First Kings chapter 17. First Kings chapter 17. We'll read the first nine verses. Hear the word of the Lord. And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord, for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the brook. And it came to pass after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the reading of it today. We thank you that you have granted us to taste of your good word and to experience the powers of the age to come. Lord, we ask that as the sweet distilling rain of your word rains down into our ears and our hearts, that it would not yield thorns and thistles, that it would not be the means by which our own destruction is guaranteed, but that it would yield a crop that is suitable and useful to those for whom it is cultivated. And Lord, we pray that the ground of our hearts would indeed be fruitful. We pray that we would be hearers and doers. Teach us what we have to learn in these verses, and may you be glorified in it. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, today we continue to study the life of Elijah. It's been six weeks since we were in this in 1 Kings. And so I want to begin by reviewing what we saw last time. Towards the last part of chapter 16, we saw that Ahab, the son of Omri, began his reign over Israel. And we saw that he was an exceptionally wicked king. He did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all that were before him. We saw that in verse 30. And the first proof given for this was that he married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians. And we saw that this was a blatant violation of the command in Exodus 34, verse 12, that said, take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee. Ahab had made a covenant with the inhabitants of the land through his marriage to Jezebel. And this was exactly what God had commanded not to do. And then after this, Ahab, we read, reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, and he made a grove or ashram. And we saw that this was the opposite of what God had commanded in Exodus 34 and verse 13, one verse later in that same passage, but you shall destroy their altars, break their images and cut down their groves. Rather than cutting down the shrines of false worship, Ahab had built them up. And so we see in summary in 1 Kings 33 that Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. In other words, this was a record low point in the history of the rulers of Israel. And then we saw an indicator of just how desperate this low point had become in the form of Hael the Bethelite. In verse 34, we saw that he rebuilt Jericho at the cost of all his children. And then we saw that the first to the last of his children were gone according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua, the son of none. We saw that Ahab's wicked example as king and his blatant disregard for the word of God spoken by Moses encouraged and emboldened his citizens to likewise disregard God's word as spoken by Joshua. And we noted that it's such a great grief when evil rulers aid in a bet, a departure from the fear of God, and we noted the implications that this has on the citizens. And this takes us to chapter 17, where Elijah the Tishbite appears abruptly on the scene. We noted the unusualness of Elijah's introduction, and we are not told who his father was. We don't know per se what tribe he belonged to. We can make some guesses. And we are furthermore intrigued by this man, Elijah, because he was translated that he should not see death. And we'll see that later in the narrative. And so in that sense, it could be rightly said of Elijah, what was said of Melchizedek in Hebrews 7, verse 3, that he was without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life. Elijah would outrun chariots of iron and steel and wood, and he would one day depart by a chariot of fire. And I've thought of this, the quote by President Ronald Reagan, where he said that, to slip the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God. I think that applies to Elijah. And like John the Baptist, Elijah was a forerunner of the everlasting prophet. And we noted that John the Baptist is named after Elijah in Malachi chapter four, verse five. Furthermore, we noted that Elijah's name is actually a compound of Eli and Yah, means my God is Yah. And we put a watcher on that because it's going to have implications later on in the narrative. We saw after much fervent prayer that Elijah, this rugged and fiery man from rural hills of Gilead, appeared before Ahab here in chapter 17, verse one, and he said, as the Lord God of Israel liveth before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. Now Elijah was standing before Ahab when he said this, but he's reminding Ahab that as a servant of the Most High, that he, Elijah, is first and foremost in the presence of the King of Kings. He's standing before Yahweh, his covenant God, on the business of his majesty to tell Ahab in no uncertain terms that because of his fundamental rebellion against God, that judgment had come upon the land. And he says that not only there won't be any rain, but notice in the text there, he says that there won't even be any dew. Now, typically