The Spirit Of Elijah Part 2 "Provision In The Dry Time"

1 Kings 17:1  And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word."  NKJV

Elijah proclaims a drought by the word of the Lord.  Now the very important thing that we need to grasp here is that  he has to live through the very drought that he just prophesied.  Is it possible that much of the shaking we are seeing in the earth right now may be because the Lord is acting as he did in the old testament when alters are set up to false gods?  He will have no other gods before him.  However this story is more about redemption then destruction. The shaking is for the purpose deliverance and not total destruction.  He will provide for those that are really seeking him.  What about those people who a caught between two opinions?   The Truth is the only thing that will set them free!

Look what the Lord does in regards to Elijah’s provision.

1 Kings 17:2-4  Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 3 "Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 4 And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there." NKJV

Remember Elijah had prophesied the drought into existence and then had to live through it.  This may give us a clue into end time matters.  Also remember the last book in the Bible is called “The Revelation Of Jesus Christ.”    Many who have taught on end times out of that book have focused on the plagues, disasters, the antichrist, the beast, the system, the 666 etc.  But the last book should cause us to focus on Jesus and keep our focus on the revelation of Him.  In Elijah’s day God had sent Him to tear down the false gods, alters and all the high places that had been set up to the Baal gods.  His primary calling was to confront the powers that be and demonstrate who the real God was.  So the first thing that God had him do is prophesy a drought.

Worshiping the Baal gods was putting your faith in for instance the rain god, or the sun god. Or some other god that they believed controlled some aspect of creation.  With the drought, they were all finding out that the real God is in control of all of creation.  But what about the provision for “The man of God?”  According to the above scripture the Lord has a plan to take care of his own.

First Elijah had to get in geographic alignment.  This is very important because where we are supposed to be  where the Lord has directed us to be!  Many people are geographically out of step with the Lord because they made a decision to move based on economics or hard circumstance or a whole host of other reasons that was not the Lords direction, but their own.  It is important that we find the place that God wants us to be and in relationship with those he has called us to be with.  If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask from God who gives to all men freely.  However do not doubt.  He who doubts or is double minded can easily be swayed by every which way the wind is blowing and is unstable in all his ways.  It is very important to know your place, especially now in this stormy season we have entered into.

Elijah did as the Lord commanded and went and hid by the brook Cherith.  Just as a side note here, the word Cherith comes from a word that means covenant.  When we are in covenant with our God,  and that means we give the best we have and He gives us the best that he has.  We are in this together and He will provide, but we must take our direction from Him.   Elijah drank from  this brook and ravens brought him food every night.  God was using those things that He had created to help him.  God is going to use creation to help us during this time.  All of creation is groaning to see the manifestation of the Sons of God in this hour!  It says He commanded the ravens to feed him there.

1 Kings 17:7-12  And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 9 "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you." 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink." 11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." 12 So she said, "As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."  NKJV

Now verse 7 says here that after a while. The brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.  Remember we are going to have to live through the very things we prophesied.  In the place that the Lord had sent him for provision is now in crises.  It does not matter the crises, God has a plan and our steps are ordered.  In Elijah’s case his natural circumstances were changing and it caused him to listen to what the word of the Lord was going to do now in this present circumstance and crises.  Sometimes becoming thirsty and hungry in the natural is a good motivator to press into God.  This is also true in the spiritual.  Sometimes God in our thinking is last instead of first, but when things don’t work out the way we thought, then we will press into God.  This season that we have entered into is going to force us to press into God for direction.

Here comes another geographic change to bring Elijah to another phase of his calling.  He was sent to a widow and she was going to provide for him.  The vision just got bigger then self preservation, now he was going to have to depend on someone other than himself.

I Kings 17:10-12 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink." 11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." 12 So she said, "As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."  NKJV

Let's take a closer look at the season of change that Elijah went through to bring him to the point of his true mission and calling.  Ultimately He was called to confront Ahab and Jezebel who had introduced Gods people to false Baal gods and now those people did not know who the true God was.    The Lord spoke to him to go to the brook “Cherith”   The Lord will provide because we are covenant with Him!  However it was now time to move on to the next place of his mission and calling.  The brook had dried up and the ravens quit coming and it was time to seek the Lords direction!  The Lord speaks to him again and he was going to have to make another geographic change and now his mission was going to have to include other people.  In fact the Lord tells him that He had commanded a widow to provide for him in that place!  He obeys and goes to that place.

