The Goat | Week 1 | A Season of Preparation
July 10, 2022

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The Backdrop of Elijah’s Story

• When Elijah comes of age, the kingdom of Israel had experienced 19 evil kings, back-to-back, over a period of 200 yrs. These evil kings were turning the people’s hearts away from the one true God and would turn them toward false gods like Baal and Asherah.

• The 19th evil king is King Ahab. He’s married to a women named Jezebel, who some believed was the most most wicked woman that ever lived.

• The Bible says that King Ahab was more evil than any who had come before him. It’s a dark time of corruption, major scandals, vulgar idol worship.

• God decided that “enough is enough” and raised up Elijah to take a stand.

1 Kings 17

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.” —1 Kings 17:1

God led Elijah through 3 distinct seasons of preparation

A Season of ISOLATED PAIN.

Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan.” —1 Kings 17:2-3

A Season of TOTAL DEPENDENCE.

“You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.” So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. —1 Kings 17:4-6

A Season of UNCONDITIONAL OBEDIENCE.

Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. —1 Kings 17:7-9a

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.” —1 Kings 17:24

A Dangerous(ly Wonderful) Prayer:

God, do what You need to do to me so that You can do what You want to do through me.

FOR PERSONAL REFLECTION AND RESPONSE

  1. In 1 Kings 17:2-3, God led Elijah to a period of hiding in the Kerith Ravine. Kerith means “cut off or cut down.” Describe a painful experience that God used to shape you into who you are today.

  2. God taught Elijah to depend on Him daily for food and water. What are you trusting God for right now?

  3. After the brook dried up, Elijah trusted God’s word to move on to Zarephath. Is there a “dry brook” in your life God is using to lead you to take a step of faith?