The other sameness factor is the immutability of God. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8; Mal 3:6; Jas 1:7). This is why Rom 15:4 makes sense, For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. These sameness factors, same changeable human heart and same changeless God, enable us to relate to the characters of Scriptures in one way or another and see how God worked in their lives then and how God can do the same for us today – for the purpose of being in a right relationship with Him.
Background, 1 Kings 17:1-24
The Northern Kingdom of Israel was comprised of 10 of the 12 tribes after breaking with Solomon's son Rehoboam (ca. 930 B.C.) over taxation; Judah and Benjamin were of the Southern Kingdom or Kingdom of Judah. The capital city of Israel was Samaria, and Jerusalem was the capital of the Southern Kingdom. The division between the two was interrupted 208 years later (ca. 930 – 722 B.C.) when Samaria was destroyed and its people were repopulated in Assyria by Sargon II in ca. 722 B.C. There were a total of 19 monarchs that rule over Israel during that time. None of them were a godly lot:
- Jeroboam, 930-909 B.C.
- Nadab, 909-908 B.C.
- Baasha, 908-886 B.C.
- Elah, 886-885 B.C.
- Zimri, 885 B.C. [7 days]
- Tibni, 885-880 B.C. [civil war between Tibni and Omri, Omri prevailing]
- Omri, 885-874 B.C. [made Samaria the capital city of the Northern Kingdom]
- Ahab, 874-853 B.C.
- Ahaziah, 853-852 B.C.
- Joram, 852-841 B.C.
- Jehu, 841-814 B.C.
- Jehoahaz, 814-798 B.C.
- Joash, 798-782 B.C.
- Jeroboam II, 793-753 B.C.
- Zechariah, 753 B.C.
- Shallum, 752 B.C.
- Menahem, 752-742 B.C
- Pekahiah, 742-740 B.C
- Pekah, 752-732 B.C
- Hoshea, 732-722 B.C.
God attempted to save Samaria by sending Elijah and Elisha who were his prophets. Prophets were men raised up by God to be His voice or literally His “mouthpiece." The litmus test of a true prophet in the Bible was that his predictions were 100% accurate / 100% of the time whenever he opened his mouth to speak for God (contrast 1 Kgs 18:19). 100% fulfillment was the litmus test! Even today many claim to have received a vision or word of prophecy from God. Just remember, regardless of their persuasive presentations, since only God knows the future, only a true prophet of God is right 100% in every detail every time.
Anything less than 100% accuracy disqualifies the prediction/s as a prophecy from God but rather qualifies as mere human speculation under the pretense of a revelation from God. A broken clock is right twice a day; a false prophet is one who claims to speak a word from God whose total predictions fall short of 100% accuracy. There is no further revelation of truth to be incorporated in the Scriptures, and no genuine prophecy contradicts the Bible (66 books exclusively, Genesis to Revelation).
God would use prophets to condemn sin and warn of judgment without repentance. Jeroboam encouraged worship of the calves in the beginning as a political maneuver to keep the people from going back to Jerusalem to worship and jeopardize his kingdom (1 Kgs 12:26-33); the Northern Kingdom became addicted to idol worship.
Ahab introduced Baal worship to Israel through his wicked Sidonian wife, Jezebel (1 Kgs 16:31-32). The prophet’s message (Elijah and Elisha), during the reign of Ahab (874-853 B.C.), to Israel was to turn away from deaf, dumb, and dead idols and return to the living LORD.
There are 3 principals in the narrative of chapter 17 – Ahab, Elijah, and a widow of Zarephath whose name is never revealed. We’ll mention Ahab and Elijah now and talk about the widow of Zarephath when we get to verse 8.
Elijah, (1Kgs 17:1).
His name means Yahweh is God. He appears on the stage of history abruptly. Little is known of him with his introduction in the Old Testament as he appears before King Ahab. He was a Tishbite from Tisbeh, a place east of the Jordan River, living in the land of Gilead.
How great a man was Elijah? He was one of only two people not to experience death (2 Kgs 2:11). Do you remember who the other fellow was? Enoch (Gen 5:24). Many believe the two witnesses of Revelation are these two men (Rev 11:3) since they did not experience physical death (cf. Heb 9:27). Elijah appearing before Ahab because of sin is reminiscent of Nathan the prophet confronting King David because of sin (2 Sam 12:1-14). David responded differently than Ahab, however.
Ahab, (1 Kgs 17:1).
He had the well-deserved distinction of being known as the wickedest king ever to reign and married to the evilest woman in all of Scripture, Jezebel, 1 Kgs 16:29-33).
