The Life of Elijah: Cherith
CCEA
School of Discipleship
September
7, 2025
About me
I’ve been married for 47 years to Debby Cathers. I have three sons and four grandchildren.
I’m a musician – my Bachelor’s degree at CSUF was
in Music
My Master’s degree at Biola/Talbot was in Bible
Exposition
I’ve known Pastor Bob since grad school, over 45 years. I used to sit behind him in Church History at
Talbot.
I’ve been teaching the Bible over 50 years as a youth pastor, assistant
pastor, and 25 of those years as Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel Fullerton.
In 2020 I handed the church to one of my protégés, and in 2022 I stepped
away from CC Fullerton to let my team run things without the old man looking
over their shoulder.
I currently teach a Hebrew class to a small online group of young senior
pastors.
I’ve written a book – you can find it on Amazon.
I am so very grateful to Bob and the church for this opportunity to teach
this class.
About our class
We’ll be drawing most of our material from the Bible, specifically 1Kings
17 – 2Kings 2.
I will tend to teach mostly from the New King James Bible, simply because
that’s what I’ve taught from for about twenty-five years. You can use any
version in class to mark up and make notes in. Please bring your paper Bibles
to class. I want you to mark them up.
We will be doing a little bit of memorizing in this class.
For this class we are going to memorize James 5:16-18, and yes, please
memorize the New Kings James.
And we will have a reading assignment each week from Charles Swindoll’s
book: “Elijah, A Man of Heroism and Humility”
I will only require you to read the one assigned chapter I give you each
week, but that only will cover seven of the ten chapters in the book. If you want to be reading the entire book,
there’s a list in the syllabus that will show what extra chapters you can read
each week to make it through the book and keep in synch with my teaching.
As you might have seen in the email I sent out last week, I will be making
video recordings each week of our class and posting them to YouTube. If you have to miss
class for any reason, I’d appreciate it if you would let me know, then watch
the video on YouTube, email me the answers to the quiz, and you’ll get full
credit for that class, including attendance. I will send out an email each week
on Monday that will give you a link to the YouTube video as well as have my
full notes attached.
If you haven’t been getting my emails, make sure I’ve got your correct
email address.
I would like to encourage you to be sure to get to
class on time since I will usually start right at 3pm in
order to get all the material in each week. Be
sure to sign in for attendance, pick up one of the quiz sheets, and make a name
badge for yourself. Why name badges each week? I hope you get to know the names
of some of the people around you.
Intro
If you know anything about the prophet Elijah, perhaps it is because of the
powerful things God did through him.
He was the man who called down fire from heaven.
He raised the dead.
He even appeared with Jesus and Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration.
But one of the things we often overlook is the fact that he didn’t start as
an amazing, powerful man of God.
1Kings 17:1-7 Cherith
The need for training
In your book, Swindoll talked about his experiences in Basic Training as a
Marine.
I remember as a kid, one of the exciting things in town happened every
summer as the Los Angeles Rams opened their Training
Camp out at Cal State Fullerton. You
used to be able to go out to the field and stand behind the fence to catch a
glimpse of Roman Gabriel and the Fearsome Foursome (Merlin Olson, David
“Deacon” Jones, Lamar Lundy, and Roosevelt “Rosie” Grier). I used to think it was crazy that these grown
men would come and endure such hard workouts in the middle of summer. But they were a pretty good team back in the
70’s. Yet before the season started, they needed to train.
Deb and I are Angels’ fans. A few years back we
headed out to Arizona to watch some Spring Training games. One of the new prospects was in camp – a
young fellow named Shohei Ohtani. We
watched him pitch, and at the time he wasn’t that impressive. But he’s grown
through the years.
I’ve been through some various types of “training” in my life. In the
summer before college I attended “IBS”, or, “Institute for Biblical Studies” hosted by Campus
Crusade for a month at their headquarters in Arrowhead Springs. After college I
attended Talbot Theological Seminary for 3 ½ years. While those things have had an impact on my
life and ministry, to be honest, the concept of “training” is something that
never stops.
I’m still learning, reading, and picking up skills to better my
ministry.
I find that happening as I’m teaching young pastors Greek and Hebrew - is
also sharpens my own skills (don’t tell them that).
