Now Elijah the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, in whose presence I stand, there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!”
Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Leave here, turn eastward, and hide at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. You are to drink from the wadi. I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.”
So he proceeded to do what the Lord commanded. Elijah left and lived at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. The ravens kept bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening, and he would drink from the wadi. After a while, the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
1 Kings 17:1-7
As Israel continues to
spiral into idolatry and immorality, Elijah emerges on the scene. Even his name
(literally “my God is Yahweh”) points to his ultimate mission: to
reassert the divinity of Yahweh over the false gods that the kings of Israel had
introduced into the land. With this matter-of-fact boldness, he approaches Ahab
and announces that there will be no rain until he commands the rain to
come back. Yahweh knew he needed to get Ahab’s attention and this was the way
to show that He was a more powerful God than Ba’al.
In the midst of this time of trial, God miraculously provided for Elijah. We
will also see other stories later where he used Elijah to provide for the needs
of others affected by the drought. When their natural resources were dried up,
God was able to show Himself faithful to those who were committed to Him. In
some ways, this life of dependence may have reminded them of the day-to-day
dependence shown by their ancestors in the wilderness wanderings.
In times of difficulty, when others are relying on their own strength and false
gods, we need the conviction of Elijah that says, “my God is Yahweh and I
will trust Him.”
How can you grow in trust and conviction about
God today?
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