(1 Kings 17:5) To the functionally minded, Elijah's prolonged stay by the brook Cherith looks like a waste of a promising life. So for Elijah this is a test of faith because it is one step at a time. He was here because of Gods direction which was supported with a promise of provision. This removal was for the further preparation and equipping of his servant for what lay ahead of him. 'One step forward in obedience is worth years of study about it.' He raised a boy from the dead and called down fire from heaven. It doesnt come easy. God provided for the whole lot. Elijah comes out of nowhere he comes out of the mountains of Gilead with this word to Ahab. Elijah's moral character is just as remarkable as his character as a witness. Heres Elijah by a brook, day by day seeing a diminishing water flow. He had made provision for Elijah at Zarephath before He commanded him to leave Cherith. Looking again at the 1st verse of this chapter, we noticed that it was a small thing for Elijah to stand before Ahab because he had stood before the King of Kings. So you have that aspect in scripture - that if God shows us something we need to be pro-active and make provision, if we are able, for the future. God was determined there would be none to stand in the gap. It is in those places where we gain greater intimacy with the Lord. "And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith" (1 Kings 17:2,3). I look back and smile remembering how the Lord was with me and loved me. Who would have won the victory against Ahabs prophets? Browse other questions tagged, Like any library, Christianity Stack Exchange offers great information, but, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. The fact is that God leads His servants one step at a time. The Lord provides Elijah with a brook named Cherith, that keeps flowing and sends birds (ravens) that fly down to bring him meat each morning and evening. 6 He drank water from the brook, and ravens brought him bread and meat every morning and every evening. He stayed put right up until the brook dried up completely! Have you ever felt God lead you to something that doesn't last? How long did the drought that Elijah prayed for really last? But God says Hide! Our natural response to this direction would have been to say Hide when there is so much to be done? We all need to learn to spend time alone with God. He took it away. For it was from here that Elijah began the journey to Mt Carmel. That which had driven him to hunt Christians, now drove him to serve Christ. Our relationship with God is not like the army where we are told what to do so we obey, otherwise we are going to be doing 40 press ups or running around a field forever. 'Let's get down to where things are a bit quieter and your dependence on God is more real.' God's provision was with Elijah and though hard times came and the provision in that location started to dwindle, God still had other means available for His servant if he would simply wait and be obedient upon the word of God. But it was potentially also a real spiritual crisis, for by faith Elijah had followed Gods directions and enjoyed Gods blessings. Prior to this, but after the beginning of the drought, Elijah lived by the brook Cherith for an unspecified length of time (1 Kings 17:5). He never shared the needs but just committed everything to prayer and believed that God would provide! The message? A Change of scenery. In v.2 we read Then the word of the Lord came to him He was being removed by God. During her ministry career, Emma recorded two worship EP albums, founded and led Polished Conference Ministries, ran the Refined Magazine, and served in music education for early childhood. And how much more valuable you are than birds!. God was having Elijah consider the ravens. Again, just the simplicity of what obedience really is. The Drought. He had been to the court of this king as the Ambassador of the King of kings, he had done something that was not only courageous, it was spiritually significant. How could this be? I was just thinking about how God speaks to me when I walk my dog. Elijah the Prophet (known in Hebrew as Eliyahu Hanavi) is perhaps the most beloved prophet in the Bible. It happened in the life of Elijah at the Brook Cherith, where a time came when Elijah began to watch the water flow daily diminish. Let me leave you with the lyrics of a song I've come to love: We are pressed on every side, but we won't be shaken. In Matthew 6, Jesus tells us not to worry about what you are going to eat or what you are going to drink. Elijah demonstrated his complete dependence on God by waiting for Him to tell him what to do next. God told Elijah, "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there" (1 Kings 17:9). Is there someone who you can radically bless? Take heart. If I go anywhere on my property he's right there with me. He loves you too. How do we build on it. It was a challenge for me when my friends were getting married and I felt behind. This is the key to Elijahs experience and life. He had been to the court of this king as the Ambassador of the King of kings, he had done something that was not only courageous, it was spiritually significant. But God will not share His glory, so Elijah is told to go to a lonely place. He was actually