1 Kings 17 – Elijah and the Widow – Part 3

KEY POINT – God has always provided in miraculous ways.

Quick recap – Ahab is king and is the most evil of kings. God has sent Elijah to warn the people of a drought. Ahab has encouraged the worship of Baal the pagan god of fertility. Not a coincidence that God used a drought to show his supreme power and the insufficient power of Baal.

Elijah has two encounters we discussed the last two days. He is sent out to be cared for by a raven that we saw is not even cared for by its own. God cares for the ravens so God ultimately provides for Elijah.

Then Elijah is sent to be cared for a widow who is preparing her last meal for her and her son expecting for them to die. Again, Elijah sees God provide and encourages the widow in her faith as well. See below our verses for today.

1 Kings 16:17‐24 ‐ After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” 19 And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. 20 And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child's life come into him again.” 22 And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” 24 And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

Today we see yet another miracle.

A young boy gets very sick and appears to have taken his last breath. Please realize that God is using the sick boy as a parallel to the spiritual condition of Israel currently. Their dependence on pagan gods and turning from the one true God under this very evil king has them in a bad spot and has made it more clear of their need of a Savior.

The widow, who has seen God miraculously provide food, calls out to Elijah. She thinks that God is doing this to punish her for her sin.

Elijah takes the boy upstairs. Elijah begs God to save the boy. I Kings 17:22 ‐ And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived.

God does a miracle and revives the boy from the dead. Think about if you saw God raise your child from death! She has seen God provide food miraculously and bring her son back to life. The faithfulness and kindness of God is on full display.

What does the woman say? 1 Kings 17:24 ‐ And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

So even though Elijah takes the boy upstairs, she recognizes the power of God and gives God the glory.

Not only does God impress this upon the widow but Elijah’s faith is growing during this as well. He knows that the power of God did this, not him. He has seen God provide in miraculous ways over and over.

Connection to the Gospel

How does this last three days of devotions with Elijah and the widow connect to the gospel?

In the midst of rebellion and a drought that man cannot fix, God sends Elijah and provides food through unlikely sources, a raven and a very poor widow. Then he does a miracle through Elijah raising a boy from the dead.

We must see ourselves in all the stories in the Bible, Old and New Testament. Like these people under Ahab, we have and continue in various ways to worship false gods. We depend on things like the raven and the widow in our lives that cannot provide what we think they will provide. We are a people in great need but living in America, our needs can often be met because of the resources and opportunities available to us. Even as we sit in the middle of this crisis, most of us might feel that eventually everything is going to be fine and return to normal.  We may not even be that concerned. Given history, in some ways we are probably right, but does it leave us unable to see our needs or other’s needs as God would want us to?

Our and other’s greatest need of course is the gospel and the redemption and adoption offered by Jesus Christ.

Like the boy in the story, we are in need of being raised from the dead. Salvation is taking a sinner dead in his/her transgression and God (as the hero) making them alive by gifting them faith and not by works (Eph 2:1‐8).

Then as a redeemed person, we must go deliver a message of the gospel that will offer the same to others.

Like Elijah are we praying desperately for God to revive those we meet or friends and family members? Are we using this time to reach out to them in whatever way is possible with the gospel? Get creative and take a risk!

Connection to the current crisis

Even relating this to what we are facing currently with the Coronavirus, God is using this virus to remove all that we worship, all that covers up our greater needs, and give his creation an opportunity to serve those in need and love your neighbor.

As a sports guy, God has removed all that I was looking forward to this time of year. The start of the baseball season, March Madness, and more. I am not saying those are bad things to anticipate, but maybe God has more important things for me to focus on, namely serving others.

Are we using the events of today as an opportunity to check on a neighbor that maybe you have never or rarely spoken to or usually just wave to as they pass you on the street? This is an easy opportunity to just stop by and make sure they are ok.

As the body of Christ, we have a great opportunity to shine like light.

When a person asks you how you are holding up or talks about how scary these times are, see if God wants you in a non‐ awkward way to share the reason for the hope you have with gentleness and respect. Take a risk!

The greatest way we can do that as believers is to deliver the Gospel. The greatest cure for fear is hope!