1 Kings 17:8-24 "Can We Trust God?"

One morning Elijah woke up and discovered that the little river that had sustained him with water had dried up! The drought, which had come as a result of God’s judgment upon apostate Israel (17:1) was now showing its effects in the land. What now?

“Then the Word of the LORD came to him, ‘Arise, go to Zarephath … behold I have commanded a widow there to feed you!’” (17:8,9). The LORD is telling Elijah to relocate to a place outside of the borders of Israel. Today it is called Sarafand and it is located in modern Lebanon, halfway between the ancient coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon.

The name ‘Zarephath’ means ‘refining’ or ‘smelting‘. That name is deeply suggestive. God apparently wasn’t finished with Elijah’s spiritual preparations. From the place of cutting or pruning (Kerith) Elijah is sent to the place of refining (Zarephath). The journey to the place of refining would have been about 120 km’s.

I would imagine that there were at least two disturbing things about this new Word from the Lord to Elijah. I remind you that the Word of the LORD often does that. It disturbs before it comforts. It cuts before it heals. The final product is always positive!

Here is the disturbing matter: Firstly, God calls Elijah to Zarephath, a foreign town in Sidon (Phoenicia) - known to be the heartland of ‘Baal’ worship. It was the territory from which Jezebel, the wife of the Israelite king Ahab came! (16:31) He was to go to the heartland of idolatry! Secondly, God sends Elijah to a widow! Widows were known to be poor. Thus, no five star accommodation and no gourmet meals for Elijah! Elijah is now doubly tempted. Can he trust God with this leading?

Previously he has been faithful in obeying God by settling at the brook Kerith where he was miraculously provided for by the ravens! But now the resources that make it possible to live there any longer are beginning to dry up. The next location looks worse! Is it not perhaps time for him to take matters into his own hand? These are tempting times for a believer! (The danger of lapsing into pragmatism).

Now listen to what A.W. Pink has to say: "Let it be duly noted that the Lord gave Elijah no more information as to his future residence and maintenance than that it was to be at Zarephath and by a widow. In a time of famine we should be profoundly thankful that the Lord provides for us at all, and be quite content to leave the mode of doing so with Him. If the Lord undertakes to guide us in our life’s journey, we must be satisfied with His doing it step by step. It is rarely His way to reveal to us much beforehand. In most cases we know little or nothing in advance. How can it be otherwise if we are to walk by faith! We must trust Him implicitly for the full development of His plan concerning us. But if we are really walking with God, taking heed to our ways according to His Word, He will gradually make things plain. His providences will clear up our difficulties, and what we know not now we shall know hereafter. Thus it was with Elijah.

Arriving in Zarephath

As Elijah arrives in Zarephath, so it happens as the Lord has said. He meets a widow gathering sticks (vv.10,11) and he asks her two things – for water and for some food (exactly what he had needed at the brook Kerith). This poor widow is not slow to tell him what is at stake here. She pours out her tale of woe to Elijah (v.12). To ask for water is one thing, but to ask for the last bit of food she has in her pantry is quite another thing! Now, if Elijah’s demand sounds selfish, then you need to read on, for he says to her in the next two verses: “Do not be afraid….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 the LORD sends rain upon the earth …”. (vv. 13&14)
The question is: Can she trust God in this? Yes, for this is typical of God! He says to her and to us: “Give me everything you have (v.13) and I will give you everything you need (v.14).” And she went and did according to the Word of Elijah” (v.15), which is as good as saying that she responded to the Word of God in faith. A Phoenician (gentile) woman is responding to the LORD, Elijah’s God by faith! How often do we not find gentiles shaming those who call themselves the people of God. Jesus commended the great faith of a gentile Canaanite woman who came to him with a great request to free her daughter from a demon (Matt 15:21-28).

Will this woman be disappointed? Can she trust God with Elijah’s seemingly unreasonable request? Well, you know the outcome of this. This is truly a wonderful account of God’s goodness and providence to Elijah, and to this widow and her son. Every day they had enough food. D.R. Davies quips : “Pancakes never tasted so good “![1] The hymn, “Morning by morning new mercies I see, all I have needed they hand has provided. Great is Thy faithfulness, LORD unto me” [2], might well have become their theme song !

