1 Kings 17:1-7
TWO WEEKS AGO:
The Kingdom has Divided 1 Kings 11:26-40; 12:1-24
1Ki 12:19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
1Ki 12:20 Now it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel. There was none who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
1Ki 12:21And when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
1Ki 12:22 But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
1Ki 12:23 “Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying,
1Ki 12:24 ‘Thus says the LORD: “You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me.” Therefore, they obeyed the word of the LORD, and turned back, according to the word of the LORD.
LAST WEEK:
Jeroboam Makes Two Golden Calves 1 Kings 12:25-13:6
Jeroboam’s Gold Calves
25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim and dwelt there. Also, he went out from there and built Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom may return to the house of David: 27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.”
28 Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!” 29 And he set up one in Bethel. The other he put in Dan. 30 Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. 31 He made shrines on the high places and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.
32 Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So, he did at Bethel, sacrificing the calves that he had made. And at Bethel, he installed the priests of the high places which he had made. 33 So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised in his own heart. And he ordained a feast for Israel's children, offered sacrifices on the altar, and burned incense.
TODAY: 1KINGS 17:1-7
BACKGROUND STORY:
So, Solomon dies the kingdom is split into North Israel, South Juda
Jeroboam is the king of the northern kingdom.
After Solomon died when the kingdom was torn in two and each king after him got worse, Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, and Omri all walked in the ways of Jeroboam.
Until the son of Omri the king Ahab and his queen Jezebel. They reigned over Israel for 22 years and in
1 Kings 6:33 Ahab did more to provoke the God of Israel to anger than any other king.
In 1 Kings 16:31-33, he served and worshiped the god Baal, and erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal which he built in Samaria.
And he made an Ashura A GOD.
An Ashura is a wooden pole that was named after the Canaanite goddess of fertility. THEY dishonored the Lord.
The Bible says in verse 31, he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him.
remember Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines so, it just got worse.
As A result, Jezebel turned his heart toward other things and gods and continued in idolatry.
She did not want to let everyone else do what they wanted to do and she worshiped Baal, she wanted to destroy the name of the Lord.
She wanted it all destroyed, anything that had to do with God.
So, as the people went away from God, God would not leave them to destroy themselves so, in His Grace God sent a drought for 3 1/2 years there was no rain.
Israel was dependent upon rain for their crops and herds and so on. This drought was devastating to them.
God could have chosen anything in their life but He chose a drought because Baal was the Canaanite storm, God.
God was saying Baal is powerless, He’s nothing. Now the people began to cry out to the god Baal for rescue just like they did when the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt.
We serve a gracious and loving God who will use it all to get our focus on Him
The Bible says all things work together for good for those that are in Christ Jesus.
So now we come to chapter 17 of 1 Kings and the Prophet Elijah comes on the scene.
Elijah the Tish Bite comes from an insignificant place to do amazing things for God. Very much like Jesus came from Nazareth.
Elijah was a rough-around-the-edge reformer who challenged people to abandon their idols and worship the Lord their God.
He was not politically correct by any means. He was courageous, empowered by the Holy Spirit to confront Ahab and Queen Jezebel, convincing people to turn away from their sins.
He challenges the priest of Baal to a public contest to display God’s power, and he was a worker of miracles.
We might think what a spiritual giant but when we look at James 5:17-18 it says this 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly
So, in chapter 17 verses 1-7 of 1 Kings
Elijah Proclaims a Drought
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.”
Heb 11:6 But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
God held back the rain because of the fervent prayers of Elijah and God would send rain again because of his fervent prayers.
Mustard Seed Faith ~Matthew 17:20-21
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Well, how do you get it?
Rom 10:17 So, then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
2 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
In verse 2 of 1 Kings 17, it says then the word of the Lord came to Elijah.
Elijah, like all prophets, was in tune with God's word.
He had faith
He prayed often
And He knew God’s word
3 “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.
To keep Elijah from being killed God told him to go hide by a brook.
The water and oxygen were provided but no food.
DON’T WE NEED FOOD TO LIVE?
4 And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
LOOK WHAT GOD DOES!
GOD SENDS RAVENS TO BRING ELIJAH BREAD AND MEAT.
THE BIBLE SAYS GOD WILL PROVIDE ALL YOUR NEEDS.
WE JUST NEED TO TRUST GOD.
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.
ELIJAH DID ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF THE LORD.
If God said jump, we say at times WHY
but we need to trust God and just do it.
Just like when we see Don’t Steel, Rob, or Kill we need to obey the word of God.
So, God sent Him to the brook and God fed him.
6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
7 And it happened after a while that the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
NOTICE WHAT HAPPENED WHEN IT DOES NOT RAIN, THE GROUND AND PLANTS ARE NOT WATERED.
BROOKS, LAKES, AND RIVERS DRY UP, AND FISH DIE.
THE BROOK DRIED UP SO GOD IS LOOKING OUT FOR ELIJAH.
8 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
The brook dried up and Elijah needs water.
The Bible says the Word of the Lord came to Elijah again.
And told him to go to a widow’s home and she would take care of you.
But the bible says God commanded her.
God had prepared her heart for Elijah.
It appears to me she was praying also but next week we will see why.
LET, S PRAY
Pet Raven
With this craft, your children will be making a raven that will be carrying food (the child’s favorite Bible verse). You will need a poster board, black construction paper, stick-on eyes, scissors, glue, and string (for hanging).
Using the template provided, paste the raven onto a piece of poster board. Next, cut out the body of the raven from the poster board.
Make a vertical slit on the back of the bird. Using another piece of black construction paper fold, it into 1/2” to 1/2” sections (like a fan). After completing this, insert the piece of construction paper into the slit. Put on “stick on” eyes on the head of the bird. Next, cut a slit into the raven’s beak. On a separate, small piece of paper have the children write out their favorite Bible verse. Insert the paper into the beak of the bird. Finish by attaching a string to the back of the bird at each hole for hanging.
Explain that the word of God is spiritual food for us. God has
provided His word to us so that we can grow in Him.
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