I remember at a Pastors’ Conference many years ago attending a class led by
Greg Laurie on Sermon Preparation – and he talked about how he realized he
needed to grow in his preaching skills. I remember thinking, “If Greg feels
like he needs to grow in his preaching, how about me!”
Today we’ll look at some of Elijah’s training for usefulness.
:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of
the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall
not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”
:1 And Elijah the Tishbite
The chapter begins with the conjunction “and” (some translations have
“now”), which links it to the previous chapter. In a sense it’s too bad there’s
a chapter break here.
Here’s what happened in the previous chapter …
(1 Kings 16:30–33
NKJV) —30 Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were
before him. 31 And it came to pass, as though it
had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of
Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the
Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him. 32 Then he set
up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all
the kings of Israel who were before him.
So we meet Ahab (“my father’s brother”) who marries
Jezebel (“Baal is husband to”, or “unchaste”). She was the daughter of Ethbaal
(“Living with Baal”), the king of the Sidonians, or the ancient Phoenicians.
Jezebel worshipped Baal and Astarte.
Baal was the supreme god of ancient Canaan and Phoenicia.
The word “baal” means “lord” or “master”, and though
sometimes even Yahweh is referred to as “Baal”, Yahweh is the
True “Lord”.
Baal was known for several things, including being the “storm god”, the
“god of rain”, and of fertility.
When we get to 2Kings 18, and the showdown between Elijah
and the prophets of Baal, it is not the first time there has been a
confrontation with Baal.
The confrontation starts here, in this chapter, as God is
shutting off the water taps of heaven.
:1 Elijah = “My God is Yahweh”
How’s that for a contrast with “Jezebel” (“Baal is my husband”)
Keep Elijah’s name in mind when we get to 1Kings 18, and the big showdown
on Mount Carmel.
(1 Kings
18:21 NKJV) And Elijah came to all the people, and said,
“How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but
if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.
(By the way, in the Old Testament, when you see “LORD” in all caps, it is
the name “Yahweh” in the Hebrew text)
Then after the fire came and consumed the sacrifice…
(1 Kings
18:39 NKJV) Now when all the people saw it, they fell
on their faces; and they said, “The Lord,
He is God! The Lord, He is
God!”
Or literally in the Hebrew, “Yahweh, He is God (Elohim)! “Yahweh, He is
God)!
They are agreeing with Elijah whose name means “My God is Yahweh”.
Now before you get too far with being in “awe” of Elijah, I’d like to
remind you of what James said about Elijah…
(James 5:17 NLT) Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly
that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years!
Here’s my first “quiz alert”. For
those of you who are in class, go ahead and fill in the blank on your quiz
sheet… If you are watching online, write this phrase out…
Lesson
1. Just like me
God will do some amazing things through Elijah.
But before you dismiss the things we’ll see Elijah do and think, “God could
never use me like that”, keep in mind that James is trying to tell you that
Elijah was just an ordinary, real, even flawed person, just like you and me.
The more we get to know Elijah, the more we should realize that he was just
an ordinary person.
He had his fears. He experienced depression. He had questions.
Illustration
The evangelist Henry Varley said to his young new friend DL Moody,
“Moody, the world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated
to him.” These words so pierced Moody's heart that he couldn't get them out of
his mind and said these words to himself, “I will be that man.”
God will use Dwight Moody in incredible ways, but just
like Elijah, he was an ordinary man.
The thing that sets some people apart from others is their
“consecration”. Or think
“dedication”. Perhaps the words
“available” or “faithful” apply here.
Elijah will be an ordinary man who was committed to God.
:1 The Tishbite
We aren’t sure where “Tishbi” is. (the capital Samaria is in the yellow
circle)
Some think it’s the town of “Thisbe”, mentioned in the Septuagint text of
the book “Tobit”, and supposedly located somewhere in the tribe of Naphtali on
the western side of the Jordan (though it’s location
is unknown).
Others think it’s a place in Gilead, east of the Jordan River.
:1 of the inhabitants of Gilead
inhabitants – toshab – sojourner,
stranger
Whether he was from the tribe of Naphtali or some place
east of the Jordan, he is a “sojourner” in the land of Gilead, which is
northeast of Galilee.
