I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 1 Kings
16:29-33 and 1 Kings 17:1
1
Kings 16:29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri
became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years.
30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those
before him. 31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam
son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the
Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 32 He set up an altar for
Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah
pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did
all the kings of Israel before him.
1
Kings 17:1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe[a] in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As
the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor
rain in the next few years except at my word.”
-- a few years ago, I decided I
wanted something different -- something special -- for supper -- and so I stopped
at this local butcher shop that people had been telling me about -- I looked at
their steaks and hamburger, but I wanted something else -- and then I saw their
porkchops -- they had the best looking porkchops I had ever seen -- they were
thick -- they were big -- they were perfect for the grill -- so I bought
several of them and brought them home for supper -- I could just picture what
this meal was going to be like -- I could literally taste the pork chops in
anticipation of what was to come
-- I put the charcoal on the grill
and, as I waited for the coals to get ready, I prepared the pork chops -- I put
salt and pepper and seasoning on them -- and got them ready for the grill --
but, you know, when I was getting them ready, I noticed they had a little bit
of a smell -- didn’t smell quite right -- but we hadn’t cooked pork chops in a
long time -- thought it might be something I wasn’t familiar with -- and didn’t
think anything about it
-- the coals got ready -- I put the
chops on the grill -- they sizzled and they browned and they looked perfect --
and when they got done, I just had to sneak one little taste -- so I cut off
the tip of one of the chops and it was perfect -- cooked to perfection -- I
stuck it in my mouth and took a bite and almost gagged
-- it was rotten -- it was spoiled
-- this meat had turned and wasn’t good -- I don’t know what happened at the
butcher shop -- I don’t know if the cooler wasn’t working or the meat had been
left out too long, but the promise of me enjoying grilled pork chops was
quickly dashed because the meat had spoiled and was no good
-- well, this morning, that’s where
we find the nation of Israel -- last week, we looked at the reign of David,
Israel’s first great king -- and we talked about the Davidic covenant that God
made with David and with Israel -- the great promise He gave them that He would
be their God and they would be His people and that David would always have a
descendant on the throne of Israel
-- and while God’s promises are always
true and always “yes” in Christ, the people didn’t hold up to their end of the
promise -- as we find ourselves here in the middle of 1 Kings, we see the
nation of Israel has split into two separate kingdoms -- with 10 tribes in the
north making up the nation of Israel or Samaria -- and 2 tribes in the south
making up the kingdom of Judah
-- Ahab, the son of Omri, is now the
king of Israel -- and Ahab is not a good king -- he is not a moral man -- he is
not a man of God -- in fact, as we see in 1 Kings 16:30, it says that Ahab did
more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him
-- Ahab was bad enough, but his wife
Jezebel was worse -- she was not Jewish -- she was from another country, and
when Ahab married her, she brought with her the religion of her country -- and,
along with Ahab, proceeded to replace the worship of the One True God with the worship
of Baal, a foreign god
-- thus, the character of the nation
and the promise were spoiled because the people turned away from the Lord to
follow false gods
-- but God was faithful and held
true to His promise -- He stirred the heart of Elijah, a Israelite from Tishbe
in Gilead, and called him to cry out to the nation to repent of their sins and
to come back to Him -- to get their attention and as judgment on their idolatry
and sins, God proclaimed through Elijah that He was sending a drought upon the
land that would last three years -- during that time, there would be no dew or
rain in the land, except at His word
-- so, that’s the backstory of
Elijah -- the prophet who has been called by God to remind the people of the
promise and to proclaim the word of God to the nation of Israel at the start of
Ahab’s reign
-- through this series, we’ve been
looking at the promises of God in the Bible, focusing primarily on His big
covenantal promises to Abraham, to Moses and the Nation of Israel, and to David
-- but we have to keep in mind that
God’s promises and God’s grace are not just for nations and kings -- they are
also for us -- for the individuals and the people whose names will never be
written in history books -- for men and women just like us -- people going
about our days and trying to live for God in our daily lives
-- I was at a Promise Keeper’s event
one time, and the speaker told the story about the time he lost his socks -- he
was a teenager and he needed these particular socks for school -- so, he asked
his mother if she had seen them -- and she called back up, “have you prayed
about it?”
