1 AND Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
2 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,
3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
5 So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.
7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
8 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,
9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.
11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.
12 And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: 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.
13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.
15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.
17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.
18 And she 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?
19 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.
20 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?
21 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 again.
22 And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.
23 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.
24 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.

1And Eliiah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said vnto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liueth, before whome I stand, there shall not be deaw nor raine these yeres, but according to my word.

2And the worde of the Lord came vnto him, saying,

3Get thee hence, and turne thee Eastward, and hide thy selfe by the brooke Cherith, that is before Iordane.

4And it shall bee, that thou shalt drinke of the brooke, and I haue commanded the rauens to feed thee there.

5So hee went, and did according vnto the word of the Lord: for hee went and dwelt by the brooke Cherith, that is before Iordane.

6And the rauens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the euening: and hee dranke of the brooke.

7And it came to passe after a while, that the brooke dryed vp, because there had beene no raine in the land.

8 And the word of the Lord came vnto him, saying,

9Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I haue commaunded a widow woman there to sustaine thee.

10So he arose, and went to Zarephath: and when he came to the gate of the citie, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of stickes: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessell, that I may drinke.

11And as shee was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring mee, I pray thee, a morsell of bread in thine hand.

12And she said, As the Lord thy God liueth, I haue not a cake, but an handfull of meale in a barrell, and a little oyle in a cruse: and behold, I am gathering two stickes, that I may goe in, and dresse it for me and my sonne, that we may eate it, and die.

13And Eliiah said vnto her, Feare not, goe, and doe as thou hast said: but make mee thereof a little cake first, and bring it vnto mee, and after make for thee, and for thy sonne.

14For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrell of meale shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oile faile, vntill the day that the Lord sendeth raine vpon the earth.

15And shee went, and did according to the saying of Eliiah: and she, and he, and her house did eate many dayes.

16And the barrell of meale wasted not, neither did the cruse of oyle faile, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Eliiah.

17 And it came to passe after these things, that the sonne of the woman, the mistresse of the house, fell sicke, and his sickenesse was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.

18And shee sayd vnto Eliiah, What haue I to doe with thee? O thou man of God! Art thou come vnto me to call my sinne to remembrance, and to slay my sonne?

19And he said vnto her, Giue me thy sonne. And he tooke him out of her bosome, and caried him vp into a loft, where he abode, and laide him vpon his owne bed.

20And hee cried vnto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought euill vpon the widow, with whom I soiourne, by slaying her sonne?

21And he stretched himselfe vpon the child three times, and cried vnto the Lord, and said; O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this childes soule come into him againe.

22And the Lord heard the voice of Eliiah, and the soule of the child came into him againe, and he reuiued.

23And Eliiah tooke the childe, and brought him downe out of the chamber into the house, and deliuered him vnto his mother: and Eliiah said, See, thy sonne liueth.

24 And the woman said to Eliiah, Now by this I know, that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is trueth.

I == Deut 10:8 ; 2nd Kings 3:14 ; Luke 1:17 ; 4:25 ; In James 5:17 is called Elias

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IX == Obad 20; In Luke 4:26 called Sarepta

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XVIII == Luke 5:8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXI == 2nd Kings 4:34-35

 

XXII == Heb 11:35

 

 

 

 

XXIV == John 3:2 ; 16:30

1 Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab: "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, during these years there shall be no dew or rain except at my word."

2 The LORD then said to Elijah:

3 "Leave here, go east and hide in the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan.

4 You shall drink of the stream, and I have commanded ravens to feed you there."

5 So he left and did as the LORD had commanded. He went and remained by the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan.

6 Ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the stream.

7 After some time, however, the brook ran dry, because no rain had fallen in the land.

8 So the LORD said to him:

9 "Move on to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have designated a widow there to provide for you."

10 He left and went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the entrance of the city, a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her, "Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink."

11 She left to get it, and he called out after her, "Please bring along a bit of bread."

12 "As the LORD, your God, lives," she answered, "I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a couple of sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die."

13 "Do not be afraid," Elijah said to her. "Go and do as you propose. But first make me a little cake and bring it to me. Then you can prepare something for yourself and your son.

