FROM THE RAVENS TO THE RAVENOUS (I Kings 17:10)

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1 FROM THE RAVENS TO THE RAVENOUS (I Kings 17:10) Even at the brook in the wilderness Elijah has known the keeping power of the presence of the Lord. Twice each day the ravens, - at God s command, - had brought him bread and flesh. And, for as long as was needful, the Lord kept the brook flowing with fresh water. He never went hungry or thirsty. He could indeed testify, Ps. 16:5, The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. 6 The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. There is a well-known chorus that says, Little is much when God is in it! One of its verses asks, Does the place you re called to labour Seem too small and little known? It is great if God is in it, And He ll not forget His own. It was God Who commanded Elijah to leave his home in Gilead and to move to Samaria before bringing him to the brook Cherith, and it was also God Who sent him to Zarephath. Each step of the way He had kept His servant safe, - protected in Samaria and provided for in the wilderness. Ps. 138:8 The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me 139:2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. Remember The will of God will never lead us where the grace of God cannot keep us and care for us. Elijah is on the move again. He is travelling by foot over seventy-five miles to a city on the north-west to a different country and a different set of circumstances. Here was another opportunity in which he would discover more of God. Before he left Cherith the Lord had promised him, v.9 behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So, even as he left the brook, the Lord was already preparing the next stage in his journey. It was a long distance, and not a very pleasant terrain in times of famine and drought. Nevertheless, it was the next place God had for him to be! The Lord would not have for us to stand still Zarephath beckoned! Would God continue to provide for his needs? Oh yes, the Lord had already been teaching him that as long as he travelled in the path of obedience he would continue to enjoy His provisions no matter what circumstances he would find himself in.

2 2 In verse nine the Lord told him to behold It is the same word often spoken by the Lord to His servants. For example, He instructed Isaiah, 43:18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing and the Lord was about to do a new thing in the life of Elijah. The Lord did not promise him the new situation was going to be much better and yet, He placed it within Elijah s heart to be obedient, regardless of the circumstances around him. Very few of us are carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease, as Isaac Watts wrote. Often it is a case of going from one place that demands hard work to another place that demands hard work. There is often no let-up in our daily responsibilities. This would definitely have been Elijah s experience too. He would have been a hard worker. At home in Gilead he would have been up early in the mornings and working in the fields until late in the evening. God had proved him in the simple everyday things there, and God had also proved him in Cherith and God was about to stretch him again in the work. It is often in the ordinary everyday experiences that God proves His people, - in the home, in the workplace, and with our friends, - and then when He has endorsed our service for Him there, He brings us on to the next stage. In the Lord s service we never stop being students, Ps. 119:66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge 143:10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness 86:11 Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth. And the Lord was continuing to work in Elijah s life in a way the prophet could never have imagined. In fact, the Lord was to take him from the ravens to the ravenous to a woman and her son who only had enough food to last a very short time before they starved to death. In our fellowship we would love to see more people coming in, we would love to see the Lord opening the floodgates of His blessings, Lord, will you not come and do something mighty amongst us? Lord, in my own life I m tired of having to confront difficult issues. I want to have an easier life I don t want to have to endure these problems that are always coming my way. I m tired going to the doctor and visiting the hospital. I m tired living from hand-tomouth, wondering how I m going to make ends meet. Lord, I want to have some comfort and some joy in my life.

