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The Life and Times of Elijah (2)

J Hay, Comrie

ZAREPHATH

With Cherith a dried up riverbed, Elijah was instructed to go to Zarephath (1 Kings 17.8-24). This city came under the jurisdiction of Zidon, and Jezebel’s father was its king (1 Kings 16.31). Elijah was being sent into the lions’ den! Many of God’s people live in an environment that is difficult or dangerous, and that by divine arrangement. The assembly at Pergamos was faithful to the Lord though living "where Satan’s throne is" (Rev 2.13, RV). Throughout a long life, Daniel’s loyalty to God was unswerving despite being located in Babylon, the cradle of idolatry. The Lord Jesus grew up in "that despisèd Nazareth". Do not allow either intimidating domestic surroundings or a hostile workplace to affect your allegiance to God.

At Zarephath, a widow was to care for Elijah. God often used the wealthy to show hospitality: people such as Lydia the successful draper, or Mary of Bethany whose resources included an expensive flask of ointment, or Mary the mother of John Mark with her commodious home. This widow, however, was literally scraping the bottom of the barrel! Elijah’s faith was still under test.

Unquestioning obedience (v.10) meant that his arrival at the city gate coincided with the widow being there. Similarly, Philip’s swift obedience meant that he encountered the Ethiopian when he was reading from Isaiah 53, an appropriate Scripture from which to preach Jesus (Acts 8.26-35). God’s timing is always perfect, but practically it requires the submissive cooperation of His servants. Let us be sensitive to His guidance. The widow was gathering sticks, an undertaking mentioned three times in the Bible. A man who did it in violation of God’s command paid for it with his life (Num 15.32-36). When Barbarians kindled a fire, Paul did not think it beneath him to gather sticks to keep the fire burning, a lesson in foresight and humility (Acts 28.1-6). Here the widow’s requirements were small - two sticks (v.12); this was to be her last meal!

Elijah’s approach holds a lesson about establishing a contact. He requested a favour (v.10), as did the Lord Jesus at Sychar (Jn 4.7). By contrast, Jacob and Moses forged links with others by being helpful to them (Gen 29.10; Ex 2.17). Both approaches can be profitable, but when using the first, be like Elijah, and make the request minimal: "a little water" (v.10), "a morsel of bread" (v.11), and "a little cake" (v.13). Extravagant demands will lose the contact!

The widow’s response to Elijah (v.12) is an indication of her destitution, and yet the mention of "an handful of meal" and "a little oil" is reminiscent of the meat offering (Lev 2); her seemingly meagre resources illustrate Christ and the Holy Spirit. What rich provision that proved to be, and what rich provision God has made for our sojourn in a bleak barren world, with His Son to sustain us and His Spirit to empower us until our safe arrival in the heavenly home.

We have sympathy with the widow in her predicament, but her language betrays a basic human flaw - the inclination to put self first; she anticipated preparing the small meal "for me and my son"; me first! Elijah’s response was, "me…first" (v.13). Of course, he was not exhibiting the selfish tendency referred to, but was encouraging her to put a Bible principle to the test: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Mt 6.33). She dared to do it, and proved its reality, for "the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail" (v.16). We can never be losers if we put His interests first. After lending his boat to Christ, Peter had the best day of fishing ever. The man who gave his colt to the Saviour got it back a tame animal. The owner of the upper room must have derived great satisfaction from the fact that in his premises, the Master gave such a wealth of spiritual teaching.

We lose what on ourselves we spend;
We have as treasure without end
Whatever, Lord, to Thee we lend,
Who givest all.

-C Wordsworth

The prophet who had dealt so sternly with Ahab was marked by a tender pity when dealing with the dejected widow. "Fear not", he said (v.13). It is important to be like him, firm when necessary and yet soft when compassion is called for. To be either spineless or loveless is to be unbalanced. Elijah promised the widow miraculous provision until (v.14) the crisis was past. The miraculous is not God’s normal mode of operation. When need for it has passed, its use is suspended. The miraculous provision of manna "ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land" (Josh 5.12). The miraculous gift of tongues ceased (1 Cor 13.8) when it was no longer necessary as a sign (1 Cor 14.22).

The happy conditions occasioned by divine provision were disrupted by the illness and death of the widow’s son. Such is life. In Acts 27.13, the south wind blew softly; "not long after" there was "a tempestuous wind" (v.14). How swiftly circumstances change! The widow perceived in the tragedy a judgment for some past sin (1 Kings 17.18), just as the predicament of Joseph’s brothers awakened within them the worm of conscience (Gen 42.21).

The location of Elijah’s intercession for the boy is of note: a loft. Like Daniel, his place of prayer was a roof-chamber. Peter "went up upon the housetop to pray" (Acts 10.9). The spiritual lesson from these literal situations is this, that effective prayer demands us getting above the mundane and ordinary.

The sorrows of the daily life,
The shadows o’er my path which fall,
Too oft obscure the glory’s light
Until I rise above them all.

Until upon the mountain height
I stand, my God, with Thee alone,
Bathed in the fullest, clearest light,
The glory that surrounds the throne.

The intensity of his intercession is evidenced in that he "cried" (v.20) and got right down to the boy’s level (v.21). He was appealing to a God whom he knew from personal experience, "my God" (vv.20,21), a God who had a history of answering his prayers. If prayer is to be of value it has to be made "earnestly" (Acts 12.5, RV). On this occasion Elijah was praying for something unprecedented in the annals of human history. Never before had there been a resurrection. Abraham had believed it possible (Heb 11.19), but his convictions were never put to the test. Naaman’s servant girl had confidence that God could use Elisha to do something that had never been done in that generation (Lk 4.27). Mary believed that the Lord could save the situation at the wedding at Cana, even although He had never performed a miracle before (Jn 2.5,11). These people believed that "with God nothing shall be impossible" (Lk 1.37). Let us have that kind of confidence in the living God. "Have faith in God" (Mk 11.22).

The miracle concludes with a delightful Christ-like touch on the part of Elijah in that he "delivered him unto his mother" (v.23), just as the Saviour did centuries later (Lk 7.15). Some people could detect features that were common to the Lord and Elijah (Mt 16.14). Is there anything of Christ reflected in you and me? The events of the day convinced the widow that Elijah was a man of God with a message from God (v.24). It would be wonderful if by having power with God we too made a similar impact on our communities.

CARMEL

The prelude to the contest at Carmel was Elijah’s encounter with Obadiah, Ahab’s steward (18.1-16). While Obadiah had features that we wonder about, he had to his credit that he "feared the Lord greatly" (v.3), and courageously he risked his life to preserve 100 of the Lord’s prophets. We salute his bravery, and yet it is rather ominous that when he refers to Elijah as "my lord" (v.7), the prophet replies by speaking of "thy lord" (v.8), meaning Ahab. Perhaps he stands as an example of those who think that they can serve two masters. His master Ahab seemed to be more concerned about his livestock than his subjects (v.5). The same attitude marked the men of Gadara; they were more anxious about pigs than a desperately needy man (Mk 5.14-17). While "a righteous man regardeth the life of his beast" (Prov 12.10), from a Biblical perspective animals must always be seen as distinct from humans, never having priority over them, always subject to them.

Reluctantly, Obadiah summoned Ahab. The man whose rejection of God’s commands resulted in Israel being "troubled" (1 Kings 18.18) charged Elijah with responsibility for the calamity. People who take a stand against evil are often perceived as the troublemakers! In the wake of Korah’s rebellion, Moses and Aaron were regarded as the villains (Num 16.41). The blame culture is as old as time (Gen 3.12), and those who stand up for what is right must be prepared for criticism.

To be continued.

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