1 Kings 17

1 Then Elijah, the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

2 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,

3 Leave this place and turn to the east and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before the Jordan,

4 and thou shalt drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

5 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD; for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before the Jordan.

6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

7 And it came to pass after a while that the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

8 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,

9 Arise, go to Zarephath of Zidon, and thou shalt dwell there; behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks; and he called to her and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her again and said, Bring me also, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand.

12 And she said, As the LORD thy God lives, I have no baked bread, but only a handful of meal in a pitcher and a little oil in a cruse; and now I was gathering two sticks that I may go in and prepare it for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.

13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said; but first make me a little cake of bread baked under the ashes and bring it unto me, and afterwards thou shalt make for thee and for thy son.

14 For thus hath said the LORD God of Israel, The pitcher of meal shall not be consumed, neither shall the cruse of oil fail until that day when the LORD shall send rain upon the earth.

15 And she went and did as Elijah told her; and he and she and her house ate for many days.

16 And the pitcher of meal was not consumed, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD which he spoke by Elijah.

17 And it came to pass after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.

18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? Art thou come unto me to call my iniquity to remembrance and to cause my son to die?

19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom and carried him up into the chamber where he abode and laid him upon his own bed.

20 And he cried unto the LORD and said, O LORD my God, hast thou even brought evil upon the widow, with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?

21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried unto the LORD and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again.

22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.

23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down out of the chamber into the house and delivered him unto his mother, and Elijah said, See, thy son lives.

24 Then the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God and that the word of the LORD is true in thy mouth.

1 Kings 17 Commentary

Chapter 17

Elijah fed by ravens. (1-7) Elijah sent to Zarephath. (8-16) Elijah raises the widow's son to life. (17-24)

Verses 1-7 God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased with the idolaters, and would chastise them by the want of rain, which it was not in the power of the gods they served to bestow. Elijah was commanded to hide himself. If Providence calls us to solitude and retirement, it becomes us to go: when we cannot be useful, we must be patient; and when we cannot work for God, we must sit still quietly for him. The ravens were appointed to bring him meat, and did so. Let those who have but from hand to mouth, learn to live upon Providence, and trust it for the bread of the day, in the day. God could have sent angels to minister to him; but he chose to show that he can serve his own purposes by the meanest creatures, as effectually as by the mightiest. Elijah seems to have continued thus above a year. The natural supply of water, which came by common providence, failed; but the miraculous supply of food, made sure to him by promise, failed not. If the heavens fail, the earth fails of course; such are all our creature-comforts: we lose them when we most need them, like brooks in summer. But there is a river which makes glad the city of God, that never runs dry, a well of water that springs up to eternal life. Lord, give us that living water!

Verses 8-16 Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, and some, it is likely, would have bidden him welcome to their houses; yet he is sent to honour and bless with his presence a city of Sidon, a Gentile city, and so becomes the first prophet of the Gentiles. Jezebel was Elijah's greatest enemy; yet, to show her how powerless was her malice, God will find a hiding-place for him even in her own country. The person appointed to entertain Elijah is not one of the rich or great men of Sidon; but a poor widow woman, in want, and desolate, is made both able and willing to sustain him. It is God's way, and it is his glory, to make use of, and put honour upon, the weak and foolish things of the world. O woman, great was thy faith; one has not found the like, no not in Israel. She took the prophet's word, that she should not lose by it. Those who can venture upon the promise of God, will make no difficulty to expose and empty themselves in his service, by giving him his part first. Surely the increase of this widow's faith, so as to enable her thus readily to deny herself, and to depend upon the Divine promise, was as great a miracle in the kingdom of grace, as the increase of her meal and oil in the kingdom of providence. Happy are all who can thus, against hope, believe and obey in hope. One poor meal's meat this poor widow gave the prophet; in recompence of it, she and her son did eat above two years, in a time of famine. To have food from God's special favour, and in such good company as Elijah, made it more than doubly sweet. It is promised to those who trust in God, that they shall not be ashamed in evil time; in days of famine they shall be satisfied.

Verses 17-24 Neither faith nor obedience shut out afflictions and death. The child being dead, the mother spake to the prophet, rather to give vent to her sorrow, than in hope of relief. When God removes our comforts from us, he remembers our sins against us, perhaps the sins of our youth, though long since past. When God remembers our sins against us, he designs to teach us to remember them against ourselves, and to repent of them. Elijah's prayer was doubtless directed by the Holy Spirit. The child revived. See the power of prayer, and the power of Him who hears prayer.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 17

This chapter begins with a prophecy of Elijah, that there should be want of rain for some years to come, and he is directed to go first to the brook Cherith, where he should be fed by ravens, 1Ki 17:1-7, and afterwards he is sent to a widow at Zarephath, where he, she, and her son, were supported for a considerable time with a handful of meal, and a little oil in a cruse miraculously increased, 1Ki 17:8-16, whose son falling sick and dying, he restored to life, 1Ki 17:17-24.