(4) You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there." Instantly the word of the Lord came to him and he was told to flee to Cherith and hide there. The word of the Lord came to him 'Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith which is east of the Jordan'. Did Richard Feynman say that anyone who claims to understand quantum physics is lying or crazy? So it was in the third year of the drought that the rains came ending it. God had commanded him to go and hide by the brook Cherith and had commanded the ravens to feed him there. Lessons from the brook where Elijah learned to trust God in obscurity and isolation. 2 arm shields, 2 face shields, 1 hat + 1 paracord bracelet PLUS free Alpha Defense decal, just $34.99! He did not say 'No, I don't really want to do this can I go a different direction?' Hence, in having Elijahs presence and hearing Elijahs word, they were being given the ministry of God, hearing the Word of God. (James 5:17 NLT), "Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. The name Kerith means a "cutting" or "separation." Either approach addresses the apparent contradiction, and some commentators, such as John Wesley, mention both and do not express a preference. More importantly, here he would be alone with God. The silence of his surroundings, the long days and nights of solitude, the punctual arrival of his food, and the evident working of God . OBEDIENCE AND THE WORD OF GOD A) Able to Hear God's Voice B) Available to Hear God's Voice 2. Everything was done on his knees to His Father whom he knew would provide because he was committed to providing. Before the more mature faith and ability to handle the Mount Carmels of life, there must be the maturing experiences of the Cherith brooks of life and the widow of Zarephath. Occurrences like this happened for George Mueller who, through faith in God, provided for the children constantly, all through their life and they never failed to have what they needed. So God's provision came in two ways to Elijah; there was the natural provision in that there was a brook from which he obtained the water he needed to survive. Elijah waited for God to act. It only takes a minute to sign up. If we knew the end from the beginning we might try to devise a better way of arriving at that end, we certainly would be tempted to run ahead of God. He could do no work there, only meditate and pray. by Robert Weston. Every now and then a Christian cries, perhaps youve done it, Lord, what happened? He or she has been doing the Lords positive will as outlined in the Bible when suddenly disaster struck. Now this too was affected. Now it is while Elijah is by the Brook Cherith, in a deep ravine in the wild and rugged terrain of Gilead, being cared for by creatures who clearly show more obedience to God than that greedy and self-serving Ahab, that something unexpected happens. Has that not been the portion of the Lords people when instead of rebelling of their isolation through the bed of sickness or cell of persecution? It is impossible to say how long Elijah remained in the Wady. The first act of the battle scene, as it were, was Elijah the prophet of God standing as Gods ambassador in the very throne room of King Ahab making known Gods judgement to this ungodly King who not only built a temple for Baal in his capital but also actively pursued an anti-God policy which was aimed at the full and final eradication of anything to do with the God of Israel from his kingdom. After the brook dries up God lead Elijah to the widow in Zarephath where He provides a never-ending supply of oil and flour. They had spurned it, now they will be deprived of it. Elijah walked by faith even when things seemed to get worse. Its important here to note this against the background of v.1 where we read of the close identification between the word of the prophet and God my word said Elijah though it was Gods Word. It is against this background that now we consider v.2-6, in which we see Elijah in response to Gods instruction leaving the kings presence and going to the Brook Cherith. British. Look at 1 Kings 17:2-3. Ahab and Jezebel were the most wicked and evil rulers Israel had ever known. It was a time of isolation when he had no resources of his own. Elijah' s faith was very strong, as was Abraham' s - look up Romans 4:17-21. Over the next few days he watched it dwindle and shrink . So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. We need to remember that and confess that Gods way are always right, His purposes are always good and that we can trust God in even the tragic events of life that we can never fully understand here on this earth. Karen. There was a brook for water, and at His command even the ravens helped provide for Elijahs needs. He would have been high on adrenalin and on grace. Poisson regression with constraint on the coefficients of two variables be the same, The "third year" refers to the third year of Elijah's stay in Zarephath, following a stay of some months at the brook Cherith (Adam Clarke, Barnes, Haydock, Keil and Delitzsch), The "third year" refers to the time of Elijah's exile, which did not begin until the dry period had already been underway for six months (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown; Thomas Coke). Though great and terrifying are temporal judgements upon a people, none is so great as the removal of His Word and instruction and prayer based on that