahab’s table.
No wonder the ravens are so willing to obey the Lord. Psalm 147:9 says “He giveth to the beast his food and to the young ravens which cry.”
God can:
Make a donkey talk
A rooster crow
A raven bring breakfast and supper
God has complete control over nature:
Over the rain in verse 1 and over the ravens in verse 4.
At times we may wonder how we would ever make it if we obeyed God. Elijah could have fought with God. He could have said “If I go out there how will I eat?” But he obeyed and God fed him.
3. The resurrection of a widow’s son (7-24).
A. Elijah was sent to her.
The brook dried up from the drought and Elijah was told to go and see a widow in Zarephath. He traveled 100 miles to see her.
Jesus talked about this in Luke 4:25-26.
He had just preached a sermon declaring Himself to be the Messiah.
The religious leaders got mad.
Jesus said there were many Jewish widows in Elijah’s day, but he wasn’t sent to any of them. He was sent to a Gentile widow.
Why did God send Elijah to a Gentile widow?
This highlights the grace of God!
A Gentile- outside the family of God.
A widow- bottom of the social class
A woman- in those days seen as inferior
We don’t have to be special to receive the grace of God. The Lord sent Elijah to this woman to show He is a God who loves those the world overlooks.
You’ll miss something if you’re not careful here. This woman thought her child was going to die of starvation. But the Lord fed him. Her child died of something completely unrelated to starvation.
If Elijah had not been there her child would have certainly died even if he survived the famine. God knows what we need before we do.
God has sent Christ to us!
God may spare us from many things.
God may deliver us from many circumstances.
One day we will die anyway.
It’s a good thing to have Jesus to help us in this life. But it’s more important that we have Him to help us in death.
B. Her faith was tested (10-16).
When Elijah arrived at the city this woman was making her last meal.
She had a handful of flour.
She had a little oil.
She had two sticks for kindling.
She told Elijah she was going to make the last of her bread, her and her son were going to eat it and then die.
The drought and famine were severe.
Elijah was hungry and thirsty too. What he says seems cruel and unusual.
He says make three cakes of bread and bring him the first one. Clearly the Lord had told him to do this. He tells the woman if she obeys the barrel of meal and the oil will not be empty when she finishes. In fact he says the meal and oil will last until the drought is over.
That probably wasn’t easy for Elijah. The man of God has a difficult job in preaching the truth.
He has to tell people to take up their cross and follow Jesus.
He has to tell people to rejoice in their trials.
He has to tell people to trust God even when life is hard.
He has to tell people to remain faithful when it seems they are the only one serving God.
This widow received a difficult message from the Lord. But she obeyed. God miraculously provided meal and oil for probably at least a year. Elijah lived with her during this time.
C. Her son was resurrected (17-24).
Her son became sick and died.
Her response was anger.
She believed that Elijah’s presence brought the attention of God to her and God remembered some sin she had committed and killed her son because of her sin.
It’s pretty common for people to think this way. When something bad happens to us we wonder “Why is God punishing me?”
The truth is that’s normally not the case.
It wasn’t the case with Job.
It wasn’t the case with the man born blind in John 9.
It’s not the case here.
We can understand why she was so upset. Likely the only family member she has. She had been on a rollercoaster ride emotionally.
She thought her and her child were going to die.
She thought her and her child were going to live.
Her child dies.
Now we see the heart of Elijah. He loves this child.
It must have been a small child. He carries the child up to a loft where he slept.
He lay the child on the bed.
Look at how passionate his prayer is:
“O LORD, my God, hast Thou brought evil upon the widow with who I sojourn by slaying her son?”
That’s a powerful prayer!
It’s passionate.
It’s humble.
It’s raw and sincere.
Elijah doesn’t know why this has happened. He wasn’t prepared for this. Listen, the preacher doesn’t have all the answers.
Three times he laid on the bed, grabbed a hold of this little boy and prayed “O LORD my God, I pray Thee, let this child’s soul come into him again.”
Get that picture in your mind. This is some kind of praying!
The Lord answered the prayer. The child was resurrected from the dead. We don’t know how long he had been dead, but it was likely hours.
Elijah picked the child up. He took him downstairs and look at what he said to the widow- “See, thy son liveth.”
What wonderful words to hear!
I thought about this as I was studying. These words ministered to me.
I thought of how difficult it must be to lose a child.
I thought of that mother or father arriving in heaven one day.
I thought of the Lord pointing to their child and saying “See, thy son liveth.”
When we think of the death of our loved ones it can be difficult at times to believe they are alive still. When we see them in heaven there is not doubt we will be filled with joy. It will be like a dream when we hear the Lord say:
See, thy mother liveth!
See, they brother liveth!
See thy husband liveth!
See thy child liveth!
That’ll make you shout!
God’s not only able to reverse the drought. He’s also able to reverse death.
I think what we see in verse 24 is the conversion of this widow. She confesses that Elijah is a prophet of the true God.
A Gentile widow could see what a Jewish king could not see.
The Jewish king converted to paganism.
The Gentile widow converted to Judaism.
All of this happened outside of Israel. It happened in the land of the Phoenician King whose daughter was wreaking havoc on the people of God. The God of Elijah is not limited in His power.
The god of this world is Satan. We live in sinful times among sinful people and in sinful places. We’re going to suffer the effects of a sinful world That may be:
Drought
Famine
Poverty
Death
But I got some good news for you. There is a God who can resurrect our children. His name is Jesus. But more than that, He can save their soul. Come to Christ and bring your children with you.
He has taken the punishment for your sin.
He has died in you place.
He has resurrected from the dead.
Come to Him in repentance and faith.