But now something else happened which pulled the carpet out under their feet!

The Death of the Widow’s Son and a Remarkable Resurrection (17:17-24)

The son of the widow became ill and died (v.17)! She is beside herself, and she turns her grief against Elijah: “What have you against me , O man of God?” (v.18) But the accusation here is more than a pouring out of grief against Elijah. She is ultimately accusing God for punishing her now because of some of her past sins. This is a very familiar line of argument in the life of many Christians when such a heavy blow comes to them: “What have I done wrong that God is punishing me like this ?” The question returns once again: Can she trust the God who has once before provided so miraculously for her?

D.R. Davies makes a series of astute comments :” The tokens of life sat on her shelf while the fact of death lay in her arms.[3]” … Yahweh both provides and perplexes. He seems to be both, faithful and fitful. He sustains life and then takes it away. What is one to make of Him?... Why does Yahweh act this way? Why does He follow an everlasting jar of meal with the devastating death of a son?... Does He supply the means to sustain life only to take the life He sustains?
No wonder the woman is at the end of her tether (v.18) She suspects Elijah has come to expose her iniquity and that her son’s death constitutes punishment for such. Many Christians know her mind. On a sunny day they may remember John 9:3 [4], but let God’s hand strike, and in their despair they dredge up all sorts of guilt that God must be punishing…

Then he asks: “Why didn’t He (God) wait until she was more mature in her faith? Why shatter a new convert with the dark mysteries of his ways ? …. There is a sort of backhanded comfort in the rugged honesty of the Bible. It hides nothing, but warns clearly that Yahweh both blesses and baffles His servants.” [5]
 Has God abandoned her? No! Isn’t it wonderful providence that God has placed a solid, mature believer into her home at this time? Elijah’s maturity is seen by the fact that he has learned what to do with his own perplexity (see his perplexity in v.20). He takes it directly to God! “He cried to the LORD,’ O LORD my God…” (vv. 20,21).

Once again, man’s extremity becomes God’s opportunity … “and the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah…” (v.22). Elijah brought God into this desperate situation, and God revived the boy! At the end of this widow’s second severe trial the LORD has proven Himself trustworthy and faithful - yet again !

Application

Is this historical account only valid for some people? Is this passage unusual? Yes and no! It is unusual and unique in terms of its historical context, but it is not unusual in terms of general application. So the question returns: Can you trust God with your sometimes overwhelming, perplexing and unusual circumstances?

The answer is yes! You can always trust God, even when you cannot see a solution to your difficult. So let us rehearse this again. God’s ways with us may be sometimes perplexing, but His designs in these tests/ trials will result ultimately in a positive outcome. God showed Moses that Israel’s trials and testings in the desert were as a result of the doings of God “… that He might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end.” (Deut 8:16)

So, if you are a believer in the LORD, then you must understand that the events of your life are tools in the hands of the almighty Potter, who shapes you for His own glory, and for your own good. When He begins a good work in you, He will complete it (Phil 1:4). He uses all circumstances (even the horrible ones!) to change our values, to shape our character, to change our priorities, to redirect our pursuits, and above all, to redirect our source of trust and reliance into Himself alone.

The hymn writer, William Cowper understood this when he wrote the hymn: “God moves in a mysterious way“ (1774)

God moves in a mysterious way ,
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea ,
And rides upon the storm.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
the clouds you so much dread ,
are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
but trust Him for His grace;
behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
unfolding every hour;
the bud may have a bitter taste,
but sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
and scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
and He will make it plain.

And then,  finally never lose sight of the fact that the same events that test us often become the means by which God is able to use us in ministry to others. Our own trials not only mature us, they not only deepen our faith in God, but they often become vehicles for ministry, by which others are encouraged and strengthened in their faith. What a great help Elijah was to this poor widow and her son!

We are not here for ourselves. We must not get absorbed in our own needs. God cares for us, but He also cares for others. He uses us, and changes others around us through the character changes which He effects in us through our own trials. So, do not despise the unusual and sometimes strange providences which God brings into your life, and through which He works in other lives. God’s designs are always truly good.

God can be absolutely trusted !

Amen!