Look at 1 Kgs 16:34. This is an interesting verse. In Joshua 6:26 Joshua warned that whoever rebuilt Jericho (destroyed circa 1406-1404 B.C.) would cost him the lives of his first born and youngest son. Fast forward over 500 years, and Joshua’s prophecy was literally fulfilled in Ahab’s time; The family of Hiel of Bethel suffered a tragic loss with the deaths of his firstborn (Abiram) and youngest son (Segub) during the Jericho restoration project. Had God’s Word been heeded this could have been avoided. The cause of death is uncertain.
How is this connected to Ahab? To show the reader that as God’s Word was fulfilled with Joshua’s warning, so will it be literally fulfilled with Elijah’s prediction – there shall be no dew or rain until Elijah says so (1 Kgs 17:1). If God said it, it will happen.
With what we read of Ahab in 1 Kgs 16:30-33 it is not surprising that he was unmoved by Elijah’s denouncement of idolatrous practices which lead Elijah to announcing a drought upon Israel –
As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word. This drought will happen as surely as Hiel had to bury his two sons for violating God’s prohibition.
Famine was indicative of judgment from God for sin, a chastisement to return to a proper spiritual relationship with God, in this context, the worshipping and serving of other gods The Baal worship was in direct violation of the Law (Ex 20:3-5), and the consequences were to be severe and something to avoid (Lev 26:18-19; Deut 11:16-17; 28:23-24).
Years, 1 Kgs 17:1. How long did the drought last? According to Jesus (Lk 4:25-26) and James his half-brother (Jas 5:17), it lasted 3.5 years. Ahab was only given an indefinite length of time – except at my word.
We are experiencing judgment in America because we have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed after idols of our own making. Remember idolatry is not limited to wood, stone, or metal. It is anything that competes with God’s will for our lives. How long this economic pressure continues is uncertain and could possibly increase, and this judgment is certainly not limited to economics. Our very way of life could be rattled to its core. When the famine finally got Ahab's attention, he was so spiritually numb that he was blaming Elijah, God’s representative, for the famine and not his sin against God (1 Kgs 18:17-18)! This is the setting for I Kgs 17:1-24.
Get away from here … and hide by the Brook Cherith, 1 Kgs 17:2-3. This is interesting because we have the Almighty God telling his messenger, Elijah, Get away from here … and hide. God knew Elijah was going to be a marked man after Ahab realized this famine was a problem and would be hunting down the number one most wanted man in Israel, Elijah (1 Kgs 18:10), the troubler of Israel according to Ahab (1 Kgs 18:17-18), but providence had to run its course. Elijah steps on the stage of biblical history and then goes into hiding. God is directing him when to appear, to disappear, and to reappear.
1 Kgs 17:4-7 Since God can control the weather He can control the animal kingdom. God hid Elijah and used the ravens to bring him bread and meat. God used Obadiah to hide 100 prophets of the LORD and bring them bread and water during the Jezebel persecution (1Kgs 18:4). During the next 3.5 years God chose the drought to be His voice, but Elijah didn’t know that this drought would last that long.
Commanded the ravens (v4) – Recall how God used the physical environment to accomplish his purpose in Egypt: river into blood, frogs, lice, flies, livestock died, boils, hail, locusts, and darkness? Another example would be the great fish and Jonah. God used a raven, an unclean bird (Lev 11:15; cf. Noah using a raven to search for dry land, Gen 8:7) to bring bread and meat to Elijah. Elijah probably was thinking to himself, I love the taste of raven beak in the morning…. Now let's take a look at the third principal in the story.
The widow of Zarephath, 1 Kgs 17:8-24.
Commanded a [Gentile] widow (v9). God commanded the ravens and now commanded a widow to take care of Elijah. It is not recorded that God personally spoke to this woman! Though a Gentile unbeliever, she obeyed everything Elijah asked of her.
Gathering sticks (v10, v12) what’s wrong with this picture? Gathering sticks equals rock bottom. God is going to use a Gentile woman who is at rock bottom to provide for Elijah. This is the way of God: I2P (impossible to possible).
Bring me a cup of water (v10) This is reminiscent of Jesus at Jacob’s well asking the Samaritan woman for a drink of water (Jn 4:7). This didn’t require any measure of faith, only hospitality.
Bring me a morsel of bread (v11) This required faith in the words of the man of God who was a complete stranger. This question took her by surprise and reminded her of the grim reality –
That we may eat and die (v12) This is the layering of despair where the pressure doesn’t go away and the stress doesn’t subside. Since the famine started each day the cupboards were being depleted. Each day the stress mounted and served as a vivid reminder that they were going to run out of food. Each day the question hung around like a plague, what are we going to do? How are we going to survive?