3 3 Here though, we don t read of Elijah having such a conversation with God. He was content to listen to the leading of the Lord, - he left one place (Cherith), because he knew the Lord had another work for him to do another place (Zarephath). Mind you, the Lord did not promise him any better circumstances in Zarephath and yet he was confident God had a purpose there for him to fulfil, and that purpose would take him into the widow s home and he wanted to go, regardless of how far away it was. He was willing to put himself out for the Lord because the Lord graciously continued to provide for all his needs. Lord, You have been preparing me in Samaria and at Cherith and Lord, if this is where You are leading me, then I must be nowhere else! Such was the burden with which Elijah headed towards Zarephath. It would not have been an easy road He would have had many hills to climb and valleys to negotiate. Spiritually also, the devil would have thrown at him every reason under the sun as to why he shouldn t go to Zarephath. You have enough to do with your own Israelite brethren, never mind chasing after a woman in a no-hope situation! It was a long journey, and the devil would have been popping his head up from out behind almost every rock! It is not always easy to keep going on, but Elijah had God for company and the command of God as his purpose to arrive at the woman s house. Every night he lay his head down, he thanked the Lord for the journey he had made that day. And each morning, he would get up and ask for the Lord s blessing as he came closer to Zarephath. He was living his life with God and for God. Elijah, where are you going? I m going to meet a woman in Zarephath Why are you going there? The Lord told me Where are you going after that? I know the Lord will lead me. He wasn t wandering aimlessly he was going to the specific place where the Lord had for him to be on this occasion, to a distant heathen city, to be sustained by a widow who did not have enough to keep herself and her son. It hardly makes for good common sense but Elijah was trusting in the Lord to keep him! Our circumstances often change, and maybe circumstances in your life have changed recently. You haven t been able to make adequate preparations to cope with the new changes what is the way ahead for you? You haven t planned for how you presently find yourself, so how are you to know the best directions with which to go forward? Elijah is a lesson in trusting God. He listened to Him and he searched out God s mind for his way ahead.

4 4 Like Elijah, we believe in the God Who has all things under His control. Sometimes He takes us alongside the still waters and allows us to enjoy the rest as we lie down in green pastures (Ps. 23:2). Sometimes He sees how tired we are and He restoreth my soul (Ps. 23:3), and then leads me in the paths of righteousness. But there are also other times when He brings us through the valley of the shadow even of death! Those are the times the enemy tells me I can t keep going on. I m exhausted, I feel defeated, and I don t know if I can continue and just at that point when it seems the clouds can t get any darker I discover, v.4 thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. It would not have been an easy journey for Elijah. It would have been rough terrain in a terribly hot climate. Probably the best place in those days for Elijah to have gone would have been back home, - when hard times come, you re better staying with the familiar. It makes no sense in a time of famine to go to an unfamiliar area. You have none of your own knowledge to fall back on no experience to draw from. When he eventually arrived in Zarephath, he found the woman so poor that she did not have anything to burn on her fire, or any servant to go and pick up the sticks lying around. Lord, You have taken me from one desperate situation to another and yet Lord, You have brought me here for Your purposes to be achieved. It was the Lord s will he should be there for God was going to demonstrate a wonderful outpouring of His glory in no less a place than Zarephath through the faithfulness of His proven servant. This woman the Lord introduced him to had no fancy dreams or elaborate aspirations she was simply concerned with keeping alive. In fact, as far as she understood, her life was coming to an end. Her circumstances had taken such a plunge that she could see no way ahead for herself and her son. And yet, into her midst, - completely out of the blue as far as she was concerned, - the Lord brought Elijah to ask for something she could not afford v.10 Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink 11 Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. Let s home in on what Elijah saw as he came through the gate of the city. Did the Lord tell him where the woman lived, - the street, her house number, - what her name was, how he would find her, what he would call her? How did he know where to go or who to ask for?! Actually, the Lord told him next-tonothing about the woman simply v.9 I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee and yet, what more did he need to know?!

5 5 He had walked over seventy-five miles to arrive at this widow s house because God had told him! We would have wanted to know more about her, - at least her name and where she lived. We would have liked to know something about her background but the Lord only gave Elijah what he needed to know to get him to Zarephath so he had to keep trusting in the Lord. There is a good lesson here If we knew everything there was to know, we wouldn t have to depend so much on the Lord we could be on the journey and not even miss Him! We wouldn t be in His service by faith, because we would be too confident in our own abilities. If we did not see our need to keep trusting Him we would convince ourselves we are in charge of our destiny! Let s have another look at a little word we mentioned before, - a word that can be so easily overlooked. When Elijah was in Samaria the Lord told him to go to the brook Cherith and it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there (v.4). When his time at Cherith was coming to an end the Lord issued him another command, v.9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there. When he arrived in Zarephath, he had approached the gate of the city, - and lo and behold (!) - the widow woman was there (v.10)! In each situation, the Lord had a specific place for him to be. The Lord had already made the plans for each step of his journey. Ps. 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Elijah was careful to be there where the Lord had for him to be! He had proved God in the past, and he knew he could prove Him again! He wasn t trusting in what the widow could do for him but his trust was in what the Lord would continue to do on this occasion, through the woman. We are just ordinary people, - like this widow gathering the sticks. It is not us that make the difference in someone else s life, it is the Lord! I m just ordinary and this woman was just ordinary too, and yet the Lord included her in His plans for the restoration of His people as He set her apart at that time to meet the needs of His servant Elijah. And just as the Lord sent Elijah to meet the need of this widow, He was also preparing her to meet Elijah s need. She was in God s plan of the ages. Other people probably would not have noticed her, but the Lord s purpose for her was to sustain His servant. This in turn would have implications for the whole nation of Israel and its return to the Lord

