After taking a break from our consideration of God's ministry through Elijah, we return now to 1 Kings 17. 1 Kings 17. Our consideration this morning, verses 8-16 of 1 Kings 17. I'd like us to begin reading at verse 1. Once again, to remind us in the context of what has been going on up to this point. 1 Kings 17, beginning in verse 1. This is the very Word of God. Now Elijah the Tishbite from Tishbe in Gilead said to Ahab, As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at My Word. Then the Word of the Lord came to Elijah, Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Carith ravine east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there. So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Carith ravine east of the Jordan and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening and he drank from the brook. Sometime later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him. Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food. So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and said, Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink? As she was going to get it, he called, And bring me, please, a piece of bread. As surely as the Lord your God lives, she replied, I don't have any bread. Only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son that we may eat it and die. Elijah said to her, Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said, but first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, the jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land. She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah. There ends the reading of God's Word. Let's bow together asking for His blessing upon it this morning. Father, we thank You for Your most holy Word. For Your truth. For this history. This history of Your dealing with Your people. We pray, Father, that You would open our eyes by Your Spirit. That we might see and understand, open our hearts to know the truths that You have contained herein. And bless us, O Lord. Sanctify us by Your Spirit that we might not only be hearers of Your Word, but doers of Your Word. Comfort us by Your Spirit. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, as I read the episodes in the life of Israel, sometimes I tend to forget that the circumstances that surrounded Israel that they enjoyed or knew are not like the circumstances for us today. We have instant access to what's happening all around the world. For example, we have up-to-the-minute coverage of the war with news cameras and reporters, and we know in the same day what happens around the world, and we even have pictures of it. And sometimes I tend to think, as I'm reading Scripture, I tend to think, apply our situation, our circumstance on what was taking place back then. And I tend to think that the same was somehow true for Israel. That they had news coverage of the ravens bringing meat to Elijah or of his encounter with the widow. But they didn't. They didn't know what was taking place as these things were taking place. They didn't know about the ravens. They didn't know about the widow's flower and oil. That is not until this history was recorded for them, most likely during the time, much later, during the time of the Babylonian captivity. And then, with these snapshots, we might say, these pictures, boys and girls, these snapshots of their history, then they could see clearly and understand what contributed toward their captivity. They had rejected their covenant God and His Word. they had confessed Baal as the true provider of sustenance and life. Then they might also see a clear picture of what happens when the life-giving Word of God will not speak. There is only death. And even more then, they might see the truth that there is nothing, absolutely nothing, more powerful than the Word of the Lord. Not their rejection of it. Not Baal. Not all the forces of evil put together. Not Satan himself. Nothing is more powerful than the Word of the Lord. And this history has been preserved for us that we too are given a snapshot. We are given a snapshot of God's next act in His revelation drama. A snapshot of His plan, of His purpose, of His protection and provision here. And we too are called to rejoice, beloved, as we are reminded that where the Word of God is received by faith, the blessing of God dwells in full. Where the Word of God is received by faith, the blessing of God will dwell in full. As with this snapshot, God demonstrates the unfailing power of His rejected Word. First of all, in an unexpected place. An unexpected place chosen by God. Indeed, Israel had rejected God and His Word. They wanted nothing to do with it. But that didn't make God's Word powerless. God's Word is powerful wherever He chooses. And as you recall, first of all, He had chosen to remove His Word through His Word-bearer from Israel's midst. He moved Elijah to the border, to the Karith Ravid, to that brook Cherith as we know it. And there, God provided for him as He commanded the ravens to provide Elijah with meat. We're told that the brook dried up. It's natural because of no rain. Indeed, God's Word was being proven true. There was a famine in the land. And that dried brook was the occasion for God to move Elijah on for further revelation. Now, we need to remember, though, that Elijah did not need to leave the brook just because it was dry. God could have preserved Elijah there he could have broken open the rocks and brought forth water from the rocks as he did with Israel in the wilderness. But we ought to remember that God was also preparing Elijah for the battle of the gods to come on Mount Carmel. And now he shows that he is God even outside of Israel. Verse 8 begins, Then the word of the Lord came to him, Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. Most likely about a 75-mile trip. Zarephath was a Phoenician town on the Mediterranean coast located between Tyre and Sidon. Zarephath, we're being told here, belonged to Sidon. It looked to Sidon for protection and for survival. And Zarephath was in service to Sidon. Yet remember what we read in chapter 16, verse 31. He that is Ahab not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. Sidon, we might say, was Jezebel's hometown. Elijah was not only being sent outside of the borders of Israel, but he was being sent to enemy territory, physically and spiritually speaking, to a territory governed by Baal. No doubt the last place that Ahab would ever think to look for him. At this time in Israel's history, Sidon was the antithesis, the very opposite of the kingdom of God. Sidon had introduced compromise into the midst of Israel, causing even Israel's king Ahab to embrace idolatry and to reject Israel's election by God. Sidon was an instrument of Satan. It was a great threat to the people of the Lord, to the service of the Lord. Yet in this enemy territory, in this unexpected place, this is where God's word would be preserved. This is where its power would be demonstrated. This is where God's word-bearer would be provided for. As even here, life depended on God's word of life. as the drought and the famine were also found here in Baal territory. Baal was being challenged in his own country. Yet here is where Elijah goes willingly to this unlikely, unexpected place. He goes without questioning God. He goes trusting God's provision and protection as the unfailing power of God's word would be demonstrated in the second place with unimaginable circumstances. Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food. From ravens to a widow. Yet, beloved, what an unimaginable circumstance to a widow. Elijah was to be cared for and provided for by the likes of one herself who was to be cared for. We know that especially at that time, a widow was synonymous with poverty. One who was considered to be poor and helpless. One who had no rights in society yet, according to Deuteronomy, clearly one who was protected by God. One who was to be cared for. And Elijah is sent to this one who is not a wealthy person. He's not sent to someone who could wine and dine him to provide for him in abundance without really taking away from that one themselves. He's sent to a widow, a poor widow. And therefore Elijah too is continually called upon to trust his life completely to the Lord, even though the circumstances did not make sense. She is a demonstration of Paul's word in 1 Corinthians 1, beginning at verse 27. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things that are not to nullify the things that are. What a foolish picture, this widow. One who needed to be cared for. She had no means of caring for another. Indeed, how God was getting ready to show His power so that there was no question as to where this provision would come from. But also the unimaginable circumstance. Not only a widow to a poor widow, but one who was not of Israel. One who was in enemy territory. No doubt, we know there were widows among the 7,000 of whom the Lord says later have not bowed the knee to Baal. But why to this widow? Well, I believe Jesus helps us in Luke 4. There He is preaching in the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth. He says, I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land, yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed, only Naaman the prophet. And we're told right after that that the people were angry. And they tried to drive Jesus out of town to the point of a cliff to throw Him over to get rid of Him. They were angry because they understood that Jesus was talking about the people rejecting God. Israel as a whole had rejected God. Jesus was being rejected. They understood what He was talking about, that the people had rejected God and therefore God was rejecting them. The widow of Zarephath is a picture of Paul's words in Romans 9.15 when he says, For he, that is God, says to Moses, I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion. God had chosen this widow in enemy territory to teach to her in a personal and in a powerful way who is truly God, pointing to His purpose to pour out His grace upon the Gentiles. That's what Jesus was pointing to also in Luke 4. God's plan to include the Gentiles among His people. This widow is a picture of God pouring out His grace upon the Gentiles. Proving His grace to save whoever turns to the Lord in faith. Israel thought that just because they were Israel, just because they had the name, just because they had the borders, just because they had the land, they thought they were safe, they were in. And therefore, it didn't matter to them how they lived or who they served. They thought that they were exempt from uncompromising obedience and allegiance to God. Yet, while Israel was suffering death, the Word of God was bringing life outside of the covenant community to a widow and her son. And this lesson of God's purpose would be unmistakable if she was not only a widow, Not merely a widow, but she was a widow at the point of death. God alone brings to life from death. In God's providence, Elijah recognizes this woman who was at the town gate. He recognized her as a widow. But is this the one? Is this the one that God was talking about? He tests her. May I please have a drink of water? And having been prepared by God, her heart prepared to show hospitality, She acts willingly. So then we read in verses 11 and 12. He says, And as she was going to get it, He called and bring me, please, a piece of bread. As surely as the Lord your God lives, she replied, I don't