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"Prelude
To A Prize Fight, Pt. 2"
• 3.26.17 •
Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- Let's pick it up where we left off. Verse 1.
Text
•
I Kings 17:1 : "And Elijah the Tishbite, of the
inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, 'As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I
stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.'" : Elijah is from an obscure family that lived on the wrong side
of the Jordan river.
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There are some scholars who contend that he was not even an Israeli, but a
native proselyte to the faith of Yahweh! In either event, he is chosen by God
to appear before the King of Israel.
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Elijah affirms what Ahab sought to suppress. There was a God of Israel and He
was alive!
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Ahab's attempt to quell God's knowledge and promote Baalism did not change the
fact that the God of Israel was living and it was He that Elijah stood before.
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The sense of the phrase is that he stood close enough to see His face! The fact
that it's written in the present tense reminds us of the truth that transcends
our experience.
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Currently, physically Elijah stood in the presence of the reigning and wicked
King of Israel, but I would pose the thought that he was conscious of who had
the real authority over his life!
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We would be wise to take this to heart! For Elijah, the issue of loyalty was
settled. God had commissioned him with a difficult message for the King. Israel
was headed for a prolonged famine!
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This should not have come as a surprise. God promised to make the heavens like
iron if the people of God did not obey Him while in the land! (Leviticus 26:18,19)
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There wouldn't even be a drop of moisture until Elijah gave the word. Verse 2.
•
I Kings 17:2-7 : "Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 'Get away from here and turn
eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink
from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.' So he went and did according to the
word of the Lord,
for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and
bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. And it happened after a while that the brook dried up,
because there had been no rain in the land." : We aren't told of Ahab's response but Elijah delivered this
single sentence to Ahab and God immediately calls him into hiding!
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It could not have been positive and it certainly was not one of complicity.
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You and I and likely Elijah, want to see the end of such an evil men. We want their
blasphemies silenced once and for all, but this is just the beginning. God has
much more in mind!
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Having a much more intricate plan in mind, God called Elijah away to The Brook
Cherith where He promises to feed and care for him.
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The name is interesting as it means "separation by cutting." Some
scholars believe that the word might be closer to the concept of
"whittling."
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For those who have whittled wood before, you know that it's a slow, careful,
almost therapeutic process. Gratefully, God doesn't call us to the place of
"Hacking!"
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When He begins His work in our lives, beyond the seeming speed of conversion,
mostly you will discover His Spirit whittling away pieces of our character that
no mar the image He is shaping.
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Something in Elijah's character or in his education before God required time. The
Brook Cherith was a place of preparation and it was a place of provision.
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Elijah's catering needs would be handled by a contingent of crows who could
traverse the land to deliver the finest foods available at the time!
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The Brook Cherith will also serve as a place of protection from the manhunt
that we will soon learn was taking place throughout Israel.
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For Elijah's part, he went and did according to the word of the Lord! He obeyed
God's Word to him. It might not have made sense and it probably was difficult
to imagine, but he obeyed!
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When he did, he found that God was trustworthy. The ravens brought him enough
to sustain him through the day and night. The water from the brook refreshed
him until the drought dried it up.
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He learns that while the Brook was a place of preparation, provision and
protection, it was not a place of permanence! The lack of rain eventually began
to dry the brook.
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Have you noticed how much more attentive you are to the Lord when your peace
evaporates? As the brook grew increasingly silent Elijah knew God was moving
him away. Verse 8.
•
I Kings 17:8-12 : "Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 'Arise, go to Zarephath, which
belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to
provide for you.' So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate
of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her
and said, 'Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.' And as she was going to get it, he
called to her and said, 'Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.' So she said, 'As the Lord your God lives, I do not have
bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, 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.'" : Zarephath
is roughly 35 miles to the north, in the proverbial backyard of Jezebel's
family! What a great place to hide! Who is going to check a widow's house?
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God had commanded a widow to provide for Him. When we consider what God is
waiting for, remember this: He is working on the other side of the equation.
You might be ready, but they aren't!
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Elijah finds the widow in question gathering sticks. Her son is not old enough
for the duty and clearly, her husband's last store of wood had been depleted.
We are meant to see her destitution.
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When Elijah asks his question to her, there isn't a breach in protocol.
Hospitality was one of the most valued practices of the ancient world. She was
ready to serve, but she had to be honest.