This reminds me of our study on the life of Abraham.
Abraham was a “sojourner” his entire life.
He never settled down or built a house.
He was a man on the move.
We too are just “passing through”
(1 Peter 2:11–12
NKJV) —11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from
fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your
conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as
evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God
in the day of visitation.
So Elijah says to Ahab…
:1 As the LORD God of Israel lives
Even though the nation has gone astray into the idolatry, God is not dead. Yahweh
is still alive.
God is still on His throne.
:1 before whom I stand
“before” is the Hebrew word for “face” (panay). Elijah knows the face of God.
Elijah lives his life in God’s presence. He lives his life before God’s
face.
If you want to be used by God, then you need to be with God.
You need to know Him.
You can only know God through a relationship with Jesus Christ, who died on
a cross to pay for your sins and make it possible for you to know God.
You need to open your heart and receive Jesus if you want
to see God work in your life.
You need to keep growing in your relationship with Him.
It is a marvelous thing to be used by God, but if you’re not careful, you
can become addicted to the rush of being used by God and begin living for that
rush instead of living for the God who used you.
I think this is where the church starts to become like a circus, always
trying to manufacture miracles or emotional experiences rather than simply
learning to draw near to God and live in His presence.
:1 there shall not be dew nor rain
This is quite a statement. I’d say
Elijah had chutzpah!
Quiz Alert!
Lesson
2. Confident Prayer
Elijah’s life was a life built around prayer. His prayers were not big and
flashy. They are sometimes hidden in the background, but his is a life of
prayer.
Let me first say that if you want to have a life and ministry characterized
by the power of God, you need to have a life and ministry that is grounded in
prayer.
Any ministry.
Are you a Sunday School teacher? Is it important that your kids become
acquainted with God? Do they need God’s power in their little lives?
You need to be praying for them.
Are you an usher or do you work in the parking lot? Do you
serve in the café?
Do those ministries need the power of God at work? You’d
be mistaken if you thought they didn’t. Your ministry is one of the first that
people will experience when they come to church.
It might be a kind word, a smile, or a “God bless you”
from you that softens a hard heart.
You need to be praying for your
ministry.
Our hope for these classes is that you mature in your walk
with Jesus. Our hope is that you learn
the importance of serving the Lord. Our hope is that you are learning to let
God work through you in all that you do.
Remember that James 5 tells us that the drought came about as a result of Elijah’s prayers, not his bold proclamation.
(James 5:17 NKJV) 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 land for three
years and six months.
Elijah had confidence in his prayers.
That’s why he could make bold statements about the rain.
John wrote,
(1 John 5:14–15
NKJV) —14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we
ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we
know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that
we have asked of Him.
So the issue for Elijah as he’s praying is whether or not this “drought” is according to God’s will.
Is he saying/praying these things because he’s mad
at Ahab?
Or is he saying these things because he’s expressing God’s
heart?
Moses recorded God saying this:
(Deuteronomy
11:16–17 NKJV) —16 Take heed to yourselves, lest your
heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them,
17 lest the Lord’s anger
be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there be no rain,
and the land yield no produce, and you perish quickly from the good land which
the Lord is giving you.
Did the nation in Elijah’s day
meet these qualifications?
Elijah is praying according to God’s will.
At the end of the drought, Elijah’s prayers will change.
The people will have repented and turned to God. (“The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”)
(1 Kings 18:39 NKJV) Now when all the people saw it,
they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord,
He is God!”
(2 Chronicles
7:13–14 NKJV) —13 When I shut up heaven and there is
no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My
people, 14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and
pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from
heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
He will be able to confidently pray for rain.
So what is God’s will in your life?
How do I know God’s will in a particular situation?
Sometimes there is clear direction in Scripture.
How about this?
(Ephesians 4:32 NKJV) And be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Could you pray “confidently” for God to ask you to help
you forgive someone?
I’ll bet there are some clear things that most of us
should be praying for in our relationships and our ministries.
Sometimes the direction isn’t clear. Prayer itself is one
of the tools where we can grow to discern God’s will.
(Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV) ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you,
and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’
:1 not be dew nor rain
That’s going to lead to a crisis, even a famine.
F.B.Meyer wrote:
Physical suffering is a smaller calamity than moral delinquency. And the
love of God does not shrink from inflicting such suffering, if, as a result,
the plague of sin may be cut out as a cancer, and
stayed.[1]
In Nehemiah’s day, there was also a famine:
(Nehemiah
5:3 NKJV) There were also some who said, “We have
mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses, that we might buy grain because
of the famine.”
The famine had caused people to go into financial debt, and there were some
who took advantage of that and were acquiring property from the poor people.
How will you handle a “famine”?
Will you take advantage of others?
Or will you turn to God and do what’s right?
Nehemiah rebuked the people and had all the banks cancel
the debts of the poor and give them back their lands.
:1 …these years
Jesus told us the drought was 3 ½ years.
(Luke 4:25 NKJV) But I tell
you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven
was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout
all the land…
James also tells us this as well (James 5:17)
(James 5:17 NKJV) 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 land for three years and six
months.
Does that length of time sound familiar?
It’s the length of time Jesus took to train His disciples.
It’s also the length of ½ of the tribulation. The prophecies about the
tribulation often break it into two segments, 3 ½ years each.
When we get to 1Kings 18, the text says that Elijah will show up again “in
the third year” (1Ki. 18:1)
(1 Kings
18:1 NKJV) And it came to pass after many days that
the word of the Lord came to
Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will
send rain on the earth.”
Arthur W. Pink suggests that you could make the point that there’s an extra
½ year missing.
Pink suggests that when Elijah first shows up before Ahab, he’s already
been praying for six months, and the drought has been going on for six months.
That would make his initial speech to Ahab even more impactful.
:2 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
:1 except at my word
Elijah was convinced that God was going to listen to his prayers regarding
this drought for the next couple of years.
The source of Elijah’s strength.
It was not because he was an “extraordinary” man. He was just like us.
1. As the LORD God of Israel lives
God is alive. He isn’t dead. He’s real.
2. Before whom I stand
Elijah spent time in God’s presence, before “His face” (before whom).
:2 Then …
Elijah is going to receive new directions. God is going to ask Elijah to
move.
Quiz Alert!
Lesson
3. One step at a time
It’s after he’s delivered his message to Ahab that he gets his next
instruction.
God tends to lead us one step at a time.
He doesn’t often lay out the whole plan at once.
I have to take the step in
front of me if I want to receive my next instruction.
In the book of Acts, Philip has been used in an amazing way among the
Samaritan people.
It was a huge revival with lots of people coming to know Jesus.
Then …
(Acts 8:26 NKJV) Now an angel of the Lord spoke to
Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down
from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert.
If I were Philip, I’d be wondering why I’m supposed to go
to the desert. Isn’t God already doing
something amazing in Samaria?
But Philip goes.
When he gets to this road, we are told there was an entourage from the land
of Ethiopia travelling through the desert. A man is reading a scroll.
(Acts 8:29 NKJV) Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go
near and overtake this chariot.”
Again, I might wonder, why am I supposed to do this? But Philip obeys.
(Acts 8:30 NKJV) So Philip ran to him, and heard him
reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
You know the story.
Philip leads this man to believe in Jesus. He even baptizes this man who will have great
influence in his nation.
When God prompts you to do something, you don’t always have to understand
why. Just do it.
You may not receive your next step until you take the one in front of you.
I’ve been reading a book “Missionary First Responder” by a gal named Kris
Repp. She has been attending our church. The QR code will take you to the book
on Amazon.
She’s lived an amazing life, traveling to many places around the world and
being used by God.
She’s a living example of this life of faith – many times just taking
things one step at a time.
:2 the word of the LORD came to him
This phrase “the word of the LORD” is a key element in this chapter.
You see it seven times (clearly in vs. 2, 5, 8, 16, 24; implied in vs.
1,14) – the verses are in my notes…
(1 Kings
17:1 NKJV) …except at my word.”
(1 Kings
17:2 NKJV) Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
(1 Kings
17:5 NKJV) So he went and did according to the word of the Lord…
(1 Kings
17:8 NKJV) Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
(1 Kings
17:14 NKJV) For thus says the Lord God of Israel…
(1 Kings
17:16 NKJV) …according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.
