1 Kings 18:1-2 Obeyed God’s Command!

“After a long time, in the third year of the drought, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the face of the earth.” So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria,” 1 Kings‬ ‭18‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭BSB‬‬

a. In the third year: This remarkable drought lasted three-and-one-half years by the fervent prayer of Elijah.

b. Go, present yourself to Ahab: Earlier, God told Elijah to hide himself. Now it was time to present himself. There is a time to hide and be alone with God, and there is also a time to present yourself to the world. Some wish to always remain hidden when they should step up and present themselves.

i. Elijah simply obeyed God’s command. Though it happened through the prayers of Elijah, his prayers were sensitive to the leading of God. The drought did not begin or end as a result of Elijah’s will, but at God’s will. (Guzik)

Obeyed God’s Command!

There are many places in the Bible where God gives us commands, like the Ten Commandments, and Jesus also gives us commands of what is expected of us as Christians.

“And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark‬ ‭16‬:‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

There have been times in my life that God has given me a command and I didn’t heed it fully. Like the time I walked out of a doctor’s office and saw two people unloading a truck. God spoke to my heart and told me to talk to one of the people about Jesus. I did talk to him about Jesus but when he told me he was having a bad day I should have stopped and prayed with him on the spot instead of saying I will pray for you and walking away. Later I realized I half heartedly obeyed God, instead of fully being all in for Him.

Have you obeyed any of God’s commands?

Blessings 

the-key-to-understanding-obeying-gods-commands/

1 Kings 17:21-24 God Answered This Prayer!

“And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.” Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives!” Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth.”” I Kings‬ ‭17‬:‭21‬-‭24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. He stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the LORD: This was an unusual prayer technique, but Elijah had no precedent for this. It was not because of his prayer technique, but because of his faith that God answered this prayer.

i. There is an almost irresistible desire to embellish on these wonderful accounts of the power of God. Patterson and Austel speak of one such attempt: “Syriac translation, followed by Jerome, that the lad was the prophet Jonah is totally unsatisfactory and historically impossible (cf. 2 Kings 14:25).”

b. O LORD my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him: “A prayer full of powerful arguments. Thou art the Lord, that canst revive the child; and my God, and therefore wilt not, do not, deny me. She is a widow; add not affliction to the afflicted; deprive her not of the great support and staff of her age. She hath given me kind entertainment; let her not fare the worse for her kindness to a prophet, whereby wicked men will take occasion to reproach both her and religion” (Poole).

c. Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah: The son was raised and God provided for the widow on every level, not only with the miraculous supply of food, but also with the resuscitation of her son.

i. “This first example in the Bible of revival from death cannot be explained away as contactual magic nor as the prophet’s life-force transmitted by the mouth-to-mouth method of resuscitation.” (Wiseman)

(Guzik)

God Answered This Prayer!

Don’t let this escape you, “because of his faith” God answered this prayer!

“So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭17‬:‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Do you have faith as a mustard seed?

Blessings 

 https://faithisland.org/faith/mustard-seed-faith-matthew-17-20-explained/

1 Kings 17:19-20 Prayed With Great Heart and Intimacy!

 “And he said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. Then he cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?””

‭‭I Kings‬ ‭17‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. He took him out of her arms: This vivid detail shows that the widow clutched the dead child tightly in her arms.

b. The upper room where he was staying: The term upper room “Refers to a temporary shelter or room on the roof, accessible from outside the house. Such structures are common in the Near East. This arrangement would allow the widow not only her needed privacy but would safeguard her reputation” (Patterson and Austel).

c. Then he cried out to the LORD: Elijah prayed with great heart and intimacy with God. He brought this seemingly unexplainable and irredeemable tragedy to God in prayer. Since he knew God led him to this widow, Elijah laid this tragedy on God and asked Him to remedy it. (Guzik)

Prayed With Great Heart and Intimacy!

I often reflect on how I pray and wonder if my prayers are from great heart and intimacy and does it matter if I kneel? We often pray at the dinner table and as pastor Robert would say, praying for the whole world while the food gets cold!

There are other times when someone or a situation comes to mind and I pray while I continue to do whatever it is I am doing. 

But I don’t have a prayer closet like in the movie and I don’t bow down facing Mecca like other religions. I am reminded when His disciples asked Jesus how to pray:

“Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

How do you pray?

