1 Kings 17 (Part 1) Bible Study (Elijah Predicts a Drought/Obedience) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Lord, with so much noise in the world, we are thankful for a place where we can be still and be even sometimes silent in your presence. Lord, we ask that you fill us with the Holy Spirit so that we can be fully attentive and energized to receive from your holy word. None of us are worthy to experience your graces, but that's exactly what grace is all about. You long to pour out your spirit, your truth on those who are humble and contrite. And so we pray, Lord, that you would make us aware of your goodness every moment that passes in this bible study.

Clear our thoughts from the clutter of confusion and distraction, maybe even tiredness or whatever it is that would hinder or put obstacles for this truth to be deposited in our hearts. Deliver us even now so that we can receive everything the way you intended it to be received. We glorify you tonight as a body, and we give you praise for this study. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, turn in your bibles to first Kings chapter 17.

And before we break open this chapter together, I believe it is important to recapture the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel that we explored last week. As a summary, Israel has now tolerated idolatry on a whole new level. Baal worship was not just prevalent. It has been deemed as the state religion. And this initiative was campaigned by king Ahab, yes, but it was ultimately due to the influence of his demon worshiping, defying, domineering wife named Jezebel.

She was the mastermind behind this. And this imported imported false worship created an atmosphere so deplorable, so wide spread that king Ahab gained the reputation of being the vilest king in Israel's history. A temple of Baal was built not in some random place, but strategically in the capital of Israel, Samaria, and things in Israel are looking bleaker than ever. You have the Levites and a majority of the true worshipers of God vacated. They have left the land.

They have migrated to the Southern Kingdom. You have a government with spiritual leadership that is increasing in perversion. You have the common people that willingly invite the curses of God in their pursuit of idolatry. And at this point, the worship of Yehovah is virtually on the brink of extinction. And as you and I have studied chapter 16 and witnessed the spiraling direction of this nation, you're left to wonder, I'm sure, what will God do at this point?

How will he intervene if he will not intervene at all? Will he send sweeping judgment? That's something we would expect. Will he put a halt to this by doing something so catastrophic, so obvious that, no matter who you are, you would not be able to withstand his fury. That's what we might do, but instead what we see God doing in this chapter that we are ready to study is that he raises up a man of God.

He raises up a prophet who will powerfully confront the powers that be. And the man who will be commissioned for this awesome task is named Elijah. Elijah is someone who is going to have an incredibly strong and convicting ministry. And as incredibly profound his ministry will be, as in your face as it will be, as as obviously captivating as it is, do not confuse the boldness and the courage and even the things that take place throughout his ministry as anything less of an expression and manifestation of the mercy of God. Elijah appearing the way he appears.

Yes. Though he is rugged, a little rough on the edges, though he is commissioned to confront all this corruption, this is nothing short of God's grace. Because through Elijah, he's going to manifest himself in a very unique way, and he's going to compel this people to come back to the true and living God. Elijah, listen, not only played an influential role at this critical point in Israel's history, but he's actually mentioned, as you know, in significant ways in the New Testament, especially in the gospel accounts. Elijah is an important character in the word of God.

And as important as he is, you might be surprised to realize that he didn't write a book. He he wasn't like Isaiah. He wasn't like Jeremiah. He wasn't like Ezekiel, where God has preserved their writings for the rest of human history. Elijah didn't have any recorded teachings or prophecies.

Nevertheless, it does not discount the absolute importance that he played in the spiritual renewal and survival of Israel's covenant with God. Interestingly, there is nothing mentioned of Elijah's lineage or his heritage. Nothing. On top of that, we don't even have the record of his call into the prophetic office. In fact, when you read chapter 17, his introduction in the word of God seems abrupt.

He flashes on the scene like this lightning strike that cuts through the backdrop of moral undisturbed blackness. It's almost shocking. It's almost startling. And if you've studied the life of this man before, then you know that he is indeed a very distinct, again, unique servant of God. He almost reads like a superhero of some kind.

And because of that, you might be tempted to admire Elijah from a distance. You and I, even in the context of a bible study, might be willing to simply examine and study him as a rare specimen in redemptive history. But even in the New Testament, we are explicitly encouraged to look at Elijah and to actually draw from his life encouragement and example for your walk with the same God that Elijah served. In other words, we're not looking just at someone to again, pick apart and see some clever connections with his story with the rest of the Bible. You and I right away have to bend our hearts and posture in a manner in which we are ready to receive God's provision for practical instruction through Elijah's life.

If you're not ready here to say, okay. What is it that God wants me to learn about me becoming the Christian I'm called to be through Elijah's example? You're at the wrong Bible study. You're at the wrong Bible study. We're not here to watch a movie, so to speak, and get emotionally stirred up and maybe impressed by some things.

We're here to say, okay, Lord, furnish me now. Through first Kings seventeen, eighteen, 19, yes, through the rest of the book, but especially in this episode of first Kings, where we're dealing with this amazing man of God named Elijah. And so let's begin now with that brief summary of this man. Again, it's brief because there's little mention of him. But, oh, is there so much to learn about him.

And so if you were expecting to come through this chapter in its entirety in this bible study, we can't. I'm sorry. Not at least with me. Can't with me. I'm it was too hard.

