The tension between abundance and scarcity emerges in our reading from 1 kings. As the elijah narratives indicate, however, the god of israel specializes in feeding the hungry 1 kings 17. He said, go right away to zarephath in the region of sidon. Grace and peace to you from god our father and our lord and savior jesus christ. But here, another important element is added to the scenario of elijahs life as it is recorded for us in scripture. The first 11 chapters deal with king solomon, who ruled over the united kingdom, and chapters. So he arose and went to zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. So will all human helps and comforts fail, in time, those that confide in them. It was so bad that people were resorting to cannibalism. Not long ago i listened to an interview on tv with sam donaldson, a liberal newscaster. Chapters 1719 form a selfcontained triptych of elijah. Elijah visits this widow from zarephath during a threeyear drought instituted by god.
It is the glory of elijah that he does whatever god bids him, asking no questions. Having only recently returned from my first pilgrimage to the holy land, my soul is bursting with the presence of god and a longing to share the power of that experience with you. Rain the chapter begins with a declaration of an absence of rain for an undisclosed number of years 1 kings 17. He is fed by ravens, and afterwards by a widow of sarephta. This morning, there is much that my heart longs to share with you. As the lord liveth the god of israel, in whose sight i stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to the words of my mouth.
The testing and needs of the prophet became a means of ministry to. When the king was going to kill elisha, the prophet declared, hear the word of the lord. This passage centers on a few key themes as follows. Solomon has adonijah executed along with the rest of his enemies, and gets to work building an empire. We find him standing up boldly in the face of opposition, and we find him praying for god to act on his word 1 kings 17. Because the lists, though slightly different, are basically the. The lady interviewing him asked an interesting question. She went out that morning to gather sticks, not to meet a guest. The context the first 16 chapters of 1 kings deal primarily with the activity of kings. The god of endless provision sermon by chris surber, 1. And elias the thesbite of the inhabitants of galaad said to achab. When the brook dried up, god provided for his needs through a poor widow. The story of ahab itself contains two large complexes, a series of narratives about elijah 1 kgs 17.
The confrontation between jezebel and her lord, baal, and elijah and his lord, yahweh, will occupy the closing chapters of 1 kings and the first third of 2 kings. In the east the people kept their corn in earthen jars to protect it from insects which swarm in the heat of the sun. Sermon and commentary scripture index from sermons archive table of contents of bible verses. Welcome, open your bibles to 1 kings 18, prayer previously on lost picking up where we left off at the end of chapter 17. He trusted god to send the ravens to feed him, and he trusted god to supply his water using the little brook cherith.
He was being asked what he thought was wrong with america. Other listening options or try the podcast at itunes you will be leaving our website. This is unusual because it is obvious they both contain the same genealogical list. Only god is an inexhaustible and everspringing fountain. When two travelers to emmaus chance upon an alleged stranger, they invite him to join them. The lords curse continued to cut its sharp lines throughout the land. New international biblical commentary 1 and 2 kings.
The spirit of the lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. He afterwards goes to a widows house at zarephath, and miraculously multiplies her meal and oil, 8 16. God hid elijah by brook cherith and provided for his needs there. Just as surprising as the widow of zarephaths intervention in the life of elijah would have been, so we may find ourselves surprised and blessed by those whom we would least expect to serve as our source of survival.
Such a chapter occurs in 1 kings 17 about a disenfranchised prophet and a foreign widow in the midst of national calamity. Ezranehemiah was one book in the early hebrew text mt and in the early copies of the septuagint from the uncial manuscripts. She does not appear to have been at all aware that she was to feed a prophet. Check out these helpful resources biblical commentary sermons childrens sermons hymn lists.
Elijah the prophet had made a proclamation to king ahab that it would not rain. When our brook dries up we are tempted to think that gods power has ceased. He simply, like a child, goes to the brook just as, like a hero, he had previously stood before the king. There is one thing that every person in this room has in common. Macdonald towards the close of elijahs year of seclusion, to use the words of dr.
As the illustrious life of king david draws to a close, only some quick thinking by the prophet nathan and solomons mom bathsheba prevents adonijah from stealing the throne from solomon, the rightful king. Elijah holds in his hand a diploma from dry brook university. Elijahs message to ahab concerning the three years drought, 1. He has trusted god to take care of him even in the most desperate of situations. The brook dried up for want of rain, and god so ordering it for the punishment of those israelites who lived near it, and had hitherto been refreshed by it. God is going to use the same basic event a drought to communicate the same message to people of. See, i have commanded a widow there to provide for you. Elijah prays for drought and experiences gods provision. Its the element of personal ministry or outreach to others. Cheryl pero emphasized in chapel yesterday, the context of this story is important. There is a common element that unites all peoples of the world.