Grace and peace to you in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Today we are starting a short series about “Elijah.” It will take us to the end of the Church Year. After that we’ll be heading into Advent and then the Christmas season.

If you care to, open your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 17. We are going to look at one of the greatest men of God recorded in all of Scripture. His name is Elijah. His name means: The Lord of Creation is my God.

Let me give you a little context about his time in history. The nation of Israel had been divided into a Northern and Southern Kingdom by political factions. The Northern Kingdom had experienced nineteen consecutive evil kings, spanning about two hundred year. Let that sink in: two hundred years.

The Southern Kingdom has fared a little better, but at the time of Elijah there was a very evil king named Ahab, who was married to a profoundly wicked woman named Jezebel. Under their reign the Bible says Ahab did more evil in the eyes of God than any of those before him.¹ During these times the evil kings would turn peoples’ hearts away from God and turn them to the false gods, usually the idols of Baal and Ashtoreth. The things they would do in the name of worship are so vile I won’t describe them in polite company, but trust me: More evil that you can imagine. This was a very dark time of corruption.

It was the time when God said, “Enough is enough!” Interestingly though, God didn’t raise up an army to take a stand against the evil king. Instead God does what God often does, He raised up one man. In today’s world God may do something very similar. God may raise up one student to take a stand for purity. God may raise up a young business leader to take a stand for integrity. God may raise up one person to go into politics to take a stand for honesty and integrity.

God often raises up just
one to make a big difference.

There was a young girl in our church, before I went to the seminary. She was getting into trouble. The police knew her name. Her friends were more trouble. Her boyfriend was all trouble. The church was there for her, but even when she was present she wasn’t really there for the church.

The youth group was heading out on a mission trip to Panama. They’d be gone for a week. With her parent’s help they managed to talk her into going on that trip. I’ve seen this before, but this one sticks out. When she came back she was changed. She dumped her bad friends and her worse boyfriend.

They read a book on that trip and used it for a devotion each day. I’ll be honest with you, this was over 20 years ago and I don’t remember the name of the book. I’ve got it still packed in a box. There is a letter in it.

That book, and those times of devotion moved her so much she contacted the author. She told him how it had changed her life and wanted to share that with her church.

He asked how many copies she needed. It was about 2,500 copies.

He then explained he was dying of cancer. He had a short time left. Then he offered her something he referred to as his last big thing. He paid to have 3000 copies of his book mailed to our church, along with a letter explaining why he gave it, and how moved he was by this young girls story.

God often raises up just
one to make a big difference.

Now let’s pick up the account of Elijah in verse 1 of I Kings, chapter 17. At the beginning we don’t know much about the this man. We simply know him as “Elijah from Tishbe in Gilead.²” His identity is where he is from, but that will change. Elijah says:

A s the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.³

Now this was one of the most destructive judgments against the land that could come. This would have been a full economic shutdown. In this agricultural culture no rain terminates everything. For us today it would be similar to no gas for your car. The banks are not lending money, and you can’t get your own money out. There would be no electricity in your home. Life as you know it would radically change. There would be people starving death. Unemployment would be out of control. That is what Elijah just said to this evil king Ahab.

You might think God would show up like He did against the false gods of Egypt with: plagues, lightning, darkness and death. The battle is on! But God does something very different. Elijah speaks and then God takes Elijah into a time of hiding, so He can do so much more in him and with him. We are going to watch as God shapes this man.

God takes Elijah through three seasons of preparations. The first one is: God takes him through a season of isolation. He has got no one else to call on. He’s hurting in a season of lonely hiding. In verse 2 it says:

The word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.⁴”

This Hebrew word, ‘Cherith’ means “cut off.” It means to be cut off from the source. God is saying, “I’m going to take you through a season of breaking you down. I’m going to cut you down. I’m going to humble you. I’m going to teach you to be fully dependent on Me alone.”

You may feel you’re in the Cherith Ravine, in a season of asking “Where is God?” The reality is: God is right there doing a deep work in you. God’s message is, “You’ve got to understand My ways are not your ways and I’m doing something in you and with you. I’m getting you ready. I’m teaching you something in the storm you couldn’t learn on the safety of the shore. God does this work in you, so He can do more through you.”

You might ask, “Why God?” The answer is: “To help you help others.” When you’ve been through the Cherith Ravine, when you’ve been through that place and time where God is pruning, you come out in a place where you already know the road someone else is going to walk, because you’ve already been where they are about to go.

God may take you through a place no one else around you really understands. Maybe you are there now. Remember:

You don’t have to understand the plan
to understand God has a purpose.

If you’re in the Cherith Ravine, be encouraged. The more God breaks you down, the more that God is preparing you for greater things. Elijah was there for months all alone.

The second thing we see as God is shaping Elijah is: A season of dependence. For Elijah this was a place where he cannot depend on anything but God alone. In verses 4-6 God says:

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 Cherith 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.⁵

Here we see Elijah’s all by himself and God does this miracle. In the middle of a drought, where there is no water, this brook continues to flow. Then birds go out and find bread and meat which they deliver every morning and evening. God was clearly saying, “No matter what and for always, I will be faithful. You can count on Me to provide all you need.”

There may be things you trust for your security. Sometimes those things can take you away. There really is nothing else you can really trust more than the Giver of Life and the Giver of all good things. Learn to hold to that even when everything else you used to trust fades away.