Israel would enjoy a springtime and a harvest rainfall. And during the summer months, the dew would keep the grass alive. For example, we see in Deuteronomy 11, verse 14, where there's this promise that's given to those who hearken diligently unto God's commands. And let's turn there briefly here to Deuteronomy 11. I want us to see this in verse 14. Deuteronomy 11, 14. We're breaking mid-sentence here. He says, I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain, it's springtime, and the latter rain, it's harvest, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. And then there's the threat in verses 16 and 17, take heed to yourselves. that your heart be not deceived. And you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them. And in the Lord's wrath be kindled against you. And he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain and the land yield not her fruit, unless you perish quickly from off the good land, which the Lord giveth you." So we see here that there's this former rain, this latter rain. And then in verse 15, he's talking about this grass that he sends in the fields for the cattle. So there's large agricultural implications here that will affect livestock as well. And so without even dew being in the mix, you're not going to have grass time, even in the summer. Well, when rainfall is withheld, it doesn't take long for a people to perish quickly off the good land. Once the cattle no longer have grass, then the people can't drink or eat. And we're gonna see in 1 Kings chapter 18, a little bit later on here, that Ahab dispatches Obadiah to try to save some of the beasts. This very thing happens here. Exactly what happens and is warned in Deuteronomy 11 takes place. This reminds us in Isaiah 40 verse eight, that the grass withereth and the flower fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever. God's word was not broken. God withheld the rain. Psalm 111 verse 10 says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Ahab had abandoned that fear of the Lord. And therefore we can say biblically he lacked wisdom. And one of the hallmarks of biblically defined wisdom is being able to discern between cause and effect. And a sign of a lack of wisdom is failing to see the connection between cause and effect. The ancient Greeks had a saying that is being popularized right now. They said, whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad. Now, if you can take the gods and make it singular, I think that the Greeks were onto something. Before God sends judgment, he first deprives sinners of reason. That which only can end in destruction becomes attractive to them, and they chase after it. They charge towards it. that which they think offers health and life instead results in sickness and death. And this is precisely what happened to Ahab. He lost his ability to reason. He bought into the lies of his neighbors to the north, the Sidonians. He turned aside unto Baal and he rejected his God. And we see the same thing playing out in our day. in the same way that Ahab ascended the throne and took the nation into a new state religion. So in our nation, evil rulers have ascended the throne by dubious means and are, as we speak, working overtime to institute a new statist religion. As we look around, it seems that the ability to discern cause and effect has been utterly removed from the minds of men and women. Whom God would destroy, he first makes mad. May God grant us repentance. When we go into judgment, we perish quickly from off the good land, which the Lord gives us. Well, we see that behind the physical withdrawal of blessing, that there's also a spiritual aspect to this. The physical drought was really just a withdrawal that was already a spiritual reality. God's presence is spoken of as both rain and dew. I want us to see this. Let's turn briefly to Hosea chapter six. Hosea, right after Daniel. Hosea chapter six. We'll start in verse one. He says, come and let us return unto the Lord, for he has torn and he will heal us. He has smitten and he will bind us up. After two days, he will revive us. In the third day, he will raise us up and we shall live in his sight. Then we shall know if we follow on to know the Lord. His going forth is prepared as the morning, and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. Well, that should sound familiar from what we saw in Deuteronomy. God's blessing of his covenant presence with his people is spoken of as the springtime and the harvest rain. Let's turn next to chapter 14 of Hosea. Hosea 14, verse four. I will heal their backsliding. He's speaking of his promise to Israel as they return to him. I will heal their backsliding. I will love them freely for mine anger is turned away from him. I will be as the dew unto Israel. He shall grow as the lily and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. So we see here, God's presence is spoken of as rain and dew. Now, because Ahab had departed from the Lord and was worshiping Baal, God was no longer coming as this rain and dew that we read of in Hosea unto Israel. But their spiritual senses were darkened and dulled, and they weren't recognizing this. And so God then