1 Kings 17 - The Good The Bad and The Widow

Welcome back to the Bible Babbles Podcast.

I'm your host, Bryon Self.

This is Carlos.

It is great to be back with you on this beautiful Friday morning. I'm going to assume it's beautiful there in the morning on Friday, which happens to be a very special day for me.

That's right. You get to celebrate one more year closer to death.

Yeah, it's true. It's true. I'll be officially a couple of years closer to, well, I guess just one year closer to my death.

I don't even know what's happening.

I'm going to age two years in one year.

I'm going to, yeah, 2020 definitely feels like I aged two years in one year. For sure. But yep, Friday, a lot of things are happening.

I'm doing, obviously, our episode today will drop then. I'm going to be on the Strength for the Day Podcast, which is kind of our, I was going to say sister podcast, because that's what you would normally kind of call something else.

You know, maybe if there's like our church and another church that we hang out, we do stuff with. And, you know, you'd call that like a sister church, our sister podcast, Strength for the Day. But it's run by our pastor.

And so it feels, is it our pastor podcast?

Yeah, I think maybe you passed your podcast.

It's our pastor podcast.

Yeah.

Strength for the Day, I'm going to be on there with our pastor, Pastor Dennis Fountain's dad, who is also Dennis Fountain. So we call him Senior. And we're going to be talking about one of the people in the Hall of Faith there in Hebrews 11.

And looking forward to that. Got to be on there a couple of times this past week. If you haven't listened to Strength for the Day, you can do so wherever you listen to podcasts.

Just search Strength for the Day. And it'll be the thumbnails, a big yellow thumbnail. And it's got, I think, some weights, like weight lifting and dumbbells.

And you can find Strength for the Day with Pastor Dennis. And hope that you would enjoy that. Every day he goes through, and he's gone through several different books of the Bible already, gone over some great topics.

And this week and next, we're kind of going through some of the people from Hebrews 11, while he is away at a missions conference and preach in there. So we get to fill in for him.

And you and our youth pastor at our church just did an episode on Enoch. And if you want to look at that, you can do so on the Strength for the Day podcast. If you want to hear more, Carlos.

And it's always a good day. Well, let's hop right in to today's Bible Babble. Last week we were in 1 Kings 14-16, which was basically king after king after king that were all messing up, that were following idols.

But there was one king who was not doing that. Do you happen to remember his name?

I think I do remember his name.

You can't peek at my Bible. You have to come up with it yourself.

No, I don't remember.

It is King Asa.

Oh, I know someone named Asa. I should have remembered.

Yeah. And the verse that really kind of sums it all up is, And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did David his father.

And someone that God just had a lot of great things to say about and deciding that in a generation and in a time of all of these kings who were following other gods, someone that said, I want to serve God just like those that have come before me.

And that's some great stuff. So, end of 1 Kings 16 were introduced to a king in Israel named Omri. Now, Omri, Omri.

And he has a son who reigns after him named Ahab. And the Bible gives a description about Ahab in 1 Kings 16. It says, Ahab, the son of Omri, did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him.

Now, that's a big statement for one particular thing. Because it said that his father, Omri, wrought evil in the eyes of the Lord and did worse than all that were before him.

He walked in all the way of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and in his sin were with, he made Israel the sin to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger with their vanities.

So, to the person that was described as worse than anyone else that had come before him in Israel and in Judah, then comes his son Ahab who it says was even worse than him.

It's, you know, can you imagine having the worst king or ruler that has ever been in your country followed immediately by an even worse king or ruler in your country?

Yeah, how do you even encompass that? I mean, this is getting terrible.

It is. And God details for us some of the things in particular that Ahab had done. It wasn't just that God was like, man, I really hate Ahab.

He's just a right.

Yeah, I just don't like it.

I don't like his name.

He's got a bad name.

But there were some specific things that Ahab did. It says in the end of 1 Kings 16, it came to pass as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat.

So everything that Jeroboam had done with the idols, with making anyone who wanted to be a priest, a priest putting up groves and places to worship false gods all over the place, not only did he do that, he took to wife Jezebel, the daughter of

Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. It says, and he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a grove.

And Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. So we have the worst of the worst kings that there's ever been in all of Israel in Judah. But there is some good news.

If I didn't think I'd get copyright infringement for it, now is when I would play that old 70s tune, I Need a Hero. And a hero kind of walks onto the stage in the form of an eccentric, fiery, crazy prophet of God.

And the Bible says this in the beginning of 1 Kings 17.

And Elijah the Tishbite, that was someone who was from the town or area of Tishbe in the land of Gilead, said unto Ahab, as the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be due nor rain these years, but according to my word.

So he comes to Ahab and says, as surely as God lives, there's gonna be no rain except when I say that there's going to be rain. And this is specifically because of the sin that Ahab had done.

And this wasn't even necessarily a judgment thing of I'm going to withhold rain from you because you've sinned against the Lord. It is to realign Ahab with reality. Whereas Ahab thought all of these other gods could control these things.

Elijah wanted him to see that the Lord was the one that was ruling, that was sovereign, that was in control of everything.

I apparently learned that you know what Baal, so this god that Ahab's wife Jezebel worshiped and caused Ahab to worship, what was Baal the god of?

So they believe that he was the sky god, the god of weather, which seems fitting that Elijah would come to Ahab and say, hey, you know what?

There's not gonna be any more rain, because obviously if Baal could control these things, then surely he will let the rain come again. And as we know in the passage, as we go through it, that's not the case, right?

So Elijah had strategically chosen that. It wasn't really random, you know? So hopefully as they saw that, hey, that Baal can't do anything, man, maybe he's not a god of the sky or the god of weather.

Yeah, definitely.

And I think it's in James chapter 5, in the end of the chapter, it mentions specifically Elijah. It's talking about the prayer and they're in verse 16 and 17. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, to the same temptations, to the same struggles as we are. And he prayed earnestly that it might not rain and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years in six months.

So that's 36 plus six is 42. I'm home schooled, but I did my math. 42 months there was no rain in Israel because of the fervent prayer of Elijah.

And this is specifically that his country and his people would see who the real God was.

But right after this, of course, if you tell the king, if we marched up to President Biden today and said, there's not going to be any rain in America, or there's not going to be, I don't know, what would be an important thing today in America?

The stock market's going to crash. Or yeah, oil. We won't get any oil until I say so, as surely as God lives.

You know, there might be some blowback from that. We might get a visit from the Secret Service. And this is exactly the kind of thing that was going to happen to Elijah.

So, it says, The word of the Lord came on to him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook careth that is before Jordan.

And it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord, for he went and dwelt by the brook careth that is before Jordan.

And we looked up some pictures of what this area would look like. It's in what's known today in kind of the Arabian world as a wadi.

You know, we might think of something maybe like a Grand Canyon or something as a place that has some different, that will have water going through it. But there's also some caves, there's some little enclaves that people could maybe hide in.

And it's in this area of Jordan, in this area by the brook careth, that Elijah finds himself. He's hiding now because he doesn't want Ahab to come after him and to kill him. But God has promised that he would be sustained.

He would have the water from the brook. And it says, the ravens brought him bread and flesh or meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening. And he drank of the brook.

This is kind of crazy that the ravens are bringing him food to be able to eat. They're kind of like butlers, really, when you think about it. You know, bringing him his food in the morning, bringing him his food in the evening.

If you could choose any animal, any bird, any whatever, to be your butler, what animal would you choose?

Black bear, because bears eat beets. No, no, no, if you don't get that reference, I'm sorry, but you should. Anyways, if I could choose any animal, probably would have to fly.

Yeah.

You know, because the fastest way to travel.

Yeah.

Let's go with a parrot.

Oh, you'd have someone to talk to.

I would have someone to talk to while God is having me stay at this brick caravan for however long he wants me to.

I have a friend to talk to.

Yeah. That's great. I like that.

I... Okay. Pandas are my favorite animal, but they're notoriously slow.

Yeah. I hear what you're saying with flying. Man, I...

I don't know. I don't want like an eagle or a raven or a falcon. I don't want one of those, but...

You might not even want a cheetah because they might just eat you instead.

Well, but...

