Thank you Wally for sharing this with us. Good reading, great and powerful words and thoughts.
Zarephath
Elijah in Prayer
No where in the context of the writing about Elijah are we told of Elijah’s praying, however, the New Testament does tell us of Elijah’s prayers,
“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.” James 5:16b-18 (KJV)
So we know that Elijah had power with God, and he received that power because of his commitment to God and earnest prayer.
As we were looking at Elijah ministering to the widow of Zarephath I neglected to mention that this widow was a Gentile. As Jesus mentions in Luke (4:25-26) there were widows of Israel who could have used some help, but God sent Elijah to Zarephath instead, due to the hearts of the people of Israel being in rejection of God and His Word.
Now as Elijah is praying “the word of the LORD came” to him…
“And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, ‘Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.'” 1 Kings 18:1
This third year could possibly be the third year since he came to stay with the widow and her son. God is ready now to call Israel to repentance, and to return to Him; and He will use Elijah to call the prophets of Baal to a challenge of fire. We will not get into that just yet.
We notice in the verses to come that there was a servant of Ahab’s who was a God fearer, and had protected some of the other prophets of God;
“And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly: for it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)” 18:3-4
Ahab had called on Obadiah to search with him for water in fountains, brooks, and grass for caring for the king’s animals. It seems quite pointed to see a king searching for food for his animals while maybe a unconcerned about the needs of the people.
We need to learn from Elijah the necessity of prayer. However, without faith in God, much prayer avails nothing. The power of prayer is not praying. The power of prayer is GOD. And Elijah loved the LORD, and believed Him and trusted Him unto life.
-Tim A. Blankenship
Elijah; Man of God
Those of us who have been involved in church and Christianity; and even some other religions know the term “Man of God”. The basic idea behind the phrase is that a man is faithful to believing God, His Word and living it in His life.
We have seen where the “Man of God” confronted the king Ahab and told him of an absence of rainfall until he [Elijah] calls for it. We know from the book of James that it was 3.5 years. That is a drought. We have read also where God provided for the prophet, the man of God, by sending him to a brook off the Jordon River, and God supplied him bread and meat until the brook dried up; and then he sent him to a widow woman with a young son; and he asked her to give him her last portion of food. Because of the woman’s faith, she fed Elijah, and her barrel of meal never ran out; as the King James says, “Wasted not”, neither did her container of oil run dry.
While the man of God is present in the home of the widow and her son; the son dies; and the woman is very distraught. She is like many of us. Since the man of God is in the house and home, then, “How can such an evil and bad thing happen to us?” Now before someone goes off on a tangent fit let me first explain that it does seem implied by the reading of 17:18;
“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?'” (KJV)
Remember in John 11 Lazarus a close friend of Jesus was on his death bed; Mary and Martha (Lazarus’s sisters) sent for Jesus, but he lingered where he was. Jesus said,
“This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.” John 11:4
To read the rest of the event we find that Lazarus died, was buried, and had been dead four days; and Jesus calls his name and Lazarus comes out of that tomb alive. God receives the greater glory by the resurrection of Lazarus, then by healing him of a sickness.
The resurrection of the widows son, helped the woman see more clearly that Elijah was the man of God. She announces in the final verse of chapter 17,
“Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.” 1Kings 17:24 (KJV)
The man of God in today’s world may not raise anyone to life after being dead; at least in the physical sense. However, the man of God will be able to clearly present the way to knowing God, having fellowship with Him, and how God declares one to be righteous. That is by way of the cross of Jesus Christ; His death, burial and bodily resurrection. Believe the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will experience resurrection.
-Tim A. Blankenship
A Widow Challenged by the Prophet
The brook Cherith to which the LORD had supplied for Elijah was dried up due to the drought which Elijah had prayed for, received, and was supplied for by God. Could God have not kept the stream flowing, water coming just for Elijah, rather than moving him on somewhere else? He could have, but He chose not to do so. There was a widow woman, with a son who was about to come to terms with the possibility of starving to death; so the LORD sent the prophet to her.
Zarephath is the place where she lived, and to which Elijah went. According to Strong’s it means “Refinery”; so there may have been some sort of oil refining going on in that location. This widow woman, unnamed, has a young son she is providing for, and she is about to fix their last meal; and the LORD sends Elijah to her, and he presents her with a challenge,
“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.’ 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.'” 1 Kings 17:10-11 (KJV)
Does Elijah know this woman is in dire straits? He probably knows she is needy, that this woman needs some hope, and God sent him to help her. Do you ever notice the circumstances God brings into our lives, good and bad, are often the means by which God shows Himself strong, and at work in His people’s lives? This woman tells Elijah,
“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.” verse 12
The economy stinks. It has not rained in months, maybe a year or two, and this woman has great need. Some would say; and I know they would because I have heard it; “How dare a man of God to ask a widow down to her last bit of food, feed him first”. Who does this man think he is? First of all he is a prophet of God. Not the first one, or the last one, but he is one who is faithful to the LORD. This widow was about to be blessed and provided for throughout the final months and days of the drought. The prophet believed God would provide.
The prophet uses two of the greatest words you will find in Scripture to speak to the woman,
“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. 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.’ And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. 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.” 17:13-16
We are not told how Elijah knew to speak these words to the woman. I think it could be possible that Elijah was walking with God, he knew the heart of God, and God knew Elijah’s heart, that anything Elijah would speak that glorified the LORD would come to pass. No man walking with God will speak contrary to the will or glory of God.
Would to God that had that walk. That is my prayer. How about you?
Walking with God is possible only through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit who comes to live within is always with you, and leads you in your walk with God, to glorify Him.
-Tim A. Blankenship
The Fire and Hammer 