appeals to their carnal senses also, and he withdraws the rain and the dew physically as well. And this brings us to 1 Kings chapter 17. Let's read here in verse two again. And the word of the Lord came unto him, that's Elijah saying, get thee hence and turn thee eastward and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before or east of Jordan. Now it's hard to imagine that Elijah was very popular about the palace after his declaration that there would be no rain. But we don't know whether he was in bodily danger at this time. This word hide in Hebrew could just simply mean to absent oneself. God is wanting Elijah to withdraw himself and for a couple of good reasons. First, it's a sign of judgment on Ahab and the nation of Israel. In the words of Matthew Henry, it bodes ill to a people when good men and good ministers are ordered to hide themselves. This absenting of Elijah was itself a part of God's judgment. We should tremble at the prospect of the word of God departing from us. It is happening in our day. Have we not witnessed the word of God departing from America by gradual steps? Churches losing their pastors, others shutting down through attrition, pastors being arrested for righteousness sake, including in this very city of Tulsa. The removal of the word of God should grieve us far more than famine. For man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. By Elijah's withdrawal, God is increasing the spiritual famine in tandem with the physical famine. Let's turn to Amos chapter eight. Hosea, Joel, Amos. Amos chapter 8, verse 11. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread nor thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north You can think of Dan, even to the east, you can think of the Jordan, and they shall run to and fro and seek the word of the Lord and shall not find it. What he's saying is they can go from the Mediterranean to Jordan, they go from Dan to Beersheba and they're not gonna find it. Elijah is east of the Jordan at this point, the word of God is gone. Let's turn back to Hosea real quick, to chapter five, just a few verses before where we read in chapter six there, Hosea five. Verse 15, God's chastising Israel here, and he's telling him what he's going to do. He says, I will go and return to my place till they acknowledge their offense and seek my face. In their affliction, they will seek me early. This was an opportunity for Ahab and Israel to seek God's face, but it was so squandered. Oh, it was so squandered. Well, a second reason for God commanding Elijah to absent himself was to humble Elijah and prepare him for future ministry. Elijah had just stood in the presence of the most powerful person in Israel and told him that he, Elijah, was going to take on the weatherman's job. He was going to tell him when it would rain. It was only going to rain by his word. And lest that get into Elijah's head, he must now spend a season in seclusion. Before Elijah could triumph at Mount Carmel, he had to be humbled at the Brook Cherith. Now this apprenticeship or preparation in an obscure, secluded place is a common method that God employs for his people. We see this with Joseph in Egypt, we see it with Moses in Horeb, Paul in Arabia, David in Bethlehem, and the Lord Christ himself in Nazareth. There are times when our master beckons to us, come and depart to a desert place. And when he calls us, let us obey patiently with endurance, knowing that there are no shortcuts in the service of God. Well, this brings us to an interesting question. Why the brook Cherith? Why not at one of the houses of one of the saints in Israel? Were there not 7,000 that had not bowed the knee to Baal? Would they not have been certainly glad to host him? And he could have stayed to their profit? God did not choose this. He desired for Elijah to learn to trust him in this extremity as preparation for greater trials ahead. God wanted Elijah to depend on him in this humbling way by the brook Cherith for his daily bread. This reminds us of first Corinthians where it says, God have chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. This was a humbling experience for Elijah. And we see that God made it clear to Elijah how he would sustain him during this time in verse four. God says, it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So we see here that God is using a mixture of ordinary means and extraordinary means. Drinking from a brook, ordinary enough. But Elijah, who was worth more than many sparrows, would be kept alive by birds, by creatures that would go unnoticed as they flew through the air and brought him food in this clandestine fashion. And these would not just be any birds, but God specifically mentions that they're going to be ravens. Now, ravens are similar to what we call crows, but they're a deal larger. They're typically about a couple of feet in length. Now, to appreciate this reality that Elijah would be fed by ravens, we need a biblical theology of ravenhood. And I want to mention three things about ravens. First, turn with me to the book of Job, chapter 38. Job 38, verse 41. There's a series of questions here, and this one says, who provided for the raven his