Elijah was a prophet of God from the region of Gilead, on the eastern side of the Jordan River. Sometimes you see a dog that is really unruly (some people can't even let their dog off the leash without spending a couple of hours chasing it around the park before they can catch it!) Elijah had just declared there would be no rain in Israel until he said so, and Ahab wasnt a very forgiving ruler. God knows that faith only develops under pressure. There are three things I gleaned from this passage that I believe God was teaching Elijah. Hence, in having Elijahs presence and hearing Elijahs word, they were being given the ministry of God, hearing the Word of God. Having passed one grade in the school of faith, it was now time for the next. That is always the result when we rely on our own resources: trouble! We need to be watching what He is doing and attentive to what our Father is asking of us. It is surely no coincidence that God lead him to a quiet place where the only continual sound would be the rippling of this brook. Let me leave you with the lyrics of a song I've come to love: We are pressed on every side, but we won't be shaken. But God has commanded the ravens to actually feed him. "Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 'Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. When Elijah was in Cherith during a time of separation and preparation, God fed him by ravens. As Elijah thought. Do you go running off to look for water? Additionally, the root word of Cherith is a verb and it means to cut off and eliminate. Though great and terrifying are temporal judgements upon a people, none is so great as the removal of His Word and instruction and prayer based on that Word. She said that my dog was really obedient as it was never too far away but was always watching what I was doing. Here was the nation's foremost prophet, eeking out an . If Elijah had yielded to such things his faith wouldve also dried up, and his confidence wouldve disappeared like the brook. Cherith is a place of isolation. From I Kings 17 Elijah was a man of action who boldly confronted Israel's king. In the light of this we are to understand that the drying brook was an important trial to see if he had learnt the lessons up to this point which he had. Gratitude opens our eyes to the goodness of God. It does not fear when heat comes, its leaves are always green it has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.. I was a single woman for most of my 20s. He feared that they would not return if they went down there, so he set up temples in which he placed idols and golden calves. They had spurned it, now they will be deprived of it. Elijah gets a command to go to Zarephath and the widow gets a command to feed Elijah; God promises to sustain Elijah and Elijah promises the widow that her cruse of meal will never finish. It is not a declaration that He has forgotten His promise to all His people in Lam 3:22-23 that His loving-kindness will not fail, that they are new every morning. If you cannot think of a way in which the Lord has or is providing for you, I challenge you to begin to implement thankfulness daily. What if he had kicked the dirt and moaned to God about how much he liked and deserved the brook? The third thing that interests me here is that God led him to a brook that was drying up. Scripture does not tell us how long Elijah and the ravens remained at the Kerith brook. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to receive a regular newsletter from Compassion with inspirational stories, poverty news and more. So this is the second lesson. They naturally think, Whats going on Wheres the blessing? So you have that aspect in scripture - that if God shows us something we need to be pro-active and make provision, if we are able, for the future. It's a place where God actually removes you for a specific purpose and the word means 'a cutting off'. The fact that it didnt yet look serious didnt alter the fact. So Elijah here is put in a 'Cherith' situation and he has to be completely dependent on God - he has got water but he doesn't have anything to eat. He just committed everything to God. Elijah's message to Ahab was that there would be no rain for 3 years. And the stories that you read about him are outstanding. First letter in argument of "\affil" not being output if the first letter is "L", The "third year" refers to the third year of Elijah's stay in Zarephath, following a stay of some months at the brook Cherith (Adam Clarke, Barnes, Haydock, Keil and Delitzsch), The "third year" refers to the time of Elijah's exile, which did not begin until the dry period had already been underway for six months (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown; Thomas Coke). Or 'Why the brook Cherith?' rev2023.3.1.43266. Such times are often a time of confusion for believers, and become a real challenge to faith. how long was elijah at the brook cherith. I was just thinking about how God speaks to me when I walk my dog. One explanation for the alleged contradiction depends on this: rather than the "third year of the drought," the text is referring to the third year of Elijah's residence in Zarephath (1 Kings 17:9), where is staying at the end of 1 Kings 17. How much more will God provide for those that love Him. When we are aware of the blessings that seem mundane and insignificant to us, we can see a clearer picture of the Fathers love for us. In this God was teaching Elijah to trust Him contrary to sight. Did his hopes diminish also? Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. The God who gives water can also withhold it. And woe betide then any church or nation when God removes His Word and its servants from it. God opened up a job for her and she had the job virtually a year to the day and it was the greatest job she had ever had. Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, As surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, livesthe God I servethere will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word! (1 Kings 17:1 NLT), Later on, IN THE THIRD YEAR of the drought, the LORD said to Elijah, Go and present yourself to King Ahab. is proficient good on indeed assessment is proficient good on indeed assessment. Have you ever felt God lead you to something that doesn't last? Elijah, a prophet of God whose name means "my God is the Lord," came from Tishbeh in Gilead, but nothing is known of his family or birth. Even with those things that never come clear to us we can still trust His goodness in them; we can rest in the confidence that God is doing and always does what is right. Did his songs of worship grower weaker as the water rolled less noisily across the rocky bed? Elijah was a Prophet. The issue is neither context nor means; it is the presence of a loving, wise, purposeful, faithful God. Above all, he stands before God. Then the milkman came past and the wheel fell off his cart right outside the orphanage! What would have happened to the widow and her son? So many times, I find myself anxious about the unknowns of this earth. So Elijah is at this place watching his provision dwindle. 1 Kings 17:5-6 So he did what the LORD had told him. The message? He did absolutely nothing that is recorded. But it's not acting out of fear. Elijah could have thought that perhaps he should try to find a better place but this would have been a case of him trying to help God out in his own wisdom. So for Elijah this is a test of faith because it is one step at a time. Do you remember the story of His disciples when they went out to preach and did all these wonderful miracles and came back to Him really glorying in all that had happened? Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Enter your e-mail address to have our posts sent directly to your inbox. how long does it take a rat to starve to death; cowboy hat making supplies; why would i get a letter from circuit clerk; . When the streams of provision turn into trickles 1 Kings 17:7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 'Come aside to a quiet place,' He said. ). He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. He tells Elijah that he will drink from the brook and ravens will give him food (1 Kings 17:4). We dont know how long God had Elijah down there, but verse 7 tells us, Some time later, the brook dried up.. The amazing obedience and trust that Elijah shows come quickly after in verses 5-6. This is the key to Elijahs experience and life. We respond to God out of relationship. The Lord values the ravens, but how much more did He value Elijah? When you look through the Bible, most of God's saints have gone through a 'Cherith'. He waited for God to speak to him. He would have been high on adrenalin and on grace. Elijah, having prophesied against Ahab, 3. is sent to Cherith where the ravens feed him. More importantly, here he would be alone with God. You were making plans to build a house near your brook so that you could stay there forever. (James 5:17 NLT), "Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. I see another principle here in scripture - sometimes God tells you ahead of time what is going to happen. He had been to the court of this king as the Ambassador of the King of kings, he had done something that was not only courageous, it was spiritually significant. Menu. It happens when Gods provision stops coming from a particular direction. Acceleration without force in rotational motion? During his exile, Elijah drank from the brook in the ravine, and the ravens brought him bread and meat every morning and evening. I know that God was not only preparing me for my husband Drew, but He was protecting me from marrying the wrong kind of man. Browse other questions tagged, Like any library, Christianity Stack Exchange offers great information, but, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. Elijah had been given a message by God to deliver to King Ahab. See, for example: After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying [ESV], And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying [KJV], Now it happened after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying [NASB], After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah [NIV]. How easy it is to make the service which God trusts us with a pedestal on which to display ourselves. There is hope in Jesus. 1. That which had driven him to hunt Christians, now drove him to serve Christ. Like the brook loving, wise, purposeful, faithful God and ravens! 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