It's harder to complete it in one setting than it is to at least stop at verse seven. So let's read the first seven verses together, and then let's take our time to examine it for our equipment. Verse one. Now Elijah the Tishbite of Tishbe in Gilead said to Ahab, as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, There shall be neither dew nor rain these years except by my word. And the word of the Lord came to him.

Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the Brook Kareth, which is East of the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there. So he went and did according to the word of the lord. He went and lived by the Brook Kerith that is East of the Jordan, and the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. And after a while, the brook dried up because there was no rain in the land.

Elijah arrives before Ahab, and he declares a prophetic message in the name of the Lord. But in that message, he makes these statements in connection to the name of the Lord that is worth pausing and meditating on. There are three elements to what Elijah says with the authorization of the Lord's name that we should pay attention to, and Simeon in order to understand the mind of God and the mind of God in this servant of God. What are the three things? At least point out a couple things that we see here in verse one that is noteworthy after Elijah says that as the Lord, and we fill in the blank.

What are some components of this that that are important and relevant? What are the titles and characteristics that he makes to the Lord? Uh-oh. Good. One is one of them is the Lord lives.

As the Lord, the God of Israel lives. That's important. So let's put that aside. There's other things. Before him being the living God, we skipped over something.

The Lord what? The God of where? Israel. So see, that seems to be such a a normal thing for prophets to say that we kinda might skip over it. No.

It's incredibly powerful in the context of Ahab being the king of Israel, which we'll get into another moment. The other thing might be a little bit more difficult to to pluck out, but I think there's something there when he says, before whom I stand. So let's look at these things separately. As the Lord, one, the God of Israel, that's important. Who is the king of Israel at this time?

And who did Ahab and his wife try to declare the God of Israel to be? Not Yahweh, Baal. And so now you have Elijah who now confronts this king, and he says, as the Lord, let me sharply remind you who the true and living God of Israel is. It's Yahweh. So this is not accidental.

This is strategic. And, again, that might not impress you and I as Americans who still have the freedom to express ourselves and to even confront and challenge other beliefs and worldviews. But may I remind you the high cost of speaking in this way and dealing with those who had opposing views of this time. Look at chapter 18 verse four and look at what this government did to those who claim to be associated with the Lord. In first Kings eighteen four, and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord you know what cutoff means?

Not canceling your membership. Cut off means cutting you off from the face of the earth. Obadiah took a 100 prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water. So Elijah's ministry arose during a time where if you were a messenger of God, if you were a preacher, if you were a pastor, so to speak, if you are, on staff at a Bible college, wherever you were, whatever you did, if you were associated with the true living God and preached his word and taught it, you risked your life. And if you weren't killed, then you were hiding in some cave for an undisclosed amount of time.

You know what got me thinking? If you have a man like this who is willing to speak so courageously, where he could have his life taken from him before he even finished his declaration, why are we so afraid to speak up in the name of God in a time like this? We don't have any threat of risking and losing our lives, but people are afraid for losing what? What are you afraid of losing for speaking the truth? Oh, I'm telling you, you're gonna learn and you're gonna learn this every single time we study this man in the study of first Kings.

We need more Elijah's. If there was a spirit of Elijah, yes, it was on this man. Yes, it came upon Elisha in a double portion. Yes, it was on John the Baptist. I know those are unique moments in history, but the principles and the convictions of this man, I'm sure can be copy pasted on those who desire it.

This man had something so awesome about him by declaring he is the God of Israel. Additionally, this introduction shows something about the mind of God, because God is the one who commissioned him to do this and to say this. Notice what happens here. In an age of compromise, you know what I learned about God? That in a time where there is rebellion and confusion and outright even persecution, you don't get quieter about the truth.

You don't turn down the volume. No. You have to be willing to confront, listen, specific falsehoods. You have to be able to speak out on things that people are contorting and twisting, where God has already revealed the truth about. Notice he says the God of Israel.

Why? Because what was the issue of the day? They claimed that the God of Israel was not Yahweh, it was Baal. And Elijah was willing to pinpoint that and say, you're wrong right there. So he wasn't being general with his convictions.

He was being very specific. And so if this culture is confused about anything, you know what your duty and mine is as the church to speak out on those things specifically. Not to paint it with a broad brush. Not to tiptoe around it when it is necessary, and when we are called upon to give an answer, we must be able to say, yes. This is what you're saying about humanity.

This is what you're saying about life in the womb. This is what you're saying about gender. This is what you're saying about whatever the case may be, and here's what God says about it. That's what Elijah shows us right away, and not just Elijah. Elijah's not running here rogue.

He's not just trying to cause something because he has this desire on his own. This is God commissioning him to do this. And I learned from this man. I learned something about God that he desires for us in a time like this to speak out on particular issues and to straighten those issues in the consciousness of men with God's word. And if you have any doubt that that's God's strategy in times like this, then consider Elijah's name.

Elijah's name is a message in itself. Elijah simply means what? Yahweh is God or Yahweh is my God. So never mind a sermon to preach. Every time you called about Elijah, you might have been convicted.

In a time where everybody believed and was starting to believe more and more that Baal is God, whenever you called Elijah, whenever Elijah was summoned, you were being reminded, oh, Yahweh is God. So even the man's name was something that was fashioned by God to illustrate this point that in an age of compromise, you speak out. You don't cuddle. You don't pamper. You don't tiptoe.

