“Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

1 Kings 17:1-24 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible (link on links page)

Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” ² The word of the Lord came to him, saying, ³ “Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. ⁴ It shall be that you will drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.” ⁵ So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. ⁶ The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook. ⁷ It happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ⁹ “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” ¹⁰ So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.” ¹¹ As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.” ¹² But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.” ¹³ Then Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. ¹⁴ For thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth.’” ¹⁵ So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. ¹⁶ The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through Elijah.

Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son

¹⁷ Now it came about after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. ¹⁸ So she said to Elijah, “What do I have to do with you, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my iniquity to remembrance and to put my son to death!” ¹⁹ He said to her, “Give me your son.” Then he took him from her bosom and carried him up to the upper room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed. ²⁰ He called to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, have You also brought calamity to the widow with whom I am staying, by causing her son to die?” ²¹ Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, I pray You, let this child’s life return to him.” ²² The Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the child returned to him and he revived. ²³ 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 is alive.” ²⁴ Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

We've been following the early church in the book of Acts and seeing how they continued to do the things that Jesus did. They fulfilled His commission to preach the gospel and signs and wonders, miracles followed them to confirm the word of God. I couldn't help but to think that in today's text, in  Elijah, we see an Old Testament man who walked in that same power and authority many years before Jesus was born. Elijah's name means God is Lord or my God is Yahweh. In the same way that we look back to the cross and the resurrection and have our faith in the promises of Christ as revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, Elijah was one who looked forward by faith, walking in the power and the authority of God through the Holy Spirit, fulfilling the commission of the eternal Christ even before He walked the earth as a man.

The text says: The word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. ⁴ It shall be that you will drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.”       We aren't told whether Elijah heard the audible voice of God or he heard the word by the Spirit. For ourselves we need to realize that it is rare that God will speak with an audible voice. Yet if we will listen with our spiritual ears He will give us wisdom and  discernment. He will guide and instruct us each day. Elijah responds in obedience to God without hesitation or question. Sometimes the things God tells us to do, the direction He gives us doesn't seem to make much sense, so we alter our plans to do what seems more logical or productive.These are the times when we often miss what God wants to do for or through us.

 The text is not specific about how long Elijah stayed by the brook. I think I can safely say though that the time he spent there was not just idle time sitting by the water and eating what the birds brought him. Elijah sat in that time, in the presence of the Lord.  When Jesus spoke to the Samaritan women at the well in John 4, He said:  “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”     That was the water Elijah drank from the brook, the water Christ gives, a well of water springing up to eternal life. In Revelation Jesus says: "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."(Rev. 1:8) and "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."(Rev. 22:13)    Hebrews 13:8 says: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

When Elijah sat there in the presence of God, seeing into the heavenly realm by the Spirit. He also saw Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. What He is He always has been and always will be.

We see the evidence of Elijah's Spirit led walk in today's text and throughout the accounts of his life.  He illustrates and teaches the principle that in the presence of God and walking in His will, if we will give the little we have to the service of God He will provide all we need. The text says:

“Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. ¹⁴ For thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth.’” ¹⁵ So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. ¹⁶ The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through Elijah.    As He provided for the woman and her son, so He will provide for us.

 The end of today's text though is where we really see the parallel to the early church and the Acts of the apostles.  The woman's child dies and even though in the beginning of the text the woman had accepted that this would be their fate, now all that Elijah had done would seem empty if the woman lost her son. Elijah takes the woman's son up to his room and we read:

“O Lord my God, I pray You, let this child’s life return to him.” ²² The Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the child returned to him and he revived. ²³ 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 is alive.” ²⁴ Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.

Signs and wonders, miracles to confirm the word that is in our mouth, the Word of God is truth.

Let us learn and believe this also from this account about Elijah and this young boy. God doesn't intend to spare us or those we love just to die later. Jesus says:  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.(John 10:10)    The abundant life that Jesus gives is both eternal life and present life here on earth.  Jesus didn't go to the cross, He didn't suffer the many blows and lashes for us and those we love to survive or get by. For those who are suffering from sickness, disease or any infirmity or affliction the Word of God says: But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed(Isaiah 53:5)

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, the same yesterday today and forever and precious Holy Spirit, my comforter, teacher and guide, thank You for all You have done in my life. Thank You for the revelation of truth You give. Thank You for Your faithfulness to provide everything I need for every time. I pray today on behalf of those who are struggling with sickness, disease, infirmity or affliction. I pray that You would give them the abundant life You promise. I come against the work and the plans of the thief who wants to kill and destroy. I pray Lord that You would give them living water to drink today. That You will  become in them a well of water springing up to eternal life, abundant life. I pray today that they would be more that preserved. That by Your stripes they would be healed!

I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, the name at which every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that You are Lord.   Amen.