-- his response was that God was too
busy with running the universe to care about a pair of lost socks -- he was
trying to make the point that God doesn’t bother himself with the little person
-- with the smallest of the small -- but concerns Himself only with the big picture
and the big people -- but he prayed and asked God to help him find his socks --
and, sure enough, when he opened his eyes, he saw them
-- stories like this and passages
like this one in 1 Kings 17 remind us that God’s promise is not just for the nations
and their kings and leaders, but it’s also for us -- so let’s look at this
chapter now and see how God’s promise of daily grace came to pass in the life
of Elijah and a foreign widow
II. Scripture Lesson (1 Kings 17:1-24)
-- look back at 1 Kings 17:1-6
1
Kings 17:1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe[a] in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As
the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor
rain in the next few years except at my word.”
2
Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: 3 “Leave here, turn eastward and hide
in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and
I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.”
5
So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the
Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the
morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
-- so, after God had Elijah go to
Ahab and pronounce a drought on the land because of their sin, the word of the
Lord came to him again and told him to leave Samaria and to go to the Kerith
Ravine and the Kerith Brook -- some translations have this as the “Cherith”
ravine and brook
-- you’ve got to think that Ahab and
Jezebel were not very happy with Elijah or with God -- he’s come to them and
told them that God is punishing them for their sins by keeping rain and dew
from their land -- which is going to lead to the failure of their crops and
famine in the land -- this was not a good message to hear -- and so, God had
Elijah leave the area to get away from the angry rulers
-- the Kerith Ravine was east of the
Jordan River near Gilead, the place where Elijah was originally from -- it was
about 30 miles from Samaria, the capital of Israel, and from the place where
Ahab and Jezebel lived -- and in the middle of a wilderness -- there were no
towns nearby -- there were no people -- there was only rugged mountains and a
mountain stream -- Elijah didn’t really have to worry about Ahab or Jezebel
finding him, but he did have another problem -- he had no food -- he had no
water -- he had no way to take care of himself there in the midst of the
wilderness
-- but in verse 4, God tells Elijah
that He will take care of his daily needs -- that Elijah would drink from the
brook and eat what the ravens brought him
-- notice that it says that the ravens
would feed Elijah there, by the brook-- nowhere else -- God had a place where
He wanted Elijah, and that was where God’s promise and provision would meet him
-- the same is true for us -- we all have a place where we are supposed to be
-- the place where God wants us -- and His providence and grace meets us in
that place and not in the place of our choosing
-- Elijah trusted God’s word -- he
set out on a 30-mile journey across the Jordan to the Kerith Ravine -- and everything
was just as God had said -- ravens brought him bread and meat every morning and
evening -- and he drank his fill from the brook when he was thirsty
-- God’s promise was fulfilled, even
in the wilderness -- even when it seemed impossible
-- verse 7-9
1
Kings 17:7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in
the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath
in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply
you with food.”
-- eventually, the drought that was
affecting the nation of Israel began to affect the waters in the Kerith Brook,
and it began to dry up -- that’s a reminder that all our sins and our actions
have consequences -- not just to us, but to those around us -- Elijah had not
sinned by worshiping false gods, but he was affected by the sins of the nation,
none-the-less
-- so, the word of God came to
Elijah again and God told him to go to Zarephath of Sidon -- this is completely
in the opposite direction from where he had started -- Zarephath was on the
Mediterranean coast -- about 100 miles west of where he had been staying in the
Kerith Ravine -- and, to top it all, Elijah was going to have to go through
Samaria and Israel and all the people mad at him because of God’s word to get
there
-- but that’s what God does to us --
sometimes, we will be happy and comfortable where we are -- enjoying the
promise and God’s daily grace -- when He will speak to us and tell us to move
-- to go to somewhere distant -- somewhere uncomfortable -- somewhere where the
people may not be happy with us or where they don’t know us -- all because He
wants His word and His faith to grow in a different place
-- think about the evangelist Philip
in the New Testament -- he was a successful
preacher -- large following -- told to go to the desert and minister there -- and
when he went, he met the Ethiopian eunuch and led him to salvation -- which
resulted in God’s word spreading throughout the continent of Africa
-- verse 10-16
1
Kings 17: 10
So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering
sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar
so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring
me, please, a piece of bread.”
