1 Kings 17

1 Kings 17:1-7

Elijah in these civil days now first appears, those whom, next to Moses, a greater prophet arose out under the Old Testament. 1. He presided a famine in Israel, for want of rain, ver. 1. 2. God provides for him in the famine. (1.) By the ravens at the brook Cherith, ver. 2—7. (2.) By a widow at Zarephath. 3. He multiplies for need and her aid, ver. 8—10. 4. He raised her dead for 15 life, ver. 17—24.

1. AND Elijah the Tifshite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, laid unto Ahab, ‘At 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.

Elijah, the Tifshite, so called probably from the place of his nativity in Gilead, is called up to warn the idolatrous king, and in their days of apostasy, with fervent zeal to testify against the wickedness of Israel. Note, God will have his witnesses in the world times, and will render them with proportionable gifts and graces for the difficulties they are called to struggle with. We have,

1. Elijah’s solemn denunciation on Ahab, v. 1. Probably he had before in vain warned him of his wickedness, and finding him incorrigible, declares the famine, which in zeal for God, he had prayed might come as a just judgment upon Israel, See Jom. v. 17; and, to affect the king with a desire of the hand from whence it came, informs him, that the Lord Jehovah, the God of Israel, whom he had dishonoured, the living God, whom he had rejected for dumb idols, had commissioned him for this message; and that neither dew nor rain should fall, but according to his word.

2. As he might well expect his boldness would offend such impudent sinners as Ahab and Jezebel, God bids him hide himself by the brook Cherith, and Elijah without hesitation obeys. There, during the approaching famine, God promises to take care for his provision, and by a wonderful means supposes him; for whilst the brook afforded him water to drink, ravens brought him morning and evening bread and flesh to eat. They were creatures voracious and unclean; but their mouth defied not when sent in God’s errand, and their mouth was sealed up, when employed to feed his holy prophet. There, unknown, unnoticed, he abode, till the water of the brook sailing, God opened a new supply. Note, (1.) They who dare be bold for God, may truth him safely for protection. (2.) It is a bad sign for a people, when God’s prophets are driven into corners. (3.) Obscurity becomes duty, when God calls us to it. (4.) God will take care, however precarious their apparent subsistence, his faithful ministers shall not want; though often, like Elijah, he is pleased to feed them but from hand to mouth, to exercise their faith and patience. (5.) When God will work, he will never want means. (6.) They who give good advice, and live in bad practices, like these ravens, bring others wholesome food, and feed on carious themselves. (7.) Every source of earthly comfort may in time run dry; but they who live upon an all-sufficient God, will find living waters of consolation that never fail.

3. ¶ 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 flocks: and he called to her, and said, Fereh 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 ‘imorest of bread in thine hand. 12. And the said, At the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruise: and behold,

4. 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 thou saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waft, neither shall the cruise of oil fail, until the day that the LORD fendeth rain upon the earth. 15. And the 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 wafted not, neither did the cruise of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD which he spake by Elijah.

1 Kings 17:8-16

The brook being dry, Elijah is commanded to remove. We for he waited to the last drop without fullestude, and even then remove not without an order. He that believeth will not make hopt, but wait the Lord’s leisure.

1. Zerephath, a city of Sidon, is the place fixed for his abode, where God had provided a reception for him in the house of a widow, a gentile, and poor withal, and in the very country where Israel might seize him. But they who have God’s warrant to go, have no questions to ask.

2. Though he knew not the person who should be his hoffels, he went, not doubting to find her; and he at the gate providence brings them together. A woman met him, one very unlucky to supply his wants, who appeared ready to furnish herself. To her he addressed himself for a little water; and when she turned to fetch it, he desired a morsel of bread along with it. This led her to inform him of her distressed circumstances; a handful of meal, and a little oil in a cruise, were all she possessed; and she was now come to gather a few sticks, to dress it for herself and her son, as the last morsel they ever expected to eat. Elijah bids her do so, but still make him a cake, nor fear to want, since from God he assured her, the most should not fail, nor the oil be exhausted, till the days of famine were over. Behold a prodigy of faith without hesitation, though so difficult the command, against which reason, self-love, and natural affections might raise strong objections, she flagged not at the prophet’s affurances, but did as she was desired, and invalid on the word of promise. Note, (1.) In our deepest distress, God is nearer to relieve us than we are aware. (2.) God hath ever chosen the poor in this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom. (3.) Faith silences all objections; a word of promise is infested of a thousand arguments. (4.) They who can trust God with their all, will find themselves no losers by him.

3. The first essay confirmed the prophet’s declaration, and the daily miracle continued for two years and upwards, during which Elijah, herself, and son, even in these days of death, had enough. It was plain fare, but no doubt they were abundantly thankful for it, and coming thus from the Lord’s hand, was doubly sweet. Note, (1.) The prophets and ministers of God must learn of Elijah to be content with hard fare. (2.) There is that fastbreath, and yet merciless. Works of piety and charity bring us again our own with usury. (3.) If our hearts be open to receive the great prophet, the greater than Elijah, we shall then never want any manner of thing that is good.

4. ¶ 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 fore, that there was no breath left in him. 18. And the said unto Elijah, ‘What have I to do with thee, O’ thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my son to remembrance, and to day 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 saying 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 master: 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 17:17-24

When we have been most eminently employed for God, and have received the most reviving tokens of his regard, we must not wonder if we are called to the serereth trials.

Whole house could one have thought so secure from evil in this heinous widows; yet behold its desolation.

1. She had but one son, and he dies. Though fed by a miracle, he was not beyond the arm of death.

2. Distress and anguish weigh down the afflicted widow; and though she cannot but own her son provoked the visitation, she perversely reflects upon Elijah, as if his prayers, which had brought the famine on the land, had for her sin brought death into her family. Note, (1.) The more unexpected the broken falls, the more difficult it is at first to be compelled. (2.) In our troubles we are apt to quarrel with our best friends. (3.) We speak that in halfe, which, in our cooler hours, we cannot but condemn. (4.) When God visits our families, we should humbly confess and acknowledge our sins, which are the cause of our troubles.

3. Elijah exceedingly intereth himself in her affliction, and taking the dead child from her bosom, returns to spread the sad cats before a compassionate God. He cries with importunity, pleads his intereth with God, humbly restless with him on the poor widow’s afflictions, whose kindness had been so great to him, and whose circumstances were so pissable; and stretching himself on the child, as if longing to re-knight the vital heat in the lifeless clay, he fervently intrests that God who can awake the dead, to restore again the soul, which supposes its separate existence, to the deserted corpse. Note, (1.) If we have christian hearts, we shall not behold the sorrows of the afflicted without tender tranquility, and desire to restore their distresses. (2.) Is Elijah so earnest to restore a dead body, and ought not Chaffa ministers to be as important with him to quicken poor souls dead in trespasses and sins? (3.) It is not all our prayers and labours, but God’s power alone, that can effect this spiritual refurrection.

4. God hears, and graciously answers him. The child, the dead, revived, and with joy he brought him down to the transported mother. Her faith had before wavered: after all she had seen and known, she almost doubted whether he were a man of God; so apt are fore temptations to bring us under the power of unbelief. But now she is assured of it to demonstration, and without doubt professes her full confidence in all he had told her, whether concerning the God of Israel, or the prophecies yet to be fulfilled. Note, As the oak grows more rooted by temptations winds, so faith grows stronger after the blasts of temptation.