The series “Baywatch” has ended after almost a decade of being on television. How many here are familiar with the show “Baywatch”? Supposedly it was about the lives of life guards on the beaches of California (but in all reality it was more about scantily clad men and women running on the beach). In real life, however, lifeguards are important people. They watch over us on the beach and at the pool. They keep us in line if we are doing something stupid like swimming out to far in a heavy current or running around a slippery pool. They also have been known to save many a person from drowning. Life guards are important people.
Well, today we are going to look at the story of Elijah and the widow at Zarephath, a story from the Old Testament, and we are going to see that God is the ultimate life guard: stronger, faster and smarter than even David Hasselhoff from Baywatch. Because God, our life guard, has saved us from eternal death and always watches over and protects us. So we read from 1 Kings 17:17-24...
I. He saves us from death
First of all, we should probably get a little background to this story. Elijah was God’s prophet during the reign of King Ahab in the Northern Tribes of Israel. Ahab had the dubious distinction of “doing more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any king before him.” And that’s pretty bad when you consider that the Northern Tribes never even had one good king who was faithful to God. And Ahab was the worst. Ahab married the infamous Jezebel who promoted the worship of Baal and Asherah in Israel, two religions that were steeped in pornographic and violent ceremonies.
Jezebel sent out at least 450 Baal missionaries that we know of to corrupt God’s people... and it worked. So God sent Elijah the Tishbite to tell the king that because of his wickedness and the idolatry of the people, a terrible drought would hit Israel. Because of their sin, Israel would go years without rain. Crops would be destroyed. People would die. If you think that God doesn’t take sin seriously, just look at some of the “discipline” that God sent on his people in the Old Testament.
But God, the life guard, took care of his faithful prophet. First he sent him to a brook, a little creek, where ravens miraculously brought him food. When the brook dried up, God sent him North to a town called Zarephath in the land of the Phoenicians. You see, Ahab blamed Elijah for the problems of Israel and wanted him dead, so Elijah had to cross the border into the Canada of his day to escape the evil king.
There in that little town of Zarephath, God sent Elijah to a poor widow and her son. They only had a small jar of flour, but God in his power made that flour last indefinitely so as to provide food for the widow, her son and the prophet Elijah. And that leads us to the events of our text for this morning.
God decided to prove his power and love to that widow of Zarephath by allowing her son to die. And we see that the widow in her grief reacted as many of us probably would. Recognizing that Elijah was God’s prophet, she asked if God had sent him to punish her for her sins.
You see, even though she wasn’t an Israelite, even though she didn’t have the Ten Commandments, she realized that she was a sinner. She had a conscience. That remnant of God’s image that though blurred, witnessed to the fact that there is a just God who punishes sin. And she thought that this was God’s judgement for her sin.
But Elijah took the boy and prayed to God asking him to show that this wasn’t a punishment. And stretching himself over the young man three times, he came back to life. The result: the woman was strengthened in her faith that Elijah was God’s prophet and that God’s Word is the truth.
Now, how many times don’t we feel like that poor widow who lost her son? We feel like God is punishing us. Why did God take away my husband? Why did God give me cancer? Or as my sister asked just two weeks ago, why did God take my baby even before he was born? God must be punishing me for the sins of my youth, for my lies, for my evil thoughts, for my angry words. The Apostle Paul says in Romans that those things, those sins “result in death.” Because God is holy. He hates sin. He must and will always punish sin.
But you see, our sins have already been punished. Jesus, our life guard, gave his own life, suffering the punishment of our sins so that we would not be punished. God punished Jesus with death and hell for all the sins that had been committed and would be committed in this world, including our own. The punishment for all sins has been made. There is no more punishment. The only people that will receive God’s punishment are those who in their unbelief reject the forgiveness that Jesus won for us on the cross. God doesn’t punish you and never will. There is no punishment for those who believe in Christ Jesus.
You remember a few weeks ago when Pastor Carlos spoke of the difference between punishment and discipline? The word discipline means instruction. Well, God disciplines us in love. When we pass through tough times, when a loved one dies, it is not to punish some sin, but rather in love to bring us closer to him. That’s what happened to the widow in our story for this morning.
Sure, pastor, it’s easy for her to trust God, she got her son back, right? God doesn’t always give us what we want, does he? He doesn’t bring back our dead mothers, fathers, children and grandparents. But he does promise that all things work together for the good of those who love him. Through his Word he gives us confidence and strength to be able to face tragedy, sickness and death. Through his Word he saves us from drowning in despair; he gives us spiritual mouth to mouth resuscitation when we need it the most. He gives us the confidence that even though we cannot always see it, all things happen according to his loving plan for us. If nothing else, we know that he gives us heaven where there will be no more problems, no more tears, no more death.
II. He always watches over and protects us
Every evening, life guards post a sign that says: “No life guard on duty, swim at your own risk” and then they go home for the night. Our God never leaves his post. He is always watching out for us, protecting and guiding us. He promises us in his Word, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
And we see that in the life of Elijah. God always provided for him. Now he doesn’t promise to provide for us by sending ravens with food. God usually works through natural means. He gives us hands to work. He gives us doctors to heal us. He gives us parents to watch over us.
God, our life guard, is always providing. But so often we fail to recognize it. We look at what others have and complain. Why can’t I have a Mercedes? Why can’t I have a house like my neighbors? Why can’t I have the newest Nintendo? God promises to provide what we need, what is good for us, but not always what we want. Because what we want isn’t always good for us. Giving a child everything he or she wants is not good for that child, right? Well, it’s the same with us. If I pray to God telling him that I want to be king of the world, he probably isn’t going give me that, because he knows that I would become proud and forget about him.
So God doesn’t give us everything we want, but he does give us a lot. Look around at how much God has blessed us. What are the necessities of life? What do we need to survive? This is the interactive part of the sermon. We need maybe a change of clothes, a roof over our head, a little food and water. What do we have? How many televisions do you have? I don’t know about you, but I could go at least a few of weeks without ever wearing the same clothes twice. We have cars, computers, televisions, DVD players. Do you eat the same food every night? We eat a variety of food. We don’t deserve these things. They are gifts of God.
So let’s recognize how much our God has given us. We will never be punished for our sins. Our life guard gave his life so that we can have life eternal. He is always watching over us and providing for us. He provides everything we need and so much more. So thank him. Thank your life guard in your prayers. Thank him with your singing; thank him with your service; thank him with your offerings thank him with your time.
The series Baywatch has ended after almost 10 years of being on television. The sign is now posted: “No life guard on duty, swim at your own risk.” God, our life guard, however, is and always will be on duty and his sign says: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” Thanks be to God. Amen.