food? When his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat. So the first thing we want to note about ravens is that they struggle to feed themselves, let alone others. They're quite innovative and resourceful in how they find food. In their omnivores, they'll eat just about anything they can digest. but it's a struggle for them. You can see that right here that there's times when they're looking for food and they're wandering for lack of it. Well, the second thing we wanna notice about ravens in the Bible is that they are selfish and unfaithful by nature. And for this, let's turn to Genesis chapter eight. Genesis chapter eight. And we want to read the first 12 verses here. This is after the flood. Noah's still in the ark. And it says, and God remembered Noah and every living thing and all the cattle that was with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth and the waters assuaged. The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped and the rain from heaven was restrained. And the waters returned from off the earth continually. And after the end of the 150 days, the waters were abated. And the ark rested in the seventh day on the 17th day of the month upon the mountains of Ararat. And the waters decreased continually until the 10th month. In the 10th month on the first day of the month were the tops of the mountains seen. And it came to pass at the end of 40 days that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made, and he sent forth a raven which went to and fro until the waters were dried up from off the earth. And he sent forth a dove from him to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground. But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. Then he put forth his hand and took her and pulled her in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. And the dove came into him in the evening, and low in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off. So Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet other seven days and sent forth the dove, which returned not again unto him anymore. Well, this raven didn't do a whole lot of good for Noah. He sends out the raven, and he never sees the raven again, there in verse seven. And without waiting, he has to then send out a dove. And the dove is very useful to him. There's a relay of three times where he gets information from the dove and then finally she's able to be out on her own. So the raven is a selfish and a faithless creature and of no value to Noah. And this is the nature of ravens. They sometimes fail even to feed their own, even their own young. And we saw in Job that, and they're struggling to find food there, but sometimes, even through neglect, willful neglect, they don't even feed their own. Now, I ask the question, is this someone that you would rely on for breakfast? Is this someone that you would rely on to do most any task? It doesn't sound like a very good plan to our earthly senses. Now, if God had chosen doves, the bird that served Noah much better here, it would have seemed much more sensible from man's point of view. Doves have a gentler nature, and to be honest with you, they're a lot easier on the eyes. And yet God chooses ravens. Now, why was that? Well, it was to test and strengthen Elijah's faith. Elijah was going to need this on Mount Carmel. God commanded the ravens to bring Elijah's food. And if God's command was authoritative and reliable, then that should be sufficient for Elijah. Well, God could not have picked a more unlikely bird. Faith shines brightest not when there is no evidence to go off, but when there is evidence that seems contrary to God's promises. And this seems, this takes us to a fundamental question. And that is this, what is the nature of what makes a created being trustworthy? What is the source of that trustworthiness? It's God. It's God alone. God is the one who grants and sustains faithfulness. And he is capable of doing that with the most unlikely of creatures. And I want to make this application. Lost sinner. God can take you, though a faithless raven, and he can make you faithful to his service. Make that your prayer this day, Lord, take me though a faithless raven and make me profitable and faithful to your service, to your kingdom. Well, in this instance, we see that the ravens who had been unfaithful to Noah in returning to his ark were now proving themselves faithful twice per day to Elijah. They feed him in the morning and in the evening. And this would serve to Elijah as a constant reminder that God, whose eye is on the sparrow and the raven alike, is in absolute control in his preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions. Well, this would be a great comfort to those reconciled to God, but it is a great terror to those who are not. The ravens of the valley Cherith, east of the Jordan, knew the voice of their maker more than did Ahab in Samaria. Well, so far in our biblical theology of ravenhood, we've seen in the first place, they struggle to feed themselves, let alone others. Secondly, they're selfish and unfaithful by nature. And now thirdly, they were unclean to Israel. Turn with me to Leviticus chapter 11. Leviticus