Word. So with Elijah he had complete dependence upon God here to survive. Below are links that will lead to different products serving veterans, active duty members, law enforcement, and security forces alike. He was where God wanted him to be, doing what God wanted him to do. (1 Vote) Very easy. They employed 850 prophets of Baal and his . So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. So he brought in the three batches of bread. And in that he certainly had a taste of heaven, of communion with God. It is described as being "before," that is "east," of Jordan. Elijah orders the people to execute the prophets of Baal at Brook Kishon. Elijah 's message and the meaning of his name go together like a fresh glass of milk and warm cookies. So what do you do personally when you see your brook drying up? But God says Hide! Our natural response to this direction would have been to say Hide when there is so much to be done? 'Come aside to a quiet place,' He said. God told Elijah, "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there" (1 Kings 17:9). But then despite months of living by faith in dependence upon God in obedience to Gods word and enjoying Gods blessing in that place, that things suddenly and dramatically changed. It is here that we find the grace to help us in our daily life plentiful, good and sufficient for the day, whilst learning to leave tomorrow in Gods hands. How easy it is to make the service which God trusts us with a pedestal on which to display ourselves. He gives us one step at a time, just like He did with Elijah. 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). We think we need a GPS system which would tell us the quickest way to get where we want to be but God doesn't actually give that to us. (Luke 4:25 NLT). On The Road With Elijah To Zarephath (Pt.1) (2 of 13) Series: On the Road with Elijah Ken Trivette 1 Kings 17:8-16 Outline 1. And indeed, twice daily, in the morning and in the evening, the ravens came and brought him bread and meat from the royal table of the King of Judah . See His absolute sovereignty and power that even birds contrary to natural instincts do His bidding on behalf of His people. Dont run ahead of Me, rather follow behind looking primarily to Me not to the work. Elijah, a prophet of God whose name means "my God is the Lord," came from Tishbeh in Gilead, but nothing is known of his family or birth. 1 Kings 17 King James Version (KJV). Only you can answer that but you need to hear from God just as we saw that Elijah waited upon the Lord. It is here that we find ourselves most useful to the Lord and to His cause in this world. C. LESSONS LEARNED BESIDE THE BROOK. The shortest road distance between the brook cherith to Zarephath is 1870 Mi. And it's true. They are ravens, unclean scavenger birds. Do you remember the story of His disciples when they went out to preach and did all these wonderful miracles and came back to Him really glorying in all that had happened? 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. How easy it is to make the service which God trusts us with a pedestal on which to display ourselves. In this God was teaching Elijah to trust Him contrary to sight. Sometimes in our lives God will use an unclean vessel to bring blessing to us in the same way that He did for Elijah. Careful precaution has to be made when making a modern application to today's life as to not take the passage of scripture out of context. In the Bible, the brook Cherith was the place God sent Elijah to be sustained by God during the severe drought brought on Israel in the time of King Ahab. God knows where Elijah is. Go hide yourself by the Cherith of sick bed, of bereavement We can be too strong, too full of ourselves for God to use, and so by the Cheriths God buries our self-centeredness. Elijah was not running away, he was being removed. As long as I am still breathing. Can I (an EU citizen) live in the US if I marry a US citizen? There was a famine in Canaan. Various kings reigned after Jeroboam but the Bible says that the worst king of the Northern tribes was Ahab. 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? The fact is that God leads His servants one step at a time. This Bible lesson is targeted for an older elementary Sunday School . Now she can look back and say 'I can see God's hand in that'. So we see Elijah secreting himself away in territory familiar to him, but clearly one in which he would be hard to find. Elijah and the ravens were the only occupants of the Kerith Ravine, and the ravens supplied him with bread and meat, morning and evening. As I was walking him the other day a lady said to me that she could tell that it was my dog because even when it was doing its own thing, it always had one eye on me. Elijah not only preached Gods Word, he practised it he went without hesitation. When Elijah got to the palace, God told him what to say. 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. 5. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? A dried up brook was a result of Elijah's own prayer. A Brook! Elijah by the brook Cherith. It is a place of humbling before the mighty hand of God. Apparently when the children got to a certain age and it was time for them to go out to work, he would put a Bible in their left hand and a penny in the other and he would pray for them and tell them 'If you take care of your left hand, God will take care of your right hand!' If you treat a dog properly it will actually respond to you and it will want to please you. Eleven years - that's a long time before God said 'okay let's go - now you are ready to stand before kings and before gentiles'. