You don't see Elijah debating with God about the direction he should go. How did Peter recognize Elijah and Moses? Elijah was destined for even greater heights of service, but he was not ready for that yet. Elijah had been given a message by God to deliver to King Ahab. The story of Elijah in narrative style (Quoted in Chabad.org) a. And God loves you far more than these things! I read about George Mueller during the week and I thought this man is unbelievable. He doesnt always tell you why, but Hes giving you a signal. This was a serious physical crisis because it had been his support during a very severe drought. Be assured that God will never forsake you nor fail you. The answer lies in the fact that God is not just interested in imparting faith; He is interested in its development, in its improvement. God leads us all differently, but one thing we do need is to hear from God. The word hide is cathar and means "to hide (by covering), literally or figuratively: be absent, keep close conceal, hide (self), (keep) secret, x surely." Brook nachal means "torrent, valley, wadi, torrent-valley." Cherith Keriyth means "cutting." By it Elijah was to learn to fix his attention on God not Gods instruments. They naturally think, Whats going on Wheres the blessing? I hope you have seen also how God in such times brings our greatest good out of our worst disasters. And how much more valuable you are than birds!. Zarephath was the second waiting place for Elijah, where the training, testing, and refining would be even more intense. Did his songs of worship grower weaker as the water rolled less noisily across the rocky bed? There is nothing in Scripture to indicate this on the contrary the implication is that he waited. We need to remember that and confess that Gods way are always right, His purposes are always good and that we can trust God in even the tragic events of life that we can never fully understand here on this earth. God knows where Elijah is going. So Elijah here is put in a 'Cherith' situation and he has to be completely dependent on God - he has got water but he doesn't have anything to eat. Is there someone who you can radically bless? 1 Kings 17:27, NIV. The brook dries up. by Winkie Pratney. Now this too was affected. I wondered why the Lord would not bring me a husband. After Solomon's death there was a split in the Kingdom; Jeroboam was the King in the northern kingdom of Israel and he set up alternate places of worship because he was afraid of his people going down to Jerusalem to worship. What I love even more is that we see a similar message in the New Testament in Luke 12:24, Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. Various kings reigned after Jeroboam but the Bible says that the worst king of the Northern tribes was Ahab. This first is that M explicitly says that the brook dried up "after a day". Go hide yourself by the Cherith of sick bed, of bereavement We can be too strong, too full of ourselves for God to use, and so by the Cheriths God buries our self-centeredness. They are afraid to let it off the leash because they know it won't listen to what they say. Occurrences like this happened for George Mueller who, through faith in God, provided for the children constantly, all through their life and they never failed to have what they needed. His ministry had just started now he is being told to go hide. Jesus was the same. The dog I have at the moment, no matter which room I am in, will wait outside the door for me. Now Baal was the god of fertility, the god of rain, and the god of the increase of their crops. I have been saved 21 years now and I can honestly say that I have lacked nothing that I actually needed. Did his hopes diminish also? The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening and he got water from the brook. I love how Elijah boldly and confidently obeyed the voice of God in an unknown circumstance. The showdown: Elijah vs the prophets of Baal! He can only talk about what had happened with God now that will keep the fleshly pride down! Many times, our God does not choose to work in rational ways so that without a shadow of a doubt we can know that it had to be Him. Jesus did the same with His disciples at the end of a tour of ministry, so full were they of the joy of success of their ministry, what they had been involved in: Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while (Mk 6:31). This may seem like a tall order, but today's believers have a similar opportunity. The ravens would feed him "there." After a while, the brook dried up because there was no rain. It doesn't make sense in the natural, but God in his manifold wisdomdon't think like we dohe sees further than we do and is all knowing as well. (Our) Present Help, and Redeemer. "Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 'Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. But God says Hide! Our natural response to this direction would have been to say Hide when there is so much to be done? The fact is that God leads His servants one step at a time. How can we be sure the Old Testament is accurate if Elijah was the only prophet left? The second lesson that Elijah is learning concerns His provision. It was here at the drying brook that Elijah was to learn an important lesson relating to this apparent problem in the Christian life that being in the centre of Gods will doesnt exclude the possibility of crisis, so when it comes wait on the Lord and dont throw in the towel in unbelief. By implication then, the removal of Elijah form the scene was not merely a symbolic but indeed a literal removal of the voice of God from the people. That stream turned into a trickle, which would have then turned into a puddle, which then turned into a handful and then into a small sip. He had water but he didn't have