1 Kings 17:1-9
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.
And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.
And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath.
MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): Elijah foretold a long and grievous famine, with which Israel should be punished for their sins. That fruitful land, for want of rain, should be turned into barrenness, for the iniquity of those that dwelt therein, but Elijah himself was taken care of in that famine.
A. W. PINK (1886-1952): In the very worst of times God will show Himself strong on behalf of His own. Whoever else starves, they shall be fed: “Bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure,” Isaiah 33:16.
C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): Blessed indeed it is to see how rich and full is God’s provision for our need. There isn’t a single need that can possibly arise in the history of God’s people, that He has not foreseen, and made provision for. And it is well if our hearts, have drunk in this blessed fact, for it will help to give us confidence in God, and enable us to go to Him in every time of need.
A. W. PINK: Nevertheless, it was real testing of Elijah’s faith. Whoever heard of such instruments being employed—birds of prey bringing food in a time of famine! Could the ravens be depended upon? Was it not far more likely that they would devour the food themselves than bring it to the prophet? Ah, his trust was not to be in the birds, but in the sure word of Him that cannot lie: “I have commanded the ravens.” It was the Creator and not the creature, the Lord Himself, and not the instruments, that Elijah’s heart was to be fixed upon.
MATTHEW HENRY: Let us learn hence to encourage ourselves in God in the greatest straits, and never to distrust Him. He that could furnish a table in the wilderness, and make ravens purveyors, cooks, and servitors to His prophet, is able to supply all our need according to His riches in glory…Elijah had but one meal brought him at a time, every morning and every evening, to teach him not to take thought for the morrow. Let those who have but from hand to mouth learn to live upon Providence, and trust it for the bread of the day in the day; thank God for bread this day, and let tomorrow bring bread with it.
A. W. PINK: Why does God suffer the brook to dry up?
C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): Brooks will dry up, even if godly men are being sustained by them.
ALEXANDER MacLAREN (1826-1910): The little stream dried up “after a while;” and Elijah, no doubt, would wonder what was to be done next, as he saw it daily sending a thinner thread to Jordan. But he was not told till the channel was dry, and the pebbles in its bed bleaching in the sun. God makes us sometimes wait on beside a diminishing rivulet, and keeps us ignorant of the next step, till it is dry.
JOHN FLAVEL (1630-1691): Providence many times suffers our wants to pinch hard, and many fears to arise, out of design to magnify the care and love of God in the supply, Deuteronomy 8:3.
A. W. PINK: Instead of a river, God often gives us a brook, which may be running today and dried up tomorrow. Why? To teach us not to rest in our blessings, but in the blesser Himself.
C. H. SPURGEON: Is there anyone here whose brook is drying up? Has it quite dried up? Still trust you in God; for, if the ravens are put out of commission, God will employ some other agency―when the brook dried up, God sent His servant Elijah to Zarephath where there was a widow woman who would sustain him…Famine may be in the land, there may be neither dew nor rain, and even the brook Cherith may at last be dried up, but since Jehovah is my Shepherd, “I shall not want,” Psalm 23:1.
D. L. MOODY (1837-1899): A very sweet thought it is to me, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.”
H. A. IRONSIDE (1876-1951): We love to repeat the words, but how many believe them? How often we get panicky when the purse is empty and we are out of employment!
C. H. MACKINTOSH: It is one thing to talk of the life of faith, and another thing altogether to live it. The theory is one thing; the living reality, quite another. But let us never forget that it is the privilege of every child of God to live by faith; and, further, that the life of faith takes in everything that the believer can possibly need, from the starting-post to the goal of his earthly career.
C. H. SPURGEON: Remember that God is still the same God, and He that helped Elijah, will help you…He is just as faithful now as ever! Elijah, remember, was “a man of like passions” with you, James 5:17. No raven may come flying into your window, but He will send you bread in another way…I think I hear you say, “My store of meal is running very short. My flask of oil is almost empty. Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” Why, He is still with His Elijah and He is still with such widows as the widow of Zarephath. Do you think that He is dead? Has it crossed your mind that Divine Providence is a failure and that God will no more provide for His own? Oh, think not so! If you do, your unbelief will prove a scourge to you—it will break that meal barrel, it will dash in pieces that oil flask! You will get nothing of the Lord if you waver! But if you keep strong in faith, you shall find that Jehovah Jireh is still His name—“The Lord will provide,” Genesis 22:8; “No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly,” Psalm 84:11
A. W. PINK: “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus,” Philippians 4:19. It is profitless to ask, How? The Lord has ten thousand ways of making good His Word. Some reader of this very paragraph may be living from hand to mouth, having no stock of money or store of victuals: yea, not knowing where the next meal will come from. But if you be a child of His, God will not fail you, and if your trust be in Him, it shall not be disappointed. In some way or other “The Lord will provide.” “O fear the Lord, ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing,” Psalm 34:9,10; “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things”―food and clothing―“shall be added unto you,” Matthew 6:33. These promises are addressed to us, to encourage us to cleave unto God and do His will.
H. A. IRONSIDE: There is one thing to do, and that is turn to Him and leave all with Him.
C. H. SPURGEON: If you have trusted Jesus to be the Saviour of your immortal spirit, can you not also trust Him to be the Provider for this poor flesh of the things which perish?
HUDSON TAYLOR (1832-1905): There is a living God. He has spoken in His Word. He means just what He says and will do all that He has promised.
JOHN STEVENSON (Circa 1850): Who dares deny that the promise of the living God is an absolute security?
C. H. SPURGEON: Let us write this down, both in spirituals and temporals—“The Lord will provide.”
