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1 Kings Chapter 17

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Viewing the Standard King James Version (Pure Cambridge). Click to switch to 1611 King James Version of 1 Kings Chapter 17


1 Kings Chapter 17: Elijah Raises the Son of the Widow of Zarephath
Elijah Raises the Son of the Widow of Zarephath
1 Kings 17

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.

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.

4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

5 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.

6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.

8 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,

9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.

12 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.

15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.

18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?

19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.

20 And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?

21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again.

22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.

23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.

24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.

 


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Matthew Henry's 1 Kings Chapter 17 Bible commentary...



Elijah fed by ravens. (1-7) Elijah sent to Zarephath. (8-16) Elijah raises the widow's son to life. (17-24)1-7 God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased with the idolaters, and would chastise them by the want of rain, which it was not in the power of the gods they served to bestow. Elijah was commanded to hide himself. If Providence calls us to solitude and retirement, it becomes us to go: when we cannot be useful, we must be patient; and when we cannot work for God, we must sit still quietly for him. The ravens were appointed to bring him meat, and did so. 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. God could have sent angels to minister to him; but he chose to show that he can serve his own purposes by the meanest creatures, as effectually as by the mightiest. Elijah seems to have continued thus above a year. The natural supply of water, which came by common providence, failed; but the miraculous supply of food, made sure to him by promise, failed not. If the heavens fail, the earth fails of course; such are all our creature-comforts: we lose them when we most need them, like brooks in summer. But there is a river which makes glad the city of God, that never runs dry, a well of water that springs up to eternal life. Lord, give us that living water!

8-16 Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, and some, it is likely, would have bidden him welcome to their houses; yet he is sent to honour and bless with his presence a city of Sidon, a Gentile city, and so becomes the first prophet of the Gentiles. Jezebel was Elijah's greatest enemy; yet, to show her how powerless was her malice, God will find a hiding-place for him even in her own country. The person appointed to entertain Elijah is not one of the rich or great men of Sidon; but a poor widow woman, in want, and desolate, is made both able and willing to sustain him. It is God's way, and it is his glory, to make use of, and put honour upon, the weak and foolish things of the world. O woman, great was thy faith; one has not found the like, no not in Israel. She took the prophet's word, that she should not lose by it. Those who can venture upon the promise of God, will make no difficulty to expose and empty themselves in his service, by giving him his part first. Surely the increase of this widow's faith, so as to enable her thus readily to deny herself, and to depend upon the Divine promise, was as great a miracle in the kingdom of grace, as the increase of her meal and oil in the kingdom of providence. Happy are all who can thus, against hope, believe and obey in hope. One poor meal's meat this poor widow gave the prophet; in recompence of it, she and her son did eat above two years, in a time of famine. To have food from God's special favour, and in such good company as Elijah, made it more than doubly sweet. It is promised to those who trust in God, that they shall not be ashamed in evil time; in days of famine they shall be satisfied.

17-24 Neither faith nor obedience shut out afflictions and death. The child being dead, the mother spake to the prophet, rather to give vent to her sorrow, than in hope of relief. When God removes our comforts from us, he remembers our sins against us, perhaps the sins of our youth, though long since past. When God remembers our sins against us, he designs to teach us to remember them against ourselves, and to repent of them. Elijah's prayer was doubtless directed by the Holy Spirit. The child revived. See the power of prayer, and the power of Him who hears prayer.

 


Recent Comments for 1 Kings Chapter 17...

 


Matheka Gerald's 1 Kings Chapter 17 comment on 5/12/2013, 1:10pm...

Let's compare Elija with todays men of God,being sent to a such hopeless widow!they will think that God is mistaken considering themselves to be holy and alt to 've been sent to prominent women like daughters of the queen and the like,to them this would be like a curse!AMEN.

 


Aisher's 1 Kings Chapter 17 comment about verse 14 on 2/17/2013, 8:08am...

The cheerful giver's head shall never lack oil. Amen.

 


Annette Okereke's 1 Kings Chapter 17 comment on 1/30/2013, 5:08am...

Faith and trusting God when He speaks, even for the mundane things of our everyday activities will lead us to believe HIM for the "big" issues in our lives. Elijah spoke and God honoured his words and ceased the rain, God led him to where He provided for him through the raven and the brook and when the brook dried, God led him again to the widow....faith, trust, hope in our daily work will God will increase our faith even for the monumental tasks ahead of us...

 


OKORIE EKE's 1 Kings Chapter 17 comment on 10/17/2012, 10:53am...

I love the faith of this woman, between the time she saw the MAN of GOD and the time she went home to prepare the meal. I strongly believe the devil must have spoken to her in order to discourage her. She was so sensitive in the spirit that she did not let the MOMENT to pass her by. Believers should be sensitive enough to SEIZE THEIR MOMENTS when it comes by.

 


Wesley Townsend's 1 Kings Chapter 17 comment on 7/01/2012, 5:56pm...

I think of the man of God's obedience that led to the obedience of those around him, that led to a miracle taking place with the widow women's son brought back to life. the key word for all of us is Obedience.

 


Anonymous's 1 Kings Chapter 17 comment on 4/23/2012, 9:45am...

It is true what Ralph wrote in his comment.If your heart is true to God AND ONLY GOD. The Holy spirit will always be with you. You will be warned when the devil plans evil against you. Evil comes in mostly very nice, very sweet and very enjoyable things. But even when all the temptations come towards you if your heart is with God yoy will overcome all of them. God never throws anything to his people which they cannot overcome. David sinned a lot. But of all the sins he did he worshipped only one God. God gave him a chance to repent. If we worship only our Heavenly Father thru Jesus Christ and at the same time have a good heart towards others including our enemies no matter what God is faithful He is going to give you a chance to repent. Please pray everyday when you wake up and when you are going to sleep. Praise God in the morning and Thank Him in the evening. Make it a must and you will overcome all.

 


RALPH M. WATERS's 1 Kings Chapter 17 comment on 3/30/2012, 8:44am...

Good Morning, in this chapter the last verse stirred a thought in me; A man of GOD will speak the truth. Although situations may come about, whether its even to his own harm, he will speak the truth. For Jesus is the TRUTH, and we are here to pattern ourselves as close as possible. Therebye, You will know a Man of God, from the abundance of his heart. I found many Ministers, Priest, though they have the office, their personnal EGOs, get in the way of their ministering, David, Asa, Josiah, were men of GOD, their hearts were focussed on The Lord, even though their choices were sometimes incorrect, but their hearts, were on GOD. Men of GOD, can be distinguised, by their hearts.

 


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Test Your Knowledge of 1 Kings Chapter 17

1.  Who brought bread and meat to Elijah while he was hiding from Ahab?


Ravens
Snakes
Bears
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