chapter 11, verse 13. And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls. They shall not be eaten. They are an abomination, the eagle, and the ostrich, and the osprey, and the vulture, and the kite after his kind, every raven after his kind, and the owl and the nighthawk and the cuckoo and the hawk after his kind and so on. Skip down to verse 24 and he says, and for these ye shall be unclean. Whosoever touches the carcass of them shall be unclean until even. So ravens were to be an abomination, a detestable thing to Israel. And yet as omnivores, not only is Samson's riddle unriddled, once again, out of the eater comes forth meat, but further from the mouth of the unclean comes that which is clean. This reminds us of what God told Peter in Acts 10.15, what God hath cleansed, call not thou common. Something is holy when God says it's holy. He can use something that is ceremonially detestable, like a raven, and he can cause it to work together for good to those who love him. Now I want us to think about when Elijah first gets to the brook there. Perhaps he comes in the evening, some point during the day, and he's by the brook, Think about that, picture that if you're at this brook and a raven comes flying in and in this raven's beak is a piece of bread or a piece of meat and think of the astonishment and yet the realization that this is God being faithful to his promise and how strange that would be to take that little piece of meat from the beak of that unclean bird and know that God had commanded that raven to do that and then to take a sip from the brook and then the next day to awake and then another bird or a group of birds in unison. Maybe there were some that brought the meat and some that brought the bread. What an astonishing thing that is. And yet this is a reminder that God is faithful. His word is reliable. Truly He is God, not Baal. That's what's the contestion. Well, even though these ravens could only bring a bit of food at a time, Elijah was content with such things as he had. As the sweet psalmist of Israel says, the young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they that seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing. Now the irony is this, the promised land, the land that was flowing with milk and honey was now drying and it was becoming barren. The young lions of Samaria were lacking in suffering hunger. Elijah had to go east of Jordan in the wilderness, outside the promised land for his sustenance because Israel had forgotten the one who upheld her. And thus it was that Elijah ate bread and flesh and drank from the brook Now, how long this lasted, we don't know. Some writers try to make the case that it was the better part of a year. And what was Elijah doing during this time? This man of God, fervent in prayer? Well, we can safely conclude that he's drawing near to God in close fellowship and communion during this time. He was the only man in this place, but he was not alone, for he had God. with him. He had the Spirit of God upon him. And he was praying for repentance on the land for the hearts of the people to turn to God, such as we read about in Hosea 5. Now as Elijah dwelt by this brook day by day, his state of being, in contrast to that of Ahab, reminds us of Psalm 1. And I would like us to turn to Psalm 1, and I want us to read Psalm 1, thinking in the categories of Elijah by the brook Cherith and Ahab in his palace in Samaria. Psalm 1. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. There's 450 prophets that are eating at Jezebel's table right now. They're sitting in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of Yahweh, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore, the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Elijah is like this tree planted by streams of water. And as he abides there day by day for perhaps a year, he thinks about Ahab and Baal and those 450 prophets of Baal that are eating at Jezebel's table. We'll see that in chapter 18. And although those externally royal elites fared far more sumptuously, yet they were like the chaff that the wind drives away. There would come a day in which they would not stand in the judgment. And as Elijah delighted in the law of the Lord and meditated on it day and night, morning and evening, as he received sustenance from the ravens that had been commanded by God, he had the promise that in all that he would do, he prospered. And day by day, during this time of drought, he's watching that brook recede. Day by day, he's watching it go down. And then in the process of time, we read, The brook dried up completely there in verse seven. And when this happened and not before then, the word of the Lord comes to Elijah. We see that in verses eight and nine. And the word of the Lord came into him saying, arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. Now, if Elijah had been worrying during that year that he was there, what would become of him? Well, that worry was a complete waste of energy and effort and anxiety. God made the way clear to him when the time was right. We naturally worry about tomorrow. We worry about what we will eat, what we will drink, and what we will be clothed with. Jesus had a good deal to say about this, and I want us to read in Matthew chapter six, starting in verse 25. We're in an unusual time here in which some of our body has lost jobs this past week. Some of our jobs are on the line. The future is uncertain. I want us to read Matthew chapter six, starting in verse 25. Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than meat? and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not, neither do they spin, and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothed the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Therefore take no thought for tomorrow, for tomorrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. We think of the words in Isaiah 46, verse four, where he says, even to your old age, I am he. And even to whore hairs, I will carry you. I have made and I will bear. Even I will carry and will deliver you. Well, this is not an excuse for slothful laziness. We are told to provide our meat in the summer, gather our food in the harvest. We see that in Proverbs six, but we get into danger when we put our trust in that. And I fear it is easier for us to do that than we think. A.W. Pink, commenting on 1 Kings here, he says, how often we think we are trusting in the Lord when really we are resting on comfortable circumstances? And when they become uncomfortable, how much faith have we? Well, it is very easy for us to get used to the ease of life. And when that is removed, even some portion of it is removed, we're beside ourselves. And like Israel at the waters of Merah, we murmur. May our prayer be to God that he wean us from this. But let us learn from Elijah that he may choose to answer this prayer by the means of affliction. Well, God made Elijah to feel the sting of this drought, this very drought that Elijah himself had prayed for. And let us learn from this that when a land is under judgment, God's people are not exempt from the punishments of that land. We are not exempt from the pestilence. We're not exempt from famine. The prosperity gospel that plagues Tulsa has no answer to 1 Kings 17, verse 7. Elijah's brook dried up because of the drought of God's judgment. Well, God was teaching Elijah a lesson at the brook Cherith that we who as of yet dwell in 21st century ease might easily pass over. This wasn't a one or a two or a three day ordeal. This lasted for weeks and then for months. And during this time, Elijah is drawing near to God. His faith is increasing as well as his humility. He's being prepared to be taken care of by a widow. And in some ways, you could consider this an even more humbling experience for him that would require deeper meekness and maturity. He was in the kind of prayer to God during this time that would allow him to pray fire down on Mount Carmel. As Elijah woke each morning, he was learning what it meant to pray, give me this day my daily bread. He was learning that the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, as Christ says, as we read in Matthew 6. But now that the brook dried up, the time had come for him to move on once more. Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. God gives him the next instructions. He doesn't tell Elijah the name of the widow. He doesn't give Elijah her address. He gives him very little information to go on. And so often God's guidance and his direction is on a need to know basis. Elijah simply had to trust and obey. But what a humbling command to obey. Zareph was north of Israel. It's between Tyre and Sidon. And this is the very area that Jezebel had come from. This is where the worship of Baal had come from. And a widow by definition would be poor. And yet Elijah is commanded to place himself under her care. If we can take the meaning of Elijah's name, my God is Yah would travel north into Baal territory, even unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. Truly no prophet is accepted in his own country, but here in this pagan land, a daughter of Zarephath would become a daughter of Abraham. She had no idea what was in store for her. but her life was about to be turned upside down. And we'll look at that next time. Well, in the words of Isaac Watts, pity the nations, oh our God, constrain the earth to come, send your victorious word abroad and bring the strangers home. Amen. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the example of trusting, humble submission to your word and the faith of Elijah during a trying time, a time that was so depopulated of true fears of you that he would at one point think that he was the only one who still walked and lived before you. Lord, we pray that we would be challenged to have the faith of Elijah, to trust you for our daily bread, to walk in light of your word. Lord, for those who are lost, give them a desire to know this God who takes care of his children, who sees them through. Truly, the young lions lack and suffer hunger, but they who fear you are not in want of any good thing. Lord, we pray that you would teach us the things you have for us in this passage. May we be challenged by it. May we be encouraged by it. And we'll thank you for that. In the name of your son, Jesus Christ. Amen.