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She was about to prepare the last meal that she and her son would ever eat. Her
faith apparently needs some work!
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God commanded her to feed Elijah. That means she has to have food and also
remain alive! Elijah, after wondering what kind of widow this was, responds in
verse 13.
•
I Kings 17:13-16 : "And Elijah said to her, 'Do not
fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and
bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour
shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.’ So she went away and did according
to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up,
nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah." : "Make your meal, but bring the first of it to me." This
would be inconceivable to say if he didn't promise God's provision for the
remainder of the drought!
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She did what Elijah had said, still resolved to her own death. When they ate
that meal together, she looked back into her storage and found Elijah's words
to be true!
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The flour wasn't consumed and the oil didn't run dry. It may have been
uncomfortable and it was certainly unbelieveable at first, but the widow obeyed
and watched God provide!
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How many have seen this story play out in their lives? Jesus says that we are
to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all things will be
added unto us! (Matthew 6:33)
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I have found that when I am attentive to my spiritual responsibilities first, God
will meet my physical needs and then some at just the right time.
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At the same time, please understand that this verse does not provide license to
fleece a vulnerable widow of all of her money! That isn't the lesson here.
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The lesson is that provision doesn't come from a bubbling brook or a full
cupboard. It comes from honoring the Lord first! Verse 17.
•
I Kings 17:17-19 : "Now it happened after these things
that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was
so serious that there was no breath left in him. So she said to Elijah, '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?' And he said to her, 'Give me your son.' So he took him out of
her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him
on his own bed." : All three of these people
had the blessing of provision. God's hand sustained their food but the son came
down with an illness that took his life. God's blessing doesn't insulate us
from tragedy!
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God's people will mourn and face times of great distress. The woman in her
desperation and with her dead son in her arms, wonders if God wasn't punishing
her for a past sin that plagued her.
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She voices the belief that walking with and obeying God equals a life that is
free from human tragedy because anything tragic is believed to be divine
retribution!
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We live in a fallen world. That means disease and death will become
increasingly commonplace as we age. Nobody is guaranteed a long, healthy life.
Our days are numbered by God!
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She wants to know, "What do you have against me Elijah?" The prophet
rightly refuses to respond, instead asking for the body, which he takes up to
the son's bedroom. Verse 20.
•
I Kings 17:20-24 : "Then he cried out to the Lord and said, 'O Lord my God, have You also brought
tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?' And he stretched himself out on the
child three times, and cried out to the Lord and said, 'O Lord my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.' Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the
soul of the child came back to him, and he revived. And Elijah took the child and
brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his
mother. And Elijah said, 'See, your son lives!' 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.'" : Elijah must face tragedy and sorrow the same as anyone. Elijah's
personal affection for this boy is evident by his response.
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He cried out to the Lord with a bitter complaint, revealing deep hurt for the
woman that had been his host. His God had brought this upon the widow that He
came to live with.
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His God was responsible for allowing this boy's death. Elijah doesn't
understand it either!
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We aren't sure how this next part was communicated, but Elijah positions
himself on top of the child's dead body and pleads repeatedly for the boy's
life three times.
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In that moment, the dead boy came back to life and with a sigh of great relief,
he brought the child back to his Mother. The boy's soul returned to his body!
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Whatever doubts she had before were now thoroughly dispelled. The daily
miracles of provision had become so commonplace, that the woman stopped
noticing!
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This set of events brought her back to her senses. Chapter 18.
• I Kings
18:1-4 : "And it came to pass after
many days that the word of the Lord
came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, 'Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I
will send rain on the earth.' So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a
severe famine in Samaria. And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now
Obadiah feared the Lord greatly. For so it was, while Jezebel
massacred the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them,
fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.)" : Three years have elapsed from Elijah's first meeting with King
Ahab. God is about to lift the drought, so it is time for Elijah to present
himself.
- Elijah's years have been marked by miracles. Ahab's
years have been just plain miserable!
- The capital city of Israel, under the
judgment of God, was experiencing severe famine. That corrective measure
utilized by God caused the wicked King and Queen to double their wickedness.
- While Elijah was in hiding, Jezebel led an
effort to completely stamp out the voice of God in the land of Israel. We're
not sure how informed Elijah was about this, but you can imagine he wasn't.
