Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.” And He continued by questioning them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” - Mark 8:27-29
I hope you’ve had a blessed week and am glad to see you here for worship this morning. I trust that God will speak to us again today through the proclamation of His living word and the inner movement of the Holy Spirit. I pray that we will listen to and obey His voice.
When we concluded last week’s message, Ahab had become the new king of Israel. He and his wife Jezebel were an evil, corrupt couple. Meanwhile in Judah, Asa died after serving as king for over 40 years and his son Jehoshaphat took the throne in his place. We will be focusing on these 2 kings over the next few weeks. That said, there is another character who we’ll be discussing as well. He wasn’t a king or even part of the royal family, but rather was a famous and somewhat unconventional prophet.
I. ELIJAH PREDICTS DROUGHT (1 Kings 17:1-7)
Elijah the prophet, who was from Tishbe, a small town in Gilead, boldly came before Ahab the king of Israel. He announced that there would be a severe drought in the land - no rain or dew - for the next 3 years except at his word. Then, in accordance with the word of the Lord which had been spoken to him, Elijah went and hid at the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan River. God sent ravens both morning and evening to provide him bread and meat and he drank water from the brook. After a while, however, the brook dried up due to the drought.
II. INEXHAUSTIBLE FLOUR AND OIL (1 Kings 17:8-16)
God told Elijah to go stay at Zarephath, a city that belonged to Sidon, where He had appointed a widow to take care of him. Sure enough, when Elijah arrived at the city gate he saw a widow there gathering sticks. He asked her to give him a drink of water and bring him a piece of bread. The poor widow answered that she did not have any bread, but only a tiny amount of flour and oil remaining. She explained that she had been gathering sticks in order to prepare a final cake for her and her son, that they might eat it together once more before starving to death.
Elijah told her not to be afraid, but instructed her to make 3 cakes. She was to make his first and bring it to him, then make 2 more with the ingredients that remained for her and her son. Elijah then promised the woman that neither her bowl of flour nor her jar of oil would be empty until the day that God sent rain upon the earth. The widow went and did as Elijah instructed. Because of her faith and obedience, the Lord miraculously multiplied her flour and oil so that it wasn’t exhausted for many months until the drought finally ended. Thus, she was able to provide for all 3 of them.
III. THE WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH’S SON (1 Kings 17:17-24)
Sometime later, the widow’s son became severely sick and died. In her agony and grief, the widow lashed out at Elijah and blamed him and his presence in her house as the reason for her son’s death. In response, Elijah asked the woman to bring her lifeless child to him. Elijah took the boy to the upper room where he was staying and laid his body on his bed. Then he prayed to the LORD that the child might be raised to life and stretched himself over the boy 3 times.
The LORD heard Elijah’s prayer and supernaturally revived the boy. The prophet took the resurrected child down to his mother and presented him alive and well. She was amazed and joyful, and she acknowledged Elijah as a true man of God who spoke the word of the LORD.
This is the 1st of 10 physical resurrections that are documented in the Bible. In fact, we did a miniseries on these back in 2017 around the Easter holiday. If you would like to read the notes from that series, they are available on our church website under the “Books” tab. Select the sermon series, “Risen From the Dead”.
IV. OBADIAH MEETS ELIJAH (1 Kings 18:1-16)
During the third year of the drought, the LORD appeared to Elijah and commanded him to go show himself to Ahab and that He would finally send rain upon the earth. So Elijah departed from Zarephath for Samaria, where the famine was severe, in order to stand before the king. Meanwhile, Ahab sent his servant Obadiah, who was in charge of his household, to survey the land in search of any springs of water or green grass that might be left to feed the king’s animals. Ahab also searched, and the 2 men went in different directions.
Though Obadiah served the wicked King Ahab, secretly he was a man of God. Queen Jezebel had sought out and executed many of the Lord’s prophets, but Obadiah had quietly hidden 100 of them in 2 caves, 50 in each, and was providing bread and water for them. Ahab and Jezebel were desperately searching for Elijah who had been residing safely in Zarephath, so that they might kill him, too.