Then the time finally arrived when hope had turned into despair for their resources were at its end – I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die. (v12)
She already had lost her husband (the reason unknown). The thought of losing her son was too much to bear. Then comes this man – Please bring me a morsel of bread! The timing of this question was to perfection in God’s providence (Elijah's travel time to the Brook Cherith, his time at raven retreat, and his travel time to Zarephath to meet this widow at the gate).
God knew precisely how long her supplies would last. He truly is the God of the last minute! Faith grows in the furnace of time. It took the gathering sticks to bring her to a point where she would be receptive of the truth. But such a sacrificial gift to the man of God was insufficient to address her spiritual need of God. This would come later through another test.
What was Elijah's response to this widow's demoralized state of mind? Do not fear for God will provide us food until the famine has passed (1 Kgs 17:13-14).
What was the response of this Gentile widow who did not know the LORD? We see in v15 she did what Elijah said (1 Kgs 17:15)! What did she have to lose so she invested the last of her food into the will of God.
What was God's response? Look at vv15-16 (1 Kgs 17:15-16). God made much out of little. When we invest into the will of God, our returns on such investment are priceless and unimaginable. Our God is an I2P God (impossible to possible). He makes possibility out of impossibility. He revels in this for our development for His glory!
The answer to the dilemmas of life is to believe the Word of God. The Word sustains through crisis as well as in oasis. Why did Jesus refer to this story in Luke 4:26? He referred to it because of Israel’s unbelief (cf. 1 Kgs 17:1) and so God poured out his grace to the Gentiles instead. This infuriated the Jews because Gentiles, women, and lepers were on the bottom rung of the social ladder. God goes through extraordinary lengths to bring people into a right relationship with Him.
Man simply does not comprehend his infinite worth before God. This is why for man to choose hell over heaven is an infinite tragedy. God is reaching out to all mankind to repent from sin.
Salvation! 1 Kgs 17:17-24
My sin to remembrance (v18) If we put ourselves in this widows sandals, we would have to wonder why me? Why did the LORD send a Jewish prophet to help a poor unbelieving Gentile woman? The endless flour and oil are wonderful and miraculous, but it doesn’t solve the riddle.
The oil and flour met her physical needs but the death of her son would address her spiritual needs. There is no indication what my sin has reference to, but it stood between her and having a personal relationship with God.
The death of the widow’s son caused her to question Elijah’s motive, "What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son.?" (v18) She may have blamed the death of her son on her sin that haunted her from the past, and believed it had finally caught up with her. She was unmercifully beating herself up with guilt. She could be reduced no further except by her own death. She was totally stripped of any resistance now. There was no fight left in her. She was now in a spiritual condition to be brought into a right relationship with the LORD.
Give me your son (v19). Elijah doesn’t defend his position or God’s. He could never convince her anyway because her son was dead; this was the stark reality. What was the point of the flour and oil anymore....
When dealing with those who suffered the loss of a loved one, it might be best to simply listen and say little. There was no way Elijah could have ever identified with her in the death of her son. So he did what he should and could do – take this matter to the LORD.
He cried out to the LORD (v20). His question was passionate and inquisitive in nature but not accusative. Elijah had probably grown fond of the child while staying there, waiting upon a word from God. This death came as a surprise to Elijah as well.
The soul of the child came back to him, and he revived (v22). This is the first instance of someone coming back from the dead.
From See, I am gathering a couple of sticks (v17) to See, your son lives (v23) indicated the impotency of the Baal religion to help this widow of Zarephath who lived in Baal country. Only the God of Elijah was able to meet her physical and spiritual needs.
Why did God Almighty send Elijah to a Gentile widow woman in Zarephath? God saw a flickering flame in the heart of a woman in a land of darkness questioning the failure of the Baal religion to meet her deepest needs and looking for the truth. It took the death of her son to break through the barriers to a right relationship with God.
Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth." (v24)
Whenever a man or woman truly seeks to know the truth sincerely, God will send someone to that person. God will go through extraordinary lengths to bring others into a right relationship with Him, either for salvation or restoration of fellowship. The Baal religion or a Christ-less world can never value the infinite worth of any man, woman, or child; it seeks only to use up and destroy. Whenever a man or woman chooses hell over heaven, this is a tragedy of endless magnitude. The Gentile widow of Zarephath experienced the grace of God and discovered her infinite worth! When God speaks a Word, write it down; it's going to happen.