12
“As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any
bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am
gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that
we may eat it—and die.”
13
Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But
first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me,
and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the
Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the
jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”
15
She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for
Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used
up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord
spoken by Elijah.
-- God had sent Elijah to Zarapheth
with the promise that God would have a widow there take care of him -- and when
he got there, the first person he saw was that very same widow gathering sticks
-- so he called out to her and asked him to bring him some water -- and as she
was going, he called out to her again and said, “And, while you’re at it,
please bring me a piece of bread”
-- at this, she stops and confronts Elijah
-- “I don’t have any bread -- I don’t have anything to give you -- I’ve got
just enough flour and oil to make just one more meal for me and my son before
we die -- that’s why I’m gathering sticks -- to build a fire to bake the bread
for our last meal -- but, there’s not enough for you, too”
-- look at how Elijah responds to
her as he shares God’s word and promise to her
-- first, Elijah tells her to not be
afraid -- that’s our default response, isn’t it? -- when the hard times come on
us -- when the drought happens -- when we’re told our job is going away -- when
there’s more month than there is money -- when the sickness imprisons us in bed
-- when a loved one passes away -- our first response is fear-- how can we live
now? -- how can we make it? -- what will we do?
-- fear leads to doubt -- doubt
leads to worry -- and worry leads to stress and anxiousness and a loss of hope
-- Elijah speaks to the widow and
tells her to not fear, because fear is not of the Lord -- fear looks ahead and
imagines the worst, and that’s just what was going on with this widow -- she
looked ahead to her future and saw nothing but death and trembled in fear for
herself and her son
-- but Elijah was telling her,
“Don’t be afraid, for One is here who is greater than the drought -- just as He
provided for me in the wilderness and led me to this place, He will provide for
you and your family if you but trust and do not fear” -- faith cannot live
where fear reigns
-- next, Elijah asks her to step out
in faith and trust in his God -- remember, this woman is not a believer in
Yahweh -- that’s why she says in verse 12, “As surely as the Lord your God
lives” -- she didn’t know God, but she recognized that Elijah did -- and now
Elijah is asking her to trust his God by going against her better judgment --
going against her instincts -- and making a cake of bread for him first -- to
take what little flour and oil she had, and to give it to him in faith
-- just as Elijah went through a
crisis of belief when God told him that ravens were going to feed him in the
wilderness, this widow is going through one, too -- will she believe in the God
of the Israelites and trust in Him to provide through this drought, or will she
continue to believe in her idols that haven’t been able to provide for her so
far?
-- finally, Elijah proclaims the
promise of God to this woman -- if she believed -- if she took that first step
and made the cake of bread for him in faith -- then she would find her oil and
bread would never fail -- God would continue to provide for her and her son and
would even give her enough to take care of Elijah until the day the rain
returned
-- His promise was predicated on her
faith -- she would not receive His gift unless she trusted in Him enough to
receive it -- to take that first step of faith and believe
-- this reminds me of the story of
the man in the desert who was dying of thirst -- as he’s making his way in the
desert, he sees an oasis and rushes there -- but there’s no water -- only a hand
pump and a well -- next to the well is a jar of water and a note that says,
“The well is good and there is plenty of water -- use this jar of water to
prime the pump and you will have more than enough to drink -- and refill the
jar for the next traveler to use” -- the man had a choice to make -- did he
trust in the promise of unending water and pour the water from the jar into the
pump or should he just drink the water that he had in his hand? -- he did what
the note said -- and he had more than enough water to drink and carry with him
on his journey
-- sometimes, when we are in the
midst of a trial, God wants us to demonstrate our faith first, before He moves
and fulfills His promise in our lives
-- it’s easy to believe in God when
life is going well -- it’s easy to come to church and sing the hymns of praise
when the sun is shining and life is going right -- but, it’s another thing to
come and believe and sing when it seems like nothing is going right
-- but, as we see in this passage,
it’s in the hard times that we find our faith tested, matured, and made
stronger
-- this widow had no faith in God
before Elijah came, but yet she took that first step of faith and went away and
did everything that Elijah told her to do -- she offered to him all that she
had, having to trust that God would move in response to her faith
-- and we read that from that moment
on, there was food for her and her family and for Elijah every day -- the jar
of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry -- for God
fulfilled His promise to her and to Elijah in their time of need
-- verse 17-24
1
Kings 17: 17
Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew
worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do
you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill
my son?”