That's not what we call been called to do. So that's the God of Israel. But there's a second thing. As the Lord, the God of Israel, second part, lives. He's the living God.

And I'm here to remind you, Ahab, that he is the living God. Now why would he need to say that? Perhaps this was something that the people of Israel adopted over time. Because remember first Kings 16, where we saw one succeeding king after the next doing deplorable, vile, evil, despicable things, and there seemed to be little considerable consequences for them. There wasn't like major history turning interventions.

And I wonder if because of the that stretch of time where one king after the next was more evil than the one before, and there seemed to be little things happening as a result of it. Perhaps the people of Israel began to believe that Yahweh was inactive. Where is he? But you and I remember that at the end of chapter 16, when he rebuilt the city of Jericho, God's curse was manifest. And it's right there where Elijah appears because Elijah now is about to tell Ahab in Israel, what you saw with Jericho is only the beginning.

There's a lot more coming now. And so this was a reminder to you, Ahab, contrary to popular belief, Yahweh is alive. And put on your seat belt, Ahab. You're about to witness it for yourself. So he was ready to demonstrate that, but look at the third thing.

This thing moves my heart every time I read it. Elijah says, as the Lord, the God of Israel lives before whom I stand. That is a statement that describes the practice and position of a ready servant. There are a couple of other examples in the scriptures where that phrase before whom I stand indicates that you are in a posture ready to be sent, ready to perform anything of the person that you were standing before and has authority over you. And Elijah here is claiming that I stand before this living God who is the God of Israel.

And this is more than a confession, a fearless confession of this devotion that he has to the true God. This also is a man who is telling Ahab that I am a person who lives in the presence of God. In other words, he's saying that I abide, I dwell, I live my day to day with this conscious acknowledgment that God is the God of Israel and he is the living God. I live before God. I live before the Lord.

And I have no doubt that this is a major component to his fearless stance in a time like this. You see, before before this, you had all this corruption, all these leaders, all this craziness. And all the while, you have a man who is living before the presence of God, and now he comes to the most wicked king of them all. And he can say, I will not bow before you, implying that, because I stand before God. You will not fear kings if your if your perception in life, if your view is constantly with the king of kings ever before you, if you have that filter, you can even stand before leaders who with the snap of their finger can get rid of you.

I stand before God. And because I stand before God, I can stand before anybody. I stand before God. And because I stand before God, I don't have to kneel before you or before your gods no matter how much of a price that is. That's the secret.

So now we continue. He gives this introduction. Look at this. We're still in verse one, the second part of verse one. As the Lord, the God of Israel lives before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years except by my word.

Here it is, Ahab. This has gone on for too long, and I'm here to tell you, and I adjure you, and I'm here to promise you that God is gonna bring a drought, and this drought is gonna last for years. Why a drought? Out of all the things, we've seen God do many things as demonstrations of his judgment. But why specifically a drought?

Well, history tells us that Baal was recognized by the Phoenicians as a storm god. And so the population believed that Baal was the one who was sovereign over the heavens, and he was the one who dispensed rains and withhold rains, and he was the one who enriched the lands, and ultimately was the source of their livelihood, of their economy. And so this is how Baal was recognized. And now you have Elijah who's saying, here, I I want to tell you something in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel who lives, and I'm the one who stands before him. It's not gonna rain.

Okay. Your God is the God of the storms. Prove it. Drought for a few years. Call me when things change.

And that might be a helpful extra biblical insight into this encounter, but you don't even have to go there because the Bible itself tells us why a drought came and why drought would be issued. So turn into your bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 11 and notice what God said in his law as one of the warnings that would come about for the disobedience of his people specifically in worshiping other gods. Look at Deuteronomy 11 verse 16 with me. Take care, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them. Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you.

So, again, here is a prophet who's doing what true prophets do, reminding people of what they have forsaken and that is the word of God. And in the same way in the last part of verse of of chapter 16 rather, God's word concerning whoever rebuilds Jericho will be cursed, proving that God's word was alive. Here you have Elijah now doubling down on that saying, listen every part of God's word is alive. So did you not learn from Joshua chapter six? They didn't have chapters and verses by the way.

Do you not learn from the mouth of Joshua that whoever rebuilds the walls of Jericho would lose the life of their firstborn and their youngest? And now I'm here to remind you of something that you overlooked Ahab. God already warned you hundreds of years ago that if you were to worship other gods, then he will make the heavens brass and there will be no rain, and you will perish off the good land. So God's word is alive because he is the living God, and he means what he says. But there's something more going on here.

Something more than this historical drought being connected to a previous passage in the Bible. I submit to you that the reason why there is a drought is because of another factor. Not just because of a prophetic declaration based on the word of God. You ready for this? But because of a praying man.

You know where I'm going with this, do you not? Maybe you don't, but you remember James chapter five. And what did James by the Holy Spirit add to the story in terms of commentary? James five seventeen tells us, Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain. And for three years and six months, it did not rain on the earth.

Then he prayed again and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. I've always known this passage as early as I can remember reading James, but maybe you haven't considered this. People tend to go to this passage to teach believers in the new covenant how to be a man of prayer, how to be a woman of prayer, among other places, and it's a right place to go. James uses Elijah as an example to encourage the believers. But based on Deuteronomy 11, I have another insight about Elijah's praying.

