1 Kings Chapter 17
God’s Training for Elijah
- To be punished together with the people
Under God’s punishment, Elijah and the people experienced calamity. Due to the arrival of the drought, he had to leave the comfort of the city and enter the “wilderness” God had prepared for him.
God arranged for the ravens to feed him bread and meat in the morning and evening by the waters of the Brook Cherith, and arranged for the poor widow to provide for him in Zarephath in Sidon.
To pass this test of a life of suffering, Elijah had to grit his teeth and endure each day of suffering, for 1277 days.
Under this physical training, his will to endure hardship was strengthened. At the same time, God wanted him to learn to bear the sins of the people and intercede for the weak.
2. Fully submit to God’s arrangement
Elijah appeared to be more obedient to God’s arrangement than the prophet Jonah. (v5, v10)
“Aren’t ravens unclean?” (Lev 11:15, Deuteronomy 14:14), “Isn’t Zarephath of Sidon a foreign land?” Yet Elijah did not question God’s wisdom at all.
This arrangement was to provoke shame and jealousy in the unfaithful Israelites.
God arranged this raven, an unclean bird, to serve their prophet in place of the elect who had been circumcised. This was their shame.
In this drought, God gave grace to the widow, who was a Gentile, twice in order to provoke the envy of the people, so that they would wake up and turn back. (Luk 4:22-26, Rom 10:19)
Although the ravens were unclean, and the Gentile widow was not part of God’s people, they were used by God because they obeyed God’s commands.
The circumcision of the true Jew is that which is in the heart (Rom 2:29), that is, those who do what God commands will be approved by God.
3. Know God better
In the widow’s house, God performed two miracles through Elijah, and the difficulty of the second was higher than the first.
The first was to make the oil and the flour not run out; the second was to raise the dead.
By praying more and relying on God wholeheartedly; Elijah’s faith in God became stronger.
Through the widow, Elijah saw God’s righteousness and love; because God is not partial (Acts 10:34-35).
Because of her faith, the widow of Zarephath first made a small cake for Elijah, which allowed her to receive the Lord’s favour and survive the famine.
Later, she repaid the kindness shown to her to Elijah, which also became the basis for Elijah to pray for God’s grace (v20).
Because God is just, He wanted to judge the sinners; but because He is merciful, God sent prophets to persuade the people to turn back and was willing to forgive them.
