Faithful Through the Challenges
1 Kings 17
Introduction
We are living in one of the most challenging times. The pandemic, the election, the weather, personal challenges. We try to face these challenges from the perspective of faith. Our text introduces us to a man who is no stranger to difficult circumstances and challenges - but remains faithful.
Elijah is one of the most enigmatic figures in the Bible. We know very little about his identity or background. No record of God calling him to become a prophet. No account of his family background. Elijah is one of the few prophets who perform miracles. The only prophet taken up into heaven without dying. Most of his pronouncements for change are directed at the governing rulers.His commitment often had him facing overwhelming challenges.
Our text tells four amazing stories about Elijah and his faithfulness through the challenges he faced.
1. Confronting Evil King Ahab (1 Kings 17:1)
Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”
Ahab was among the worst of the Kings (1 Kings 16). God said he was evil (16:30). He married an evil woman, Jezebel (16:31). He built an altar to a false god (16:32). He provoked the anger of God (16:32b).
So God sent Elijah to make a pronouncement: There is not going to be any rain. Three things resulted from this:
-A famine - there was no dew nor rain.
-An insult to Baal - the fake storm god who brings rain.
-Elijah’s life is in danger - the Lord sends him into hiding.
2. God Cares for Elijah by a Brook (1 Kings 17:2-7)
1 Kings 17:2-6 2 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: 3 “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.” 5 So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
In hiding from Ahab, Elijah is by a brook where he can drink water, fed bread and meat by the ravens.
In this extraordinary setting we can see… God is attentive to his needs. God provides for him as he escapes Ahab. The feeding by the ravens is just a preview to the exceptional life Elijah lived.
This peaceful setting is interrupted by the aforementioned famine - the brook dries up (7)
1 Kings 17:7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
3. Elijah is Sent to the Widow of Zarephath (17:8-16)
1 Kings 17:8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”
12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”
13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.
There are some unexpected elements to these stories. Elijah is fed by Ravens, which would be unclean animal according to the law. He is sent out of the promised land to Zarephath - into the territory of Baal worshipers. He is sent to a widow - who in those times would have likely been destitute herself, especially in a famine.
When he asks for some bread, the widow makes a painful revelation - I only have enough for my son and I - and when we eat that we will die. (12) Elijah assures her that the oil and flour will not run out if she will provide him something to eat. The power of God is evidenced in the territory of Baal, the homeland of the evil queen Jezebel, in the home of a likely Baal worshipping widow.
4. Elijah Faces a Crisis of Death (17:17-24)
1 Kings 17:17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”
19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”
22 The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”
The widow’s son does die after an illness. The widow is stricken with grief and accuses Elijah. Elijah torn with anguish, asks God why this happened. Elijah is able to raise the boy back to life. His prayer:“O Lord my God, I pray You let this child’s soul come back into him.” (21). The boy was revived.
The testimony of the pagan widow: “I know that you are a man of God and the the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.” (24) It seems to me that this conclusion is what the writer has been bringing us all to realize as we read.
This is just the introduction of Elijah - there are so many more stories of his service to the Lord as a prophet. He was a man of great faith.
His faith in this chapter gives us an example fo follow:
-He remained faithful when he had to confronted evil King Ahab.
-He remained faithful when he was in hiding, being fed by ravens.
-He remained faithful when the brook dried up!
-He remained faithful when God sent him to a woman who couldn’t take care of herself, much less another person.
-He remained faithful when the widow’s son died.
-He remained faithful when he prayed for the son to be revived.
What can we learn to help us follow the example of Elijah who was faithful through the challenges he faced?
5. Follow The Example of Elijah’s Faithfulness
Be Courageous - never let anyone cause you to lose your faith. Elijah faced a wicked king - what are we facing that
may cause us to lose faith?
1 Corinthians 16:13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.
Be Obedient - keep your eyes on the Word of God and follow His teachings. Elijah obeyed when he received instructions from God - even when they were not what he expected. We live by faith, not by sight!
Hebrews 5:9 [Jesus] became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him
Be Compassionate - the world is broken and hurting. We serve a God who heals and strengthens. Elijah is broken hearted about the death of the widow’s son.
1 Peter 3:8 …All of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.
Be Prayerful - we see this throughout his life.
James 5:16b-17 The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
Conclusion
Elijah is faithful through the challenges he faces - and teaches us to stay close to God when tough times threaten to shake our faith.
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Resources
Seow, Choon-Leong. The First and Second Books of Kings in The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, Vol. II. Abingdon, 2015.