As Obadiah was roaming through the countryside, he met Elijah, recognized him, and fell down before him. Elijah told Obadiah to go find Ahab and tell him that he had come to meet him. Obadiah was initially hesitant to do so. He objected because he feared that Ahab might kill him, the messenger, especially if he was unable to find Elijah after being told of his arrival. Obadiah also worried that Ahab would find out about the 100 prophets he’d hidden from Jezebel. To calm his nerves, Elijah ensured Obadiah that everything would be okay. Once settled, Obadiah went and found Ahab and told him that Elijah had come. Then Ahab came to meet Elijah.
Though it is uncertain and disputed, there are many Bible historians who believe that this Obadiah was the same man who wrote the short Bible book by the same name. If so, chronologically Obadiah would be the 1st of the minor prophets. The book of Obadiah is a prophetic warning to the nation of Edom.
CONCLUSION
As we wrap things up this morning, let’s consider a few applications from today’s sermon. First, God is able to provide for our needs even under dire circumstances. The LORD sent food to Elijah by way of ravens at the brook Cherith. Later, he provided for the prophet, widow, and her son at Zarephath by supernaturally resupplying her bowl of flour and jar of oil. Even in our lack, when our needs are great, we can trust in God to provide for us.
Second, God has the power to raise the dead. He worked through Elijah to bring the widow’s son back to life. So also, He raised His only begotten Son Jesus Christ from the dead 3 days after the crucifixion. By this same power, He promises to someday resurrect all of the righteous and redeemed saints so that we might live eternally and physically with Him in the New Heavens and Earth.
Third, even in the face of danger we need to have courageous faith. Though Obadiah was afraid of what Ahab and Jezebel might do to him, still at great personal risk he bravely hid and took care of 100 prophets of God. We shouldn’t be too hard on him for keeping quiet about his devotion to God. I mean, you can't help others if you’re dead. Obadiah’s actions remind me somewhat of those who hid Jews from the Nazis during World War II.
Next week we will learn more about Elijah. We will read about his well-known encounter with the prophets of Baal. I hope you’ll be able to join us for that! God bless you.
I hope you’ve had a blessed week and am glad to see you here for worship this morning. I trust that God will speak to us again today through the proclamation of His living word and the inner movement of the Holy Spirit. I pray that we will listen to and obey His voice.
When we concluded last week’s message, Ahab had become the new king of Israel. He and his wife Jezebel were an evil, corrupt couple. Meanwhile in Judah, Asa died after serving as king for over 40 years and his son Jehoshaphat took the throne in his place. We will be focusing on these 2 kings over the next few weeks. That said, there is another character who we’ll be discussing as well. He wasn’t a king or even part of the royal family, but rather was a famous and somewhat unconventional prophet.
I. ELIJAH PREDICTS DROUGHT (1 Kings 17:1-7)
Elijah the prophet, who was from Tishbe, a small town in Gilead, boldly came before Ahab the king of Israel. He announced that there would be a severe drought in the land - no rain or dew - for the next 3 years except at his word. Then, in accordance with the word of the Lord which had been spoken to him, Elijah went and hid at the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan River. God sent ravens both morning and evening to provide him bread and meat and he drank water from the brook. After a while, however, the brook dried up due to the drought.
II. INEXHAUSTIBLE FLOUR AND OIL (1 Kings 17:8-16)
God told Elijah to go stay at Zarephath, a city that belonged to Sidon, where He had appointed a widow to take care of him. Sure enough, when Elijah arrived at the city gate he saw a widow there gathering sticks. He asked her to give him a drink of water and bring him a piece of bread. The poor widow answered that she did not have any bread, but only a tiny amount of flour and oil remaining. She explained that she had been gathering sticks in order to prepare a final cake for her and her son, that they might eat it together once more before starving to death.
Elijah told her not to be afraid, but instructed her to make 3 cakes. She was to make his first and bring it to him, then make 2 more with the ingredients that remained for her and her son. Elijah then promised the woman that neither her bowl of flour nor her jar of oil would be empty until the day that God sent rain upon the earth. The widow went and did as Elijah instructed. Because of her faith and obedience, the Lord miraculously multiplied her flour and oil so that it wasn’t exhausted for many months until the drought finally ended. Thus, she was able to provide for all 3 of them.
