1 Kings 17:1-24

17:1 | A new prophet enters the story (Elijah), and he will live up to his name, “Yahweh Is My God.” The Canaanites believed that Baal controlled the rain, so they understood Elijah to be declaring that his God had power over theirs (Deut. 28:12; 33:28). By this time there had been no dew or rain for six months. In Israel’s agricultural economy, this meant famine, followed by pestilence, then death.

17:2-5 | Over and over again, the text says, The word of the LORD came to Elijah. Elijah’s response here is typical: So he went and did according to that divine word (18:1-2). His obedience is what made him successful in his service. The way of faith is step-by-step obedience before the Lord, as He instructs. His servants obey one command, and then He gives another. Christians need not ask about tomorrow when today is before them.

17:5-6 | God often isolates people for a time, and even puts them in humbling circumstances, to teach them faith and patience and to prepare them for service. Moses, Jacob, Abraham, David, Elijah, and Jesus all spent time in the wilderness before their ministries began in earnest. God strengthened Elijah’s faith by providing food for him, but Elijah could not enjoy that provision unless he went where God told him. Like God’s servants today, he had to obey God in a humbling, challenging situation to receive God’s blessings.

17:7 | When the brook dries up is the true test of a person’s faith. God wanted Elijah to trust in Him rather in His provision.

17:8-10 | Sometimes God uses unusual circumstances to test a person’s faith. He told Elijah to go to an unlikely place – Zarephath, the very center of Baal worship and the home of Queen Jezebel at an unlikely time – when the king of Israel (Ahab) was hunting him with the intent to kill him. Then the Lord sent him to an unlikely person – a poor Gentile widow from a Baal-worshiping nation. In addition to testing Elijah’s faith, the circumstances provided an opportunity for God to demonstrate His power and His compassion to those outside of Israel (Luke 4:25-26).

17:12-16 | The widow’s resources were too limited to meet the need in her own family. But Elijah asked her to act in faith, feeding him first, and when she put God first, He provided. People often worry about tomorrow’s needs, but Elijah’s experience reveals God’s miraculous provision for each day. When the supplier is God, He has wheat a person needs; He does not run dry (Phil. 4:19).

17:19-24 | The Canaanites believed that Baal had to submit periodically to the god of death, Mot. But here, deep in Baal country, Yahweh demonstrated not only His power to sustain life in a time of drought but His power to overcome death. This is the first time in the Bible when a servant of God raises a dead person to life. But it will not be the last. Like Elijah, Jesus raised a widow’s son from death, demonstrating that God had come to help His people (Luke 7:11-17).