Bible Men: Elijah: A Man of like Passions as We Are

And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,  Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. 1Ki 17:8-9 

From Lost Hope to Newfound Joy

From a brook and ravens into a Gentile city. The changing scenarios of God’s providences. The world had been beautiful once. But now the earth was as hard as iron. A drought had decimated the land, leaving it bare, and shattering the hopes of many. Dust lifted on the footpaths and left trails hanging in the air.

So Elijah arose to go to Zarephath, “which belongeth to Zidon.” It is here he finds the widow woman gathering sticks for making her last meal for her and her son, before she sits down and waits for death.

She didn’t mean to blurt out all her despair at once to a stranger, but for the prophet leading her on towards her faith, as if step by step.

And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah. 1Ki 17:15-16 

And it is here that I note something remarkable. That a miracle of God had indeed happened is quite obvious. But it is not until the widow’s son dies and is resurrected, after much knotting of the soul, that, finally, she acknowledges the obvious: “And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth” (1Ki 17:24) . 

Sometimes we acknowledge easily that God is God, but other times it is only through a tremendous choking of the heart that we come to a full acknowledgement that God is God.

In Whose Name?

Another remarkable trait of this story is that this widow woman had no proper name. We know her only by her town name of Zarephath.

And she’s not the only bible character without a name. I remember the woman at the well in Samaria, the one who was living with her sixth husband but Jesus did not call her a prostitute (to condemn is easy, it is persuasion which is harder). And then we have The Good Samaritan.

I think there are instances when the name is important and other times it’s not. We have all known the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But who was the woman who had an issue of blood for 12 years, or the man with an unclean spirit, or the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus?

I think there are instances when it’s not the name which is of import but the grace.

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins. Eph 2:1  

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast. Eph 2:8-9  

Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Eph 2:11-13 

Christ’s Compassionate Heart

She’s a widow woman. And the Lord has great compassion for widows and the fatherless children. Another people which are a Bible favourite are prostitutes. “Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you” (Mat 21:31b).

The above scene is also mentioned in the New Testament concerning Elijah’s war with Ahab over the latter’s dabbling in false prophets, in cahoots with his idolatrous wife Jezebel.

And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;  But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. Luk 4:24-26 

The widow woman might’ve been very angry. She might’ve thrown tantrums at the prophet. But God’s grace had rained on her. “I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.” How had God commanded her? I think through the Spirit.

Quench not the Spirit. 1Th 5:19 

Despise not prophesyings. 1Th 5:20  

Today we have a feast. But tonight let’s also pray for his grace, that tomorrow we might hear the birds singing again.

Do things look that bad? Remember the widow woman of Zarephath.

Use hospitality one to another without grudging. 1Pe 4:9  

And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. Mat 10:42  

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Php 4:19  

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Heb 13:2  

 

Bible Men: Elijah: A Man of like Passions as We Are

Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.  And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 1Ki 17:3-4  

The God of Brooks and Ravens

“Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?” That was the poet’s way of rendering the disbelief of the Israel children in the wilderness (Ps 78:19).

But Elijah heard, and Elijah obeyed.

So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. 1Ki 17:5-6  

This sort of commandment would look strange to a modern believer. Did it really happen? What of the miracles of the Old Testament, did they really happen or didn’t they? Was Goliath a true person or a myth? Did God really create the world in six literal days? Was the flood in Noah’s time universal or local?

And can one still be called a believer if they don’t believe these things? Can one still be said that they are of faith?

Elijah heard. And Elijah obeyed. Isn’t this still the principal in a modern believer’s day? I think it is. Only now we don’t hear the actual voice but that God speaks through his word and through the Holy Spirit.

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. Heb 1:1-2 

I think the next natural question is whether God can actually command a modern believer to be fed by ravens. I don’t think such a thing would actually happen, but I know a believer can hear (through the promptings of the Holy Spirit) a command to do something. That is if we take the word of God as the whole truth which has been revealed to us through the Holy Scriptures. The question is whether we can obey it instantly as Elijah did – or as Abraham did.

So what is the lesson for us in this passage? I think it concerns our ability to believe God for all things, and at all circumstances. I think it is about our faith or the lack of it. I think the other lesson is whether we really know our God that well or not. For Elijah, his testimony stretched all the way from the beginning of Israel as a nation. That was the work of God, and continues to be so up to this day

Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant. 1Ki 8:56  

There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass. Jos 21:45  

 

God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Num 23:19 

 

So this is the God I believe, and if he says ravens will feed me there why shouldn’t I believe it? What have you heard fellow believer, and are you ready to obey (or disbelieve) it?

Abraham heard God’s commandment, and “he went out, not knowing whither he went.” That is the kind of faith I wish to pursue. What about you?

Yes ravens can still feed a man if he has faith!

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Mar 11:23  

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. Heb 11:3  

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Heb 11:6  

But Elijah heard God, and Elijah obeyed God. So are you ready to hear too, and are you ready to obey God like that?

Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. Jas 5:17-18  

The Language of God is Heard by those who Believe

The natural reaction of man is that of unbelief. One may laugh while another might sneer. That is perfectly natural. The men, at the day of Pentecost, were thought mad.

What is not natural is to believe. That takes the supernatural power of God for a man to do so. “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day” (Joh 6:44).  

It takes a surrendered man to hear and obey God. Why don’t you become that man or woman of faith from today? How the sun stays brighter when we obey, and how the sky grows dark when we disobey! Remember Jonah? God commanded him to go this way, but he went another way. And the result was his depression in the belly of the fish!

Fellow believer, it starts with a simple act of obedience. After that nothing shall be impossible with God. Please believe that, and please arise and let’s go and hide by the brook Cherith. The ravens will feed us there!