1 Kings Chapter 17

The Early Ministry of Elijah

A. Elijah prays for drought and experiences God’s provision.

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.”

Elijah appears suddenly on the stage of Israel’s history as a prophet raised up by God during one of the darkest periods in the northern kingdom. His very name, which means “Yahweh is my God,” served as a direct challenge to the official religion of Ahab’s court. Ahab and Jezebel promoted Baal worship at a national level, and the spiritual climate of Israel had deteriorated to such an extent that the survival of true worship appeared doubtful. The priests of Baal multiplied and were supported by the palace. They lived proudly under royal favor and used their newfound influence to persecute the faithful. Though seven thousand in Israel still refused to bow to Baal, they remained silent and hidden out of fear. Elijah entered this hostile environment as a solitary voice standing against a nation that had largely abandoned the Lord.

When Elijah declared that there would be no dew or rain for years except at his word, the announcement was a direct strike against Baal, who was revered as the storm god and the supposed giver of rain and fertility. By withholding rain through the word of His prophet, the Lord demonstrated absolute superiority over the false god Baal. Elijah’s prayer was the human instrument that God used to impose this judgment. Scripture emphasizes that Elijah prayed earnestly and God responded to those prayers. James chapter five verses seventeen through eighteen declares, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.” Elijah’s prayer life was the channel through which God’s judgment and later God’s mercy were made visible to the nation.

Elijah introduced his message with the declaration, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand.” These words reveal the source of his courage and spiritual power. While the nation acted as if the Lord were dead or irrelevant, Elijah lived in the full awareness that the Lord was alive and reigning. He stood physically before Ahab, but spiritually he stood before the living God, and this awareness shaped every word he spoke. This confidence is echoed in the angel Gabriel’s words in Luke chapter one verse nineteen where Gabriel said, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God.” Elijah lived with that same sense of divine presence. It was this reality that made him fearless before kings and faithful during the darkest days of Israel’s rebellion.

Elijah Escapes to Cherith

1 Kings 17:2-5

“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.”

After Elijah delivered the declaration of drought to Ahab, the Lord immediately directed him away from the courts of power and into seclusion. God told him to leave the presence of the king and hide by the brook Cherith, which flowed into the Jordan. The drought placed Elijah in danger because Ahab would view him as the cause of Israel’s suffering. Therefore, God removed His prophet from the public eye and brought him to a place of safety. The Lord led Elijah step by step and did not reveal the full path ahead of him. Elijah was not instructed to go to Cherith until after he had confronted Ahab. Elijah was not told about Zarephath until the brook dried up. God required him to walk by faith, receiving divine direction in measured portions. Elijah obeyed each instruction as it came, which reflects the spiritual discipline of trusting God without demanding to see the entire plan.

The Lord’s command for Elijah to hide shows that God was shaping the prophet’s character through seclusion. Elijah had just confronted a wicked king and announced the judgment of God with boldness. He had demonstrated spiritual authority so great that his prayers shut the heavens. Yet immediately after this public display, the Lord sent him into obscurity. God often brings His servants into hidden places so that they may be refined and taught to depend on Him. The brook Cherith became a place where God removed distractions and developed Elijah’s inner strength. Seasons of isolation are not signs of abandonment but moments where God deepens the work He intends to accomplish in His servants.

God also used Cherith to teach Elijah complete dependence upon divine provision. During a time of national drought, Elijah was commanded to drink from a small brook. This required trust that God would keep the water flowing even while judgment fell on the land. Elijah was also commanded to receive food from ravens, which were considered unclean according to the law. God was training Elijah to receive provision without questioning the method. The name Cherith means to cut off or to cut away, which reflects the spiritual pruning God was performing in the prophet’s life during this period. God was shaping Elijah into a man who would later face false prophets, confront kings, and stand alone on Mount Carmel. Cherith prepared him for those future tasks.

An important emphasis in the passage is the word “there.” God told Elijah that the ravens would feed him there at Cherith. The place of blessing was tied to the place of obedience. Elijah could not choose a different location based on preference or comfort. The provision of God was located exactly where God commanded him to be. If Elijah wanted to see God’s hand supply his needs, he had to remain in the place God appointed. Many servants of God experience dryness or frustration because they want the blessings of God without being in the place God has called them to. Elijah submitted faithfully and dwelt by the brook until the Lord directed him elsewhere.