- While his brothers stayed in Israel, it was
His word from the Lord that began a process that brought about this horrible
tragedy! How is it that Elijah was spared but they were not?
- There are mysterious questions that will be
left unanswered on this side of eternity.
- We aren't aware of how many were murdered,
but there were only one hundred left and they were alive thanks to efforts made
by Obadiah, meaning "God's Servant," King Ahab's steward.
- He made his living as Ahab's employee, but he
was God's living servant!
- A man in his position would have had charge
of distributing materials to the house. I imagine he used the freedom to take
little side trips to the caves where the prophets were hidden.
- Wherever he went, it may have been that
others helped to support the cause by giving him a little extra. However he did
it, he had sustained 150 prophets for the better part of three years!
•
I Kings 18:5-14 : "And Ahab had said to Obadiah, 'Go
into the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks; perhaps we may
find grass to keep the horses and mules alive, so that we will not have to kill
any livestock.' So
they divided the land between them to explore it; Ahab went one way by himself,
and Obadiah went another way by himself. Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and
he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, 'Is that you, my lord
Elijah?' And he answered him, 'It is I. Go,
tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’ So he
said, 'How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of
Ahab, to kill me? As the Lord your God lives, there
is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you;
and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he took an oath from the kingdom or
nation that they could not find you. And now
you say, ‘Go, tell your master, 'Elijah is here'! And it shall come to pass, as soon as I
am gone from you, that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and
tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have
feared the Lord
from my youth. Was it not reported to my lord
what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid one hundred
men of the Lord’s
prophets, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water? And now you say, ‘Go, tell your master, 'Elijah is here.'
He will kill me!'" : The quest for grazing land
led to the first face to face meeting between Obadiah and Elijah. Their
conversation is enlightening.
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Ahab had been meticulous in his search for Elijah. Every nation had to swear to
Ahab that they could not find Elijah. How was Elijah able to hide so long?
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God kept carrying him away from one place to another! God kept His servant
hidden wherever he went! All of the King's resources were futile against God's
will to hide His man!
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And yet, there is a sticky situation here. God would hide Elijah. Obadiah has
no doubt about that. But he is not given that kind of grace. He fears that his
fate would be quite different.
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Remember, Obadiah witnessed the martyrdom of God's faithful witnesses. He knew
that if he hadn't taken the opportunity to hide the 100, they would have been
added to that number.
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We can question God's methods to a point, but we must also remember that He has
given His grace to each of His servants, to serve as He deems fit.
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Obadiah is not afraid. He is not asking for relief. He is however, not asking
for a premature death either! He wants some assurance from Elijah and he gets
it. Verse 15.
•
I Kings 18:15-19 : " Then Elijah said, 'As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present
myself to him today.' So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to
meet Elijah. Then
it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, 'Is that you, O
troubler of Israel?' And he answered, 'I have
not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have
forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals. Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount
Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred
prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.'" : Obadiah left Elijah to call Ahab, but I'm fairly certain he
didn't take his eyes off of him! For the first time in as many as three years,
these two leaders stand face to face.
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The leader for Yahweh religion and the leader for Baal meet and the volley
begins. Ahab looks Elijah square in the eye and dares to accuse him of
troubling Israel!
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"This drought is all your fault Elijah!" It doesn't occur to him that
his statement reflects both ignorance of the God of Israel and the impotence of
Baal! This was all Elijah's fault!
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It's sad when your god is stymied by a single, middle aged or older prophet
whose been in hiding for a few years!
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It's tragic when you will blame everything in your life on everyone else and
still not acknowledge God! Elijah makes this clear to him. "Ahab you are
the problem here!"
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It's right here in this moment that the battle is set. Elijah will meet the
prophets of Baal and the prophets of Asherah in the valley below Mount Carmel.
Conclusion
- The final
victory in a believer's life is secure. God cannot lose. He who has justified
the believer will also glorify them.
- Along the
way, He is whittling away as He did with Elijah, slowly, carefully, the
character and ambitions that can't please or serve Him and He is drawing others
to Himself through your ministry.
- Perhaps it's
difficult for you to relate to Elijah, in terms of his power and presence. It
might be better for you to look at Obadiah.
- He showed up
for work each day, intent upon serving this godless King, in order that He
might be of use to the King of Kings! His job provided life for those endowed
with God's voice!
- Both men
played their part in their generation to the glory of God. May it be said of us
as well!
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