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[1] D.R Davies : The Wisdom and the Folly – Exposition of 1 Kings ,p.217

[2]  Written by Thomas Chisholm , 1923

[3] D.R Davies : The Wisdom and the Folly – Exposition of 1 Kings ,p.219

[4]  John : 9 3 – The  story  of a man born blind :  “Jesus answered, “ It was not that this man sinned , or his parents , but that the works of God might be displayed in him”

[5] D.R Davies : The Wisdom and the Folly – Exposition of 1 Kings ,p.221-222

1 Kings 17:2-12 The Word of the Lord Directs God's Servant

The main theme of this  passage is “the  Word of the Lord”.  In the first verse of this  chapter the  Word of the Lord  came  through Elijah  to Ahab the king  of Israel,   that there would be a drought in the land.  This was a word of divine judgment, because  Ahab and the kings  before him had forsaken the LORD  and worshiped  Baal.

In v. 1   Elijah is presented  as one who stands  (face to face) before the (living) LORD.   He is the embodiment of the Word of the  LORD to Ahab. The Word of the Lord  directs  Elijah’s itinerary (vv.2,8).  He himself   is obedient   to the Word  (v.5) as he  stays  at the brook  Cherith. As circumstances change  (v.7)  the Word of the LORD  directs  Elijah to his next venue (vv 8,9)  to Zarephath in  Sidon   to a  widow.  This widow  is doomed to die in this  terrible drought, but because  of Elijah’s  presence , representing the Word of God,  she and her son are sustained  by the  Word of the LORD (vv. 14,16). The Word of the LORD  pervades  the  life of Elijah. This is incidentally true for all the prophets of  God. They speak His Word: “Thus says the Lord! “

God leads His servants  by His Word,  step by step. It is not as if the prophets know  everything in advance.  This is also true for us. Although we are so often tempted to want  to  know the future,  the principal  way in which we  are called to live is  “by faith”  - one step at a time.  It is not the way we like to live, but it is the  way we are called  to live.  Elijah’s  duty was  to obey the divine order and leave God to tell him  what he should do next. Elijah  is clearly  not a free agent.   His life is in God’s hands.

Having delivered God’s message  to Ahab  concerning the drought, Elijah receives the next  word from the LORD (Yahweh).   17:2-4 : And the word of the LORD came to him:  “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide [1] yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”   

Hide yourself !   This  is not  a suggestion. It  is  a command.  We have no right of changing  God’s commands into God’s suggestions!  Jonah tried to run away from God’s commands , and by his fleeing Jonah suggested  that he did not think that this was a good idea. He  came off second best! We shall see that Elijah will fall into the same temptation in Chapter  19.  But  now   God commands him to hide  at the brook Cherith, and he obeys the Word of the LORD.  Cherith was one of the many little rivers  that flowed into the  Jordan from the mountains to the east of the Jordan river. 

Why did he need to hide?  “Cherith“ means  ‘to cut’. Some expositors   have suggested that  this place of hiding   was to become  a place of  ‘pruning’ for Elijah. Perhaps God  was intending  to prune , cut and prepare  Elijah for future service.  It is not uncommon  for God to hide and prepare  His choicest servants  for a while before He brings them out  into the open. 

A.W.  Pink  says,  “Every servant that God deigns to use must pass through the trying experience of Cherith before he is ready for the triumph of Carmel. This is an unchanging principal in the ways of God. Joseph suffered the indignities of both the pit and the prison before he became governor of all Egypt, second only to the king himself. Moses spent one third of this long life at "the backside of the desert" before Jehovah gave him the honour of leading His people out of the house of bondage. David had to learn the sufficiency of God’s power on the farm before he went forth and slew Goliath in the sight of the assembled armies of Israel and the Philistines.” [2]  This  was also the case with Jesus  who only entered upon His  public ministry at the  age of 30.  John the Baptist came out of obscurity (the desert) only later – to announce the coming of the  Messiah.  There are  many  ‘silent years’  in which we know nothing  of  the  ministry of the apostle Paul. He was hidden. It was, most likely a time of spiritual preparation.

