Elijah..1 Kings 17 -

oh.  wow.   Leviticus 11.


3 “‘These are the birds you are to regard as unclean and not eat because they are unclean: the eagle,[a] the vulture, the black vulture, 14 the red kite, any kind of black kite,15 any kind of raven, 16 the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18 the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, 19 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.

20 “‘All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be regarded as unclean by you. 21 There are, however, some flying insects that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. 22 Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper. 23 But all other flying insects that have four legs you are to regard as unclean.

24 “‘You will make yourselves unclean by these; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. 25 Whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.

WHY would God use a bird that not only has mostly 'bad' traits, but is ALSO UNCLEAN???

That insect thing is pretty interesting in light of the fact that we have been encouraged just this past year to eat bugs. And the bat thing is pretty current now too heh?

Let's go quickly for a moment to the story of Naaman, the syrian commander who had leprosy and he travelled to Elisha, Elijah's successor, for healing.   Elisha told him to go bathe in the jordan 7 times and he would be healed.  Naaman was insulted and went away angry.   Why couldn't he just as easily have bathed in one of his home countries rivers and be healed.    A servant talked him into going back and following instructions.  And he was healed.      God was dealing with Naaman's pride as well as his leprosy.

So, in Elijah's case, perhaps God was dealing with some of Elijah's attitudes that needed changing?  pride?, his thinking that he was the only one left who followed God?  the way he thought about religious traditions such as uncleanness? Whatever it was, it would prepare Elijah for whatever was coming next. .....going to zeraphath to the sidonian widow?

Here we are back in 1 Kings and the story of Elijah. Going into just a little more depth and will move along.

He's spent 6 to 18 months at the Brook Cherith...being refined by God and prepared for more refining in Zeraphath.    

Three times God has said to Elijah..Go
and Elijah has gone with no delay.

1.  Go to Ahab in Samaria (capitol of Israel as opposed to Judah's capitol of Jerusalem)

2.  Go to Cherith( means cut away or separate)...the brook somewhere in miserable territory north of Tishbeh/Tishbe, Elijah's hometown.  So he was near home but not home. All the while, Ahab had his men looking all over to kill Elijah even into other countries.


3.  Go to Zeraphath (means to smelt, as in smelting or refining Gold or silver).   That's quite a walk.  It's at the extreme north edge of Israel near the coast in heathen Ba'al worshipping territory of the Sidonians (phoenicians).  
This would have been repugnant to Elijah on a number of levels.

1.  Out of Israel
2.  In Sidon, heathens
3.  Home of Jezebel's father, the king Ethbaal. See what they did there? 
4.  He was to depend on a widow...the proverbial low woman on the totem pole in
     those days.

On his way...he's dirty dusty, ragged. Over 100 miles from brook Cherith to Zeraphath...by this time he's thirsty and hungry and he's a jew in Sidon looking at a lot of other hot, thirsty, hungry sidonians because this drought has affected nearby countries/territories also.

He finally sees the woman that the LORD meant for him to find. She's gathering sticks. He asks her for a cup of water. And remarkably she goes off to find it. Now remember...she's a widow, there's a drought, meaning not a lot of water around for the taking. So we know she's willing and she's resourceful and kind enough. But then, he asks her for a bit of bread to go with that water.

I don't know about you but under the situation, i might be inclined to forget the cup of water because elijah asked just one thing too much. This woman tells him. I have no food. indeed i am gathering sticks so that my young son and i can have our last meal, rest, and die. She's honest.

13And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

14For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.

15And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

What did Elijah say to her? GO, just as the LORD had told Elijah to do three times now.

17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe[a] in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”

Elijah Fed by Ravens

2 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah:

3 “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan.

4 You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.”

5 So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there.

6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath\

7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

8 Then the word of the Lord came to him:

9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.”

10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?”

11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”


13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.

14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”

15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.

16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing.

18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”

19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed.

20 Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?”

21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”

22 The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.

23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”

24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”


Footnotes

1 Kings 17:1 Or Tishbite, of the settlers

14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”

15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.

16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

~~~

I always think of a story that Corrie Ten Boom tells about herself and her sister when they were in Ravensbruck prison camp.  

Corrie's family were Christians, not jews.   But her family saved many jews and were then themselves taken prisoner and placed in Ravensbruck where first her father died and then her sister.

She and her sister, Betsie, had a little bottle of vitamins that they had with them and corrie's sister would share it with other inmates in order to help them.  This worried Corrie because she believed there would not be enough for the two of them.  That bottle lasted till it was time for it to run out.  What i mean is....that bottle miraculously did not run out until it was no longer needed.

God still performs these little miracles. I've had similar things happen for me.

So.  Elijah spent time ALL ALONE in solitude at Cherith (pronounced Care ith) Brook, being refined by God.  He is totally dependent on God.   He's fed by God, drinks from the brook till it runs dry.  He does a lot of praying i'm sure.   It seems God speaks to him and the most awesome part is Elijah hears him and obeys IMMEDIATELY.   Elijah is being fed by a bird that is considered unclean.

God says go to Zarephath...to a widow.

Now he's going to a heathen gentile nation to a woman who is the lowest of low on the social ladder.  She is not an israelite, she is alone, poor, no man of any relation to see that she and her son are cared for...and this woman will provide food for Elijah. And as a reminder...Ahab is still looking for him to kill him, God sends him to Zarephath which is near Sidon, the home of that witch queen Jezebel, wife of Ahab.

First he went through solitary....Now he has to adjust to somewhat of a family life.  This is all in preparation for Mt. Carmel.