If he would have just looked at the natural and reasoned within himself he would have thought that what the Lord told him to do would have been foolishness.  The Lord told him to find a widow that would provide for him.  Think about this.  It is a drought, food and water are scarce, and she was a widow.  Meaning her husband was dead and she had no way of supporting herself.  In the natural this would have seemed like foolishness.   But God has plans that go way beyond natural possibilities.  As we go through this intense season that we have entered into it is going to be very important to get our eyes off of the natural and go where He tells us to go.  We must obey Him because our very provision is connected with our obedience.

When Elijah comes into the place the Lord had commanded, the widow was gathering sticks to start the last fire she was going to kindle for the last meal they were going to eat.  The timing was perfect.  She was out of provision and so was Elijah.  God knows who to divinely connect you to be in a position to depend on each other.  What if Elijah had just perceived this in the natural?  He would have missed God and both the widow and he would have missed out on what God had for the both of them.

Now let’s look and see how Elijah was really seeing this.  He asked the woman to bring him something to drink and asked her to bring him some bread in her hand.  He was looking past the natural with the eyes of faith.  He was seeing bread in her hand.  Why? Because he believed the Word of the Lord!  No matter what it looks like or whatever we face, we must believe the Word of the Lord because that is where the provision is.  She responds with an answer that could have made him doubt.  She said: “I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."  Doesn’t look like a very bright future in the eyes of the natural!  How does Elijah respond?

I Kings 17:13-16  And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.' 15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah. NKJV

He says to the widow; “Do not fear!”  His perfect love for each of us will cast the fear out!  He does care about you and I and He will provide!  The promise he tells her is the flour will not be used up and the oil in the jar will not run dry!  This is divine provision based on obedience and faith in what the Lord says!

Do you know His voice?  It is going to become increasingly important to hear His voice and obey speedily in this season!  These acts of obedience saved their lives and furnished them provision for the remainder of the drought!  There are going to be many storms and trouble in this season, so let’s look at the next very big thing that they had to face on the way to the showdown of God verses the false gods!

1 Kings 17:17-18  Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him. 18 So she said to Elijah, "What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?" NKJV


 This looks to what appears to be major setback in path to Elijah’s  ultimate destiny which was a showdown on Mt Carmel against Jezebel and all the false prophets.  The son of the widow gets so sick, that he dies.  Of course the woman is anguished and begins to blame the “Man of God”.  She does in fact rightly connect sin with the curse and with death.   Now think about this, just a short time before this, she is gathering up sticks to start the last fire and cook her last cake and she and her son were prepared to die.  How soon we forget how much we have to be thankful for, when  another crises comes.  Put yourself in remembrance of the former things the Lord has done.

1 Kings 17:19-21  And he said to her, "Give me your son." So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord and said, "O Lord my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?"  NKJV

Elijah now is faced with some questions of his own.   He takes her son and heads up to the upper room where he was staying.  He lays him on the bed he had been sleeping on.  Now this is very significant because this place that he had brought the son to was the very place they he had spent much time in intimate relationship to God.

If you have questions that need answers then shut yourself away in that secret place where you have been meeting with God.  He cried out to the Lord asking why He killed this woman’s son.  This is a contradiction of Gods nature and purposes because He had sent Elijah to this house to not only bring provision to himself, but to this woman and her son.  It did not make sense to the woman or Elijah and now he was taking it before God!  Does God answer him?  The answer is no.  This is where Elijah decides to act on what God has already said and began to expect this child to live!  So let’s look at what God had already said:

1 Kings 17:13-14  And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.'" NKJV

Yes the provision and the promise was for the widow, her son and Elijah.  We need to stand on what God has already promised and expect!.  Elijah acted on this and stretched himself out on the boy not just once but three times.  Now isn't it interesting how he was walking in faith here and was not deterred when the boy didn't get up after the first time he stretched out on him? You know sometimes when we are praying for the sick and they die, we have a tendency to give up, but there is one more step to look at and believe.  We are called to raise the dead!

One time I was preaching a funeral, and right in the middle of my message, I suddenly had this unction or nudging to raise this dead person.  Now I got to tell you I was suddenly conflicted in myself!  I was arguing with God inside about the people that were at this funeral and how they may not understand this if this dead person got up.  And there was also a fear of what if he didn't get up when I prayed!  These were the things that I was using as my rational in my argument against this.  I heard the Holy Spirit ask me: "Where is it going to be more relevant then at a funeral to raise the dead?"  Now I would like to tell you that this story had a resurrection testimony, but it didn't because I had not settled this issue in my heart and fear shut me down!

