And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
2 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,
3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
5 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.
6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.
7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
8 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,
9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.
11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.
12 And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.
15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
16 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.
17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.
18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?
19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.
20 And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?
21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again.
22 And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.
23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.
24 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. 1 Kings 17 KJV
Straight out of Gilead, yes, he said that, it will not rain again until by my word, but who are you? You are not royalty, and if God has something to say to me, let Him do it in person, Himself. I don't even know who you are, who are your parents, who is Elijah? You stand before the king of Israel, a servant of Baal, I have to laugh at this, it means nothing to me.
God sends Elijah away, now that he has given his word, no one will be able to find him, to beg that he take it back, to beat a different judgment out of him. Like John the Baptist eating locust and honey, he retires to the wilderness to be fed meat and bread by scavengers. It is not beneath him, and how little we actually need, I am appalled at myself, and astonished at the breaking point that I would consider inconvenience or unfair. What could God possibly ask of me though that would be unfair? Why do the wicked prosper? Why does Elijah have to go into hiding, shouldn't the inconvenience of this life be upon the sinner, but who is not? I think about it now in comparison to the worse of times then, when you cannot explain it any other way to men who cannot hear reason, but love their position, and the brook Cherith now seems a resort, and the meat and bread from ravens the finest dining. It is the better company to keep, and though they had His words delivered to them, they would not listen, and now His words are gone, and the brook is drying up. No problem, you have your own god, you have a king, this is a man without a house, a nobody, one, so call a hundred prophets, and demand the skies be open again. Was this not written in the words you discarded?
Now this is odd, that in all of Israel, God does not find for Elijah a rescuer, a helper, but He sends him to a widow in Jezebel's country. Where they had already had the rule of Baal worshipers, there is a woman who will shelter him. She is quick to go for water, that Elijah may drink, but she must reconsider his request for a cake. It is all I have left for me and my son and then we wait for death. That's interesting, go make me a cake first, and then go make for you and your son. What does she really have to lose, under the present circumstances her only gain is one last meal? One last moment to stare at misery, to ward off the inevitable, it's all she has, but like the loaves and the fishes, it could be so much more. It is awesome that he, who has been accustomed to meat, will now share in the widow's life. He will gratefully be sustained on such manna as this, and for her it will be the greatest relief and the most blessed company. Give us this day our daily bread. She is like the widow who gave the last two pennies she had, and yet gave more than all the Pharisees and Sadducees that day. I cannot relate to either, for I have lost the opportunity to give many times, in order that I could receive. I needed a night out, an expensive dinner, a new car payment, and now I am hearing about your situation too late, or worse, I heard early enough, but did all else before considering the cost and now I cannot help you. It is a true sign of faith that sets aside to give first, and the widow is learning this now.
Now her faith is tested, for it is a physical world still, and much of the work along with so much of the pain is in earthen vessels. The meal and the oil have not run out, but her son has fallen ill so that his life has left him. She first takes out her frustration and sorrow on Elijah, what have I to do with thee, is this what it means to know you? Then, is this about my sin, are you taking him because of something I have done, my past? Elijah takes him and lays him on his own bed, oh God, this woman that has been kind to your servant. I have spoken daily to this little boy, will you leave your servant here in such a manner, under such a cloud, is this all I shall ever bring with me, a closed sky, a starving people, a dead boy? He stretches across the child three times and begs the Lord to bring the life back into the boy. Lazarus, come forth, and his sister believed, and the women understood the resurrection first, they could hear first and see. Now this widow believes, never mind the oil and the meal, her son was dead and now he lives, now she believes. The life must be brought back into those who are dead, so that we can believe.
God sends Elijah away, now that he has given his word, no one will be able to find him, to beg that he take it back, to beat a different judgment out of him. Like John the Baptist eating locust and honey, he retires to the wilderness to be fed meat and bread by scavengers. It is not beneath him, and how little we actually need, I am appalled at myself, and astonished at the breaking point that I would consider inconvenience or unfair. What could God possibly ask of me though that would be unfair? Why do the wicked prosper? Why does Elijah have to go into hiding, shouldn't the inconvenience of this life be upon the sinner, but who is not? I think about it now in comparison to the worse of times then, when you cannot explain it any other way to men who cannot hear reason, but love their position, and the brook Cherith now seems a resort, and the meat and bread from ravens the finest dining. It is the better company to keep, and though they had His words delivered to them, they would not listen, and now His words are gone, and the brook is drying up. No problem, you have your own god, you have a king, this is a man without a house, a nobody, one, so call a hundred prophets, and demand the skies be open again. Was this not written in the words you discarded?
Now this is odd, that in all of Israel, God does not find for Elijah a rescuer, a helper, but He sends him to a widow in Jezebel's country. Where they had already had the rule of Baal worshipers, there is a woman who will shelter him. She is quick to go for water, that Elijah may drink, but she must reconsider his request for a cake. It is all I have left for me and my son and then we wait for death. That's interesting, go make me a cake first, and then go make for you and your son. What does she really have to lose, under the present circumstances her only gain is one last meal? One last moment to stare at misery, to ward off the inevitable, it's all she has, but like the loaves and the fishes, it could be so much more. It is awesome that he, who has been accustomed to meat, will now share in the widow's life. He will gratefully be sustained on such manna as this, and for her it will be the greatest relief and the most blessed company. Give us this day our daily bread. She is like the widow who gave the last two pennies she had, and yet gave more than all the Pharisees and Sadducees that day. I cannot relate to either, for I have lost the opportunity to give many times, in order that I could receive. I needed a night out, an expensive dinner, a new car payment, and now I am hearing about your situation too late, or worse, I heard early enough, but did all else before considering the cost and now I cannot help you. It is a true sign of faith that sets aside to give first, and the widow is learning this now.
Now her faith is tested, for it is a physical world still, and much of the work along with so much of the pain is in earthen vessels. The meal and the oil have not run out, but her son has fallen ill so that his life has left him. She first takes out her frustration and sorrow on Elijah, what have I to do with thee, is this what it means to know you? Then, is this about my sin, are you taking him because of something I have done, my past? Elijah takes him and lays him on his own bed, oh God, this woman that has been kind to your servant. I have spoken daily to this little boy, will you leave your servant here in such a manner, under such a cloud, is this all I shall ever bring with me, a closed sky, a starving people, a dead boy? He stretches across the child three times and begs the Lord to bring the life back into the boy. Lazarus, come forth, and his sister believed, and the women understood the resurrection first, they could hear first and see. Now this widow believes, never mind the oil and the meal, her son was dead and now he lives, now she believes. The life must be brought back into those who are dead, so that we can believe.
Soon afterward[c] he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus[d] gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country. Luke 7: 11-17
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