Moreover  Elijah  needed to hide  because   he was  an offense  to the  rulers  of the Northern kingdom. We know  that   Ahab and Jezebel  hated the prophets of the Lord . Later  in 18:4,10 we note that this evil couple conducts a genocide of the prophets  of the LORD. So perhaps  Elijah needed   to hide because his life was in danger.   But here our theology  is tested.  Who  gives and sustains our  life?  Who takes life?    It is God, not  Ahab!  God has been known to keep His people  through and in trials. George Whitfield,  the English Evangelist  so greatly used of God  writes in the preface of  the  1756 edition of his journal,  “I find we are immortal, till our work is done.”   Our days are in His hands! There is surely more to  Elijah’s hiding   than  the  mere protection  of  Elijah.  

So what else might it be?  The commentator Dale Ralph Davies   suggests that  “the disappearance of Elijah spells the  absence of the Word of God from the life of Israel. Israel’s  judgment  is the drought  of the land and the silence of the Lord. Scripture  always  treats the withdrawal of his voice as an agonizing judgment [3].” ( see  1 Sam 28:6,15; Ps 74:9; Amos 8:11-12 )

Arthur Pink    concurs,  “Ah, my reader, little as it may be realized in our day, there is no surer and more solemn proof that God is hiding His face from a people or nation than for Him to deprive them of the inestimable blessings of those who  faithfully minister His Holy Word to them, for as far as heavenly mercies excel earthly so much more dreadful are spiritual calamities than material ones ….and now all dew and rain was to be withheld from Ahab’s land, not only literally so, but spiritually so as well. Those who ministered His Word were removed from the scene of public action.” [4]

And so,  God sends Elijah  into  a lonely place for a number of reasons perhaps, and there he receives  God’s  special  and unusual care in the midst of this  terrible  drought.  You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there. (v.4)  How this was possible, I do not know. I do not even want to conjecture  how ravens could have  done this. God knows. Since we are interested in principles, I want us to be focused on the fact that God knows how to sustain His faithful servants  through the fiercest droughts  and famines (the testimony of the widow of Zarephath will confirm this again). God  who has taught  us to pray for  our daily bread is committed to give us our daily bread. Our job is to obey God. God’s job is to keep us alive until our work is done!   It was  Hudson Taylor of the China  Inland Mission that said: God’s  child , doing God’s  work in God’s way  will shall  never lack   God’s supply. So it was  with Elijah.

A.W.  Pink  has an interesting note  on this verse …” you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.  He makes the point that this was the  place of God’s appointed blessing  and providence  for Elijah  at this time . He writes :  “…The prophet might have preferred many another hiding-place, but to Cherith he must go if he was to receive the Divine supplies: as long as he remained there, God  pledged to provide for him. How important, then, is the question, “Am I in the place which God has (by His Word or providence) assigned me” ? If so, He will assuredly supply my every need. But if like the younger son I turn my back upon Him and journey into the far country, then like that prodigal I shall certainly suffer want. How many a servant of God has laboured in some lowly or difficult sphere with the dew of the Spirit on his soul and the blessing of Heaven on his ministry, when there came an invitation from some other field which seemed to offer a wider scope (and a larger salary!), and as he yielded to the temptation, the Spirit was grieved and his usefulness in God’s kingdom was at an end.

The same principle applies with equal force to the rank and file of God’s people … But how many professing Christians have we personally known who resided in a town where  God sent one of His own qualified servants, who fed them with "the finest of the wheat," and their souls prospered. Then came a tempting business offer from some distant place, which would improve their position in the world. The offer was accepted, their tent was removed, only to enter a spiritual wilderness where there was no edifying ministry available. In consequence their souls were starved, their testimony for Christ ruined, and a period of fruitless backsliding ensued. As Israel had to follow the cloud of old in order to obtain supplies of manna, so must we be in the place of God’s ordering if our souls are to be watered and our spiritual lives prospered.[5]

17:5-9: 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. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. And after a while the brook  dried up, because there was no rain in the land . Then the word of the LORD came to him, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.”

