1 Kings 17

1 And Elijah (the) Tishbite, of the dwellers of Gilead, said to Ahab, (As) The Lord God of Israel liveth, in whose sight I stand, dew and rain shall not be in these years, no but by the words of my mouth.

2 And the word of the Lord was made to him, and said,

3 Go thou away from hence, and go against the east, and be thou hid in the strand of Cherith, that is against Jordan, (Go thou away from here, and go toward the east, and be thou hid by the Cherith Stream/by the Cherith Gorge, that is east of the Jordan River,)

4 and there thou shalt drink of the strand (and there thou shalt drink out of the stream); and I have commanded to [the] crows, that they feed thee there.

5 Therefore he went, and did by the word of the Lord; and when he had gone, he sat in the strand of Cherith, that is against Jordan. (And so he went, and did by the word of the Lord; and when he had gone forth, he sat by the Cherith Stream/he sat by the Cherith Gorge, that is east of the Jordan River.)

6 And [the] crows bare to him bread and flesh early; and in like manner in the eventide; and he drank of the strand. (And each morning the crows brought him bread and meat; and likewise in the evening; and he drank from the stream.)

7 And after some days the strand was dried (And after some days the stream dried up); for it had not rained on the earth.

8 Therefore the word of the Lord was made to him, and said,

9 Rise thou (up), and go into Zarephath of (the) Sidonians, and thou shalt dwell there; for I have commanded to a woman widow there, that she feed thee (for I have commanded to a widow woman there, that she should feed thee).

10 He rose, and went into Zarephath of Sidonians; and when he had come to the gate of the city, a woman widow gathering sticks appeared to him; and he called her, and said to her, Give thou to me a little of water in a vessel, that I drink. (He rose up, and went to Zarephath of the Sidonians; and when he had come to the city gate, a widow woman gathering sticks appeared before him; and he called to her, and said to her, Give thou to me a little water in a vessel, so that I can have a drink.)

11 And when she went to bring it, he cried behind her back, and said, I beseech, bring thou to me also a morsel of bread in thine hand.

12 And she answered, (As) Thy Lord God liveth, for I have no bread, no but as much of meal in a pot, as a fist[ful] may take, and a little of oil in a vessel; lo! I gather two sticks, that I enter, and make it to me, and to my son, that we eat, and die (lo! I am gathering only two sticks, so that I can go in, and make it up for me, and my son, so that we can eat, and then die).

13 And Elijah said to her, Do not thou dread, but go, and make as thou saidest; nevertheless make thou first to me of that little meal a little loaf, baken under ashes, and bring thou it to me; soothly thou shalt make afterward to thee and to thy son. (And Elijah said to her, Do not thou fear, but go, and make as thou saidest; but first make thou for me a small loaf from that little amount of meal, baked under ashes, and bring thou it to me; then afterward thou shalt make some for thee and thy son.)

14 Forsooth the Lord God of Israel saith these things (to you), The pot of meal shall not fail, and the vessel of oil shall not be abated, till to the day in which the Lord shall give rain on the face of the earth.

15 And she went, and did by the word of Elijah; and he ate, and she, and her house (and he, and she, and all of her household, or her family, ate for many days).

16 And from that day the pot of meal failed not, and the vessel of oil was not abated, by the word of the Lord, which he had spoken in the hand of Elijah (which he had spoken by Elijah).

17 Forsooth it was done after these words, (that) the son of a woman housewife, was sick, and the sickness was full strong, so that breath dwelled not in him. (And it was done after these things, that the son of that woman housewife, was sick, and the sickness grew very strong, so that finally no breath remained in him.)

18 Therefore she said to Elijah, What to me and to thee, thou man of God? Enteredest thou to me, that my wickedness should be remembered, and that thou shouldest slay my son?

19 And Elijah said to her, Give thy son to me. And he took that son from her bosom, and bare into the solar, where he dwelled; and he put him on his bed. (And he took her son from her bosom, and carried him up to the solarium, where he stayed; and he put him on his bed.)

20 And he cried to the Lord, and said, My Lord God, whether thou hast tormented also the widow (hast thou tormented this widow), with whom I am sustained in all manner, (so) that thou killedest her son?

21 He spread abroad himself, and was meted upon the child by three times; and he cried to the Lord, and said, My Lord God, I beseech, the soul of this child turn again into the entrails of him. (Then he stretched himself over, or above, the child three times; and he cried to the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I beseech thee, let the soul of this child return to his entrails.)

22 The Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child turned again within him, and he lived again.

23 And Elijah took the child, and put him down of the solar into the lower house (and took him down from the solarium to the lower part of the house), and betook him to his mother; and he said to her, Lo! thy son liveth.

24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now in this I have known, that thou art a man of God, and the word of the Lord is sooth in thy mouth. (And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know, that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord from thy mouth is truth.)

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.