14 For the LORD, the God of Israel, says, 'The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'"

15 She left and did as Elijah had said. She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well;

16 The jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the LORD had foretold through Elijah.

17 Some time later the son of the mistress of the house fell sick, and his sickness grew more severe until he stopped breathing.

18 So she said to Elijah, "Why have you done this to me, O man of God? Have you come to me to call attention to my guilt and to kill my son?"

19 "Give me your son," Elijah said to her. Taking him from her lap, he carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.

20 He called out to the LORD: "O LORD, my God, will you afflict even the widow with whom I am staying by killing her son?"

21 Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times and called out to the LORD: "O LORD, my God, let the life breath return to the body of this child."

22 The LORD heard the prayer of Elijah; the life breath returned to the child's body and he revived.

23 Taking the child, Elijah brought him down into the house from the upper room and gave him to his mother. "See!" Elijah said to her, "your son is alive."

24 "Now indeed I know that you you are a man of God," the woman replied to Elijah. "The word of the LORD comes truly from your mouth."

v 1-7. We know nothing of Elijah’s background, except he was from Tishbe in the land of Gilead, east of the Jordan River and Jabesh-Gilead, near the brook Cherith. He apparently walked 40 to 50 miles west to Samaria to make this abrupt announcement of drouth to Ahab, then God sent him back to familiar wilds along the brook Cherith to hide. (The exact spot of Cherith is not known. Some think it was a wadi only 20 miles north of Samaria, practically under the king’s nose, but notice, God told him to turn eastward, v 3, not to the brook that flows eastward. Before Jordan does not need to apply to the west side.) He may have reproved Ahab, but the inference is that the drouth would do the reproving. It would show that God, not Baal (god of fertility), was in control of the weather. This drouth was so severe that there was not even the normal dew.
It is strange that God used an unclean bird to provide food for Elijah, perhaps preparing that he was later to go to an ”unclean” Gentile for provisions. A widow woman at that.
That the ravens brought putrid carrion to him is preposterous. Bread in scripture can be simply food, and flesh can be the pulp of fruits and vegetables. So ravens, who sometimes neglect even their own young, were prompted by God to provide berries, fruit, nuts, eggs, possibly fish and locusts. Gill wrote of a raven bringing a whole loaf of bread and laying it at the feet of two saints, Paulus and Antonius. Elijah was well cared for, his faith was strengthened. The drying up of the brook offered further challenge to strengthen his faith, but we can not assume he went clear to Zarephath with no water.

v 8-11. God provided in two more unlikely ways. Elijah was sent to a most unlikely place, the area of Sidon, some 90 miles away, the home area of Queen Jezebel. On the other hand, who would ever think of looking for him there? Secondly he was to go to Zarephath, to a Gentile widow. Her attitude was shown by her willingness to go get a drink for Elijah, who she recognized as an Israelite. This indicated he had found the right woman, so he asked her to bring him some food.

v 12-16. She was not necessarily a believer, because she said “thy God”, but she was familiar that Israel’s God was a living God, in contrast to those of the heathen.  She may have had reason to suspect, perhaps by his clothing, he was a prophet, and she may have been sure of it when she acted in faith. She obeyed Elijah, feeding him first, and trusting that God would provide as he told her. Much of the Lord’s work yet today is carried out because of those who have little means but are willing to share what they have.

v 17,18. This boy was dead, not unconscious as some would have us believe. Guilt rose up in her conscience, whether rightly or not, and she thought Elijah’s real purpose in coming was to bring judgment upon her.

v 19-23. Elijah took the boy up to the privacy of his guest room on the flat roof. His first prayer in v 20 was in compassion for the woman in her grief and guilt feelings. We may lay a hand upon the sick person, but Elijah, in his deep concern, placed his whole body in contact with the child. Elijah persisted, praying three more times. The Lord restored life to the boy and Elijah restored the boy to his mother.

 

v 24. If the woman had any doubts, they are now removed and she knows Elijah to be a man of God, speaking the true word of God. She had learned by observation, she now knows by experience.