How does a miracle happen
|
Elijah the Tishbite
|
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.
1.
The history of this great man is introduced very
abruptly
2.
His origin is enveloped in perfect obscurity.
3.
He is here said to be a Tishbite.
4.
Tishbeh was a city beyond Jordan, in the tribe of Gad,
and in the land of Gilead.
5.
Who was his father, or from what tribe he sprang, is
not intimated
6.
He seems to have been the prophet of Israel
peculiarly, as we never find him prophesying in Judah.
|
Apocryphal Writers And His Parentage
|
1.
A number of apocryphal writers have trifled at large
about his parentage, miraculous birth, of his continual celibacy, his academy
of the prophets, etc.
2.
One opinion is that he had no earthly parentage known
to any man
i.
He was an angel of God, united for a time to a human
body
ii.
He came in order to call men back to perfect purity,
both in doctrine and manners, from which they had totally swerved.
3.
His Hebrew name is Eliyahu
4.
It
signifies “he is my God”.
5.
He could
not be the Messiah - for we find him
with Moses on the mount of transfiguration with Christ.
6.
The
conjecture that he was an angel seems countenanced by the manner of his
departure from this world
7.
In James 5:17 - he is said to be a man of like passions,
or rather with real human propensities
8.
So he was
a real man.
James 5:17 Elias
was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it
might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and
six months. {subject...: of the same nature, that is, a fellow mortal}
{earnestly: or, in his prayer}
|
Why No Rain
|
Deuteronomy 11
1. Moses exhorts
them to obedience by rehearsing God's
works (1-7).
2. By
describing the goodness of the land (8-12).
3. By
promises and threats (13-17).
4. An
exhortation to teach their children,
closed with a promise (18-2).
5. A
blessing and a curse (26-32).
Deuteronomy 11:13 - 17
13 And it shall come to pass, if ye
shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to
love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your
soul,
14 That I will give you the rain of
your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou
mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.
15 And I will send grass in thy
fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.
16 Take heed to yourselves, that
your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and
worship them;
17 And then the LORD'S wrath be
kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there
be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly
from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.
6. Elijah was releasing this curse on
the people through his words.
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.
|
Elijah at Cherith
|
1.
Elijah
was asked by God to hid at Cherith
2.
He
went and dwelt by the brook Cherith
1 Kings 17: 4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the
brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
3.
Ravens
brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening;
and he drank of the brook.
4.
And
it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been
no rain in the land.
1 Kings 17:7 And it came
to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain
in the land.
5.
So
Elijah was asked to move to Zarephath
1 Kings 17: 9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth
to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to
sustain thee.
6.
God's
providing for his prophet, first, by an unclean bird, and then by a Gentile,
whom the Jews esteemed unclean
7.
Zarephath
was a pagan city in the country of Sidon
8.
It
was a presage of the calling of the Gentiles, and rejection of the Jews.
9.
So
Elijah was the first prophet of the Gentiles.
10.
The
visit of Elijah sustained the widow and her son
11.
God
had no intention of sustaining any one in Israel
|
Three Factors Necessary
For A Miracle
|
I.
An urge or immediate
need for it
1 King 17:10 – 12
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.
1.
This
widow was not an
Israel
2.
She
belonged to the gentile country of Jezebel, Ahab’s wife
1 Kings 16: 28 – 31 - And as if it had been a light thing for
him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he also took Jezebel, the
daughter of Eth-baal king of the Sidonians, for a wife. And he went and served
Baal, and worshiped him.
3.
Many
widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, and some, would have bidden him
welcome
4.
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.
5.
Jezebel
was Elijah's greatest enemy
6.
To
show how powerless was her malice God found a hiding-place for him in her own
country
7.
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.
Her circumstance demands a miracle
1
King 17: 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.
1.
Two sticks - A few sticks that
number being often used indefinitely for any small number.
2.
And die - For having no
more provision, we must needs perish with hunger.
3.
For
though the famine was chiefly in the land of Israel, yet the effects of it were
in Tyre and Sidon, which were fed by the corn of that land.
4.
But
what a poor supporter was this likely to be?
who had no fuel, but what she gathered in the streets, and nothing to
live upon herself, but an handful of meal and a little oil!
5.
To
her Elijah is sent that he might live upon providence, as much as he had done
when the ravens fed him.
A heartfelt cry can happen a miracle
Genesis 15: 1 – 4
1 After these things the word of the LORD came
to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am your shield and your
exceeding great reward.
2 And Abram said, Lord
God, what will You give me, since I am going childless, and the steward of my
house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
3 And Abram said, Behold, You have given no seed
to me. And behold, one born in my house is my heir.
4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him
saying, This one shall not be your heir. But he that shall come forth out of
your own bowels shall be your heir.
1.
Abraham
asks for something higher than the mere increase of his outward estate.
2.
He
here pours out before the Lord, and shows before him his trouble
3.
Though
we must never complain of God, yet we have leave to
complain to him
4. His complaint
is four fold:
i.
That he had no child
a.
Not only no son, but no seed
b.
If he had had a daughter, from her the promised
Messiah might have come, who was to be the seed of the woman; but he had
neither son nor daughter.
c.