When the river dries  up, God ‘s Word has a fresh direction for changed circumstances. Elijah must  go to Zarephath where God has directed a widow to sustain him. This is fascinating since widows  were known to be needy persons. D.R. Davies  observes humourously:   “If one could choose,  ravens sounded more dependable than widows! Is this not vintage Yahweh? Who would ever design to use the unclean ravens and the unlikely widow as sustainers of his servant? Who am I to object  if Yahweh delights to use dirty birds and hopeless women? We should adore the scintillating creativity of a God who brings  help to His people through channels they would never suspect.”

Vv. 10 - 12  So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 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.”

He comes to Zarephath in Sidon. This is an interesting  fact. Zarephath is the territory of Ethbaal whose daughter  Jezebel married  Ahab (16 :31).  And now God is  going against the  conventional thinking of a kosher Jew!  He  designates a gentile widow, from a despised territory  to help a Hebrew prophet- a  Word bearer!  Jesus actually  told His  town people  this  story in Luke 4:25-26 – and  His   town people  became angry with Him. They had no place for gentiles and widows  in God’s plan. They wanted to kill Him! God’s grace is extended through Elijah beyond Israel because that grace was  being ignored within Israel.

What are we learning  from these few verses?

Major truths 

The Word of the Lord directs  the  believer

The Word of the Lord sustains the believer

The Word of the Lord  is Jesus  Christ  (Jn. 1:1-14). Today He  directs and sustains  you and  I  who believe in  Him. We must steadfastly  look to Him. We must stand  before Him. And we must obey Him. We must give particular attention to the gospels in which He teaches  us  truths concerning the kingdom, and how we may know that we  will have access to that kingdom. Warnings  like Matt 7:22  must be understood. Discipleship (follow me)  must be a reality. We must read the Acts of the Apostles  to appreciate  the work of the Holy Spirit  and the fulfilment  of Jesus words. We  must read the  epistles of  Paul and John  and James etc  to find particular applications for church life. We must  read  the book of Revelation  to know our future –  to be assured that our future is in sovereign hands, and to  know  where we are going. To know the  living Lord in the written Word  is to  be directed  by Him every step of  our way – from  beginning to end and into eternity. Elijah is a living testimony to this fact.

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[1] Hebr. ‘satar’

[2] A.W. Pink : Elijah ( Banner of Truth) , p.37

[3] D.R. Davies: The Wisdom and the Folly- Exposition of 1 Kings ; p 209

[4] A.W. Pink : Elijah ( Banner of Truth) , p.32

[5] A.W. Pink : Elijah ( Banner of Truth) , p.39

1 Kings 17:1 God Speaks Loudly in the Worst of Times

The times in which the prophet  Elijah  lived  were  desperate  days  in every sense of the word.  They were days of political  and moral turmoil- all rooted  in  one  basic problem: Israel had forsaken her God!   Living  in  2013  in  Windhoek, Namibia, and in  God’s  world  makes   me wonder  whether there are not some significant lessons  to be learned  from the life and times of Elijah, for we  struggle daily   against similar evil   influences  that  will  most certainly invite the wrath of God  in time to come. Romans 1: 18ff is  an eloquent  testimony  to this  fact. Speaking about the Romans;  the Roman  empire with its  ungodly   morals  was  destroyed  by Germanic tribes  between 470-490 AD.  Fate of history or God’s wrath ?

As we embark upon a  thoughtful  study  of   the life and times  of this fascinating  prophet, we will do well  to  understand  the historical background  against which he  was called by God  to be His spokesman in such  desperate times.

Setting the Scene :  The  Seven  Evil Kings  of Israel

We begin thus with a brief survey  of 1 Kings. After David dies, Solomon  becomes king. Solomon  is   the king who started well and ended badly.  His many wives turned  away his heart from  His God after their gods (1 Ki 11:1- 9). God vows to  tear the kingdom from him. This happens eventually  in  930 BC when Solomon’s  son,  Rehoboam  makes  strategic  mistakes (due to his reliance on foolish human counselors, and less on God)   in the governing of the once great  kingdom  of David. This always happens when  people  and leaders stop listening to God.   A rebel called  Jeroboam   persuades 10 of the tribes of Israel   to secede, and    to  form the Northern Kingdom  (called Israel) in 931 BC. The northern 10  tribes are usually called Israel; the southern two tribes (Judah & Benjamin)  are usually called Judah.  