Blessings 

1 Kings 17:17-18 Sickness and Death

 “Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him. So she said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?”” I Kings‬ ‭17‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NKJV‬

a. After these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick: We can imagine the happy days of provision in the household of the widow. Their needs were supplied by a continuing miracle of God. Yet those happy days were eventually covered by a dark shadow – the sickness and death of the widow’s son.

i. The death of the son was a double blow to the widow. Not only did she suffer as any mother who loses a child, but she also suffered as one who lost her only hope for the future. The expectation was that her son would grow and provide for her in her old age. Now that expectation was shattered.

b. Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son: At the death of her son, the widow indirectly blamed Elijah. She more directly blamed herself and her unnamed sin. Whatever her sin was, the guilty memory of it was always close to her. (Guzik)

Sickness and Death

It’s a fact that one out of one person dies. But what if that person dies before having a full life and it’s cut short like this son?

I am reminded of a verse that the Lord put on my heart before waking out the door as a volunteer chaplain to the Arizona State Veterans Home. When I made my rounds and visited a certain veteran, the Lord put on my heart that this verse was for his family that was visiting him. He passed the following morning.

Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time. But no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come. Isaiah 57:1 NLT

God is sovereign and He loves you. He and only He knows the number of your days.

Are you prepared if He calls you home?

Blessings 

1 Kings 17:15-16 Trust in the promise of God!

 “So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.” ‭‭I Kings‬ ‭17‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah: The widow actually did it – she willingly gave at great risk, based on her trust in the promise of God.

b. She and he and her household ate for many days: God fulfilled the promise to the widow, her son, and Elijah. God used her as a channel of supply and her needs were met as a result.

i. “Why did not God give her a granary full of meal at once, and a vat full of oil instantly? I will tell you. It was not merely because of God’s intent to try her, but there was wisdom here. Suppose he had given her a granary full of meal, how much of it would have been left by the next day? I question whether any would have remained, for in days of famine men are sharp of scent, and it would soon have been noised about the city, ‘The old widow woman who lives in such-and-such a street, has a great store of food.’ Why, they would have caused a riot, and robbed the house, and perhaps, have killed the woman and her son. She would have been despoiled of her treasure, and in four and twenty hours the barrel of meal would have been as empty as it was at first, and the cruse of oil would have been spilled upon the ground.” (Spurgeon)

(Guzik)

Trust in the promise of God!

The widow while starving, put her trust in the promise of God.

Throughout the Bible there are many promises of God. Below are only a few.

I particularly like John 3:16!

“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭41‬:‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.””

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Is there a particular promise of God that you trust in?

Blessings 

1 Kings 17:13- 14 Trust in Him!

 “And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.’ ”” ‭‭I Kings‬ ‭17‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Do not fear: This was God’s first word to the widow through Elijah. Her present crisis rightly made her afraid, and God wanted her to put away fear and replace it with trust in Him.

b. Go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first: This was an audaciously bold request from the prophet. He asked this destitute widow to first give him something from her last bit of food. This seemed like the worst kind of predatory fund-raising.

c. The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth: This shows why Elijah could make such an audacious request. It was because God told him that He would provide a never-ending supply of food for the widow, her son, and Elijah himself. He asked the widow to put her trust in this great promise of God. (Guzik)

Trust in Him!

There are times in our lives when fear overcomes us but we need to remind ourselves to put our trust in Him no matter what!

“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭41‬:‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭10‬:‭28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Why should we fear man if God controls our soul’s destiny?

Blessings 

1 Kings 17:12 Death

 “So she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”” ‭‭I Kings‬ ‭17‬:‭12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. As the LORD your God lives: This polite address showed that she respected God, yet recognized that the God of Israel was Elijah’s God and not her own.

b. I do not have bread: Elijah quickly found out that she was not only poor, but desperately poor. Elijah found her right before she was going to prepare her last morsel of food for herself and her son, and then resign themselves to death. (Guzik)

Death

When we are young we rarely think about death but when we are old we think about death more often.

“whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” James‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

If you are reading this, then the good Lord has given you and blessed you with another day! 

“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭38‬-‭39‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I plan on holding on to the love of God knowing that the earth is not my home and will continue to point people towards Christ Jesus.

What will you do with the rest of the time you have left?

Blessings