ELIJAH PREDICTS DROUGHT

1 Kings 17: 1-16
New American Standard Bible (NASB)

17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of [a]the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”

Miracle of Food
2 The word of the LORD came to him, saying, 3 “Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is [b]east of the Jordan. 4 It shall be that you will drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is [c]east of the Jordan. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook. 7 It happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

8 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a [d]jar, that I may drink.” 11 As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.” 12 But she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have no [e]bread, only a handful of flour in the [f]bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering [g]a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.”

13 Then Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from [h]it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. 14 For thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘The [i]bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil [j]be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the face of the earth.’” 15 So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The [k]bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil [l]become empty, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah.


Key Lessons in Faith
Believe that where the Lord leads, He feeds. Where He guides, He provides. Faith does not let a threat of privation alter the course the Lord has set.

            Do not allow the threat of reduced income to cause you to disobey the                       Lord’s direction for your life. Choose to believe that the Lord knows how                     to care for His servants.

17:1 God answered Israel’s worst king by raising up one of the greatest and most powerful prophets in the OT, Elijah the Tisbite. The Tishbite means that he was from the city Tishbe in Gilead. The significance of the prophecy of no rain becomes apparent when we understand that those who worshiped Baal believed that Baal controlled the rain.

In effect, Elijah cut to the heart of Baalism and challenged their so-called god, proclaiming that the Lord God of Israel controlled the weather.

17:3 Zarephath, The location of Cherith is unknown. Evidently, this area was not under the jurisdiction of Ahab.

17:8-15 Zarephath, a city on the Mediterranean coast in Phoenicia, was the location of the first miracle of Elijah. A widow who was nearly without foodstuffs was asked to give her last food to Elijah. If she did, God would give her an unfailing provision. The woman overcame her fear, responded in faith, and God was faithful to His promise.


In Christ,

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas
Founder/CEO
Bible Stories Theatre of
Fine & Performing Arts
www.biblestoriestheatre.org
info@biblestoriestheatre.org