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Warren Wiersbe · Citado em PreceptAustin
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Wiersbe - The prophet Elijah is an important figure in the New Testament. John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17), and some of the people even thought he was the promised Elijah (John 1:21; Mal. 4:5-6; Matt. 17:10-13). Elijah was with Moses and Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:3), and some students believe that Moses and Elijah are the two witnesses described in Rev. 11:1-14. Elijah wasn't a polished preacher like Isaiah and Jeremiah, but was more of a rough-hewn reformer who challenged the people to abandon their idols and return to the Lord. He was a courageous man who confronted Ahab personally and rebuked his sin, and he also challenged the priests of Baal to a public contest. He was not only a worker of miracles, but he also experienced miracles in his own life. These two chapters record seven different miracles that Elijah either performed or experienced. (Bible Exposition Commentary) F B Meyer helps us understand how much courage Elijah displayed in directly confronting this evil, capricious king “The whole land seemed apostate. Of all the thousands of Israel, only seven thousand remained who had not bowed the knee or kissed the hand to Baal. But they were paralysed with fear; and kept so still, that their very existence was unknown by Elijah in the hour of his great loneliness.” I like John Whitcomb's description of Elijah as a man "Like a meteor suddenly flashing across the darkened sky, Elijah appears on the scene without genealogy, without historical background, and without warning. One thunderous judgment from heaven through his lips and he disappeared without a trace . . .God permitted neither debate nor dialogue between His prophet and Ahab, the apostate king of Israel....Not that the nation had no warning at all. Centuries before, Moses had said that national apostasy would cause the rains to cease (Dt. 11:17; 28:24). And now that Jehovah had been officially repudiated (Ed: BY BAAL WORSHIP), His providential blessings upon this land came to an end. As the LORD, the God of Israel lives before Whom I stand - (Note similar description "As the LORD of hosts lives" by Elisha - 2Ki 3:14, 5:16) Note Elijah's opening salvo is God lives! The fact that Yahweh still lives would assure everything Elijah said would transpire. Elijah affirms faith in a God Who is ever living not in a dead god like Baal who the pagans believed "died" in the heat of summer (killed by Mot) and was then raised after his sister-consort found his body and sacrificed numerous animals to restore life, which in turn assured fertility of the land for another year! How absurd! To reiterate before Whom I stand would add gravitas to what Elijah is preparing to prognosticate. He is essentially saying I am God's man with God's Word. Before Whom I stand should have made Ahab uneasy for Elijah spoke with confidence knowing what it was like to be in the Lord’s presence and to commune with Him, something that wicked Ahab had never experienced. True ministry is initiated by God, which means that it is received, not achieved. -- Wayne Barber David Guzik offers some practical insights on Elijah's self-introduction - As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand: This statement of Elijah shows the source of his strength. It is specifically said Elijah was a man with a nature like ours (James 5:17). Yet he showed a strength greater than most of us in our life with God. We must pay attention to these indications to the source of Elijah’s strength. As the LORD God of Israel lives: Everyone else felt that the LORD was dead, but for Elijah the LORD lived. He was the supreme reality of Elijah’s life. Before whom I stand: He stood in the presence of Ahab, but he was conscious of the presence of someone greater than any earthly king. Gabriel himself could not choose a higher title (Luke 1:19+).
