The Ravens Feed Elijah
The prophet Elijah's work was closely tied to...
The prophet Elijah's work was closely tied to his spiritual growth. Elijah challenged Israel's interest in Baal, the Canaanite storm god. During this conflict, Elijah saw God's power and support, unlike Baal's weakness. This was shown in Elijah's contest with Baal's prophets on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:1–46). After fleeing from Jezebel, God renewed Elijah's mission at Mount Sinai (1 Kings 19:1–18). Elijah's mission was finished by his successor, Elisha (1 Kings 19:19–21).
1Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead,† said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!”
Kerith Brook was a safe place for Elijah...
Kerith Brook was a safe place for Elijah during the drought God caused (see 1 Kings 18:10). The food and water there showed Elijah that God was protecting him.
When the water source dried up, Elijah had to move to a new place.
Kerith Brook was a safe place for Elijah during the drought God caused (see 1 Kings 18:10). The food and water there showed Elijah that God was protecting him.
When the water source dried up, Elijah had to move to a new place.
2Then a revelation from the LORD came to Elijah: 3“Leave here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan.† 4And you are to drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
5So Elijah did what the LORD had told him, and he went and lived by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan. 6The ravens would bring him bread and meat in the morning and evening, and he would drink from the brook. 7Some time later, however, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
The Widow of Zarephath
8Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah:
Zarephath was in Phoenician territory. It was about...
Zarephath was in Phoenician territory. It was about seven miles south of Sidon, outside Ahab’s control. In an ironic twist, God gave Elijah a place of safety in Jezebel’s homeland, a region known for the worship of Baal.
Elijah got up and went: Elijah once more obeyed the Lord’s command (see 1 Kings 17:5). He had key traits for successful spiritual service:
obedience (1 Samuel 15:22; Psalm 40:1–6; Isaiah 1:10–20),
trust (Psalm 37:3; Proverbs 3:5–6), and
faithfulness (Psalm 18:25; Revelation 2:10).
God’s ongoing care for Elijah and the widow of Zarephath showed His concern for everyone who prioritizes Him.
water … bread: Elijah asked for basic needs, but these were scarce as the drought affected Phoenician territory.
Zarephath was in Phoenician territory. It was about seven miles south of Sidon, outside Ahab’s control. In an ironic twist, God gave Elijah a place of safety in Jezebel’s homeland, a region known for the worship of Baal.
Elijah got up and went: Elijah once more obeyed the Lord’s command (see 1 Kings 17:5). He had key traits for successful spiritual service:
obedience (1 Samuel 15:22; Psalm 40:1–6; Isaiah 1:10–20),
trust (Psalm 37:3; Proverbs 3:5–6), and
faithfulness (Psalm 18:25; Revelation 2:10).
God’s ongoing care for Elijah and the widow of Zarephath showed His concern for everyone who prioritizes Him.
water … bread: Elijah asked for basic needs, but these were scarce as the drought affected Phoenician territory.
Elijah’s faith faced another test. At Kerith Brook,...
Elijah’s faith faced another test. At Kerith Brook, God directly provided for him. When those supplies stopped, Elijah had to rely on a foreign woman's reaction to a divine test. The story has four parts:
The setting (1 Kings 17:8–10a).
Elijah’s test for the widow (1 Kings 17:10b–14).
The woman’s obedience (1 Kings 17:15).
God’s reward (1 Kings 17:15–16).
The setting (1 Kings 17:8–10a).
Elijah’s test for the widow (1 Kings 17:10b–14).
The woman’s obedience (1 Kings 17:15).
God’s reward (1 Kings 17:15–16).
9“Get up and go to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
10So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering sticks. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, so that I may drink.” 11And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread.”
12But she replied, “As surely as the LORD your God lives, I have no bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. Look, I am gathering a couple of sticks to take home and prepare a meal for myself and my son, so that we may eat it and die.”
Even though the woman had few supplies (1...
Even though the woman had few supplies (1 Kings 17:12), Elijah asked her to serve him before herself and her son. Like the poor widow who gave two small coins (Luke 21:1–4), this woman was asked to give everything she had to God's prophet. True faithfulness means putting the kingdom of God before personal needs (Matthew 6:33).
13“Do not be afraid,” Elijah said to her. “Go and do as you have said. But first make me a small cake of bread from what you have, and bring it out to me. Afterward, make some for yourself and your son, 14for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be exhausted and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain upon the face of the earth.’”
She followed Elijah's instructions, and God rewarded her...
She followed Elijah's instructions, and God rewarded her faith. The daily supply of essentials reminded her of God's faithfulness and goodness (Lamentations 3:22–24; Philippians 4:19).
15So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and there was food every day for Elijah and the woman and her household. 16The jar of flour was not exhausted and the jug of oil did not run dry, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through Elijah.
Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son
This story starts with the woman's doubts about...
This story starts with the woman's doubts about Elijah (1 Kings 17:17–18) and ends with her recognizing the power of God's word through Elijah (1 Kings 17:24). Interestingly, this non-Israelite widow acknowledged God's miraculous power, while God's own people, Israel, had forgotten his mighty acts.
17Later, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill, and his sickness grew worse and worse, until no breath remained in him. 18“O man of God,” said the woman to Elijah, “what have you done to me? Have you come to remind me of my iniquity and cause the death of my son?”
19But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.”
So he took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. 20Then he cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on this widow who has opened her home to me, by causing her son to die?” 21Then he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, please let this boy’s life return to him!”
The miracle of the child's resurrection rewarded Elijah's...
The miracle of the child's resurrection rewarded Elijah's faith and confirmed the mother's trust in God's prophet. Her story suggests she put her faith in the Lord. Jesus mentioned her as an example of God's care for non-Israelites and to show that God's messengers are often more accepted by outsiders than by their own people (Luke 4:24–26). The Scriptures often highlight God's care for widows to show his concern for those in need (Exodus 22:21; Deuteronomy 10:18; 27:19; Psalm 68:5; Isaiah 1:17; James 1:27).
22And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah, and the child’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23Then Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. “Look, your son is alive,” Elijah declared.
24Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is truth.”