have any bread. Only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son that we may eat it and die. This one who was under Baal's care. Baal, the one who in a sense, the God of fertility who was to give life. This one who was under Baal's care was getting ready to die. It's not that she was unwilling to help, but in her mind she was unable to help. However, Elijah, who knew firsthand the miraculous power of God through the ravens who had fed him, Elijah understands that God is about to reveal Himself as the one David spoke of in Psalm 34, verse 9, when he says, Fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing. And as Jesus says in Matthew 6, for those who seek first God and His kingdom, all these other things, all these temporal things, all we need, will be added unto you. For her, God was about to demonstrate the unfailing power of His Word in the third place by unparalleled blessing. Listen to the beautiful story again, beginning in verse 13. Elijah said to her, don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said, but first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. The jar of oil will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land. She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up And the jug of oil did not run dry in keeping with the Word of the Lord spoken by Elijah. What a demonstration of the power of the Word of the Lord. Beloved, why is it that sometimes we who are so bold to claim that yes, Jesus died on the cross, that our sins are forgiven in Him, and that we are secure for all eternity, we have no problem claiming the mighty acts of God. But why do we sometimes then tend to shorten God's arm when it comes to this life? As if He doesn't care. As if He doesn't know. As if He really can't provide. As if He is only concerned about eternity and as if He is not concerned about us today. Why do we shorten his arm? Indeed, the widow was to learn of the unparalleled blessing from God's promise. Elijah makes it clear who was in charge. The Lord, the covenant God of Israel. The One who alone is faithful to His Word. Maybe she had heard of His wondrous acts as Rahab had. We don't know. We're not told that. But Elijah makes it clear. He says, do not be afraid. And the supplies, the handful of flour and a little bit of oil did not run out, but the Lord maintains their levels. You see, this is what happened. The very same power of God that gave manna and quail in abundance for 40 years in the wilderness, the very same power of God that multiplied five loaves and two fish in order to feed thousands, the very same power of God sustained this widow and her son and Elijah with daily bread day by day with just a handful of flour and a little bit of oil. That's how we are to understand this. It's not that all of a sudden someone brought her a big load of flour and a great big jar of oil. But that every day there was just a handful of flour and a little jar of oil and she was called to trust daily. Beloved, this points to God's promise of unparalleled blessing for those who believe. The widow is called to believe the unbelievable. To give up the certainty of one meal for, humanly speaking, the uncertainty of survival. In the context of famine, she didn't even have enough money to have somebody else go pick up sticks for her. She had to do it herself. In the context of all of this, What a heavy demand for a hungry mother with a child to feed. And this widow is called to give up everything she had. She is called to surrender herself completely to the Lord as Elijah, representing God Himself, would settle for nothing less than her life. We might say, Elijah, what are you doing? You first? Why not her first? Why not the child first? He will settle for nothing less than her life, even as He offers her life. You see, beloved, this has always been God's demand in covenant relationship with His people. He has always demanded complete trust and obedience and loyalty one's entire being to forsake oneself, to forsake the world, and to trust one's life completely to the Lord. This widow is called to sacrifice everything But notice, God promised to give back what she had, only more. From one meal to every meal until the rains would come. By God's grace, she believed. She went and she did according to the word of Elijah. She was given the gift of faith, as the writer of Hebrews defines, the assurance of things hoped for. The conviction of things not seen. Again, I'm struck by what it says here that Elijah says, don't be afraid. Go and do what you have said, but first make one for me and bring it to me. She had to trust that when she went back to make some for her and her son, that there would be flour and oil as what she would use would first of all be for Elijah. And she was not disappointed. And beloved, what a picture of the unparalleled blessing of the covenant. Indeed, we marvel at what God did. Verse 1 says again, Now Elijah the Tishbite from Tishbe and Gilead said to Ahab, As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word. And hear that very same word of God through Elijah lifted the famine for one solitary family as the Word of God became for her the Word of life. In Baal's territory, no less, who, as Israel was learning, only brings death. But notice what God did here. He extended to her. He extended to her someone outside of the covenant community. He extended to her His covenant demands and promises. Obey and live or disobey and die. Indeed, as we sing, to live apart from God is death. But His demands always come with His promises. Israel forfeited God's promises because they rejected Him and His demands. Yet, with this provision for this widow, with the provision that He gave to her, God Himself was providing