III. THE WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH’S SON (1 Kings 17:17-24)
Sometime later, the widow’s son became severely sick and died. In her agony and grief, the widow lashed out at Elijah and blamed him and his presence in her house as the reason for her son’s death. In response, Elijah asked the woman to bring her lifeless child to him. Elijah took the boy to the upper room where he was staying and laid his body on his bed. Then he prayed to the LORD that the child might be raised to life and stretched himself over the boy 3 times.
The LORD heard Elijah’s prayer and supernaturally revived the boy. The prophet took the resurrected child down to his mother and presented him alive and well. She was amazed and joyful, and she acknowledged Elijah as a true man of God who spoke the word of the LORD.
This is the 1st of 10 physical resurrections that are documented in the Bible. In fact, we did a miniseries on these back in 2017 around the Easter holiday. If you would like to read the notes from that series, they are available on our church website under the “Books” tab. Select the sermon series, “Risen From the Dead”.
IV. OBADIAH MEETS ELIJAH (1 Kings 18:1-16)
During the third year of the drought, the LORD appeared to Elijah and commanded him to go show himself to Ahab and that He would finally send rain upon the earth. So Elijah departed from Zarephath for Samaria, where the famine was severe, in order to stand before the king. Meanwhile, Ahab sent his servant Obadiah, who was in charge of his household, to survey the land in search of any springs of water or green grass that might be left to feed the king’s animals. Ahab also searched, and the 2 men went in different directions.
Though Obadiah served the wicked King Ahab, secretly he was a man of God. Queen Jezebel had sought out and executed many of the Lord’s prophets, but Obadiah had quietly hidden 100 of them in 2 caves, 50 in each, and was providing bread and water for them. Ahab and Jezebel were desperately searching for Elijah who had been residing safely in Zarephath, so that they might kill him, too.
As Obadiah was roaming through the countryside, he met Elijah, recognized him, and fell down before him. Elijah told Obadiah to go find Ahab and tell him that he had come to meet him. Obadiah was initially hesitant to do so. He objected because he feared that Ahab might kill him, the messenger, especially if he was unable to find Elijah after being told of his arrival. Obadiah also worried that Ahab would find out about the 100 prophets he’d hidden from Jezebel. To calm his nerves, Elijah ensured Obadiah that everything would be okay. Once settled, Obadiah went and found Ahab and told him that Elijah had come. Then Ahab came to meet Elijah.
Though it is uncertain and disputed, there are many Bible historians who believe that this Obadiah was the same man who wrote the short Bible book by the same name. If so, chronologically Obadiah would be the 1st of the minor prophets. The book of Obadiah is a prophetic warning to the nation of Edom.
CONCLUSION
As we wrap things up this morning, let’s consider a few applications from today’s sermon. First, God is able to provide for our needs even under dire circumstances. The LORD sent food to Elijah by way of ravens at the brook Cherith. Later, he provided for the prophet, widow, and her son at Zarephath by supernaturally resupplying her bowl of flour and jar of oil. Even in our lack, when our needs are great, we can trust in God to provide for us.
Second, God has the power to raise the dead. He worked through Elijah to bring the widow’s son back to life. So also, He raised His only begotten Son Jesus Christ from the dead 3 days after the crucifixion. By this same power, He promises to someday resurrect all of the righteous and redeemed saints so that we might live eternally and physically with Him in the New Heavens and Earth.
Third, even in the face of danger we need to have courageous faith. Though Obadiah was afraid of what Ahab and Jezebel might do to him, still at great personal risk he bravely hid and took care of 100 prophets of God. We shouldn’t be too hard on him for keeping quiet about his devotion to God. I mean, you can't help others if you’re dead. Obadiah’s actions remind me somewhat of those who hid Jews from the Nazis during World War II.
Next week we will learn more about Elijah. We will read about his well-known encounter with the prophets of Baal. I hope you’ll be able to join us for that! God bless you.