I Kings Chapter 17
Please read: I Kings 17 –
We are introduced to a great man of faith in God, a prophet named Elijah. Elijah was well aware of the terrible apostasy of Ahab, the king of the northern tribe who promoted worship of Baal. Elijah decided to do something about it – he prayed. And then Elijah made a bold announcement to the king, one that would bring harm to not only the king, but to the people of Israel and to himself. Elijah announced to the king that there would be no rain and not only that, but there wouldn’t even be dew on the ground. It would be a drought like they had not seen. People would surely die.
While all of Israel will be chastised for their great sin of idol worship God is going to take care of Elijah his prophet. After a short time with no rain there would have been those, at the king’s command, that would have sought to kill Elijah. But God was going to protect him and provide for him. We also see the tender heart of God taking care of a widow and her son in this chapter. This woman was not even a Hebrew she was from Zarephath which was a town of Sidon. Sidon was where queen Jezebel was from. Which brings us to an important truth about God. He loves both the Jew and the Gentile, and He has a special place in his heart for the widows.
Let's Reflect
1. God took care of Elijah, this man who had enough faith to speak to a wicked king and tell him that God was not going to allow rain to fall until he gave word for it to once again rain. God told Elijah to hide out by the brook Cherith so he would have water to drink. How else did God take care of Elijah’s physical needs?
2. After a while the brook of Cherith dried up and God told Elijah to go to Zarephath. A widow lived there. She didn’t know it yet, but she was going to obey the living God and give food to a stranger right out of her own meager supply. And in that obedience, she and her son would be taken care of as well as the man of God. What did Elijah ask this widow to do for him?
3. The Bible says that God had told Elijah that He had commanded the widow to obey Him. Notice the wording of verse 12 when she addresses Elijah’s request. What does she say about God?
4. The widow was very poor as was typical at that time. It may be that the lack of rain had affected her town too even though she didn’t live in Israel. What did the widow think was going to happen to her and her son in her poverty?
5. It seemed very unfair that Elijah asked for the woman to feed him first, but God was going to prove to this woman that He loved her and that He was going to take care of her. Elijah immediately gave her words of comfort. What did he tell the widow that God was going to do for her?
6. Elijah stayed with the widow in an upper room. A room built on top of the flat roof of a house for sojourners to stay in. They often had exterior stairs built to access the room while giving the homeowner privacy. It was to this room that Elijah took the dying little boy of the widow and laid him on his bed and prayed over him. According to verse 22 what happened?
7. When the little boy was returned to his mother, what did the widow say to Elijah?