(1 Kings
17:24 NKJV) …and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the
truth.”
Quiz Alert!
Lesson
4. Usefulness comes from God’s
Word
We may not always have a specific prophetic word like Elijah received, but
we do have God’s Word, the Bible.
If you want to be a person God uses, you MUST commit to learn His Word.
I believe each person who is serious about serving the Lord needs to
develop the discipline of spending time in God’s word every day.
(2 Timothy 3:16–17
NKJV) —16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete,
thoroughly equipped for every good work.
I think that sometimes too many of us are depending on the wrong things to
serve God.
We might be depending too much on having certain people to help us. We might be depending on some new ministry
idea that everyone is excited about.
Video: Wrong Glasses
If you’re not using the right glasses, you’ll get the
wrong results. If we want the “right glasses”, we need to be in God’s Word.
Some people say they have trouble understanding God’s Word, so they don’t
read it.
Video: Billy Graham – Bible Understanding (fall in love with the author to
understand it)
When we fall in love with the Word, we come to know the Maker of the
Heavens and the Earth. And He knows how
to guide our lives.
Video: George Washington Carver and the Bible
If you want to grow in your usefulness to God, grow in the Scriptures.
:3 “Get away from here
and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.
:3 hide by the Brook Cherith
Cherith – K@riyth – “cutting”
Where is this brook Cherith?
There is much debate about its location, except we know that it’s east of
the Jordan River.
Scholars seem to either focus on:
Wadi Yabis
Wadi Quelt
Wadi el-Yubis
The name comes from the word karath, “to
cut, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, kill”
It is also related to the word used in making a “covenant”, or “cutting a
covenant”.
Quiz Alert
Lesson
5. Usefulness requires cutting
Before Elijah will call down fire from heaven on Mount Carmel, he has to spend time at Cherith, the place of “cutting”. You might say to me, “Rich, you’re making too
much out of a simple name”. But look at the passage, Elijah is going to be cut back.
When I use the word “cutting”, let me clarify that I’m NOT talking about
the practice of some folks who literally cut themselves with knives or razor
blades.
The only people we’ll find cutting themselves in Elijah’s day will be the prophets of Baal (1Ki. 18:28).
That’s the WRONG kind of cutting.
Sometimes this “cutting” comes in the form of difficulty.
Difficulties might be a result of sin in our life – that God needs to get
our attention and turn us around.
Be careful here – if you are going through difficulty and
you aren’t aware of some sinful root behind it, don’t live under condemnation.
You may not know all the reasons behind the difficulty.
While there are many reasons God allows difficulty into our life, the one
we’re concerned about helps us to be more productive.
Look at what Paul said about difficulties:
(Romans
5:3–5 NKJV) —3 And not only that, but we
also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been
poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Could perseverance (endurance), character, hope, and love make
you more productive in your ministry to others?
Look at what James said:
(James
1:2–4 NKJV) —2 My brethren, count it all joy when
you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your
faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its
perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Patience (endurance) and maturity (perfect). Would those
be useful?
Jesus referred these times of “cutting” as “pruning” (cleansing, kathairo)
(John 15:1–2 NKJV)
—1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and
every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
Jesus is talking about good practice in a vineyard.
If you want to produce “fruit” in your life, you are going
to need to be pruned. There are going to
be things that God is going to want to cut away from your life.
You might wince and say, “No, don’t touch that
branch!” But He knows it needs to go.
Even older vines need to be regularly pruned.
Pruning is the key to bearing fruit.
I found it interesting that in his book, Swindoll talked
about the “pruning” he experienced when God called him to leave E.V. Free
Fullerton to go to Dallas Texas. That was the year we started Calvary Fullerton
right down the street.
He was at the height of ministry. Yet God felt he needed more pruning.
These last few years Deb and I have experienced quite a
bit of pruning after I handed Calvary Fullerton to my successor.
I think God is at work in things we find difficult.
Lesson
The secret place
Elijah was to “hide” at Cherith.
Cherith wasn’t a public place but a hidden place.
We need to learn the value of the “hidden life”.
