More Than Able
“Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the LORD, ‘O LORD my God, let this child’s life come into him again.’ And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived.”—1 Kings 17:21-22
Desperate times call for desperate measures. When the world is at odds with the plan and purposes of God, when leaders live in outright sin, and those we know have turned their backs on God, what do we do? For Elijah, it meant God directing him to the brook Cherith, where he saw God supply his food by ravens twice daily. He drank from the brook until it dried up and then was directed to a pagan land where his needs would be taken care of by a widow and her son.
The drought spread across the region, bringing with it famine, starvation and death. For the widow, starvation was imminent—she had given up all hope and was preparing for death until Elijah arrived. Elijah had directed her to continue using the flour and oil she had in her possession day after day, because it would not run out—and indeed, it didn’t. But it was during this very time of God’s miraculous preservation in the midst of the severe drought that tragedy struck.
The woman’s son falls ill and then dies. In the ancient world, it was widely believed that illness and death were the direct result of one’s sin. Holding her dead son in her arms, she brings him to Elijah lamenting, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!" (v. 18). One can envision the tears pouring down her face, dropping onto her small limp boy’s face. Tears give way to sorrow and then uncontrollable wailing. It is an unbearable situation for any parent, but for her, he was all she had left. One wonders whether she fell to her knees in sorrow, crushed under intolerable agony. Elijah doesn’t attempt to rebuke or rebut her accusation, nor does he attempt to offer any consolation. He simply says, “Give me your son” (v. 19).
He takes the boy upstairs to the room where he was staying and lays him down on his own bed. What occurs next is one of the most curious and puzzling episodes in all of Scripture. Elijah cries out to the Lord one of the most heart-wrenching and raw prayers, "O LORD my God, have You brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?" (v. 20). He then stretches himself on the boy three times and cries out to the LORD a second time, “O LORD my God, let this child’s life come into him again" (v. 21). It is then that something amazing happens. The Bible says,“the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived” (v. 22). Never before in the recorded history of the world had God used a man to raise someone from the dead. Elijah’s successor, Elisha, would do something similar (2 Kings 4:32-37), but Elijah was the first.
Elijah brought the boy down to his mother and said, “See, your son lives” (v. 23). One can only imagine the emotion and relief in her face as she wrapped her hands around her boy and said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth” (v. 24).
The point of the story is not immediately clear, but what is clear is that God is the Lord of life and is not relegated to working in one specific country, or in any one way. The false god of the land, Baal, was the rain god whose followers procured his blessing of rain by engaging in a variety of sexually perverse acts. God, through Elijah, was showing that He is the one true God, the Lord of life, who made or withheld rain. He is the God who listened to the plea of His prophet. And He is the God who cared about a pagan widow in a foreign land. Through Elijah’s intercession, God gave life to her son. And she became a believer in the one true God (v. 24).
For Elijah, this episode of death-to-life meant that God answered prayer (v. 22) and confirmed God’s calling on his life. God was more than able to give life to a pagan people, make it rain, and sustain His people during a time of drought. And He is more than able to help us during our own times of crisis. When those around us have given up on God, given up on hope, and given up on life, God is there and ready to show Himself to be God on our behalf. God cares about us so much that He sent His Son to die for our sins, and through His Son He hears our prayers.
May we trust in God’s Word, and pray to Him during our time of need! And may we continually be obedient to His calling upon our lives, knowing that when we do, He will show Himself as the Lord our God, bringing glory to His great and awesome name! Amen.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. When the world is at odds with the plan and purposes of God, when leaders live in outright sin, and those we know have turned their backs on God, what do we do? For Elijah, it meant God directing him to the brook Cherith, where he saw God supply his food by ravens twice daily. He drank from the brook until it dried up and then was directed to a pagan land where his needs would be taken care of by a widow and her son.
The drought spread across the region, bringing with it famine, starvation and death. For the widow, starvation was imminent—she had given up all hope and was preparing for death until Elijah arrived. Elijah had directed her to continue using the flour and oil she had in her possession day after day, because it would not run out—and indeed, it didn’t. But it was during this very time of God’s miraculous preservation in the midst of the severe drought that tragedy struck.
The woman’s son falls ill and then dies. In the ancient world, it was widely believed that illness and death were the direct result of one’s sin. Holding her dead son in her arms, she brings him to Elijah lamenting, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!" (v. 18). One can envision the tears pouring down her face, dropping onto her small limp boy’s face. Tears give way to sorrow and then uncontrollable wailing. It is an unbearable situation for any parent, but for her, he was all she had left. One wonders whether she fell to her knees in sorrow, crushed under intolerable agony. Elijah doesn’t attempt to rebuke or rebut her accusation, nor does he attempt to offer any consolation. He simply says, “Give me your son” (v. 19).
He takes the boy upstairs to the room where he was staying and lays him down on his own bed. What occurs next is one of the most curious and puzzling episodes in all of Scripture. Elijah cries out to the Lord one of the most heart-wrenching and raw prayers, "O LORD my God, have You brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?" (v. 20). He then stretches himself on the boy three times and cries out to the LORD a second time, “O LORD my God, let this child’s life come into him again" (v. 21). It is then that something amazing happens. The Bible says,“the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived” (v. 22). Never before in the recorded history of the world had God used a man to raise someone from the dead. Elijah’s successor, Elisha, would do something similar (2 Kings 4:32-37), but Elijah was the first.
Elijah brought the boy down to his mother and said, “See, your son lives” (v. 23). One can only imagine the emotion and relief in her face as she wrapped her hands around her boy and said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth” (v. 24).
The point of the story is not immediately clear, but what is clear is that God is the Lord of life and is not relegated to working in one specific country, or in any one way. The false god of the land, Baal, was the rain god whose followers procured his blessing of rain by engaging in a variety of sexually perverse acts. God, through Elijah, was showing that He is the one true God, the Lord of life, who made or withheld rain. He is the God who listened to the plea of His prophet. And He is the God who cared about a pagan widow in a foreign land. Through Elijah’s intercession, God gave life to her son. And she became a believer in the one true God (v. 24).
For Elijah, this episode of death-to-life meant that God answered prayer (v. 22) and confirmed God’s calling on his life. God was more than able to give life to a pagan people, make it rain, and sustain His people during a time of drought. And He is more than able to help us during our own times of crisis. When those around us have given up on God, given up on hope, and given up on life, God is there and ready to show Himself to be God on our behalf. God cares about us so much that He sent His Son to die for our sins, and through His Son He hears our prayers.
May we trust in God’s Word, and pray to Him during our time of need! And may we continually be obedient to His calling upon our lives, knowing that when we do, He will show Himself as the Lord our God, bringing glory to His great and awesome name! Amen.
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