TEXT: I Kings 17:1-24

SUBJECT: The Life of Elijah #3: Elijah's Flight

We come this afternoon to the third sermon in our study of Elijah's life. Not his life per se', but what our Lord Jesus was doing in his life. The Old Testament--we must recall--isn't about Elijah, David, or Moses; it is about Christ! "They are they which testify of Me" the Savior reminds us. Today's topic is "Elijah's Flight". And, as usual, we'll look briefly at the event itself, and then reflect on what Christ was doing in it. May the Lord open our eyes to "Behold wondrous things out of [His] Law".

Elijah's flight needs little elaboration. The prophet is an unknown rustic from Gilead. Without formal introduction, he appears to King Ahab with a prophetic Word: "As the LORD God of Israel lives, before Whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word". The King is taken aback and the prophet scurries off to hide himself. Why did he hide? Not due to cowardice, but at the urging of the LORD. He flees first to the Brook Cherith where he is miraculously fed by ravens, and then to Zarephath in Sidon, where he is cared for by an indigent widow. In these two places, he remains hidden for 3 1/2 years. Till the Word of the LORD sends him back to Israel.

What was Christ up to in the prophet's exile? I would have you consider four thoughts.

In the first place, He was testing Elijah's faith. The prophet had announced a coming drought which would devastate the land of Israel. It would only be safe, therefore, near a reliable source of water, with plenty of foodstuffs in store. But the LORD sends him elsewhere; he's to hide near the Brook Cherith--not the river or lake--where he's to be fed by the ravens--meat-eating birds. What a test of his faith! Will the LORD prove Himself faithful? If He doesn't Elijah's a dead man. Make no mistake about it; obedience to this Word is a matter of life and death. Christ is trying His servant. Will he heed the Divine Word with no evidence but the Lord's trustworthiness? Yes he did: "So he went and did according to the word of the LORD".

Elijah is not the last man to be so tested by Christ. All of His people are tried at one time or another. The promise to each is: "When He has tried me I shall come forth as gold" as Job put it. But who believes this Word? The disciples often did not; we rarely do as well as they did. But believe it we must. "God cannot lie". Therefore, we must submit to the fiery trials He sends our way. Even at their hottest moments, we must believe His Word. Not because it's reasonable to do so, but because it is His Word.

In the second place, Christ was proving His faithfulness to Elijah. In sending the prophet to his hiding place, the Lord was promising to provide for him there. "You shall drink from the brook and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there". Never was the Lord's Word less likely to be accomplished. It's possible, of course, that the Cherith would supply enough water for a time, but ravens? Unlike falcons which are used in hunting, ravens are untamed birds who hunt for themselves. Yet Christ promises they will bring the prophet food--not accidentally drop a piece of meat here and there--but twice per day every day. Have you considered how many deliveries this would take? A ten pound bird eats quite a bit less than a 150 pound man. They must have flocked to him, doing what is against their nature to do, sharing their meat. Yet the birds did just as Christ promised they would do. Every morning, every evening, they brought the hiding preacher "bread and meat".

Some time before this, Christ had made a promise to His people, to this effect: "The righteous [will not be] forsaken; His seed [will not] beg bread". This is a hard promise to believe--even for us at times! Imagine how hard it was for Elijah to believe. Yet the prophetic Word came to pass. Elijah wasn't "forsaken"; he didn't "beg bread". Neither shall any of His people. "My God shall supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus".

Serving Christ may be costly in terms of money, time, energy, friends, even family, but we will not end up the losers for it. We will be amply rewarded. Not because we deserve it, but because

"He is faithful who promised".

In the third place, Christ was reaching out to the Gentiles in the prophet's flight. Elijah stayed by the Brook for a while. In time, however, it dried up, and the prophet quit his country for Zarephath. Our Lord reminds us "There were many widows in Israel...but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow". It was not to the devout and needy Jewess that the prophet came, but to the idolatrous woman of Sidon! What mercy! What grace! What unexpected favor Christ showed to the widow of Zarephath. Why did He do it? Because He never intended to limit His grace to one people or to one place. No, He desires "All (kinds) of men to be saved". And saved they will be! "Out of every nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue" says the Apostles.

We should also note the Gentile city to which the prophet is sent. It is Zarephath in Sidon. Has that place appeared before in the Inspired Narrative? Yes it has. Where? And in what connection? In 16:31. Sidon was Jezebel's country; no people were more devoted to their Baals than the Sidonians. Yet it is to them--a hell-deserving people--that Christ sends the prophet with His word of grace.

We ought to keep this in mind: "I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance". If we belong to Christ, it is not because we were more righteous than others. No; the opposite may well be true! He called us to exalt His grace; to show that He can save even "the chief of sinners". Thus, be humbled by the prophet's flight. We receive the Word, not because we're holier or smarter than others, but because Christ "Will have mercy on whom He will have mercy".

Let's keep this in mind regarding the gross sinners we all know in the neighborhood, at work, in school, and so on. The worst sinners are often the best candidates for grace. Let us bring the fetching Word to them.

Let us also follow God's order. He comes to the widow with a demand: "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand". Before promising life, we must confront sinners with their responsibility before God. It is their duty to repent of their sins. Repent they must if they're to receive the blessings of heaven.

He doesn't quit there. He promise a blessing if she complies: "The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry..." When the sinner turns, he receives "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ".

Keep the order in mind: We mustn't promise the impenitent grace; we mustn't withhold grace from the penitent. Let us, therefore, be balanced in our presentation of the Gospel. "Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations". Not "remission" without "repentance" nor "repentance" without "remission". "What God has joined together, let no man put asunder".

Finally, Christ was doing "exceedingly, abundantly above all that we might ask or think". This was the deal: Feed the prophet and your food supply won't run out. Had the food run out, Christ would renege on His promise. But He didn't, of course. Neither did He merely keep His end of the bargain. He went beyond it! He made no promise to keep the son healthy--no less raise him from the dead. But He did just that. The boy died, the Lord raised him from the dead. In doing so, He was flooding the widow's home with grace.

What would you expect of our Savior? He is just, to be sure; but He's not only just. He is also generous. He not only receives the Prodigal Son, but welcomes him back with a party! He not only delivers us from eternal damnation, but makes us "heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ".

"My cup runneth over".

We should admire His generosity. And imitate it. Some think interpersonal relationships can only be sustained by the Law. By everyone doing his or her duty. Nothing more. Nothing less. Yet this is not the Lord's way. He doesn't want us to "do our duty" and be done with it. He wants us to do more than our duty. He'd have us

"Love our enemies,

Bless those who curse us,

Do good to those who hate us,

And pray for those who spitefully

use and persecute us".

This is the Lord's way: the way of overflowing grace. Of "forgiving seventy times seven". Of "turning the other cheek". Of "going the second mile".

He did it with the widow of Zarephath long ago; He does it with us every day. Now, it's time we begin doing it for others. May the Lord make us "cheerful givers" for Christ's sake. Amen.