When Elijah prayed that there would be no rain, he didn't pull that out of his own head. This wasn't just him determining what he thought should happen. If if you if you see it that way, then you might take this text to mean something that it's not intended to teach. That if you really pray fervently enough, if you walk righteously enough, you can ask God for even nation stopping calamities, and God will answer. Do you realize what Elijah is doing?

Elijah is not praying again out of his own desires, out of his own will. Elijah is praying knowing what the Bible says. He knew what Deuteronomy 11 said. So he is praying what? The word of God.

His prayers are based on what God had revealed. His prayers are in alignment with what God said would happen and should happen, if the people were to turn in idolatry. So if I may use this language that when Elijah prayed in secret for this drought, what he was essentially doing with his prayers was seeking to awaken the arm of the Lord. To manifest and make this thing happen, because God said it would happen. And so what Elijah is essentially doing based on James in connection with Deuteronomy 11, he's asking the lord, lord, take the warning that is now at the point of just inscription in the law and invade reality with it.

Make it come to pass. And God heard that. So Elijah's praying was totally bathed. It was submerged in the will of God. So this isn't inviting us to be creative with our requests and ask for crazy things that have no binding on the scripture.

That have no binding what God already revealed. No Elijah Elijah has his feet planted on what he knows to be the rock of truth. And he says, lord, now I'm calling upon you to do what you said you would do. Would you do it for your name's sake? And that helps us to know, again, that James is not speaking about praying random request if you're fervent enough.

But, you know, when I meditate on this further, I thought to myself, how does one even get himself to pray like that? Like, the obvious answer is know what the scripture says, and that will fuel and frame your prayers to be more effective. That's obvious. But how does a man even get to the point where because remember, James is telling us Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. In other words, you you can't read Elijah's story and have excuses.

So what do you mean? This guy was a prophet. This guy raised the dead. This guy did this. I understand that.

But in the things that you and I are called to imitate and other servants of God, there are no excuses. He he he had temptations like us. He had passions like us. And so one, I I learned from this that he he he prayed based on the word of God. But how do you even get to that point to even say, you know, I'm gonna pray and ask God based on the scriptures to do something as big as what Elijah prayed for.

Do you know the Bible actually tells us how? Do you do you wanna know what the secret is for a person to look out into America right now and be so moved by the decline and the perversion that you say, you know, I have to pray and ask God to do something in my generation. How? How do you even start that? It's one thing to say, okay, church.

We're gonna pray for a weekend, and then in that meeting to be stirred for the weekend, and then after that, we can just to go back to things as they were normal. But how do you how do you get to a place where as an individual, your heart can be so burning for this to be made manifest that you pray about it consistently until it comes through? Go back to first Kings. I argue it's because of something Elijah confesses about himself. In first Kings chapter 19, look at verse 10.

First Kings 19 verse 10. He said, I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. I believe that is where it all started with Elijah, even before his praying. He was so jealous for the name of the Lord. He was so jealous for God's sake because he saw all these people turning their backs on the Lord worshiping false idols.

And that jealousy so rumbled in his soul, it so burned his bosom that he he came before the Lord and he said, Lord, you need to do something. I am jealous for you. That's why I'm praying. Would you intervene in this for your name's sake? So this man's fervent prayers for the Lord to act was not to vindicate his ministries, was not so that he could be known as one of the greatest prophets in the world, was not so that he can be praised, was not so that he can be seen as a his a a hero in church history.

None of that. He confesses, I am purely jealous for God. It's amazing what a holy jealousy can do to a person. You remember Phineas. Right?

Phineas putting a stop to a plague because he was jealous for the Lord, and God even admired Phineas for that. He was jealous for my name's sake. What does it mean to feel jealous for the Lord? So when you when you hear God's name being blasphemed, and you see people defying his law, and you see even in some cases Christianity and Christendom compromising more and more, what does that do to you? It should do something to you.

It should cause something in you to be like, how can they do this? How can this be done to the lord? My lord, my precious savior. How? And that shouldn't cause you to be more self righteous.

It shouldn't cause you to point the finger at others. No. No. Before anything else, it should cause you to come before the lord. They blaspheme your name at work, Lord.

Every time I go to work, they out of all the thousands and millions of names that they use, they blaspheme your name. Out of all the books that they can mock, my family mocks the Bible, and it burns in my heart. And now I'm asking you to do something in my life, through my life, in their lives, where you can make yourself known. That's Elijah's secret to prayer. The Word of God in one place, but a heart that's feeling.

That a heart that's so in love with the Lord's glory, and so devoted to his cause, that when you see anything violated, it causes you to come before him saying, Lord do something. You might not be a mighty conference speaker. You might not be a George Whitfield or Jonathan Edwards that brings sweeping revival in the land, but you have your own world. And you have your own part of God's vineyard where you can come to a place where you feel this, and it causes you to be a man or a woman of prayer. I'm reminded as I was studying this of Psalm one nineteen verse one twenty six, just in case you think that I'm speaking about an isolated case.

Psalm one nineteen verse one twenty six. I remember hearing this in a service many, many years ago when I first said, and it's been imprinted on my mind, especially in the days that we're living in, it's been resurfacing. Listen to this. It is time for the Lord to act. Why?