anything else yet God provided. God rises up Elijah, a Tishbite (a resident of Tishbe), to be a prophet to Israel. This may have seemed like an odd location to Elijah, but God in His sovereignty was saving his life. Maintain your trust and continue your worship. God had commanded and Elijah went and did what he was told. Now we will see what God does through Elijah. But birds carrying food wouldve aroused no interest. He leads staff development training primarily in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to receive a regular newsletter from Compassion with inspirational stories, poverty news and more. God's word came to Elijah with the command, "Get thee hence and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the book Cherith, that is before Jordan" (1 Kings 17:3). They argue that the two periods of rain in ancient Israel normally occurred in March and October, and that the king's anger would have driven Elijah away only after these rains failed: The early rain fell in our March, the latter rain in our October. Birds of prey more likely to take meat from him (including of his bones) than to feed him. The story of Joseph is one of the most amazing stories - he went from prison to the right hand of the ruler of Egypt in one day, but God had His reasons for putting Joseph there. Even more, they were also a practical confirmation of Gods approval of where he was, that he was indeed where God wanted him, doing what God wanted him. There would be none here for Elijah to be tempted to parade himself before. My God loves me more than I may ever know this side of Heaven. God had commanded him to go and hide by the brook Cherith and had commanded the ravens to feed him there. Can a VGA monitor be connected to parallel port? We are not forsaken. In this God moves us more into the centre of Gods will, or moves us into something better. He lived about 30 miles (roughly 50 kilometers) from Samaria, the capital of Israel. God's provision was with Elijah and though hard times came and the provision in that location started to dwindle, God still had other means available for His servant if he would simply wait and be obedient upon the word of God. The third thing that interests me here is that God led him to a brook that was drying up. There are so many distractions that demolish our best plans. Above all, he stands before God. In the dynamics of divine Providence, Elijah was scheduled to experience another miracle in another place. He tells Elijah that he will drink from the brook and ravens will give him food (1 Kings 17:4). Even in the letters to the 7 churches of Revelation this warning is given, a warning we do well to take seriously as a church, Elijah had just had a very heady experience. at the end of days. In other words he was to return home, but not to the comforts of home for he is told to, The first thing we notice here is that this was not Elijahs idea, it was the Lords doing. And the stories that you read about him are outstanding. Zarephath: How do we build on it. He loves you too. As I was doing my Bible study on Elijah just yesterday, the story of the ravens was the focus. When you think about your life as a Christian, has God ever failed to meet your needs? He went and did what he was told. Then, surprise! Ahab went along with her in everything she proposed, even setting up an idol in the house of Baal in Samaria. As long as I am still breathing. Prayer: Lord, help us trust You when our brook dries up. It is a declaration that he is working our His eternal purposes, There is nothing in Scripture to indicate this on the contrary the implication is that he, Last week we saw there were lessons Elijah had to learn in going to the brook Cherith, and here we see them being put into practice as Elijah waited: (i), When our brook seems to dry and we are tempted to cry out. God has always given me what was needed. Now Ahab had married a Sidonian princess who influenced her husband greatly. Im just answering your prayer. Youve asked, Lord make me like Your Son and thats what He is doing! Now it is while Elijah is by the Brook Cherith, in a deep ravine in the wild and rugged terrain of Gilead, being cared for by creatures who clearly show more obedience to God than that greedy and self-serving Ahab, that something unexpected happens. The mystery of the ways in which our Lord works is eye-opening in this biblical account. the record obituaries stockton, ca; press box football stadium; is dr amy still with dr jeff; onenote resize image aspect ratio What is the best way to deprotonate a methyl group? All rights reserved. Jezebel, the wicked wife of Ahab, wants Elijah dead and so God tells him to hide himself by the Cherith book, east of the Jordan River. During his exile, Elijah drank from the brook in the ravine, and the ravens brought him bread and meat every morning and evening. During his exile, Elijah drank from the brook in the ravine, and the ravens brought him bread and meat every morning and evening. It is actually at the crisis point when there is nothing left that the Word of the Lord came to him. This is the second message on Elijah and we are in 1 Kings chapter 17. (6) The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. She had the joy of hosting Her Many Hatspodcast where she explored the many roles that women play while serving One God. We are His image-bearers, His adopted children, and His chosen ones. Enter your e-mail address to have our posts sent directly to your inbox. In the light of this we are to understand that the drying brook was an important trial to see if he had learnt the lessons up to this point which he had. His prophecy was that there would be no rain for 3 1/2 years, and there would not be any dew either - unless he said so. 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