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Wiersbe - The Jewish people depended on the seasonal rains for the success of their crops. If the Lord didn't send the early rain in October and November and the latter rain in March and April, there would soon be a famine in the land. But the blessing of the semiannual rains depended on the people obeying the covenant of the Lord (Deut. 11). God warned the people that their disobedience would turn the heavens into bronze and the earth into iron (Deut. 28:23-24; see Lev. 26:3-4, 18-19). The land belonged to the Lord, and if the people defiled the land with their sinful idols, the Lord wouldn't bless them. (Bible Exposition Commentary) The phrase except by my word is interesting and it might sound like presumption on Elijah's part. As noted above Elijah knew God's will in Deuteronomy 11:13-17+. In addition Elijah's assurance of his weather forecast of drought is related to the fact that he had prayed earnestly and undoubtedly Yahweh had answered, so that he was not only the prophet of the drought, in one sense, he was the impetus for the drought. James explains that... Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. (James 5:17+) (Elijah served as James' example of the truth that "the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." Jas 5:16+) F B Meyer paints the battle lines of Yahweh versus Baal writing “The old religion against the new; the child of nature against the effeminate child of the courts; camel’s hair against soft clothing; moral strength against moral weakness.” Tony Merida - With Ahab’s reign Baal worship was now state sponsored. Baal was known as the “rider on the clouds,” the god of rain and fertility, and because of this, the god of riches. As mentioned, Ahab married Jezebel who “evangelized” for Baal. Baal’s followers believed he restored life after the death of summer. In contrast to Baal, the Elijah narratives highlight that God alone gives life and death and controls fertility and infertility. The psalmist portrays Yahweh as the “rider on the clouds” who alone gives rain and provides for creation (Ps 104:3–4). If there was no rain, Baal followers believed Baal was submitting to the god of death, Mot, until a later date when Baal would be revived. So Baal was not the only god worshiped. In this polytheistic culture, people wanted a little bit of everything—a little goddess worship, a little Baal worship, a little Yahweh worship, and more. Exclusive worship of God was absent in most places. Indeed, Elijah thought he was the only real worshiper left (1 Kgs 19:10). We live in a similar time, in which people worship a little bit of everything but not the living God exclusively—a little God, a little horoscope, a little TBN, a little pop psychology, a few conspiracy theories, aliens, zombies, New Ageism, naturalism, and more. They may want God at their death, but they live every day as functional naturalists or materialists. As a result of twisted theology, immorality is normalized in our day just like in the days of Elijah. He lived in a day like ours where people call evil “good” and good “evil.” (See Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Kings) William
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Wiersbe - The Lord usually leads His faithful people a step at a time as they tune their hearts to His Word. God didn't give Elijah a three-year schedule to follow. Instead, He directed his servant at each critical juncture in his journey, and Elijah obeyed by faith. (Bible Exposition Commentary) He went and did according to the word of the LORD - The LORD spoke and Elijah obeyed. We have previously encountered one prophet who sadly did not fully obey the word of the LORD and he paid for his partial obedience (disobedience) with his life (see 1Ki 13:11-32+). THOUGHT- Step by step, one step of obedience after another! Elijah gives a good pattern for all God's children. Our response should be unhesitating obedience when we have the (clear) word of the LORD, whether we fully understand or not. Play Rich Mullins' great song "Step by Step." Oh God of all our steps, would You by Your Spirit and Your Word enable each soul reading this story of Elijah to learn to walk obediently in Your ways, step by step, until we take our final step into glory and Your eternal presence. In Jesus' Mighty Name. Amen. For (term of explanation - what's writer explaining?) he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan - See map above for possible location. The main point is that Elijah is east of the Jordan and away from Ahab and Jezebel. Some writers think that this may have been an extended time, even as long as a year. Certainly it was more than a few days or weeks because by the time Elijah arrives at Zarephath, the drought is obviously having significant impact on the fertility of the land of Sidon. Donald Wiseman: Our obedience is an essential aspect of God’s protecting grace. The means God uses may be varied. Some object to the reading ravens (‘ōrĕbîm), which, even if it could be proven to be the modern name for the black arabs (‘ǎrābîm—same consonants) east of Jordan, is taken by others as an ‘unnecessary rationalisation’.24 The bringing of ‘meat’ would be a luxury and the provision of food and meat morning and evening should remind the reader of God’s unfailing provision (Exod. 16:8, 12). Philip Ryken - True obedience has staying power. It needs to, because living for God in an evil day takes more than one act of obedience. More often it requires a long obedience in the same direction. Once Elijah arrived in the place of God’s provision, he had to stay there, and so he did: He “went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan”....Notice how all of Elijah’s actions correspond to the attributes of the God he served. Elijah was the kind of man he was because God is the kind of God he is. Because God is a living God, Elijah was able to pray to him. Because God always keeps his word, Elijah had a word to obey. Because God cares for his people, Elijah could stay where he was and depend on God’s provision. He was a praying, obeying, staying prophet because the God he served is a living, word-keeping, caring God. (1 Kings 17:5).