September 15 / I Kings 17-18

I Kings 17-18

Dear RTB’ers,

Today we meet Elijah. We know of him from the Gospels. First, an angel was speaking to Zechariah about the future birth of his son, John: …and he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah… (Luke 1:17) Later, when John was in prison he sent his disciples to Jesus with a question which Jesus answered invoking Elijah: “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them…if you are willing to accept it, he [John] is Elijah who is to come. (Matthew 11:3-4a, 14) Finally, Elijah appeared along with Moses at Jesus’ Transfiguration. (Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8, and Luke 9:28-36). Did we wonder, who is this Elijah?

Three stories today – fed by ravens, the widow of Zarephath, and the battle of Mt. Carmel. Just a couple of comments on these stories. First, the ravens feeding Elijah and the miraculous provision of food for the widow both stand in contrast to the drought in Ahab’s Israel. The Lord provided where He chose. Second, my Study Bible noted that the raising of the widow’s son is the first account in the Bible of anyone being raised from the dead. I had not thought of that! Finally, Elijah doing battle with the prophets of Baal is a standard Sunday School story – where many of us possibly first met Elijah. I always wondered, where did they get all that water to soak down Elijah’s offering on the altar?

More on Elijah tomorrow and in later chapters…

Blessings.