Notice God didn’t give him a month’s worth of food. God didn’t give him a week’s worth of food. God didn’t give him a whole day’s worth of food. God gave him enough for the day. God says, “I will bring exactly what you need. I will give you this day your daily bread.⁶”

Elijah learns to depend on God for the day, each day. God breaking him, cutting him, pruning him. God humbling him, teaching him total dependence. When he has no ability to provide for himself, God shows him, “I will be your Provider.⁷” That can be a challenging thing to believe when bills are due. When the work needs to get done, but our God says, “I will be your Provider.⁸”

The third thing God does is take him through a season of unconditional obedience. So there’s: isolation, dependence, and then there’s a time of unconditional obedience. Look at verses 7-9.

After a while the brook dried up because there was no rain in the land. 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.⁹”

Put yourself in Elijah’s shoes. It’s been months that he’s been by this brook providing him daily water, and birds his daily bread. God told him to go there, and then the brook dries up and the birds stop coming.

You are in the storm with His presence.
You’re in the storm for His purpose.

You might think: Okay God, where are You now? What’s the purpose? What’s the plan? You gave me this blessing, and now it’s gone. Did I do something wrong? Did I miss something? Am I hearing You? Are you hearing me? I don’t understand!

Elijah is going to learn: The same God who gives water can take water away. God may cause the brook to dry up to give you the courage to leave where we are and to go where you are supposed to be. God often teaches us by what He does not provide. God who gives blessings may remove those blessings to give you the courage to take a step of faithful obedience and trust.

How many of you remember the movie: The Karate Kid? You have Mr. Miyagi and Daniel, “Daniel-san.” In the movie, young Daniel-san wants to learn to fight. He goes to Mr. Miyagi and says, “Teach me.”

Mr. Miyagi says, “Okay first paint the fence.”

Daniel wonders but goes out to paint the fence, and Miyagi says, “No, no, no, Daniel-san, like this: And he shows Daniel how to paint the fence.

Then, Mr. Miyagi says, “Daniel-san, wash the car.” Daniel starts to wash the car and Mr. Miyagi says, “No, no, no, Daniel-san. Wax on. Wax off.”

Then Mr. Miyagi says, “Sand the floor.” And again, “No, no, no, no, Daniel-san. Like this. Sand the floor.”

Finally Daniel’s frustration overwhelms him. He shouts, “What is this? I thought you were going to teach me how to fight. I come over here and you’re using me.”

Mr. Miyagi says, “Okay.” He throws a soft punch. Then says, “No, no, no. paint the fence.” He throws another punch and says, “Wax on.” Another and “Sand the floor.”

That is when it all comes together. There were all lessons that made no sense, but then came the, “Now I see how this all comes together.”

God is teaching Elijah, and He might be doing that with you. God says to Elijah, “Go to the Cherith Ravine.” Then the brook dries up. This was all about God getting Elijah ready for a new chapter in his life. If you haven’t read this record of Elijah’s life I’d encourage you to do that some time this week. I can’t read it all here, we’re just hitting the high points.

After all of that Elijah goes to see this widow, who God says is going to provide for him. He goes as God directed, and when he sees her he asks for some water to drink and a little bit to eat. The widow looks at him probably thinking, “Are you the only guy that doesn’t know it hasn’t rained! We’re dying here. She says, “I’ve got a little bit of flour left, and I’ve got a little oil in the jug. That’s all. Just enough for one last meal. We are going to eat and then we are going to die.¹⁰”

But because of what God has done in Elijah’s life he says, “No, you’re not.” Elijah looks at the impossible situation and speaks faith. He knows God provides. So he says:

The jar of flour will not be spent, and the jug of oil will not be empty, until the day the Lord sends rain upon the earth.¹¹

The woman does what he directs and they ate, and the flour did not run out and the oil did not run dry. They ate, and they ate for weeks and months. God again provided for Elijah building his unconditional obedience. But remember:

You are in the storm with His presence.
You’re in the storm for His purpose.

Then one day tragedy strikes. The widow’s son dies. She said, “Is this God’s judgment on me because I turned against the one true God, to these false gods? Elijah, did you come here so this would happen?¹²”

Elijah, because of all he has been through, because God was shaping him, preparing him, did something never recorded before. There’s no record of this happening in the Bible before this event. He takes the dead boy carries him up to the room, puts his own body on top of him, looks up to Heaven and says, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.¹³” and God raises a dead boy to life.¹⁴

Why did this happen? How did this happen? Because God took him to the Cherith Ravine where he was cut down. God took him through a season of full dependence where he could not count on anything but God, and God alone. Then God dried up the brook so he would leave where he was to go to where God was going to use him. God used these hard things to shape Elijah into real man. A true man of God.

In Verse 1 Elijah was described as Elijah the Tishbite. He was known by where he was from. 23 verses later he is no longer known for where he’s from, but Whom he is from. Look at how this part of the record changes. In verse 24 the woman says:

Now I know you are a man from God, and the Word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.¹⁵

God may allow you to go through your own Cherith Ravine, so one day someone can look at you and say, “Now I know you are a man of God.” That is why James in the Bible could write:

Count it all joy my brothers and sisters, when you face trials of various kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.¹⁶

God sometimes puts us through the test to teach us how to pass the test. As we continue to watch Elijah grow over the next two weeks I want you to remember: Your God notices you. Your God sees you. Your God died for you. You are important to Him.

Remember that, in Jesus’ name.

A men.

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NOTES

11 Kings 16:30