Elijah’s Provision at Cherith

1 Kings 17:6

“And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the brook.”

The Lord provided for Elijah in a miraculous and unexpected manner. Twice every day the ravens brought him bread and meat, and the brook supplied his water. This provision was entirely supernatural and designed to teach Elijah deeper trust in God’s care. Ravens were unclean animals according to the law, yet God chose them as His appointed couriers. Elijah had to submit to God’s method even when it challenged traditional ideas of clean and unclean. If Elijah refused to receive what God supplied simply because the instrument offended his expectations, he would have starved. God was training His prophet to obey the spirit of the law, which emphasized loyalty to God and dependence on His word above ceremonial details. Elijah learned that God’s provision may come through unexpected vessels, yet it remains God’s provision.

The scene also reveals an important spiritual principle. A man or woman of God must be willing to receive help from unusual places without letting personal expectations or prejudices interfere. The Lord may use unclean ravens to deliver His blessings. Elijah’s experience warns believers against rejecting the means God chooses because of personal bias. At the same time, the ravens themselves illustrate another truth. A person may carry something useful for God and yet remain spiritually unclean. As Charles Spurgeon remarked, there are times when the messenger is unworthy, yet God still uses the message for His glory. Faithful believers should never confuse the value of the truth with the worthiness of the vessel that bears it.

The regularity of God’s provision must also be noted. The Lord brought Elijah bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening. The consistency resembles the manna with which God fed Israel in the wilderness. Elijah learned that the God who commands drought can also command daily bread. These repeated deliverances trained Elijah to trust God’s ability to provide exactly what is needed and precisely when it is needed. God did not give Elijah an abundance to store up. He gave him enough for each day. Such provision strengthened Elijah’s patience, humility, and confidence in the Lord’s sovereignty. Stories have been told of believers who waited for God with childlike trust, expecting the ravens of God to appear. God delights in honoring such faith and uses it to demonstrate His mercy in ways that glorify His name.

Elijah and the Dry Brook

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.”

In time the brook that sustained Elijah began to diminish until it finally dried up. Elijah watched the flow weaken day after day until there was nothing left. This experience tested the prophet more deeply than confronting Ahab or challenging the false prophets of Baal. It is one thing to stand boldly in public conflict. It is another thing to sit quietly beside a shrinking brook and trust God without seeing any outward evidence of provision. The Lord had placed Elijah in Cherith to teach him dependence, but now the Lord allowed that same place of provision to disappear. God often trains His servants through seasons where familiar sources fail and the brook runs dry.

The drying brook is a picture of the many diminishing resources believers experience in life. Popularity fades. Strength diminishes. Health declines. Financial resources can slowly be consumed by circumstances beyond our control. Friendships that once brought encouragement may grow cold. God allows these brooks to dry because He does not want His children to trust the gift more than the Giver. He teaches believers to rest in Him rather than in the means He uses. A drying brook becomes God’s classroom where His people learn patience and dependence. When a brook dries, the believer must wait for God to open the next door of provision, just as Elijah waited until God spoke again.

The brook dried because there had been no rain in the land. This drought existed because Elijah prayed for it according to the will of God. Elijah therefore suffered personally from the very judgment he announced. Yet he did not pray for rain to relieve himself. He submitted to the greater purpose of God even when the cost touched his own life. This reveals the depth of Elijah’s surrender. He was more committed to the will of God than to his own comfort. A man is proven in his faithfulness when he suffers for the very truth he proclaims. Elijah remained by the dry brook until the Lord commanded him to move, demonstrating a steadfast obedience that prepared him for future ministry.

God Provides for Elijah Through a Widow

1 Kings 17:8-9

“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.”

After the brook at Cherith dried up, the Lord again spoke to Elijah and sent him to Zarephath, a Gentile city located within the territory of Sidon. This instruction was surprising because Zarephath lay in the very region associated with Jezebel and the worship of Baal. Nevertheless, God directed His prophet away from Israel and into what appeared to be enemy territory. God was moving Elijah from place to place in deliberate stages. Each relocation strengthened the prophet’s faith, taught him dependence, and prepared him for future conflict with the forces of idolatry that dominated the land. The Lord’s will often uproots His servants so that spiritual growth may continue. Elijah was being shaped into a man who could later stand with boldness on Mount Carmel.

