Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV) Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Today we are going to begin a two-part series on trusting God and our focus will be on 1 Kings 17. If you had to state a theme for 1 Kings 17 it could be “Dare to Trust God” because the events recorded in this chapter are a great example of what God’s Word tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6. And as we work through these 24 verses over the next two Sunday’s notice the repetition throughout the text as everyone is challenged to trust God.
1 Kings 17:1 (NIV) Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe 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.” This verse alone shows Elijah as a man of courage and extreme faith. Ahab and his wife Jezebel were ruthless when dealing with those who opposed them.
Background: In 1 Kings 12 the kingdom of Israel was split in two. Judah to the south with the temple and the capital in Jerusalem. The northern 10 tribes made their capital in Samaria. Jeroboam (the first king of Israel after the division) tried to change the religion in Israel from the worship of the one true God to idol worship. He set up two golden calves, one at Bethel and the other at Dan (1 Kings 12:28-29) to prevent the people from going to Jerusalem. He feared that if the people of the Northern tribes went to Jerusalem (in the southern kingdom of Judah) to worship at the temple, the people would want to reunite.
By the time Elijah appeared on the scene, several kings had succeeded Jeroboam, and now Ahab was ruling in Israel. Ahab was the most wicked of Israel’s kings, and he saw no harm in participating in the pagan religions of the Canaanites. Worse, his pagan wife Jezebel was not above killing people who didn’t agree with her, and she really wore the pants in that family. So, God sent the prophet Elijah. He appears suddenly (1 Kings 17:1). We know nothing about his background, his family, or his call to the prophetic ministry.
Elijah immediately confronted the idolatry and immorality that were being promoted by Ahab and Jezebel. Elijah had the courage to challenge the evil rulers, and hopefully stem the tide of their corrupt ways. He was a courageous man who spoke out against evil—without any concern for his personal safety. He dared to trust God.
Elijah boldly announced to Ahab that there would be no dew nor rain in Israel during the next several years. Elijah said that Israel would suffer a severe drought; starvation would result; there would be clear evidence that the Lord God of Israel (and not Baal) controlled the weather! God’s word was that there would not be no moisture at all, for years until, Elijah said so.
Drought was a divine judgment for covenant disobedience (Deuteronomy 11:16-17; 28:23-24; 1 Kings 8:35). The people of Israel were to understand that a drought meant that the nation was sinning and rejecting God’s covenant. This is what Elijah proclaims. God says no more rain. Drought also meant economic doom for a nation. No rain meant no food, no way to care for your animals, and a complete disaster for everyone who lived during those times. And as we will see in verse 7 this caused Elijah problems as well, but he continued to dare to trust God!
The danger in Elijah’s actions in verse 1 is confirmed by the next few verses. After confronting Ahab, God tells Elijah to go hide himself. 1 Kings 17:2-3 (NIV) Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: 3 “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. This was a dangerous time to be a follower of God, so God tells Elijah to go east of the Jordan and hide. Elijah will go to the wilderness, but God will provide.
1 Kings 17:4 (NKJ) And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” Think about what God said. Go, hide away from everyone, and I will send unclean birds (ravens are primarily scavengers) to feed you. Logically, this does not sound like a good plan. Wait for birds to feed you? But look at verse 5.
1 Kings 17:5 (NIV) So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. Elijah dared to trust God, even when it didn’t make sense. He went, and he stayed. And God did exactly what he said he would do, he provided.
1 Kings 17:6 (NIV) The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. God always takes care of His people. The ravens brought Elijah bread and meat twice each day. Elijah had the faith (which is trust) to believe in what God said and then act on that belief in obedience to the word of the Lord.
On a deeper level, Elijah represents Israel in the wilderness. Elijah is the faithful follower being provided for by God while in the wilderness. But the nation is not provided for because of their sins. Again, there is a valuable lesson in this for us and for God’s people living in evil times, like Elijah was. Even when God brings judgement on a nation He still provides for His own, because God always takes care of His people. But what happens next is perplexing.
1 Kings 17:7 (NKJ) And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. Elijah saw the flow of the brook slow down until it dried up. His source of water was gone. Elijah must have thought, “why?” “Why God did you send me out here and promise to provide and now the brook is going dry?” Facing a drying brook may have been harder than facing down the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18). And the truth is we all face “drying brooks” at times in our lives. But this is where real faith comes into play. Remember Proverbs 3:5 (NASB) “Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.”
Why did God let the brook dry up? He is teaching Elijah to trust. James 1:2-4 (NIV) tells us: Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. God wants to teach us the same thing; to trust and rely on Him. Remember, the real definition of faith is trust. That is true in the New Testament Greek and in the Old Testament Hebrew. In fact, in our English translations, the word “faith” is not used nearly as much in the Old Testament as in the new. But the word “trust” is.
The two Hebrew words (“batah” 1053 and “aman” 586) most often translated as “believe”, or “faith” in the Old Testament mean to trust, to rely on. Elijah is being taught to trust and rely on God when it is beyond his own human understanding. To have real biblical faith is to trust God with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5) and then to act on that trust, because faith, if not accompanied by action, is dead (James 2:17). And we see this throughout 1 Kings 17. In a similar way, God wants to teach us to trust in Him and to rely on Him in times of trouble.