Jeroboam the leader  of the NK  was  an evil man. He erected images of two golden calves, one at Dan in the north and one at Bethel in the south, and  he told  his people no longer to go to Jerusalem to worship there.  Jeroboam introduced idolatry into the nation, and  he  was ultimately responsible  to  bring the wrath of the Lord God upon the people  of Israel. “Walking in the ways of Jeroboam”[1] becomes  the trademark of all the successive kings of the NK (Israel)

Jeroboam was succeeded by his son Nadab. (1 Ki. 15:25-32)  “He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.” (15:26). Nadab was assassinated after  2 years. Nadab was succeeded by  Baasha   who  reigned for twenty-four years. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.” (15:34). Baasha was succeeded by his son, Elah  who reigned for two years (1 Ki. 16:8). He was assassinated by Zimri  who wiped out the whole  dynasty of Baasha  (in keeping with a prophetic word- 1 Ki 16:7), and then proclaimed himself king.  Zimri only rules for  7 days (1 Ki. 16:15ff), when  Omri (who ruled 12 years) takes over the throne (1 Ki. 16:21ff). “Omri did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did more evil than all who were before him”(v.25).  Following Omri’s death,  his son Ahab  ascends to the throne. He rules  for 22 years, and of him it is said that “Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him. And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him”  (1 Ki. 16:30-33). The fact that Ahab had dared to  marry Jezebel, a  foreign princess of the Sidonians, who also was  a committed Baal worshiper,  was going to prove  to be disastrous for the nation of Israel.

From  Jeroboam to Nadab to Baasha to Elah to Zimri to Omri to Ahab  the Northern kingdom  is  going from bad to worse. There appears to be no hope for recovery of the Northern kingdom , but God is not finished with her  yet.  

Enter Elijah !

Oh, the patience and the mercy of God!  Even at this advanced stage of decay, God  will send a messenger, a prophet  to  speak to a king  and a people who  is spiritually  immune  to the Word of God.

Our text says:  “Now (or ‘and’)  Elijah the Tishbite of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab”… (1 Ki.17:1).  With dramatic suddenness  the  prophet of God  appears! We  we have no description  of his genealogy – something so important in Jewish  thinking.    Like Melchizedek, he  emerges  from obscurity. We are told is that he comes  from Tishbe in  Gilead.  Gilead was on the eastern side of the Jordan River -   today’s  Jordan. Before the conquest of Canaan under Joshua,  still under the leadership of Moses,  the tribes of Reuben, Gad and a ½ tribe of Manasseh  decided to settle there. (Numbers 32) 

Elijah’s name means  “My God is Yahweh.”   What an affirmation and reminder is Elijah’s  name  before  this apostate   king  Ahab of Israel!  We shall discover that  Elijah is one of the most remarkable  figures of  the Old Testament, second only to Moses himself, in terms  of  God’s miraculous power working through him.   In the  NT  John the Baptist  is likened  to Elijah, to prepare the way of the Lord (see  Malachi 4:5 & Luke 1:17). Like  John the Baptist, Elijah’s calling was to free Israel from her bondage to Baal and to bring her back  under the  covenant God of Israel.

Consider what Elijah  said to  this  apostate  king  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!”

Elijah  (“My God is Yahweh”)   speaks to Ahab  in the Name  of  “the LORD God of Israel” (Yahweh Elohim Israel).   LORD (Yahweh or Jehovah) is the revealed covenant name  of God.

Elijah says to Ahab: “As the LORD the God of Israel, lives…” !  He speaks in the Name of the living God !   None of   the 7 kings of Israel  had believed this! They all had  acted as if He did not exist.  In fact, they had treated  YAHWEH  as nothing, by openly embracing other gods. The fact that YAHWEH had apparently  not judged them so far, made them  believe  that the LORD had no real existence. Ironically, the dead idols of Baalism  which they had set up everywhere  were   even  more  silent, as we shall see  when Elijah enters into  a contest with the prophets of Baal in 18:20.  Never think that since God does not  respond to every act of unbelief  and  the sin of men, that He does not exist! Paul   reminds the  Romans,  that for  His own  reasons, God “was enduring  with much patience vessels of wrath  prepared for destruction.” (Rom. 9:22). No nation must  ever think that  if they  enjoy peace and prosperity in the midst of gross and blatant  sinning , that God is ignoring their sin.God’s wrath is deferred because He acts in mercy, not wishing that any should perish, but that all  should  reach repentance (2 Pet 3:9).

