The Widow’s Son Dies – 1 Kings 17:23

 “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!’”

This Gentile widow of Sidon had obeyed the command of God and taken in the prophet Elijah.  As a result, her tin of flour and jar of oil remained full throughout the drought, as God had promised.  But this daily miracle of provision from God did not shield her son from illness or death.  How grievous for this widow to have lost her loved ones: her husband, who had provided for her, and now her son, who would provide for her in the future.  She blames herself, and a little on Elijah, saying “Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?” (1 Kings 17:18b)

Previously this widow was experiencing the love of God through His provision.  She was coming to know this God of Elijah.  A new Christian will often times go through many months of the joy of salvation, and then suddenly be brought to remembrance of a horrible sin they had completely forgotten.  God is good.  He has a way of bringing these long forgotten transgressions to mind so that we can agree with God that it was a horrible sin, so that we can repent of it, and that Jesus will cast it away as far as the east is from the west.  Remember, Jesus has not taken away the consequences of our sin, but, glory be to God, He has taken the wrath and punishment for our sin.

Elijah did not even respond to the widow’s accusation.  By his earnest prayer, he himself did not understand the purpose of such affliction brought upon the woman who housed a man of God.  What would be said by others that would discredit God and give pause to those who might be generous to a prophet?  He took her son, whom she was still clutching in her arms.  “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?’” (1 Kings 17:20)  Elijah could not answer the widow.  He had no answer and had to ask God.

Elijah’s prayer changes to a plea, “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.’” (1 Kings 17:21)  There is no precedent for Elijah to stretch himself out on the child.  In Elijah’s passion, it seems he would give the child life from his own body if he could.  And he prays for the soul to come back.  This prayer “plainly supposes the existence of the soul in a state of separation from the body, and consequently its immortality, which Grotius thinks God designed by this miracle to give intimation and evidence of, for the encouragement of his suffering people.” (Matthew Henry)  Our soul is eternal, this body is an earthly tabernacle.  It indeed gives us hope to know that this body is not permanent, and it is not the end.  However, if you have not surrendered to Christ, then it should give you at least pause or more likely fear that your soul will live on eternally, and in a place most horrible without God.

Elijah, with great excitement, and possibly relief, shows the widow that her son lives.  Her response is to glorify God.  She has been living with a daily miracle in the provision of flour and oil.  She was new in her faith and then it was sorely tested.  But now she proclaims that Elijah is a man of God and now she claims that the word of the LORD he speaks is indeed the truth.  The purpose of the death of the child then appears to be for the glory of God and the honor of His prophet.  This is what Jesus said about Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead “When Jesus heard that, He said, ‘This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’” (John 11:4)  We find that when God is glorified, our faith is increased, such as this widow, and such as those who mourned with Mary, Lazarus’ sister “then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.” (John 11:45)  When you find that your faith is tried, or that you question God’s actions, as this widow did with Elijah, remember how lovingly Jesus dealt with the man whose son was demon possessed. “Jesus said to him, ‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.’  Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!’” (Mark 9:23-24)  When you pray for or about something, make sure it is in God’s will and make sure you believe in whom you direct our prayers.  If you are lacking any faith, ask God to help your unbelief.  It is a joyous event when we see God glorified.  And it will strengthen our faith, because “the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10b)

May you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Death of the Man of God – 1 Kings 13:20-22 & 26

 “Now it happened, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back; and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the LORD, and have not kept the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you, but you came back, ate bread, and drank water in the place of which the LORD said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’”

“Now when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard it, he said, “It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the LORD.  Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke to him.”

Reading through all of 1 Kings 13, the scene begins with the man of God boldly prophesying against the altar that Jeroboam, king for the north of the newly divided nation, had set up and thereby drawn the northern nation into the sin of idolatry.  The king stretched out his hand against the man of God and his hand immediately withered for all to see.  Instant judgment.  That same day the altar split, fulfilling part of the prophecy.  Then around 340 years later, the last of the prophecy was fulfilled when Josiah eliminated the false priests.  When Jeroboam asked the man of God to heal his withered arm, the man of God prayed and the arm was restored.  We find out that the man of God was not to take bread or water in this sinful city when he refuses the offer from the king.  As the man of God is on his way home, an old prophet deceives him with the lie that God had told him the man of God should take bread and water with him.  During the meal, the Holy Spirit speaks through the lying prophet, who then gives a true prophecy that the man of God will die due to his disobedience. 

We might perceive this to be a disproportionate punishment.  This man of God did what God wanted him to do, boldly even, against the king, and then he was deceived.  Here the king was breaking commandments by committing idolatry and he was drawing the people into sin.  The king also wanted to arrest the man of God.  The old prophet falsely prophesied, he misrepresented God.  In scripture there are some big names, such as Noah and Moses, of whom we hear all about their service to God, but then they sin against God in some way, and we do not hear anything about them again or their service is cut short. 

Noah, as you know, built the arc that was the salvation for humanity and land based animals during the flood.  After the flood, though, we see that Noah grew a vineyard, made wine, became drunk and was found naked by his son Ham.  According to Genesis 9:28, Noah lived another 350 years after the flood, however, after this drinking binge, we do not hear anything else about him.

Moses was used by God to free God’s people from Egypt, scribe God’s law and receive the detailed architectural plans for the tabernacle and its instruments, including the arc of the covenant.  Big stuff.  Yet he was not allowed to enter into the promised land.  Why?  Because he misrepresented God as we see in Numbers 20:1-13, when he struck the rock in anger to give water to the people, when God had told Moses to ‘speak’ to the rock.  “Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.’” (Numbers 20:12)

Charles Stanley says “When we know we have heard from the Lord, we cannot let anyone convince us that He has changed His mind – regardless of the source of the supposed new revelation.”  David Guzik states: “This is an example of an important principle of the way God works. We think that strict judgment should begin among the most ungodly, but often God begins strict judgment among His own people. Usually this is because God knows that the world will not be reached when His people are compromising and disobedient.”  Mr. Guzik refers to this scripture:

“For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?”  1 Peter 4:17

Paul said he was an ambassador for Christ (Ephesians 6:20).  As Christians, we must be ever aware of who we represent.  When God gives us a specific word, we should not stray to the right or to the left.  He wants particular representation for reasons often unknown to us, and if we miss the mark, in other words ‘sin,’ it takes away from the glory of God. 

This does not mean God did not love the man of God.  It does not mean that the man of God went to hell.  The gospel teaches us better than that.  “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)  What it means is that when we disobey God, we are no longer useful as a representative of Him.  Worse yet, we are in danger of misrepresenting Him.  This realization should prick our heart if we have begun to comprehend the deep love for us that led Jesus as a lamb to the slaughter.  If you are like me, you want to please Him, you want to stay useful, you want to hear Him say “Well done, good and faithful servant.”  (Matthew 25:21a)  How about you?  If there is any question in your mind whether you have been disobedient or compromising, ask God, and continue asking Him, to keep you on the right path.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”  Psalm 139:23-24

May you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.