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel (1 Kings 18:45 NLT). Dont throw in the towel but wait on the Lord. Elijah had just declared there would be no rain in Israel until he said so, and Ahab wasn't a very forgiving ruler. God instructs Elijah to hide near the brook Cherith, where the ravens would feed him. You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.". Cherith, as mentioned earlier, means 'a cutting away'. He realised that there was actually too much of self in what they had just been doing. For it was from here that Elijah began the journey to Mt Carmel. Maintain your trust and continue your worship. "Now Elijah, the Tishbite, who said to Ahab, "As the LORD the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word" (1 Kings 17:1, NASB). 1 Kings was written to detail Israel's history and bring glory to God. 250 combinations! How can we be sure the Old Testament is accurate if Elijah was the only prophet left? In this way, God taught Elijah to depend on God . Could you observe air-drag on an ISS spacewalk? When we feel God is saying something to us we should actually act on it. zar'-e-fath (tsarephath; Sarepta): The Sidonian town in which Elijah was entertained by a widow after he left the brook Cherith (1 Kings 17:9).Obadiah refers to it as a Canaanite (probably meaning Phoenicia) town (Obadiah 1:20).It appears in the Greek form Sarepta in Luke 4:26 (the King James Version), and is said to be in the land of Sidon. Sometimes God has to force us into it. Login . How easy in such times our joy quickly turns to sadness! Did his songs of worship grower weaker as the water rolled less noisily across the rocky bed? God Is the Sufficient Source of Supply a) A Promise Received b) A . This widow's faith would once more be deeply testedand affirmedwhen her son was struck with a serious illness. - 1 Kings 17:2-6 : 869 BC: God instructs Elijah to go to a widow in Sidon. Only in that most unlikely place and nowhere else, not where we would have chosen as a likely haven! There was no water! 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. 65% off Any Hat Pack at AlphaDefenseGear.com 1 Alpha Defense logo hat + 3 face shields just $29.99. He led him to something that wasn't going to last. This is the crying need of our times for there is a great deal of talking but little walking according to Divine precepts and directions. It's all about dependence upon God. In v.2 we read "Then the word of the Lord came to him". The fact that the text says Elijah travelled day and night would presumably indicate at least 10-12 hours a day, leaving time for breaks and sleep. VERSES: 1 Kings 17:1-7 MEMORY VERSE: 1 Kings 17:4 ".thou shalt drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there." BOOK TO REMEMBER: Song of Solomon.Write "Song Of Solomon" on small slips of paper and hand out at the end of class. Due to King Solomon not listening to God during his reign as king and obtaining multiple wives, pursuing fleshly passions, and worshipping other gods, God told Solomon that he would stripped the nation of Israel from his family and He did so through Solomon's son Rehoboam (1 Kings 11:1-13). Has God forgotten me?. When she said that I thought to myself that that is the way we need to be with God. He just went and did what he was told. Can there be any richer place in this world? 3. Elijah is told by the Lord to go into hiding by the brook Cherith, a tributary of the river Jordan. Reading: 1 Kings 17. It is a declaration that he is working our His eternal purposes, who does all things according to the counsel of His will (Eph 1:11) and who works all things together for good to those who love God, who are called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28). But Elijah didn't have to be fully trained before God called him into ministry; God developed Elijah as he went along. 6 He drank water from the brook, and ravens brought him bread and meat every morning and every evening. "Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 'Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 69% off the Combat gear pack at AlphaDefense.com. For Elijah every raven visit was a reminder not only of Gods loving provision but of Gods loving presence with him as well. He then got converted and felt God's leading to start orphanages in England during the 1800's. Kyber and Dilithium explained to primary school students? A brook is a small stream. We will continue with that next time and glean from the lessons that can be learnt there. But God also commanded ravens to bring him his food. We want to know where we are going and for how long. All we can be sure of is that he must have been more than two rears, out of the three and a haft, at Zare-phath. But Elijah is not afraid. How we should make use of the opportunities God gives us lest they be taken from us. 2 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, 3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. It is actually at the crisis point when there is nothing left that the Word of the Lord came to him. Every now and then a Christian cries, perhaps youve done it, It was here at the drying brook that Elijah was to learn an important lesson relating to this apparent problem in the Christian life that, Three times in the opening verses we have the phrase , Has that not been the portion of the Lords people when instead of rebelling of their isolation through the bed of sickness or cell of persecution? God always speaks when it is needed, not beforehand. And the word of the LORD came to him: "Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. The issue is neither context nor means; it is the presence of a loving, wise, purposeful, faithful God. In this God was teaching Elijah to trust Him contrary to sight. Did Jesus know from the outset that He was the Son of God or did Mary tell Him? "The word of the LORD came to him, saying, "Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. (Our) Present Help, and Redeemer. 