Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: "Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there."
So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
Imagine getting this assignment from God... hope you like camping - hope you like roughin’ it
in v. 3 God says, “Hide” (read) - last week we talked about living by faith & that Elijah moved and walked in obedience w/out hesitation - and that we should also apply this Elijah Element in our lives, to live by faith, walk in obedience to God’s Word.
It’s interesting to me here that God tells Elijah to hide, is it to you? When we talk about about walking in obed. to God’s Word sometimes that’s a bit challenging, our selfish wants and desires get in the way, or fear gets in the way so we become a little hesitant - but if God said, “Hey Joe, get out of here, run and hide” You’d think I’d just take off - “You mean you’re not telling me to stand up against the grain or do something that appears extremely difficult... sure... I’ll hide”
But I think, even in God asking us to run, we still question it.
“Why run, what’s the hurry God?” right?
Something in us that always want to ? the will of God.
If God says run, you better run. If God says hide, you better hide
You better put your tough guy Texan pride aside and GO!
A similar situation happened just about 1000yrs. earlier when we read the story of Sodom and Gomorrah being destroyed.
Look at what God’s message is to His followers:
So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, "Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!" But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished."
16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away! Gen. 19:14-17
If God says run... run!
There are different occasions in Deuteronomy and in Jeremiah
where God tells the people of Israel to flee or run b/c disaster is about to fall upon the cities they were in.
in 1 Corinthians 6:18 God tells us all to
“Flee from sexual immorality”
in 1 Corinthians 10:14 God tells us all to
“flee from idolatry”
Why is God telling us to run or flee from such things?
B/c disaster is about to fall - He is basically telling us, “you can’t hang - it will get the best of you, you can’t stand against it alone so get out of there. - don’t put yourself in compromising situations.
If God says run... run!
continuing in 1 Kings 17...
Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the LORD came to him: "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."
"As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die."
Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.' "
She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.
For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.
1 Kings 17:2-16
In a nation that is required to take care of it’s prophets, it is ironic that God turned to ravens (considered unclean birds)
and a widow who is a foreigner from Jezebels homeland to take care of Elijah.
Where God leads, He feeds, Where God guides, He provides.
God has help where we least expect it. He provides for us in ways that go beyond our limited imaginations or expectations.
No matter how difficult life becomes or how hopeless our situation may appear we can count on God to pull us through.
Where God leads, He feeds, Where God guides, He provides
It’s usually a matter of timing:
God has made it easy for us to understand His timing. He made it simple to discover His time by giving us the seasons of life.
So we must understand that everything has seasons.
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven” Ecc 3:1
You see, to know the time for everything we need to understand that every activity has a season. Seasons are God’s clue to timing.
God’s Timing in your life can be discerned by determining what season you’re in, and when you find out the season you’re in, you can act accordingly.
For example, if it’s winter and cold outside, then it is time for you to wear a coat. You don’t have to pray real hard to figure out if you should wear a coat. Simply look outdoors and you’ll know what to do.
The same is true of life. In order to know what to do, simply find out what season it is in your life, and then act appropriately.
The key to success is acting relevantly to your circumstances. Simply waiting around for your ship to come in will never bring you success. Don’t wait for success? Success is who you are and what you do every day of your life. found in obed.
The problem with many of us is that we don’t know what to do.
Listen, it is easy to know what to do. Just as there are seasons of nature, there are seasons of life. Each season corresponds to a particular action that we need to take. For example, there is a time to plant and a time to reap. How do you know if it’s time to reap? You know it’s time when the harvest is ripe.-if it is ready. The same is true of your life.
So to find out God’s timing you simply need to ask yourself, "What season am I in?"
and listen He will provide.
God’s Provision
God is referred to as Jehovah-Jireh. which means "the Lord will provide."
This name comes from the story in Genesis of Abraham's obedience to offer Isaac to the Lord. You will find the story in Genesis 22. God commanded Abraham to offer Isaac as a burnt offering. Deciding to obey the Lord, Abraham took Isaac and set out to the place where God had chosen. He bound his son and laid him on the altar. As he was about to slay his son, God stopped him. He commended him for his willingness to obey and called his attention to a ram that he had provided for Abraham to offer. As Abraham offered the ram as a burnt offering to God, he called the name of that place Jehovah-Jireh. He had experienced the provision of God. He had come to experience first-hand the reality that God could provide.
ever had a Jeh.Jir. exper? Obviously God made this happen.
As a father provides for his own children, so God is our provider. James 1:17 says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights."
Philippians 4:19 says, "And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
God not only gives us the stuff we need, He gives us the good stuff. He gives us what we really need, not simply what we think we need. And much of what God gives us you simply cannot buy with money. When you are overwhelmed, you may be able to buy a bottle. When you sober up, however, the problem is still there. What you need is supernatural peace in the midst of the problem. What you need is the ability to deal with the situation. Only God Jeh.Jir. can give you that.
Let me give you some thoughts on receiving from God.
The first is the principle of obedience. If we want to receive from God, we must be in God's will.
The first area in which we need to be in the will of God is our relationship with Jesus Christ. Our relationship with Jesus must be maintained if we are going to be in a position to pray for and receive what we need. Jesus said, in John 15:7, "If you abide in Me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it shall be done for you."
This is our first priority. Maintain that love relationship with Jesus Christ.
Another area in which we need to make sure we are in the will of God is our relationship to the church. If we neglect our fellowship with one another then we will find ourselves out of the will of God
Hebrews 10:24-25, "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another"
If we want to be in the will of God, we must be in right relationship to one another in a local church where we can serve God.
A final area of obedience is obedience in giving. So many people take themselves out of a position where they can receive from God because they will not be obedient in this vital matter.
God has promised that if we bring His tithes into the storehouse, He will pour out blessings upon us. “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows." Malachi 3:10
You see, the principle God has established is that we first give than we receive. Luke 6:38 reads, "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.".
v.13-14 -
Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.' "
Give to God 1st and He will provide!
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33
So we must be obedient to God in terms of our relationship with Jesus Christ and with His church, and in terms of our giving.
When we walk in obed. putting God 1st - He will provide.
Where God guides, He provides
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