For your law has been broken. Isn't that an awesome verse? Lord, you need to do something because they're breaking your law. And just in case you think that that's a tone of a self righteous Pharisee, read around that verse and you realize that this man even confesses, streams of tear comes down my eyes because they have broken your law. This is a broken man.

This is not an in explainably angry man. This is not a man who is just looking for a fight. This is a man who has a tender heart and even can't help himself in describing the word of the Lord saying, Lord, I see how precious and awesome and wise your word is, and here are a bunch of people breaking it. Will you do something about it to show yourself true? That's what the psalmist did.

If he was David, that's what David did. That's what Elijah did. That's what Phineas did. That's what the greatest men and women of God have done when they first establish in their hearts by the working of the Holy Spirit a jealousy for God's name. You can't work that self you yourself into that.

That's gotta be Holy Spirit inspired. A final note about Elijah's praying before we move on. We're still in verse one and two here. Actually, just one. Elijah's praying is connected to his powerful public ministry.

In other words, do you see how he's unshakable in his stance publicly? Do not forget that it started with fervent prayer in private. Living and receiving from the Lord in honest and humble supplication is an overlooked secret to a powerful public ministry. Elijah, according to James, was praying. And because he was a praying man, he could be a bold preaching man.

Let's go to verse two. The clock is not my friend tonight. And the word of the Lord, in first king 17 verse two, came to him, depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook hereth, which is East of the Jordan. So as quickly as Elijah entered into the scene, he exits. He shows up out of nowhere, gives a brief prophetic message, and the lord speaks to him and says, now get out of there.

Says, depart, turn eastward, and hide yourself. Why did the Lord instruct him to escape? I thought things were just getting started. I mean, you called out the king. You would think, alright.

Here we go. Round one. No. Again, just as quickly as he enters, he evades. And I believe there are multiple reasons for it.

It's an indefinite amount of time. The obvious one is for his protection, because we're gonna learn in the next chapter that Ahab is so infuriated with this declaration that Elijah makes that he calls for a national hunt, not just a national hunt, for an international investigation. Imagine being that wanted. He even asked the neighboring peoples, hey. Is Elijah hiding in your country?

Like, that's how intense Ahab is in looking for Elijah to get rid of him. So protection is the obvious one, and I'm sure we can make many other safe speculations that there is obviously provision. Remember, there's a drought going on, and the lord's gonna take care of his servant. And not just provision, but there is also a theme in the Bible that when the Lord takes one or more of his people into the wilderness, that wilderness season, if I can use that language, is often associated with preparedness or preparation. That God hides you, he clothes you, and he makes you obscure, and he brings you into isolation to mold you for something that's to come.

And that's what you can say about this, but one thing that is for certain is that this withdrawal was a great call of faith on Elijah's part. I want you to go somewhere. A palace? A palace for the prophet? Some would preach that.

Yeah. Okay. Not a palace. What about a home? Just like a nice humble home, not even a home.

Elijah, I want you to make your residence your primary residence in the wilderness, and I want you to do it during a drought. And so this man is about to do something that perhaps would cause you to feel a little uncomfortable or jerk. You know, you might think, well, look. It's a hidden brook. That's a gift.

But how long would a hidden brook last with a devastating drought that would suck up all the life from the earth? So Elijah hears this, and we don't get any reaction from him, but I wonder what the average person might have felt hearing that you're supposed to go to this brook, and I'm gonna have some birds feed you every day. But notice, the instruction wasn't optional. He says, depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself. Why?

You shall drink from the brook, and I've commanded the ravens to feed you there. So like many of God's commands, we might be tempted to question his leadership as we look at the word and we look at our situation and we think there are better options in my mind than what I know God says I should do. Like talk to that person that has done something to me or or give in this certain manner or serve in this certain degree. I'd rather do 10 other things than, in this example, go to the Brook Caryth and wait there every day for Raven Butlers to come and drop off my lunch. That sounds uncomfortable.

Oftentimes, obedience does make you feel uncomfortable, but remember again, look at the language here. Look I want you to underline one word in verse four if you can. If you do, if you're an underliner. Verse four, you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you. He didn't just say feed you.

He said feed you where? There. There. In other words, Elijah, if you wanna experience my provision, you're gonna have to go there. If you wanna experience my supervising grace, then you're gonna have to pack up your bags and go where I tell you to go.

And the principle from that is simple, that the assurance of God's provision, protection, blessing, call it what you want, is only reserved in the place of obedience. No matter what you think about the command, and how it fits to your situation, and how inconvenient or impractical it may seem, God can only work and move in that place where you choose to be, and that is the place of obedience. Go there, and I will meet you there. Stay in the lane of obedience. Keep yourself there, and you will know God's blessing.

And as long as he abided there, he was safe. As long as you remain in the place of obedience, you are safe, but there's more to learn from this. Notice the two objects of provision. Look at verse three again. Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the Brook Cherith.

Sounds pretty normal. Right? If I'm gonna drink from something, I can see myself drinking from a bubbling and streaming body of water. And that's a picture of God's natural provision in life. The Brook Carinth is is a picture of God pointing out the obvious in our day to day, but we should never disconnect even the practical providences of God, any less of his goodness toward us.