what He demanded. And that pointed to His plan to provide for His covenant people through His only begotten Son for those who could not provide themselves what God demanded. And beloved, as Israel needed to learn, it's not about the name of your church. It's not about attending a Christian school. It's not about being baptized. All of those things are wonderful and have their place, but not one of those things will save you. It's about believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith in Him. Trusting Him. and God's promise is whoever believes will be saved. That the holy God would save sinners is unexpected because it is so undeserved. And that He should do it through the cruel crucifixion and death on a cross is unimaginable. Foolish to the world. But as we gaze upon that snapshot of the cross where we see what is unexpected and unimaginable, we also see the blessing secured by Jesus Christ which is unparalleled for all who forsake themselves and trust in Jesus' blood and righteousness alone. The unparalleled blessing of eternal provision in life. Jesus Christ has given to God perfect obedience. He has given the perfect payment required and fulfilled God's demands. Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God, was rejected, yet the power of His work is unfailing, as through His Son, God Himself has now given for us that which He had demanded from us, so that those who trust in Him will never, ever be rejected by God. Nothing will ever be able to separate them from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. And even today, beloved, ours is the comfort of the Word of the Lord in Isaiah 41, verse 10, where we read, So do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold You with My righteous right hand. And therefore, still today, beloved, we are called to give Him our all, our entire life, our complete trust. And it is a delight. As we also sing, were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present for Him far too small. Instead, love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. And beloved, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we may seek to give to God our all, not from fear of failure, but with confidence in Jesus Christ who gave His all for us. It has been accepted by God and we are accepted by God in Christ with the confidence that all of our sins are forgiven, trusting in Him for His complete and His perfect care. Believers enjoy the blessing of God for time because we have the blessing of God for eternity through Jesus Christ. So that even when we face uncertain times and unexpected and unimaginable situations, and we do, like Elijah and the widow, we still live in a world of sin. We are still subject to the effects of sin in this world. We are called to wait upon the Lord. Notice that when the brook dried up, Elijah did not take the situation into his own hands. He did not make his own plans. and then ask God to bless them. That's easy for us to do, isn't it? Especially in a time like this of an economic downturn, it's easy to make our own plans, to think things out ourselves and to forget God and the whole process and not even bathe it in prayer and to start out on our plans. And then when it's not going quite as we thought it ought to go, then we ask God for His blessing. When the circumstances of life, which are difficult and hurtful and are not comfortable and may not be what we would like, along with these things, there is much godless advice and many ungodly techniques for improving those situations. Yet the Bible says, wait for the Lord. The Bible says, commit your way to the Lord. He will not fail you. He will provide what you need. Elijah and the widow waited for the Lord. They depended upon the Word of the Lord. By the grace of God, they walked with Him and not ahead of Him. And that's why it's so important for us, too, to hide God's Word in our heart, especially Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Though the forces of evil are still active, beloved, But the Word of God is powerful. It is indestructible. It is unfailing. We know that because death could not keep its prey. Jesus Christ has destroyed the work of Satan. Our Lord is victorious. And in Him we are more than conquerors. And therefore God calls us to give our trust to Him who said, My grace is sufficient for you. Who said, I will not leave you or forsake you. of whom Paul said in Philippians 4, and my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Your needs, maybe not all that we want. Elijah no longer had meat, just bread, but he had bread every day. Beloved, may we be encouraged and strengthened by the Holy Spirit to give, to consecrate the entirety of our lives to Him who has already unfailingly given His life for us and in whose presence, by His power, we are secure forever. Amen. Let's pray together. Our great God and Father, we do come before You at the close of this service, of this consideration of Your Word. encouraged, refreshed, filled again and again with a hope that You not only save us for eternity, but You care for us throughout this life, even as You prepare us for the day of Christ Jesus. And Father, we thank You for Your clear Word that it's not in what we do or say or can do, but it's only by the blood of Jesus and trust in Him alone that we are safe and secure in Your salvation forever and ever. Father, fill us with a joy that is hard to describe but a joy that cannot help but to be displayed and noticed whereby, again, we might have the opportunity to witness to the truth and the saving love of Jesus Christ, our Lord. We thank You for Your work throughout time, for eternity, and for calling us to be among Your people. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.