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!