So go and just drink from this brook, and God gave you a job, and you use that money to buy food, and you use that money to pay your utility bills so that you can have clean water and running water. And you should never think for a moment, no matter how used to it you are, no matter how it's even just routine, that God is the one behind that grace in your life being experienced. Go by the brook. I'm I'm gonna provide you something that's just there, and it's gonna benefit you. That's God.

What's not normal is ravens coming as room service. And that is a picture of God's not his natural provision, his supernatural provision. And when God sees fit in your life, he can do something out of the ordinary to make his goodness known in your life. And that is what we see here. We see two ways in which God provides for us, naturally, supernaturally.

You look at the people of Israel when they came out of the wilderness, once they came into the land of promise and what was the description of the promised land? It was flowing with what? Milk and honey. Once you see them coming into the promised land according to the book of Joshua, the manna from heaven stopped. The manna of heaven was appropriate when they were in the wilderness.

That is a daily supernatural provision. Once they came into a land that was fruitful and a and a an abundance, that reigning of heaven stopped and they had to get their hands to work and provide for themselves, though God was still behind that natural provision. Go by the brook. So yes, your job and and you being able to have enough in your cupboards and and pay for this and pay for that, that's God. And when God needs to, he can do something out of the ordinary.

And there are many reasons why the ravens are not normal. There are many messages about these ravens coming to Elijah that you and I should pay good attention to. The first thing is this, that for god to provide ravens to deliver his lunch and his dinner, all breakfast and dinner, it's two meals a day, was a demonstration of how he is absolutely sovereign over every created thing. So let me remind you what God says about the ravens himself. It's in Job 38 verse 41.

In Job 38 verse 41, after a string of statements of God being unlike anything else and anyone else, he says here in Job 38 verse 41, who provides for the raven, its prey? When its young ones cry out to God for help and wander about for lack of food? What's the answer? God. God is the one who provides for the ray ravens.

And with this in the background of your mind, you come down to the story of Elijah, and you you realize the expansiveness of God's character and how he meticulously sustains every stitch of the universe, because we see here that the God who provides for the raven its food now uses ravens to provide food for his servant. So I'm gonna provide the raven its food, and then the raven, is now gonna I'm gonna choose a couple of ravens maybe, and now they're gonna provide Elijah his food. The way you're supposed to feel about this is that God's resources are unlimited. God's means of providing for me are absolutely endless. Let me prove it to you.

Go back to first king 17. So he says here, I am going to command the ravens. Notice the word command. I've commanded the ravens to feed you there. Now we're not gonna touch on this verse, but it's worth looking at.

Look at verse eight of first Kings 17. Then the word of the Lord came to him, arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you. I could command the ravens if I want to feed you, Elijah, and this season is done. The ravens are retiring.

So go to Zarephath, and I've commanded a widow to feed you. But it doesn't end there. Go to first Kings 19. Look at verse four. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree, and he asked that he might die saying, it is enough now, oh lord.

Take away my life for I am no better than my father's. And he lay down and slept under a broom tree, and behold, an angel touched them and said to him, arise and eat. How much more proof do you need? It's pretty clear. Right?

Here's one servant, and here are manifold ways of God taking care of him. Alright, Elijah. Go to the brook. I'm gonna send ravie. Okay.

Ravens are done. I'm gonna send a widow. Okay. The widow is there. I'm gonna send an angel.

Why are you so afraid of tomorrow? Why are you so anxious? Why? You have a God who could commit anything and anyone to serve his purposes in your life and to sustain you. I know you want the ravens to bring grapes and wine and charcuterie boards, and No.

He brought him bread and meat. K? So don't get frustrated when luxury doesn't come your way, but he will sustain you, and he will give you the necessary fuel to be his servant. But a second reason why this promise about ravens is so demanding of one's trust is because of the nature of the instrument itself. In two different places in the Bible, we are told that ravens are unclean animals.

Not only are they unclean in one place, we're told that they are an abomination. Wow. Out of all the animals, you would think that in the catalog of the clean animals God would use to help his servant, but no. He picks one from the list that they were not supposed to eat. The lesson there is not that God uses sinful things from time to time to get things done.

No. No. No. No. Because the prohibition with ravens is that they weren't to eat it, but to receive food from them is no problem.

The idea and the lesson here is that God can use unexpected means to provide for you and to bless you, and to make his way and his will come through for you. Unexpected. No Jew would expect, if they were to think how God was gonna provide for me in this case, ravens doing his bidding. But that's the point, because you know how most Christians think about God moving in their lives and providing in their lives, whether that be encouragement or any other thing? Either God will do it directly in my life, or God will use Christians.

Broaden your view of how God works. No. God can do things that you don't even see coming. God can use people that you never thought. You know the scripture says, that even the wrath of man will praise God.

Have you seen the hearts that God has influenced and moved to do his will? Who he's anointed? What empires? What governors to fulfill his cause? I can tell you of stories, listen to this, of unbelievers who have been answers to my prayers in times of need.

Not Christians. God has used Christians all the way through and he still does. But I can tell you of times where God has shocked me and demanded more praise from me when an unbeliever stepped into my life like a raven and dropped something in my hands where I said, how did this happen? You don't even believe in the same God that I believe in. Why?

