"Placed For Provision”

I. Elijah

A. Elijah is one of the most colorful personalities found in the entire Bible. Here in 1 Kings chapter 17, he appears suddenly upon the scene, he doesn’t have a huge introduction, and not a lot is said about his life previous to here in this passage. He comes on the scene during some of Israel’s most troubling times to rebuke the king. He tells Ahab that there will be no rain, nor even dew according to his word. One of the great judgments that God said He would send against His people if they did not keep His word was drought. Deuteronomy 11:17 And then the LORD’S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.

1. God tells him to go east and hide by the brook Cherith. Cherith means in the Hebrew a “cutting” or more literally a separation. Elijah is going to separate himself from Israel and hide under God’s protection.

2. Every day the ravens were commanded to bring him food and everyday he drank from the brook. Elijah had it made. His needs were being taken care of, he was hidden, he was fed, and he had water to drink while the rest of Israel was under the judgment of severe drought. But then things change and the brook dries up.

B. The same thing can happen to us; our brook may dry up. We may not be always eating steak and potatoes every night, we may not be living high on the hog, but our needs are being taken care of, but then just suddenly, our brook dries up. Our job may not be the best but our needs are being taken care of, our marriage may not be the best, but our needs are being taken care of, things may not be the best, but our needs are being taken care of, but then suddenly, without warning, our brook dries up.

1. What we thought was going to continue, what we took for granted, suddenly is gone. The Bible says that this occurred because there was no rain in the land, but God was still in control. If God can command ravens, He could have commanded that brook to continue to flow, even during dry times. God watered a million Israelites and their flocks in the desert with enough water; surely He could have watered one man for a period of time.

2. It was not God’s will for Elijah stay at Cherith, for there were still greater miracles to perform. Elijah doesn’t raise the dead at Cherith, he does where God is calling for him to go. There were greater miracles in store for Elijah and that was why God was moving him from Cherith to someplace else.

3. When your brook dries up, it is because God has some greater miracles in store for you, but in order to get you there, He has to dry some things up to help motivate you to move on and move forward.

II. Do you want to go from glory to glory?

A. It takes obedience to be placed and positioned. 1 Kings 17:5 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: 1 Kings 17:10 So he arose and went to Zarephath.

1. Elijah was no superman. There were times that he struggled with discouragement and there were times that he struggled with depression, even to the point that he wanted to die. He was a man that struggled with a lot of the same things that we do, he had his highs and they were very high and he had his lows and they were very low.

a. However, there is one thing that I want you to see about Elijah, his life was marked by obedience. Every time that God said to do something, Elijah did it.

b. If God told Elijah to stand and rebuke kings, even with his own life on the line, Elijah did it, if God told Elijah to hide, Elijah did it, if God told Elijah to move, then Elijah did it. His life was marked by total obedience to God.

c. When God spoke, Elijah moved. There was not argument, there was no discussion, his obedience was immediate.

B. I believe that God will speak to us if we will just listen. God will give us direction, if we will just listen. When our brook dries up, when things have changed and we don’t know the reason why, we are still expected to obey God when He speaks; if we will listen.

1. God did not give Elijah the total plan, He just sent His word and Elijah obeyed. We cannot wait around for God to tell us the next step, when we have not obeyed the first one. That’s what we like isn’t it? “God, I understand that You want me to do this, but what about next?”