But the ravens didn't eat Elijah. So, you know, God was kind of looking out for him. You know, Daniel and the lions, and the lions didn't eat him when God was in control.

So I'll take my chances with the parrot.

I like it.

So this is all happening. But we see in verse 7, it came to pass after a while that the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

So if you know anything about wadis, you know that they normally only have water for as long as there has been rainfall. And because now all of the rain has gone, now the brook, Kareth, has dried up. But God doesn't leave Elijah on his own.

He gives him new instructions and says, The Lord of the Lord came to him saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, which, if you'll remember, Jezebel was the daughter of the king of the Zidonians.

So, she was the princess of the Zidonians, and now Elijah is going to Zidon and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

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

And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her and said, Bring me, I pray, the a morsel of bread in thine hand. And I find it kind of funny, he doesn't say both of those things at first, but first he's like, Hey, can you get me some water?

And she's like, Great. Well, you know, there's been no rainfall, so I assume water was particularly valuable. So that was a lot to ask of someone for water, but then he also says, Hey, can you get me a morsel of bread?

And that phrase there, a morsel of bread, would be kind of like, you know, a crude pancake. You know, don't don't think. I don't know, McDonald's pancake.

Don't think that I don't think that something that would be more more bread bread. Yeah. Yeah.

So he's asking for that. She replies, Is the Lord that God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruise.

And behold, I am gathering two sticks that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it and die. She says, Hey, my last meal is a handful of a meal or flour in a barrel, a little bit of oil in a jug, and these couple of sticks.

And that's all I've got. We're going to eat it. And after that, we're going to starve.

And Elijah has a very compassionate, great response for her in this time. And he says, fear not. Go and do as thou hast said.

So go eat the sticks and die, but make me thereof a little cake first and bring it unto me. And after, make for thee and for thy son.

For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruise of oil fail until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. So now he actually does give some comfort to her.

He says, hey, if you make this for me first, your food is not going to run out until the day that the rain comes again and you are able to eat kind of as they did in the time before.

The Bible says this, she went and did according to the Saint of Elijah, and she and he and her house did eat many days. The barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruise of oil fail according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.

This is such a cool miracle that's happening. It's happening in an unlikely place that it's not even the country of Israel now.

It's the country where Jezebel is from, and it's a widow woman there, but she had faith in the Lord, and as a result, we see that her food doesn't run out for many days.

I think there's also a phrase in here that says something about it goes at least a year or more.

And if you could have a limitless supply of food, like something in your house, that would just keep refilling itself, and you could have that for a year, what would you want it to be?

Here we go again with these scenarios. Well, if I had to pick, you would want something that's obviously tastes really good, that you wouldn't get tired of.

Not broccoli.

Right, Brussels sprouts, no.

Yeah.

I think if we're going for something that is expensive, that costs, or that tastes really good, I'm gonna go with steaks.

Oh, there you go. I could definitely do taco meat, like ground beef.

Yeah.

Because you can put it together, you can make hamburgers, you can do tacos, you can do taco salad, which is just a salad with ground beef in it. Yeah, that would be what I would do. I think my wife knows that.

I just, I love ground beef. It's good for me. But yeah, steaks are definitely a great option.

So this is what happens to the lady. But then some tragedy comes. It says, it came to pass after these things that the son of the woman fell sick and his sickness was so sore that there was no breath left in him.

He had the first case of the rona.

Wow, yeah.

You know, his lungs gave out. And the woman said unto Elijah, what have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? Art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance and to slay my son?

And he said unto her, give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom and carried him up into a loft where he abode and laid him upon his own bed.

And he cried unto the Lord and said, O Lord, my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn by slaying her son?

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.

And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah and the soul of the child came into him again and he revived. 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 liveth. 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 in thy mouth is truth.

I do find it a little funny all this time she's been eating this endless meal and oil that has happened and now she knows that the word that Elijah speaks is true. I do think sometimes we can think that.

We can be daily enjoying the benefits that God gives us, the blessings that he's given to us, whether it's financial, relational, even just spiritual things that God is daily blessing us with.

And sometimes it's just a little extra something, a little prayer request that God answers for us.

Sometimes it's seeing God work in a way, seeing someone saved, seeing someone baptized, being able to disciple someone, just little things that then we go, God, I know now that you're here.