Just so you can give God more glory. And so be open, and don't fail to connect the Lord in things that you might not connect with the Lord. So we see these ravens coming, and look at the reaction of verse five. So the first verse of the first few words of verse five, so he went and did according to the word of the Lord. Don't you love that?

No questions. No. Like, lord, so I don't care how are ravens gonna do this exactly? How long am I supposed to lord, don't you know that, I prayed for a drought, you answered it, and that water is not gonna last very long. So do you have, like, an expiration date for me to be here?

Nothing. Alright. Go to the brook here, and the ravens will feed me. I'm going. He didn't know how long he was gonna be there.

He didn't know how long that brook would last. He didn't know how the ravens are gonna provide, but he did according to the word of the Lord. Obedience is sometimes intimidating, but again, it is only there that we can expect God's blessing. And that's why we're told that Elijah look. So he went and did according to the word of the Lord.

He went and lived by the brook, Kerith. That is East Of The Jordan. I'm gonna live here. If God told me to go there, then I'm staying right here. I am placing my tent here.

I'm abiding here. I'm dwelling here until God says otherwise. But a quick note before we move on and conclude our study. You already learned something about this man's character even in these first few verses. Elijah's generally admired to be a mighty prophet who stood before crowds of false prophets and even a vacillating nation.

And and even if he stood alone, he felt like he stood alone. He just called everything out. He preached. He prayed in public. That's what he's known for.

Like, this champion of the faith in a day of apostasy, a preacher. Right? And good, you should admire him for such. But notice that this man was not just a preacher of the word. He didn't just come to Aba and says, as the Lord lives.

He he didn't just declare the word of the Lord, he did the word of the Lord. Look at verse five again. So he went and did. He did according to the word of the Lord. Those are the best kind of preachers.

The preachers that don't just speak powerfully and and speak convincingly and wincely know that preachers actually do what God says. And that's the kind of man that we are dealing with. He did according to the word law. He didn't just tell others to do it. He himself did it.

And so don't be inspired by Elijah purely from the standpoint of public ministry. No. Appreciate this man for his private obedience. When the Lord spoke to him individually, he says, you go there. He goes, alright, Lord.

I'll obey you. In fact, I would say that's more attractive than anything else. If a man preaches from that place, oh, they are the most effective servants of God. He did according to the word of the Lord. Now look at verse six.

And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening. Bread and meat. Not just bread, not just meat. You know what I mean? He probably made sandwiches.

Meat sandwiches in the morning, meat sandwiches in the evening, and look at this, and he drank from the brook. Beautiful how the Lord took care of him. Something happens in verse seven. And after a while, the brook dried up because there was no rain in the land. The brook dried up.

Didn't the Lord know that the brook was gonna dry up? I think the Lord was surprised. Uh-oh. Sorry. I sent you there.

I didn't know that the brook was gonna dry up. No. He obviously knew the brook was gonna dry up. It makes you wonder why. We're not told how long Elijah was there by the brook.

I wonder if it became common to him. I wonder after a few days that he expected the ravens to come, drop it off. Like, it it the shock factor was gone. Right? It's like just the ravens come in.

Another day. He's drinking from the brook. And then at a certain point, that body of water began to lessen and diminish, and you begin to see the earth, and there's now became a few puddles here and there. Why would the Lord go through all this effort, call this man to go in this direction, stay in a place, in a drought, only for this to be the consequence? In fact, look at verse eight quickly and notice that the Lord spoke to Elijah with the next set of instructions only after the brook dried up.

Then the word of the Lord came to him. You know, your first exposure to Elijah and how he related to Lord should teach you many things including this. God enjoys leading you and I step by step. Step by step. You know, by the time Elijah revisits and confronts Ahab once again, it'll be three years.

So between this and the rest of the chapter where he lives with this widow, he goes to Ahab and it'll be after three years. You know what most of us would really like? You know how most of us think God acts in our lives? That in the beginning of something, he would give us the full schedule. Here's how most of us would like God to lead us in our lives.

I need you to go to the Brook Cherith. Ravens will feed you there every single day. At some point, probably after two months, Elijah, expect that brook to dry up. And once that brook dries up, I'm gonna send you to Zarephath and Sidon. I know it's shocking.

It's not in Israel, but I'm gonna send you there. There's a widow. She's she's already set. At the right time, I'm gonna tell her to provide for you. You're gonna go there.

She's gonna have everything ready. You might have to challenge her a little bit, but she's gonna receive from you. Then you're gonna be there for a little bit. It's gonna be wonderful. But then her son's gonna die, and then you're gonna raise him from the dead.

I'm gonna show my resurrection power even in that trial. And then what's gonna happen is you're gonna come before Ahab, and it's gonna be a little scary because all his prophets are gonna be there. But I'm gonna tell you Man, it sounds silly, and we're like, you know, we're laughing, but we're like, I kinda want that though. I do want that. That sounds really good.

That's not how our God works in life. That's not how God leads you. That's not. He enjoys leading you step by step because he wants your faith to grow in every season. That's what he wants.

And the only way that faith is gonna grow and mature and stretch and be more shiny and strong is if you don't get the full schedule. If you ever feel like God has maybe, maybe giving a little bit more extra special attention to this person or that person around you, and here you are feeling like you're at a crossroads or you're abandoned and something just taken from you, whatever the case may be with no answers, remember that God treated Elijah that way. So you're in good company. Go to the brook. I'm not gonna tell you when to leave.