HOWEVER,  the time had arrived for God to act. 58 years had passed  since the kingdom  had been divided  on account of  sin.  God had allowed the nation of Israel to  continue in its apostasy   for these  58 years, BUT NOW  He sends  an obscure man, Elijah  (note in this regard how similar Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist and Jesus are!)   from across the river Jordan,  to Ahab to  announce  the  judgment of God!

Imagine that!  Imagine an obscure  nobody   going to the president of your country and telling him “ I have just come from the presence of God,  and this  is what you need to hear! “

Here is the message  from YAHWEH via Elijah to Ahab:   “There shall  be neither dew nor rain these years, except by  my word”. The land  designated as   “flowing with milk and honey” would be turned into a land of  drought and barrenness and famine, and therefore death.  When God withholds rain, no-one  can create it. Jeremiah the prophet asks with tongue -in –cheek,   “…are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain?” (Jer 14:22). Well , you know the answer!  It didn’t rain, and no one could produce rain. The terrible drought is only broken  by the word of the LORD (1 Ki 18:1)

Before the powerful king of Israel stood an obscure man,  who in reality  was much more powerful  than Ahab, because he had  stood in the presence of God!   

Of this Elijah, James says   (carefully  explaining  that he was a man and not a divine angel, but a man just like us )  “… he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.” (Jas. 5:18)

Before Ahab stood one  who knew God, and who knew the power of prayer  (the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working- Jas 5:16).  Elijah was conscious  of having  been  in the presence of God. This accounts for his present  fearlessness[2]. With God  before him and  with him, who can be against him? 

CONCLUSION AND APPLICATION

What does this text  say to us? 

Firstly, we are still  living  in the same  world  filled  with ‘religious  unbelievers’  who do not listen to God, and who hate the Word of God! Most of this world is religious! But most of  the world and its rulers hate  YAHWEH the true God  and  they hate Christ  who calls  men and women of the world to forsake  their idols and  to follow Him.

Secondly, we may  be confident and believe that God  has not left  this world without  a  Word .  There are those who  boldly say  to the Ahab’s ( the kings and presidents) of our day: “As the LORD, the God of     the church lives, before whom I stand…”. Any true church should be such a voice  in the political wilderness, and  any  true church may be  expected  to be called  of God to confront the  earthly powers with  messages of repentance  and judgment.

Thirdly, we must know that  while God delays His temporary  judgements upon the earth, He will certainly carry them out! I remind you that every earthquake, every pestilence or pandemic, every tsunami  and every flood, every  war and every cruel ruler  are God’s temporary judgments upon the earth. With respect to the cruelties of men, God is not the author of their  sin or evil, but  He can  choose  to  allow them to carry on their evil designs until His purpose has been accomplished among   the nations!  This takes  biblical wisdom  to see and understand.

But mostl,  it points us  to the fact  of God’s mercy in Christ. How great is the love of God for this fallen world, that despite such  wilfull, persistent  and arrogant sin, He patiently perseveres  with this world.  He perseveres  with you! Oh, how many times    you have sinned against  Him. How many times you have profaned His holy Name. How many times you have been faithless! How many times you have chosen to  worship  your created gods, rather than Him! Still, today  He calls you  by His Elijah’s  and  through His Word   to trust in  His Son, the Lamb of God , who takes away your sin. Will you not repent now and  return  to Him you prodigal son or daughter?   May  the rich rain of God’s mercy fall upon your soul as  you come  today, and may this table spread before us  be your invitation to come!

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[1] E.g.  1Ki 16:2,19,26,31

[2] He looses  this fearlessness , when confronted with  Jezebel  cf 1 Ki. 19:1ff. The simplest explanation is that  he expended   much spiritual energy in his contest with the prophets of Baal. At this time he needed to have withdrawn  back into the presence  of  God. He was  not able to face the threats of Jezebel in his own strength.