He seems to lay an emphasis on that, to me.
d.
His neighbours were full of children, his servants
had children born in his house.
ii.
That he was never likely to have any, intimated in that I go
"I am going, childless, going into years,
going down the hill apace; nay, I am going out of the world, going the way of
all the earth. I die childless,"
"I leave
the world, and leave no child behind me."
iii.
His servants were for the present and were likely to be to him
instead of sons
a.
While he lived, the steward of his house was Eliezer
of Damascus; to him he committed the care of his family and estate, who might
be faithful, but only as a servant, not as a son.
b.
When he died, one born in his house would be his
heir, and would bear rule over all that for which he had laboured.
Delayed promises are not denied promises
iv.
The want of a son was so
great a trouble to him that it took away the comfort of all his enjoyments
"Lord, what
wilt thou give me? All is nothing to me, if I have not a son."
a.
Abram
looked further than a temporal comfort
b.
God
had, by his providence, given him some good things, and more by his promise
c.
Abram
makes no account of them, because he has not a son.
d.
God
gave him an express promise of a son
e.
This
that is born in thy house shall not be thy heir, as thou fearest, but one that
shall come forth out of thy own bowels shall be thy heir.
f.
God
makes heirs - he says:
"This shall not, and this shall"
g.
Whatever
men devise and design, in settling their estates, God's counsel shall stand.
Jacob’s story
Genesis 30: 25 – 30
25
And when Rachel had borne Joseph, it
happened that Jacob said to Laban, Send me away so that I may go into my own
place and to my country.
26
Give me my wives and my children, for
whom I have served you, and let me go. For you know my service which I have
done you.
27
And Laban said to him, I pray you, if I
have found favor in your eyes, stay. For I have seen omens, that the LORD has
blessed me for your sake.
28
And he said, Appoint your wages and I
will give.
29
He said to him, You know how I have served
you, and what your cattle has become with me.
30
For you had little before I came, and it
has now increased to a multitude. And the LORD has blessed you since my coming.
And now when shall I provide for my own house also?
1. Jacob had
already served fourteen years; and had got no patrimony whatever
2. He had now a
family of twelve children, eleven sons and one daughter, besides his two wives,
and their two maids, and several servants.
3.
It
was high time that he should get some property for these
Genesis
30: 35, 36
35 And
that day he took out the he-goats that were striped and spotted, and all the
she-goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white in it, and
all the black from among the lambs, and gave them into the hand of his sons.
36
And he set three days' journey between
himself and Jacob. And Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.
Later Jacob
prays to God:
Genesis
32:10
I am not worthy of the least of all the
mercies and of all the truth which You have done to Your servant. For with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I have
become two bands.
1.
For
with my staff I passed over this Jordan
2.
Myself
alone, without any attendants
3.
Poor
and desolate, like a forlorn and despised pilgrim - He had no guides, no companions, no attendants.
4.
And
now I am become two bands - Now I am
surrounded with a numerous retinue of children and servants.
II. An Elijah to
pronounce it
1 King 17:10, 11
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.
1.
He
did not question the command of God to go to Zarephath, but obeyed it
2.
This
is the walk of faith.
3.
How
unlikely it seemed that this widow who herself is preparing to die would be
able to sustain the prophet
4.
Yet
Elijah confidently addressed himself to her.
1
King 17:13, 14
13 And Elijah said to her, Do not fear, go. Do as
you have said. But first make me a little cake of it, and bring it to me. And
then make for you and for your son.
14
For so says the LORD God of Israel, The pitcher of meal shall not be emptied,
nor shall the jar of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the
earth.
1.
This
was certainly putting the widow's faith to an extraordinary trial
2.
To
take and give to a stranger, of whom she knew nothing, the small pittance
requisite to keep her child from perishing, was too much to be expected.
3.
This
is a trial of her faith, and obedience, which he knew God would plentifully
reward
4.
She
was to exercise obedient faith first, and then her needs would be
supplied. Many tried to reverse this
order. (Spurgen)
5.
God receives no benefit for the use of his own, but he promises
an ample recompence for them.
III.
A widow of zarephath
to act to the word of god
1
King 17:15, 16
15
And she went and did according to the
saying of Elijah. And she and he and her house ate many days;
16 The
pitcher of meal was not consumed, and the jar of oil did not fail, according to
the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah.
1.
She
had no hope of any more sustenance
2.
She
gave up all hope to live
3.
She
took the prophet's word that she should not lose by it.
4.
The
good woman had recognized Jehovah's servant, and was ready enough to serve him
5. She was jumped to catch the opportunity –
did not took time weigh the possibility
6.
His request for bread touched her in a tender place, for she had
barely enough meal for one scanty repast, and then she expected to die with her
child.
7.
Those
who can venture upon the promise of God will make no difficulty to expose and
empty them in his service, by giving him his part first.
8.
Happy
are all who can thus, against hope, believe and obey in hope.
9.
One
poor meal's meat this poor widow gave the prophet
10. In recompense of
it, she and her son did eat above two years, in a time of famine.
11. 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.
Professor Jacob Abraham
Click for motivational positive thoughts
No comments:
Post a Comment