Most people, perhaps remember Elijah for colorful and peculiar events that mark his life. Some of the memorable highlights are—

· During a famine he is fed by ravens.

· He raises a boy from the dead.

· He calls down fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice, and he destroys the 450 priests of Baal.

· He is taken up into heaven in a fiery chariot without tasting death.

· He will return to the earth just prior to the Second Coming of the Messiah to restore all things.

Drama follows Elijah his entire life. I shall begin the story of Elijah with 1 Kings 17. It begins with a miracle.

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.[1]

Elijah is in the Northern Kingdom during the reign of Ahab, about 150 years before the fall of Samaria and the destruction of the Ten Tribes. The approximate years of Elijah are 874-853 BC. Considering the power of King Ahab and his erratic and evil nature, we get some idea of the indominable character of Elijah. He was fearless and a man of enormous faith. In the following we are introduced to the second of many miracles.

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.[2]

There is a weak attempt to discredit the story of the ravens by claiming it was a cult of men called ravens for it is a difficult story to believe; however, because the miracle pales to the fact that he raises the widow’s son to life, it seems more logical to simply take the Holy Bible literally.

We are soon introduced to the third miracle which has become a symbol of faith, not only on the part of Elijah but also of a widow who gives her last morsel to a prophet. Elijah must leave the brook Cherith because the water ceases to flow.

And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.[3]

Notice Elijah’s humility. He becomes a victim of the very famine he caused at the command of the Lord. Why didn’t he strike the rocks like Moses and cause water to begin flowing again? Why wasn’t he exempt from the wrath of God? But he doesn’t question God’s judgment. He puts his own safety in the hands of God.

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. 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.[4]

But its isn’t Elijah’s faith that catches our attention. It is the faith of the widow. She was prepared by the Lord to receive the prophet Elijah. That is why she so readily agreed to give him a drink of her precious water and a cake of her last meal. She trusted God.

[1] 1 Kings 17:1
[2] 1 Kings 17:2-6
[3] 1 Kings 17:7
[4] 1 Kings 17:8-10