19
“Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to
the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried
out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am
staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on
the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s
life return to him!”
22
The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.
23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the
house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”
24
Then 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 the truth.”
-- we read that some time later, the
woman’s only son grew ill and died -- despite living in the miracle of the
promise everyday with the flour and the oil, she still blamed God when calamity
came her way -- we’ve got to remember that she was not an Israelite -- she was
not a believer, even though she had been blessed through the promise -- she
didn’t understand why this bad thing had happened, and she blamed the God of
Elijah
-- Elijah took her son into the
upper room and prayed to God three times for his life -- God heard Elijah’s
prayer and returned the boy to life -- this is the first resurrection mentioned
in the Bible
-- Elijah brought the boy downstairs
and gave him back to his mother and she proclaimed, “Now I know that you are a
man of God and the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth”
-- she’s not a believer yet, but
she’s certainly headed that way because of the faith she had seen in Elijah and
the promises and blessing that the Lord had brought about in her life
III. Closing
-- this widow did not deserve to be
blessed by God -- she wasn’t one of the Chosen People -- she wasn’t an
Israelite -- she wasn’t part of the covenant -- but God knew her need -- and He
knew Elijah’s need -- and the promise met them at the place of intersection
between a man of God and an idol worshiper from a foreign country
-- the whole point of this passage
is to let us know that God’s promise is for all of us -- none of us deserve to
be blessed by God -- the Bible tells us that all of us have sinned and fallen
away from the glory of God -- all of us have strayed from Him just as much as
Ahab and Jezebel and the nation of Israel did
-- but God is faithful and His
promise holds true and He pours out His promise and His grace and His mercy
into our undeserving lives -- that’s why we call it amazing grace
-- God’s blessings to the widow from
Zarapheth are a reminder to us that no one is outside the grace and mercy of
God -- God’s prevenient grace calls out to the most hardened sinner and the
most unrepentant believer -- through his experiences in her household, Elijah
realized that the nation of Israel could be changed and saved if they would but
turn back to God, even as the widow was changed through God’s grace and promise
in her life
-- and God’s blessings to Elijah and
to the widow remind us that God’s promises and blessings are for all of us --
not just for kings and leaders of nations -- the Bible says that a sparrow
can’t fall to the ground without God’s notice -- and that He cares for us more
than the sparrow
-- God wants us to live in His
blessing and in His promise -- but it takes a faithful response on our part --
we have to trust -- we have to believe -- we have to live in the covenant
-- that means we try to live holy
lives through the power of the Spirit within us -- that we repent of our sins
and walk the path of God in our daily lives -- that we look to Him to meet our
needs and not the government or the rulers or anyone else -- but that we put
our faith and trust only in Him
-- as we close today, let me
encourage you to take a look at where you are with Him -- are you walking with
God? -- are you keeping short accounts and repenting of your sins when you do
things that aren’t right? -- are you trusting in God and believing in His
promises and in His grace?
-- God’s promise is for all of us --
from the prophet beside the Kerith Brook to the widow in a foreign land to the
people in the pews this morning -- trust God -- believe in Him -- and live for
Him daily
-- let us pray
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