You know, like he could have told him, Elijah, heads up. The brook is gonna dry up. Don't be scared. No. He waits till the thing dries up, then he speaks to him.

So even in that moment, I wonder what Elijah felt. It makes you wonder that for God to do this is a reminder for Elijah, refocus and realign your faith in me ultimately. Not in this brook, not in the ravens, in me. And I think there's something here that is so important that I believe resonates with every single one of us, and I'm ending here. There's something here so important because as we seek God's leadership, as his providence does lead us and sometimes in moments, he can make it so clear what you're supposed to do.

I believe God can do that. Who am I to say he can't? We tend to be tempted in times where we enter into a place where we believe this is where obedience has led me, but here is now a challenge, and here is now an obstacle, and here is now something being, if I can use this, drying up. And you know what we're tempted to do in those moments? We've all entertained the thought at some point.

You were in that place. You were comfortable. You were celebrating the fact that God brought you there through obedience, and now you're wondering because of something that doesn't make sense, did God really lead me here? Okay. Let me help you relate it to life.

You've prayed, you've sought God, you waited on God, and you feel like this is what God provided for you, and here you are now and there's some kerfuffle, There's some issue. There's some problem that's uncomfortable. Did God really lead me to this local church? I'm I'm beginning to have second thoughts about it. Here you go.

You ready for this? Is this really the person I'm supposed to be married to? Is this the state that I'm supposed to live in? I like, for the first six months, I was like, yeah. God brought me here.

And look at this wonderful church I'm a part of, and look at this group of friends, and then something happens. Maybe you experienced your first winter in Chicago. Am I supposed to be here? If obedience brought you there, if you've prayed, if you, like Elijah, were walking in alignment with God's will, you have no reason to doubt. No reason to question.

And don't allow these things to cause you to think otherwise. Not that Elijah did, but I think it's a wonderful illustration of where we might be tempted to do that. In those moments, remember Elijah in this moment of his life, the brook dried up not because of disobedience, but because of his obedience. And this would ultimately do what? What what would that do?

Cause him to depend on the Lord once again. He depend on the Lord all that time, and now he's gonna depend on the Lord in a new way. And you know what? Let me make this very practical and very personal to all of us. When I thought about this this afternoon, in all the different scenarios where that could be true.

Right? Being tempted to rethink and reconsider God's leading in our lives. Look at us as a church in this season. Think about it. I don't think and I hope there isn't one person who's been part of this church that doubts that God brought us to 4701 North Canfield Avenue two years ago.

God brought us here. No doubt about it. But what are we experiencing these days? If I can borrow the language of first king 17, the brook is drying up. Isn't it?

The brook is drying up, and it's getting challenging. But you know what? It shouldn't cause you to fluster, shouldn't cause you to doubt, shouldn't cause you to rethink if God really led us here to begin with. No. God did leave us lead us here.

And God used not ravens, not unclean things, not questionable things, but a beautiful gracious Polish congregation to host us. And what's what are we to do with this? I believe we are to do with it if we can borrow the inspiration of first King 17 and that point of Elijah's life. That as things are drying up and we're thinking, it's getting a little comfortable, and we're looking at it, and we're like, it's a drought out there too. All of that was just preparing Elijah for the next thing.

If God brought Elijah up to that point, you think he's gonna let him shrivel up in the desert with that brook? No. He doesn't. If he's brought you this far, he'll bring you until the end. If he brought you this far, he who began a good working with you, is faithful to bring it to completion.

Let's pray. What a mighty God you are. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. Thank you, Lord, that you have given us even in the New Testament, the invitation to draw inspiration from this man. And thank you that your word declares that these former things that were written were written for our encouragement.

Lord, we sit here today reminded of your faithfulness, that you are a God who takes greatest delight in the faith of your people, and you put us in predicaments and circumstances that would demand faith. And Lord, we are here, yes, as a church experiencing something so similar. And Lord, there is a very high chance that many people in this room right now who are going through their own challenges wondering, Lord, what's next? May we be like Elijah who did not move until they knew what you had to say. And we pray that you give us the ears to hear, the eyes to see, the right counsel to receive, clarity in the word of God, to know how to make the most calculated and obedient move possible.

We love you, Lord. Wow. There is no one like you, and we thank you that you are the God who lives. And we ask, Lord, that at the conclusion of this bible study, you would help us gird up our loins. You would strengthen our knees so that we, like Elijah, can be servants who stand before you, ready to do what you commission us to do.

Whether it is convenient or scary, profitable in the moment or not, help us, Lord, be this bold courageous people that you want us to be, and to believe that you're gonna take care of us along the way. We just sit in silence now reflecting on these truths, pouring out our hearts before you. In Jesus' name, amen. Yeah. The the praise team can come.

I wanna encourage you to do something just in holy reverence. Just, sit in your pew. And if you wanna remain seated while they play and sing a final song, you can do that as long as you are engaging with the Lord. But even before we play right away, let's just I I want to do this at least. I hope you'll join me in that.

I wanna just pause and sit there and reflect on a few things with the Lord, express my heart to him, and then we can collectively express our heart to him in song. Can we do that? Just a minute or two. Let's do that together.