When this was over I went before the Lord and repented for letting the fear of man and other issues of unbelief shut me down.  What attracts the spirit of fear to you is the pride in you. Pride is worship of self. When we come into a true revelation of the Love of God for us and others fear will flee!  God wants us to be healthy and alive.  For God so loved us that He sent his only Son to die on the cross to deal with the sin issue (The widow was referring to this) but he also dealt with sickness and beat death.   However he was raising people from the dead before he went to the cross.

Elijah was not giving up but stretched out on the boy three times!  Let us never come in agreement with the natural, but the Super Natural!  The same power that raised Jesus from the dead dwells within us.  We must stand on what God has already promised us no matter what it looks like!

I Kings 17:21-24  And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the Lord and said, "O Lord my God, I pray, let this child's soul come back to him." 22 Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, "See, your son lives!"  24 Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth."  NKJV

God’s Word is the truth that should be in our mouth!  What has He promised you and I?  The widow became totally 100% convinced that the Word of God  which was the Word of Truth was in Elijah's mouth.  This is the Truth that you and I have to come to grips with in this hour.  We must believe the Word that God has already said and stand on it and act on it no matter what the circumstances look like or actually are!

 Kings 18:1-3  And it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, "Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth."  2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria. NKJV

It is now the third Year of a severe drought in the land and now it was the time for the showdown on Mount Carmel.  The People who had put their faith in the gods that Ahab and Jezebel had taught them to worship and had set up alters to were now most likely questioning everything they believed.

He had learned that in this season that provision came from obeying the Word of the Lord and in a timely fashion.  During this season we must learn obedience. it will be necessary for our provision.  Do not lean on your own insights or understandings.  Obey the voice of the Lord.   Also at certain times we are not going to hear a fresh  Word from the Lord, so we are going to have to rely on what God has already said.  When Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil, He  spoke “It is written” to the devil. This is relying on a previous revelation from God to overcome the temptation.  The previous revelation was: “This is my beloved Son in whom I’m well pleased!”  The devil  said: “If you’re the Son of God”   Jesus was the Son and knew his father was well pleased with Him!  Perfect Love cast out fear!  God Loves you!

Elijah now was sent to confront the false Gods.  This is what the Spirit of Elijah is going to do in this hour.

I Kings 18:3-8  And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly. 4 For so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.) 5 And Ahab had said to Obadiah, "Go into the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks; perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive, so that we will not have to kill any livestock." 6 So they divided the land between them to explore it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.  7 Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, "Is that you, my lord Elijah?" 8 And he answered him, "It is I. Go, tell your master, 'Elijah is here.'"  NKJV

Obadiah was also a Prophet who had remained covert before Ahab and had hidden 100 prophet’s and fed them bread and water.  Jezebel, Ahab’s wife had massacred the prophets of the Lord.  Ahab had started to become desperate and told Obadiah to go throughout half of the land to see if he could find any green grass to keep the animals alive.   Ahab was going the other way to the other half of the land for the same reason.  As Obadiah was on his way, he meets Elijah. After they greeted one another Elijah tells Obadiah to go tell Ahab that “Elijah is here”.

1 Kings 18:9-15  So he said, "How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? 10 As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you; and when they said, 'He is not here,' he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you. 11 And now you say, 'Go, tell your master, "Elijah is here"'! 12 And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth. 13 Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid one hundred men of the Lord's prophets, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water? 14 And now you say, 'Go, tell your master, "Elijah is here."' He will kill me!"  Then Elijah said, "As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today." NKJV

Now this is a very important conversation that they are having.  Obadiah is concerned that Elijah is going to take off after he goes and tells Ahab that “Elijah is here”.   Ahab had made other kings take an oath that they could not find him.   Another thing that Obadiah tells Elijah is He hid 100 other prophets .  Now this is very important because one of the greatest deceptions that we can fall into is to think were the only one left.  I have seen this over and over with saints.  Saying things like:  "I’m the only one left”   “I’m the only one with this truth”.  And of course this can go on and on.  But God always has prepared and spared others to partner with you.  Isolation is a deception that we must confront in our own selves.  Elijah was given the truth by Obadiah, but because he continued to believe he was all alone, it eventually caused him to fall short of his call and destiny.  This does not take away what he did accomplish, but it did cut him short from his ultimate purpose. We will look at this in more detail in the next parts of this series.  But consider the following verse of scripture, because it spells out very clearly the danger of isolation and the reasons why people have fallen into this deception.

Prov 18:1 18 A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment.  NKJV

1 Kings 18:16-19 6 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.17 Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, "Is that you, O troubler of Israel?" 18 And he answered, "I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals. 19 Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table." NKJV

Now comes the showdown!........Continued next week!