pro-active and he said okay, if there is going to be a famine, let's start storing our grain now to get us through. He gives us one step at a time, just like He did with Elijah. Its OK to be sad, but the sooner we get up and get moving, the sooner He can show us our next assignment. God saw the need for Elijah to keep things in perspective, and there is nothing like quiet times where we are alone with the Lord to help us find that. I was a single woman for most of my 20s. And the stories that you read about him are outstanding. He then got converted and felt God's leading to start orphanages in England during the 1800's. One can live in the land of memory for a long time this way, gaining sustenance among the stories and wonders of the past. And He is doing it in the same general way as He did with His Son. It is not a declaration that He has forgotten His promise to all His people in Lam 3:22-23 that His loving-kindness will not fail, that they are new every morning. God's faithfulness and human . Life itself is a diminishing provision. Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust: A Hopeful Reminder, A Call to Prayer for Ukraine My Country, My Home. GODLY GENEROSITY SHALL NOT LOSE ITS REWARD. I read about George Mueller during the week and I thought this man is unbelievable. I wondered why the Lord would not bring me a husband. Heb 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, Elijah - The background and introduction to his times, The Widow at Zarephath and the Provision of God, Elijah, resurrection and the fear of Ahab. So Elijah is at this place watching his provision dwindle. He was where God wanted him to be, doing what God wanted him to do. By the Brook Cherith Chapter three. That is always the result when we rely on our own resources: trouble! He stayed by the Kerith brook until God moved him on She did many evil things such as setting up high places for Baal and she also had the prophets of the Lord killed. Maybe you are the one to be a special provision and be used by the Lord like the ravens? I challenge each of us to ponder our giftings and learn how to share Gods love through them to another in their Cherith. And woe betide then any church or nation when God removes His Word and its servants from it. Think about that for a moment. The story of Joseph is one of the most amazing stories - he went from prison to the right hand of the ruler of Egypt in one day, but God had His reasons for putting Joseph there. It is a declaration that he is working our His eternal purposes, There is nothing in Scripture to indicate this on the contrary the implication is that he, Last week we saw there were lessons Elijah had to learn in going to the brook Cherith, and here we see them being put into practice as Elijah waited: (i), When our brook seems to dry and we are tempted to cry out. Then the milkman came past and the wheel fell off his cart right outside the orphanage! How did John the Baptist have the "spirit and power of Elijah"? It is the same for you though hard times will come. The third thing that interests me here is that God led him to a brook that was drying up. Before Elijah could stand on Mount Carmel, he needed to sit by the brook. We respond to God out of relationship. As we are reminded in John 15 where Jesus said, The answer lies in the fact that God is not just interested in imparting faith; He is interested in its development, in its improvement. Ask the Lord how you can step into the hardships of someone elses life who needs it. You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there." How we should make use of the opportunities God gives us lest they be taken from us. In this even Jesus was not exempt, for in Hebrews 5:8 we read that He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. Many modern translations add "of the drought" or "of the famine," but it's not actually in the text. If Elijah had yielded to such things his faith wouldve also dried up, and his confidence wouldve disappeared like the brook. Paul, straight after he was saved, spent virtually eleven years in obscurity in the desert. 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 w This was a very meaningful post . Now we will see what God does through Elijah. Either approach addresses the apparent contradiction, and some commentators, such as John Wesley, mention both and do not express a preference. So what did Joseph do? The showdown: Elijah vs the prophets of Baal! What was God doing? This brook was not far from where he lived. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to receive a regular newsletter from Compassion with inspirational stories, poverty news and more. Or do we respond like Abraham who no sooner than he arrives in the centre of the will of God of Canaan, this land of plenty that he finds there is a severe famine? His ministry had just started now he is being told to go hide. Jesus said in John 15:14 'You are My friends if you do what I command.' I have been saved 21 years now and I can honestly say that I have lacked nothing that I actually needed. You can only live a certain amount of time without water, but he stayed put. Elijah could have thought that perhaps he should try to find a better place but this would have been a case of him trying to help God out in his own wisdom. They employed 850 prophets of Baal and his . Losing your brook can be frustrating. They are afraid to let it off the leash because they know it won't listen to what they say. (4) You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.". CHERITH, THE BROOK. Had he gone somewhere else, it would not have been where God said. Elijah needed to hide, far away from King Ahab and his Queen Jezebel. Elijah was a prophet of God from the region of Gilead, on the eastern side of the Jordan River. Emma enjoys singing/songwriting, fitness classes, trying new recipes, home makeover shows, and drinking tea! This is the faith God calls us to as well. Wow, this post was made for today for a specific situation. How can we be sure the Old Testament is accurate if Elijah was the only prophet left? I see another principle here in scripture - sometimes God tells you ahead of time what is going to happen. God led Elijah to a dry land called Cherith east of the Jordan (1 Kings 17:3). Consider Joseph God told Joseph in a dream that provision was going to dry up. Now this too was affected. She said that my dog was really obedient as it was never too far away but was always watching what I was doing. Scripture does not tell us how long Elijah and the ravens remained at the Kerith brook. The ravens could fly faster than Elijah could walk or run. Maybe you are in the middle of your desert, wondering why you are there? See His unmatchable grace in that though He withdraws His Word from a people for a season yet He protects that Word and its servants for future ministry. My God sees things that I do not see from my narrow point of view. We can. There is nothing in Scripture to indicate this on the contrary the implication is that he waited. But according to the actual account in the Old Testament the drought was not even a full three years. "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" Joshua 24:15, Church Mail: PO Box 9007, South Yarra 3141. That is what a 'Cherith' is. The Bible says he was a normal person just like us, yet he prayed enormous prayers - and God answered! What we see in Elijah is that even though he didnt know what was going to happen next. See His unsearchable wisdom in that if humans delivered food they may have divulged the hiding place, if dogs, morning and night, someone might have seen this curiosity and followed. Elijah walked by faith even when things seemed to get worse. The nation had already had the tap of refreshing moisture turned off, and now having been given a prophet he is immediately removed. He was supplying your needs in one way, but then He stopped. There are two common ways to explain this: In both cases, it's important to note that the text does not actually say "in the third year of the drought." In other words the drought was not merely going to be of water, but there would be a drought of the Word. See, for example: After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying [ESV], And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying [KJV], Now it happened after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying [NASB], After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah [NIV]. Elijah 1:The Brook of CherithSunday, Feb 28, 2016Pastor James WattsGrand View Church You were making plans to build a house near your brook so that you could stay there forever. If at this time you have yielded to this temptation to throw in the towel of faith and to rely on your own thoughts or on someone else, if your zeal for Christ has diminished, your spirit of devotion is dying, if you find no delight in prayer, nothing to give praise and thanksgiving for, and can find nothing about you to stir you up and encourage you remember Him who said of His vineyard in Isaiah 27:3, I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment; I will even keep it night and day. And of whom it is said in Psalm 84:11, No really good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.. how long was elijah at the brook cherith Posted by: Category: sun, sea and selling houses rodriguez sisters Post Date: January 30, 2023 2023-01-30T16:36:39+00:00 God saw the need for Elijah to keep things in perspective, and there is nothing like quiet times where we are alone with the Lord to help us find that. Its because we like them too much. 'Come aside to a quiet place,' He said. Joseph was in prison, falsely accused and isolated. Everything was done on his knees to His Father whom he knew would provide because he was committed to providing. The original language for the word Cherith means, Place of Separation. But in this scripture, he was locked down at the. There is no doubt a measure of foresight behind this for as the reality of the drought increasingly set in and began to cost king and nation it would be matched by an increasing hatred of Elijah. He realised that there was actually too much of self in what they had just been doing. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. It is one of the hardest trials that can possibly come upon us when, having been placed in the middle of comforts and just beginning to enjoy them, that we suddenly lose them. Is email scraping still a thing for spammers. Gods word through His prophet is removed. 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