(1 Kings) Charles Swindoll - Notice the wording here. He went and lived by the brook Cherith. It’s one thing to take a day trip off the beaten track, to go camping for a weekend, or even to spend two or three weeks backpacking in the wilderness. Such adventures offer all the delights of being away from the cares of the real world for a time, even as you have the comfort of knowing that your lifeline to civilization is still there. It’s quite another thing to live in the wilderness, alone, for an extended time. But that’s exactly what Elijah did for months, possibly the better part of a year. God said, “Go there. Settle there. Live there.” That’s exactly what Elijah did. Would you accept such an assignment from God? Would you respond with such immediate obedience? How many of us would say nothing except, “Yes, Sir. I trust You completely. I don’t need the spotlight to survive.” Very few! We much prefer only comfortable and active Christianity. Great Days with the Great Lives: Daily Insight from Great ... - Page 160 TSK - Many learned men have raised doubts on those parts of the Inspired Word, which may, by the perverseness of their argument and the ingenuity of their surmise, be made to appear inconsistent with fact. In this case, they are not satisfied with being expressly told by God that the ravens supplied Elijah with food, while the brook gave him drink, but apparently to mystify a manifest miracle, they suggest whether these ravens might not be merchantmen, or the inhabitants of a neighbouring town. Let any unprejudiced reader and lover of the Bible take the whole history of Elijah, and he will find that his life was almost a daily illustration of the power of God in his miraculous interpositions. Instance the supply of provision in the unwasting barrel of meal and cruse of oil, after the prophet had removed to Zarephath: the power communicated to him to raise the widow's son from death: the wonderful interposition of the Lord to prove the folly of Baal's worshippers, in sending down fire from heaven to consume Elijah's sacrifice and lick up the water, although the sacrifice had been saturated therewith, and the altar surrounded by a deep trench to prevent its running away. The prayer for rain is another instance: the sojourn in Horeb forty days and forty nights, after having eaten of the cake: the destruction of Ahaziah's messengers twice: the smiting of the waters at Jordan: the fall of the mantle on Elisha: and finally, in the closing scene of life, he was taken to glory without tasting the pains of death, the sting was taken away. Donald Cantrell - He Went and Dwelt by the Brook 1 Ki 17:5 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. Elijah obediently journeys to the Brook of Cherith and here he will learn to trust his God. I like to place myself in the mindset of the biblical figures. This would have been a tough situation for Elijah. He was a rough and rugged man of God, not used to having to sit in solitude and waiting. The silence and the waiting had to be so long and so loud. In waiting by the brook, God was going to teach Elijah to fully depend upon him for all of his daily needs. The birds would bring his meat to him and the brook would sustain him. All Elijah had to do was patiently sit by the brook and wait upon the Lord. I think the hardest thing for most of us to do is sit and wait. 1. The Lonely Seclusion of Elijah 2. The Lovely Sustaining of Elijah 3. The Lowly Surrender of Elijah 1 Kings 17:6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook. the ravens: Ex 16:35 Nu 11:23 Jdg 14:14 15:18,19 Ps 34:9,10 37:3,19 Ps 78:15,16,23,24 Isa 33:16 Jer 37:21 40:4 Hab 3:17,18 Mt 6:31-33 14:19-21 19:26 Lu 22:35 Heb 6:18 13:5,6 1 Kings 17 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries CLEAN FOOD FROM UNCLEAN BIRDS The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook = Ravens are unclean (Lev 11:13-15+; Deut 14:14+) but that did not compromise the kosher aspect of the bread and meat they transported to Elijah. There is a "hidden miracle" in this description because for ravens are carnivorous (more accurately omnivorous - eating animal and plant matter) and yet (in obedience to God's command) they brought the provisions without devouring them! In short, Elijah was learning to be dependent on the LORD.
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Wiersbe: This is the first recorded instance in Scripture of the resurrection of a dead person. The evidence seems clear that the widow’s son actually died and didn’t just faint or go into a temporary swoon. He stopped breathing (v. 17) and his spirit left his body (vv. 21-22). According to James 2:26, when he spirit leaves a body, the person is dead. The great distress of both the mother and the prophet would suggest that the boy was dead, and both of them used the word “slay” with reference to the event (vv. 18 and 20, KJV). (Bible Exposition Commentary) Bob
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Wiersbe - Elijah didn't stretch himself out on the boy's dead body in hopes he could transfer his life to the lad, for he knew that only God can impart life to the dead. Certainly his posture indicated total identification with the boy and his need, and this is an important factor when we intercede for others. (Bible Exposition Commentary) And called to the LORD and said, “O LORD my God, I pray You, let this child’s life return to him - It seems that Elijah has received no response to his previous comments regarding the calamity. However, he knows God is over life and death and therefore is undeterred in interceding for the life of the child. This is a good example of James 5:16b which teaches that "The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." Matthew