If you want to be useful to God, then it’s important that God has access to
work in your life, even when no one else is watching.
Some of us can fall into the trap of always saying the right things and
doing the right things when people are present, but when the lights, cameras,
and microphones are gone, we might not be so pleasing to God.
F.B.Meyer –
Bishop Andrewes had his Cherith, in which he spent five hours every day
in prayer and devotion. John Welsh had it—who thought the day ill-spent which
did not witness eight or ten hours of closet communion. David Brainard had it
in the woods of North America, which were the favorite scene
of his devotions. Christmas Evans had it in his long and lonely journeys amid
the hills of Wales. Fletcher of Madeley had it—who would often leave his class-room for his private chamber, and spend hours upon his
knees with his students, pleading for the fullness of the Spirit till they
could kneel no longer. Or—passing back to the blessed age from which we date
the centuries—Patmos, the seclusion of the Roman prisons, the Arabian desert,
the hills and vales of Palestine, are forever memorable as the Cheriths of those who have made our modern world. Our Lord
found His Cherith at Nazareth, and in the wilderness of Judea;
amid the olives of Bethany, and the solitudes of Gadara. Not one of us,
therefore, can dispense with some Cherith, where the sounds of earthly toil and
human voices are exchanged for the murmur of the waters of quietness which are
fed from the throne; and where we may taste the sweets and imbibe the power of
a life hidden with Christ and in Christ by the power of the Holy Ghost.[2]
:4 And it will be that
you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you
there.”
:4 I have commanded
צִוִּ֔יתִי (I think pronounced tso-vee-tee)
is the Hebrew word, it’s a form of the word tsavah
(or, pronounced ziva), “to command”.
God is the one who has issued a command to the ravens.
You are going to see the exact same word used in verse 9 (you can draw
circles around both words “commanded” and connect them with a line.
Perhaps I’ll talk more about this next week…
:4 …the ravens to feed you there
ravens – ravens were considered an “unclean” animal (Lev. 11:13-15)
(Leviticus 11:13–15
NKJV) —13 ‘And these you shall regard as an abomination among the birds; they
shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the
buzzard, 14 the kite, and the falcon after its kind; 15 every raven
after its kind,
God is going to use unclean birds who feed on dead animals, road kill.
Quiz Alert
Ravens are also so naturally selfish that they will neglect feeding their
own young (Job 38:41), so this will be quite an interesting, supernatural
thing.
(Job 38:41 NKJV) Who provides food for the raven, When its young ones
cry to God, And wander
about for lack of food?
Lesson
6. Provision in drought
Even though Elijah will spend some time being “pruned”, being touched by
the drought himself, God will provide for him.
Sometimes we wonder if we will ever survive the hard times.
If you are in the place God wants you to be, He will provide. He will
command the ravens to feed you if necessary.
We sing that song “The Goodness of God”.
The chorus goes…
All my life You have been faithful
All my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able.
I will sing of the goodness of God.
I was listening to that song the other day and the thought
came to me, I think the best people to sing that song are
those who have walked with God for fifty years or more.
But even if you’re a new believer, let me tell you – you
keep walking with Jesus and you’ll find this to be
true.
He will never fail you. His goodness will come running
after you.
God can use unusual, unexpected things to provide for you.
Part of the process of becoming “useful” to God is learning to trust in
God’s provision, and to be content with what He provides for you.
Paul learned this lesson:
(Philippians 4:11 NKJV) Not that I speak in
regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be
content:
Paul was then able to encourage the poor church in Philippi…
(Philippians 4:19 NKJV) And my God shall supply all your
need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
The lesson Elijah learns here is going to play into the passage we’ll look
at next week with the widow from Zarephath.
:5 So he went and did
according to the word of the Lord, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith,
which flows into the Jordan.
:5 did according to the word of the LORD
We see the importance of living your life by what God says, His word.
Quiz Alert
Lesson
7. Obedience
There are great blessings that come in our lives
when we learn to simply obey what the Lord wants us to do.
When God begins to use you in the lives of others, you will find that
before you can expect others to see the blessings of obedience, you need to be
obedient.