1 and 2 Kings make up one book in the Hebrew Bible, split into two books in the English translations. 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. The fact is that God leads His servants one step at a time. What a picture of human life this is! How much more will God provide for those that love Him. When the streams of provision turn into trickles 1 Kings 17:7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. a cutting; separation; a gorge, a torrent-bed or winter-stream, a "brook," in whose banks the prophet Elijah hid himself during the early part of the three years' drought ( 1 Kings 17:3 1 Kings 17:5).It has by some been identified as the Wady el-Kelt behind Jericho, which is formed by the junction of many streams flowing from the mountains west of Jericho. This is the faith God calls us to as well. He can only talk about what had happened with God now that will keep the fleshly pride down! It is the same for you though hard times will come. And in the same way that God commanded ravens, He would also command a widow to provide for His servant Elijah in yet another remarkable way. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. Elijah was a Prophet. But further, as a result it meant that the opportunity to apply some pressure on Elijah to pray for a shorting of the judgement was removed. They will neglect their young yet when God pleases they will feed His prophet. 100+ hat options: choose from boonie, beanie, trapper or snapback styles. What did he do down there? Drought conditions had begun. When you think about your life as a Christian, has God ever failed to meet your needs? When Elijah went to Cherith under the direction of God, he would never dream of that brook becoming exhausted. CHERITH, THE BROOK kr' th ( , LXX , meaning brook of cutting).A stream or valley E of the Jordan. He was amazing because his God is amazing! Below is a sermon by Community Bible Church entitled "Trusting God in the Difficult Times," covering 1 Kings 17:1-7. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Let us remember that though such times may come upon us unexpectantly, but they are never unexpected to God. But it was no joke. In this God moves us more into the centre of Gods will, or moves us into something better. There he had a supply of water from the brook, while Israel began to experience a drought. It is a spiritual law of thermodynamics: the increase of heat upon faith produces a parallel increase expansion of faith. Remember that being in the centre of Gods will is not always made known by the flow of circumstances, that sometimes He removes blessings or changes circumstances even though we are being obedient to His revealed will. It will want to be where you are and will desire to be doing what you are doing. I read about George Mueller during the week and I thought this man is unbelievable. 1 Kings 17:1-7 ESV / 4 helpful votesNot Helpful. When our brook seems to dry and we are tempted to cry out Lord what happened? let us understand that God is developing us through trials; and let us understand that God is able to meet our needs even when we lose the current means He has been using and blessing us with. Having passed one grade in the school of faith, it was now time for the next. Elijahs means the Lord is God. Elijahs ministry corresponded exactly to his name, for he was sent by God to confront the worship of Baal by Gods people, and to declare to Israel that the Lord was God and there was no other. Jesus instructs us to consider the birds of the air and how they are provided for. Here was the nation's foremost prophet, eeking out an . 1 Kings 17:3 Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.. The above picture shows the distance of Zarephath to the Cherith brook. This may seem like a tall order, but today's believers have a similar opportunity. Double-sided tape maybe? Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you" (1 Kings 17:2-9, NASB). Elijah told the current king (Ahab) that there will be a drought in the land of Israel. Jesus did the same with His disciples at the end of a tour of ministry, so full were they of the joy of success of their ministry, what they had been involved in: Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while (Mk 6:31). In the dynamics of divine Providence, Elijah was scheduled to experience another miracle in another place. Elijah: The Moulding goes on and on and . He had water but he didn't have anything else yet God provided. 