6 6 In fact, her story was so beautiful it touched the heart of the Lord Jesus because He referred to her in the New Testament, But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow (Lk. 4:26). You might think you are not important and you haven t much to contribute to the Lord s work well, take a look at this woman and you will see how little she had to give! And yet, the Lord used her Little is much when God is in it! She did not know Elijah, and Elijah did not know her, - they had never even heard of each other before, - but the Lord made sure they were in the place where He would bring them both together. You know, He is in control of all things, - we do not always understand His purposes and we do have many questions but like the great multitude in Galilee, we recognise, He hath done all things well (Mk. 7:37). The hymn writer puts it, For all the Lord hath done for me, I never will cease to praise Him. We are coming in through the gate with Elijah. We are going to meet the widow, and the Holy Spirit will teach us lessons concerning the time they spent together. We don t need to go to college or university to learn how to become better followers of the Lord Jesus we need to study His Word and find these examples of how others served Him so we can serve Him better. Indeed, the seat of learning for Elijah had begun at home in Gilead, then the Lord progressed him on to the king s court in Samaria, before bringing him to Cherith. Many and varied are the ways and means God uses to train His people He has a purpose in them all. He will never lead you somewhere He will not use you. No matter what set of circumstances He brings you into, you will find opportunities in which you are responsible to serve Him. But, in conclusion, we need to qualify something very carefully on two counts. Believer, God led Elijah on quite a journey from Gilead to Samaria to Cherith and to Zarephath Sometimes you might wonder at what God is doing; it is as if He is leading you in all roads and directions Yes, but He has a purpose through every door He opens for you God will never lead you anywhere you ought not to be. He will never lead you in contradiction to His Word. Mind you, He will not accompany you to any place that will damage your walk with Him. He will never lead you into sin. Do you withdraw from company you ought not to be in? Do you abstain from the lifestyle of your friends and workmates? Do you shun their jokes and filthy conversations? Remember Elijah he only went to the places where he could be in the company of God where he knew God was with him.

7 Unbeliever, you re not saved, - you don t yet have the assurance that Jesus Christ died on the cross for you to take away your sin and to prepare a place for you in Heaven. You have never asked Him to come into your life and to cleanse you from within In some ways, you are like this woman who we shall consider more closely next Lord s Day morning she was at the end of her tether and she could see no way forward, and there was nothing she could do to bring herself out of her predicament. Notice though that, - when all hope seemed to be disappearing, - God brought His servant into her home. In the same way God brought His Son into this world and the verse explains why He did it, Jn. 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. It is the only reason Jesus came. We invite you to call upon Him today. Cry out to Him and tell Him you want to change, believe in Him to take control of your life, and follow Him as Elijah followed Him. It is not to say you will know what is around every corner or over every hill, but what it does mean is that you know the One Who does. Believe in Him today and He will become your Saviour and Lord. From the Ravens to the Ravenous The Lord often takes us along roads we would never choose to travel on our own, but we know He has a purpose in everything He does and everywhere He leads us. His ultimate purpose is always for His glory, that the world through him might be saved (Jn. 3:17) and that same wonderful purpose will one day bring His people home to Heaven. This God of Elijah is also our God How good is the God we adore, Our faithful unchangeable Friend! His love is as great as His power, And knows neither measure nor end! 7