I knew before, but it's just sometimes God puts a little bit extra and it helps us out so much. I do want to just mention here in verse number 18, the widow woman says this to Elijah. She says, what have I to do with thee?

Why are you against me? Allowment of God. Art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance and to slay my son.

She thinks that her son being sick and either almost dying or dying completely, she thinks that it's a punishment from God for sins that she had committed in the past. But I love that God hears Elijah's request.

It makes it clear this was for God's glory. This was for Elijah to exercise a little bit of faith in God and all of that. It was not something that God was looking how to punish a woman.

And when bad things come into our lives, our first thought shouldn't be, man, God's really punishing me for this or for that. God wants to grow us so that we'll be more mature. He wants us to rely on him.

But God's not in heaven looking to zap anyone who makes the slightest mistake. Instead, he wants us to lean on him, to call out to him, to have reliance on him.

That just really stuck out to me from there, that she thought it was really all about her and about punishing her, but really it was about God and trusting God and seeing God do something great.

Yeah, I've loved throughout scripture, we can see a principle of especially from Joshua that people are more susceptible to defeat after a big victory.

And just like how this widow experienced such a great miracle from God, what her flower wasn't running out, her oil wasn't running out, and that is a huge victory in and of itself.

And a lot of times, and we pray something that God, would you please do this? And then it happens, and then we forget to thank him and bring it back up to remembrance.

And then we can get that, we can get that idea that, well, it's because of me or what I'm doing.

And I preached about this before, like when Joshua led the Children of Israel to defeat Jericho without, you know, raising a single weapon or anything like that.

And how awesome that was for the Children of Israel to experience God's hand in that battle because it was only of God that they defeated, they took over Jericho.

And then they, they led a small army of AI, get the best of them, which is just, which is going to show that when you have a, when you're on a mountaintop, sometimes God takes you off that mountaintop to remind you that, hey, it's not what you're

doing.

Yeah.

It's what I'm doing for you in your life.

So you need to be totally reliant and dependent on me and what I can do for you. Not do, do not let this not know. Don't let the devil deceive you into thinking that you're, you're all this and you, you can do all these great things by yourself.

No, just remember that God is the one who was there with you and had his hand in it.

Definitely. That's great. Any other thoughts from the passage?

Rain, ravens, pancakes.

I just think that, you know, when the when the when the widow thought, you know, her son was at the end of his life.

Yeah.

She was just clutching clutch had had her had him in her arms.

Yeah.

Clutching something that was dead basically. And she just, she just let the Lord, she allowed the man of God to take it, take the son and basically transform him to help him become better.

So she was able to trust God because she, if she really looked back on her life, then she can see that God's track record in her life is positive that he hasn't let her down.

So she was able to let go of something that she really loved her son and let God work in it. And a lot of times we like to hold on to things that we love and it could be anything. It's just like a picture, right?

It could be something that we love, like a sin that we're in or a hobby.

But if we let if we just let go of it and give it to God, then you know, he's gonna do what he does best and that's work in our lives and bring out a blessing and wherever is a better for us.

Yeah, I love that. Especially of that statement that the woman had something that was dead to her and she had to give it to God in order for transformation to happen, for life to come of it.

And so many times in our lives, we feel like our walk with God is dead. We feel like our prayer life is dead.

We feel like gifts and callings that we feel for the Lord are dead and we've got to give those back to the Lord and see what he can transform them into.

So our relationships, our finances, our whatever, if we give them to God, we can see him do so much more with it than we ever could. Love that thought. Well, anything else for today?

Nope, I don't think so.

All right.

Well, thank you for tuning in and look forward to being with you again next Friday. I will be a year older and hopefully a week wiser. And if you do want to leave a review on our podcast, please do so, especially on Apple Podcast.

If you don't follow us on Instagram or Facebook, please do so and look forward to hearing and seeing from you there. This next Friday, we are going to have my brother on our podcast.

We're going to be talking about Elijah facing off against the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. And this is one of the coolest stories in the Bible. And really looking forward to going over that next week.

I've been your host, Bryon Self.

This is Carlos, thanks for joining us.