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. A normal person can walk around 3 miles per hour, so that would be 30-36 miles a day. One explanation for the alleged contradiction depends on this: rather than the "third year of the drought," the text is referring to the third year of Elijah's residence in Zarephath (1 Kings 17:9), where is staying at the end of 1 Kings 17. Im just answering your prayer. Youve asked, Lord make me like Your Son and thats what He is doing! a brook E. of the Jordan, Elijah's hiding-place. "Of the brook you will drink, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you", Gd promised him. By implication then, the removal of Elijah form the scene was not merely a symbolic but indeed a literal removal of the voice of God from the people. One step at a time. Last week we noted that by sending Elijah to the Brook Cherith God was doing several things - He was declaring to Ahab and the nation an act of judgment, such that the Word of God which had been despised was now removed, a famine of the Word; and he was declaring to Elijah that he could fully depend on God and His Word, and daily finding opportunity to . The temptation to false ideas and harsh thoughts of God are so near. Tell him that I will soon send rain! 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. Being in Gods will always provides us with experiences of the blessings of the Lords presence and love. Eventually, God told Elijah to move forward after his waiting time at the brook of Cherith. js photo studios. Since our start, we've aided two companies in their pursuit to help victims of human trafficking and have donated over $1,000 to The Exodus Road as well as made donations to spread the Gospel by partnering with Living Waters and Answers in Genesis. God led Elijah to a dry land called Cherith east of the Jordan (1 Kings 17:3). God leads us all differently, but one thing we do need is to hear from God. It happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. But God always has a way! Having passed one grade in the school of faith, it was now time for the next. 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. Is this how we look at the trials in our Christian life as tests in Gods school of faith aimed to see if we have learned faiths lessons taught up to this point in our Christian life and are able to put them into practice? Brook-Cherith.com was launched . Check map and driving Directions from the brook cherith to Zarephath helping you find the destination easier. How to tell if my LLC's registered agent has resigned? God was determined that it will last for the full distance He had decreed. For similar articles please see the below publications. The funds will help assist in rescue operations, providing shelter, and recovery programs to those in bondage. 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. 6. It's out of relationship that we do these things because our Master loves us and we love the Master. He never sent out flyers presenting his needs. He never shared the needs but just committed everything to prayer and believed that God would provide! US English. Furthering the kingdom means stretching outside of the comfort zone, comprehending and working towards meeting the needs of others. During his exile, Elijah drank from the brook in the ravine, and the ravens brought him bread and meat . Have you not from time to time seen such changes happening in your life? Cherith. Human Rights Awareness | Christian Outreach Ministry. Let us never presume that we will always have the opportunities we now have. Jezebel, the wicked wife of Ahab, wants Elijah dead and so God tells him to hide himself by the Cherith book, east of the Jordan River. Before Elijah could stand on Mount Carmel, he needed to sit by the brook. It is part of the lesson that has to be learned at Cherith. The Coronavirus is God's instrument today to show the world He is still in control for all things are known to Him. It is surely no coincidence that God lead him to a quiet place where the only continual sound would be the rippling of this brook. So for three years, while other prophets were existing on smuggled bread and water, Elijah sits out the judgment of God with his own private spring and special-delivery meals! I see another principle here in scripture - sometimes God tells you ahead of time what is going to happen. God opened up a job for her and she had the job virtually a year to the day and it was the greatest job she had ever had. For Israel, this time of testing would be over the course of three years when the prophet Elijah is told by God that there would be a drought in Israel. Each number is a person. How could this be? So what did Joseph do? Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, among others, take a different approach. But it was potentially also a real spiritual crisis, for by faith Elijah had followed Gods directions and enjoyed Gods blessings. After a while, the brook dried up that had provided Elijah with the nourishment of water. Cherith is a place of isolation. And He is doing it in the same general way as He did with His Son. 1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. We need to see the value of it, which lies in it helps keep things in perspective. Moses was forty years in the backside of the desert. He was being removed by God. He raised a boy from the dead and called down fire from heaven. If we are where God wants us to be then we can be assured that God will work and direct miracles rather than see us perish for lack! So this is the second lesson. Before he could stand on Mount Carmel he had to learn to sit at the brook Cherith.