Elijah is going to live with a widow woman and she’s going to need to trust
that God is going to provide. But before
Elijah can go there, Elijah must learn for himself that God can provide.
:6 The ravens brought him
bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank
from the brook.
God issued a command for the ravens, and they responded by finding food for
Elijah and delivering it to him.
It seems that animals don’t have the same trouble obeying God that we do.
(Isaiah 1:3 NKJV) The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master’s crib; But Israel does
not know, My people do not consider.”
(Jeremiah
8:7 NKJV) “Even the stork in the heavens Knows her
appointed times;
And
the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow Observe the time of their coming. But My people do not know the
judgment of the Lord.
Where did the ravens get the bread and the meat? We used to have a children’s book of Bible
stories that suggested that the ravens were part of “God’s Air Force”, and
every day they would make a run through the kitchens of Ahab’s palace,
snatching up the king’s goodies, and heading off for Elijah’s hiding place.
:7 And it happened after
a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
:7 the brook dried up
Quiz Alert
Lesson
8. I may need to suffer too
Elijah doesn’t get a free pass on this drought thing.
He too must experience the drought.
That’s not an easy thing to do.
F.B. Meyer writes,
Many of us have had to sit by drying brooks; perhaps some are sitting by
them now—the drying brook of popularity, ebbing away as from John the Baptist;
the drying brook of health, sinking under a creeping paralysis, or a slow
consumption; the drying brook of money, slowly dwindling before the demands of
sickness, bad debts, or other people’s extravagance; the drying brook of
friendship, which for long has been diminishing, and threatens soon to cease.
Ah, it is hard to sit beside a drying brook—much harder than to face the
prophets of Baal on Carmel.[3]
Elijah has a ministry to the nation, but in his ministry, he needs to know
what the people are going through.
In this sense, Elijah will be just like Jesus, our Great High Priest. Jesus knows what we’re going through because
He’s suffered too.
(Hebrews 4:15–16
NKJV) —15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our
weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet
without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the
throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of
need.
If you want to truly be used by God, then expect that at some time you may
need to experience suffering too.
God is going to teach you the kinds of things you need to teach to others from
your own experience.
(2 Corinthians
1:3–4 NKJV) —3 Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to
comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves
are comforted by God.
God wants to teach us to trust in Him, not in His gifts.
Jesus said,
(John 7:37–38 NKJV)
—37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood
and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart
will flow rivers of living water.”
Spurgeon:
“After a while, the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the
land.” Although Elijah was mighty in prayer and could prevail with God, yet he
did not therefore escape from suffering; his prayer brought him into suffering.
If there should be a drought throughout all the land, he himself must feel the
pinch as well as the rest of the people. If the brooks are dried up, they will
be dried up for him; and if there is no food in the land, there will be no food
for him unless God will be pleased to intervene on his behalf. The highest degree of grace cannot save us
from affliction; it even includes it. We may grow in grace until our faith
never staggers. But the impartial hand of trial will knock at our door as well
as at the door of the chief of sinners. We must still walk the path of sorrow.
The child of God cannot escape the rod even though he is an Elijah. He may call
down fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice, but no fire from heaven can
consume his trouble. He must pass through it as well as the weakest and most
common of God’s people. Let us, therefore, settle it in our hearts to be resigned
to this. If the Prince himself once went through the Valley of Humiliation, why
should we murmur at following in his footsteps? God had one Son without sin but
never a son without affliction. Let us not ask to be the first but be content
to share the position of those whose inheritance is to be ours forever in the
paradise of our God.[4]
Quiz
From the lecture (10pts): (2 free points + 1 point for each answer)
For those in class … by now you’ve hopefully filled in all the blanks on
your quiz.
For those watching online, there are 8 questions…
1. Just like me
2. Confident Prayer
3. One step at a time
4. Usefulness comes from God’s
Word
5. Usefulness requires cutting
6. Provision in drought
7. Obedience
8. I may need to suffer too
Homework
Read Swindoll: Chapter 3: Advanced training at Zarephath
Memorize James 5:16
(James 5:16 NKJV) Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one
another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous
man avails much.
Try your best to memorize this verse.
Next week I’ll share some of Rich’s tips to memorizing verses…