The brook dried up because of the drought and this was the drought Elijah prayed for back in verse 1. 1 Kings 17:1 (NASB) “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall certainly be neither dew nor rain during these years, except by my word.” Elijah did not pray for rain, even for his own survival. He kept God’s will first, even when it adversely affected him. Elijah is a great example of what it looks like to get your will in line with God’s.
1 Kings 17:8-9 (NIV) 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. God always takes care of His people, even if we don’t always understand and we see this as we move into the next section of 1 Kings 17. Elijah is sent by the Lord to the town of Zarephath in the region of Sidon where a widow will supply him with food.
In verse 2 Elijah was told to go and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. So he did what the Lord had told him (1 Kings 17:5). Now he is instructed to travel north of Israel and take a 100-mile journey (most likely on foot) into a region where the Canaanite religion was the prevailing system of belief. Zarephath (up in Phoenicia) was a center of Baal worship. This was not part of Ahab’s territory but was in the region where Jezebel’s father reigned.
On the surface, these are places of barrenness and scarcity. The first place provided Elijah with water and God enlisted ravens (an unclean bird) to bring the prophet bread and meat, morning, and evening (1 Kings 17:6). Now, God commands Elijah to go to Zarephath, where a widow, a Gentile, unclean pagan (who replaces the ravens) is commanded to feed him.
In either instance, had Elijah simply relied on his own understanding, he probably would not have gone, and he likely would have died. But he dared to trust God and that trust is stated very simply, first in verse 5 (So he did what the Lord had told him) and now in verse 10: So he went to Zarephath (1 Kings 17:10 NIV). Obedient faith is true faith, Elijah trusted God enough to do what he was told. What does God tell us in James 1:22? Do not merely listen to the word… Do what it says.Elijah heard God’s Word and then he did what he was told. However, upon his arrival, Elijah discovers that the widow is an unlikely source of hospitality. In fact, she is so short on food that she is preparing for her own death.
1 Kings 17:10b (NIV) When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. The widow of Zarephath labors under a death sentence. Yet Elijah, trusting in the Lord, goes ahead and asks her for some food and water. 1 Kings 17:10c-11 (NIV) 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.”Swearing an oath, she answers Elijah directly.
1 Kings 17:12 (NIV) 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. Notice how she says, “your God”? Just like Hagar before her (Genesis 21:16), the unnamed widow of Zarephath has resigned herself to the fact that she and her child are on a slow descent to the underworld. In great despair, Elijah finds the widow preparing for her own “last supper.” The widow sharply contradicts what Elijah knows by a promise: “I [God] have commanded a widow there to feed you” (1 Kings 17:9). And it is during this contradiction that God will act. But let’s reflect first on Elijah’s words in the next verse.
1 Kings 17:13 (NIV) 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. After hearing about the widow’s preparations for death, Elijah gives the widow the same word of promise God gave to Hagar “in Genesis 21:17, “Do not be afraid.” Elijah goes on to speak as if the promise of God was already fulfilled. He speaks crazy talk. When his eyes see only scarcity, he talks about abundance. Why? Because he dared to trust God.
The prophet assumes provision when the widow’s words speak only of desolation. Elijah’s words here, although seemingly absurd, invite the widow to participate in the new reality God’s promises were creating, but which for the moment remain hidden from view. Next, Elijah brings a word of faith into a moment of deep fear and resignation and further clarifying God’s promises.
1 Kings 17:14 (NIV) 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.’” God will provide the widow and her son the means to survive. Like Hagar and her son, this widow and her son were not forgotten by the God of Israel, who notices the loss of even one sparrow (Matthew 10:29-31). Once condemned to hunger, suffering, and death, the widow is given a new word that nullifies her original death sentence. Death is swallowed up in promise, despair is swallowed up by hope. And the reversal of impending death in the first part of this passage (1 Kings 17:8-16) anticipates the literal reversal of death in the next (1 Kings 17:17-24). But remember, faith equals trust and faith without action is dead (James 2:17). We have already seen Elijah, a man of God, respond to the word of the Lord with obedient faith. And now we see this pagan woman do the same thing.
1 Kings 17:15a (NIV) She went away and did as Elijah had told her. She dared to trust God. The widow responded in faith and did what Elijah said. God honored her faith by providing a food supply for her and her son and Elijah. 1 Kings 17:15b (NIV) So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. In fact, no matter how much of the ingredients the woman used, there was always some flour and oil left. 1 Kings 17:16 (NIV) 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. The fresh supply of oil and flour was a constant reminder to Elijah and to the widow of the value of daily trusting God for our needs.
This reminds us of Jesus’ teaching from the “Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew 6:25 when he said, “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink…” He commands His followers not to worry about their lives. God does not tell us to “not work” or to just passively go through life waiting for God to supernaturally provide. Both Elijah and the widow in 1 Kings 17 had to put forth effort, they had to act on their faith. God wants us to take control of what is going on in our hearts and minds, control what we can, and trust Him for the rest. In other words, we should not obsess or agonize over bad circumstances. We should not be careless, but we should not be fearful. Living in fear should never characterize a Christian’s life. Instead, we should dare to trust God.
Elijah and then the widow dared to trust God and He did not disappoint, because God never disappoints. He always takes care of His people. But we must dare to trust Him. Next week we will see this faith and trust in God put to the ultimate test as we look at 1 Kings 17:17-24. In the meantime, remember the words of Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
I dare you to trust God.