Three years before the incidents in this chapter, upon hearing the condemnation the Elijah had pronounced upon him, Ahab mourned his imminent death. He humbled himself enough that God then said He would not bring the pronounced…

Emotions can be a weak point. Ahab was easily upset because he could not get Naboth’s vineyard, and so easily did not eat too. Ahab’s greed and not getting what he wanted, easily caused Ahab to become…

This chapter is another sad example of the blundering actions of king Ahab… even when God is there to help. It starts off with how the Syrians, led by Ben-Hadad, came with 32 other kings in a…

Elijah was known to be a mighty prophet, his presence and works were felt for generations over, from around 870 B.C. until the New Testament times. Elijah’s name mentioned by an angel of the Lord on the…

God protects His people. Verses 3-4 Obadiah feared the LORD greatly and had helped to hide one hundred prophets of the LORD from a massacre and fed them. Verse 16 However, Obadiah was afraid that Ahab would…

给以利亚的操练 1.与百姓一起受惩罚 在神的惩罚下，以利亚自己也和百姓一起招殃。由于长期旱季的到来，他必需离开大都市的舒适，进入到神为他预备的“旷野”。 神在基立溪水旁，安排了乌鸦早晚给他叼肉和饼；又在西顿的撒勒法，安排外邦穷寡妇供养他。 要通过困苦生活的考验，以利亚就必须咬紧牙关，忍耐地度过每一天的煎熬，那是1277天。 在肉体的受磨炼下，他吃苦的心志会变得更加坚定。同时间，神要他学习承担百姓的罪，为软弱的人代求。 2.完全顺服神的安排 比起约拿先知的直率，以利亚显得更加顺服神的安排。(v5, v10) “乌鸦，不是不洁净吗？” (利11:15, 申14:14)，“西顿的撒勒法，不是外邦地吗？”，他完全没有质疑神智慧的安排。 这样的安排，对于不忠的以色列民，是要激发他们的羞耻之心和嫉妒情怀。 神安排了这只乌鸦，不洁净的飞禽，代替身上又割礼之约的选民，来奉养他们的先知；这是他们的羞耻。 在这漫长的旱季，神两次施恩于这为外邦的寡妇，为要惹动选民的嫉妒，好使他们醒悟回转。(Luk 4:22-26, Rom 10:19) 虽然乌鸦是不洁净，外邦寡妇不是神的子民；他们却因为服从神的吩咐，而被神所器用。 真犹太人的割礼是在心里 (Rom 2:29), 就是那些遵神命令而行的人；他们的赞许也是从神来的。 3.更加认识神 在寡妇的家里，神借以利亚行了两个神迹，而且其难度是一个比一个高。 首先是叫油和面用不完；之后是叫死人复活。 借着更多的祷告，和更全心地依靠神；他对神的信心变得更坚固。 从寡妇的身上，他看见神的公义和慈爱；因为神是不偏待人 (Acts 10:34-35)。 撒勒法寡妇因着信，先为以利亚做一个小饼，让她蒙受主的眷顾，安然度过荒年。 后来，她照顾先知的恩情，也成为以利亚祈求神施恩的根据 (v20)。 为公义，神要审判犯罪的选民；但为慈爱，神差遣先知劝导选民回转，并且乐意饶恕他们。  

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…

Be at peace with God Verse 3 Abijam walked in sin and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God. The footnote for ‘loyal’ is ‘lit. at peace’. If we are not at peace with…

This chapter records the end of the first kings of post-division Israel and Judah. One chapter ago, we have seen how a man of God was sent to speak against Jeroboam and his altar. Despite the sign…