Zarephath was not only Gentile but also impoverished because of the extended drought. God told Elijah that a widow had been commanded to sustain him. Widows in the ancient world were among the poorest and most vulnerable. Elijah could not have expected such a woman to possess resources. From a human perspective it would have seemed wiser to remain at Cherith and pray for rain. Yet the Lord appointed a poor Gentile widow as the vessel of His provision. God often chooses means that contradict human logic so that His power becomes unmistakable. The Lord later used this very incident to teach Israel about divine sovereignty when Christ declared that God bypassed many widows in Israel and instead sent Elijah to this Gentile woman in Sidon. This was a rebuke to unbelief and a demonstration of God’s freedom to extend mercy where He wills. Luke chapter four verses twenty four through twenty six records the Lord’s words: “Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias when the heaven was shut up three years and six months when great famine was throughout all the land. But unto none of them was Elias sent save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.”

1 Kings 17:10-11

“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. 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.”

Elijah obeyed promptly and went to Zarephath. When he reached the city gates, he encountered the widow exactly as God had said. She was gathering a few sticks, which revealed her poverty. Elijah may have expected a wealthy widow who could provide generously, yet God sent him to a woman with almost nothing. She lacked even firewood. Her poverty highlights how extraordinary God’s plan was. The Lord had said He commanded her to sustain Elijah, though she herself was unaware of such a command. God had already prepared her heart through unseen influence, shaping her willingness so that she would respond to Elijah’s request. God’s sovereignty moves upon human hearts in ways believers cannot see. The widow went out that morning expecting only to prepare a final meal for herself and her son, but God had purposed that she would meet His prophet.

Elijah asked her first for water, and as she moved to fulfill that request, he added a second, asking for a morsel of bread. This was a bold request, for Elijah knew her poverty and understood that such generosity would cost her dearly. Human reasoning would expect a Gentile widow in famine conditions to refuse a stranger. Yet faith caused Elijah to ask, and faith would shortly arise in the woman to respond. Obedience often begins with small acts, for she was willing to fetch water before she understood the full extent of the request. God works through these moments to build trust in those whom He calls to serve.

The request placed an extraordinary burden of trust upon the widow. She believed she had only enough flour and oil for one final meal before starvation. To give a portion of that to a stranger required immense faith. Yet God had chosen her not merely to receive a miracle but to serve as the instrument of His provision. God’s call upon a life always includes service. The Lord does not choose people simply to bless them. He chooses them so that they may labor for His purposes. The widow was required to give before she received, to serve before she experienced God’s abundance. Her obedience would soon open the door to an ongoing miracle that sustained her, her son, and the prophet. This reflects the nature of God’s grace, which always leads those who receive it into a life of devotion, holiness, and service.

The Response of the Widow of Zarephath

1 Kings 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.”

The widow’s reply to Elijah reveals the desperate condition in which she lived. She addressed Elijah with the words, “As the Lord thy God liveth,” which showed a measure of respect for the God of Israel, yet it also revealed that she did not yet acknowledge Him as her own God. Her reverence was genuine, but it was still distant. Her spiritual understanding was limited, but her heart was open enough to be reached by God’s word spoken through His prophet. This gentle distinction emphasizes how God often begins His work in the hearts of people who are outside the covenant community, drawing them step by step toward faith.

Her confession of poverty was immediate and honest. She declared that she had no bread prepared, only a small amount of flour in a barrel and a little oil in a jar. She was gathering a few sticks to prepare what she believed would be her final meal. The famine had taken everything from her except a handful of ingredients that could barely sustain life for one more day. The widow and her son were standing at the very edge of death. Elijah encountered her at the lowest point of her existence, which highlights the astonishing nature of God’s timing. God chose to use a woman who had reached absolute helplessness to sustain His prophet. The Lord delights in demonstrating His power through human weakness so that the glory belongs to Him alone.

Elijah’s Call to Faith

1 Kings 17:13-14

“And Elijah said unto her, Fear not. Go and do as thou hast said, but make me thereof a little cake first and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.”

Elijah’s first words to the widow were, “Fear not.” God addressed the deepest struggle of her heart. Poverty, famine, and the responsibility of caring for her child naturally filled her with fear. God wanted her to let go of that fear because fear would choke her ability to trust His promise. When God calls a person to an act of obedience that seems impossible, His first command is often to put away fear. Faith can only rise when fear is dismissed. Elijah spoke that word with authority, and it prepared her heart for the instruction that followed.

Elijah then told her to proceed with her plan, yet he added a striking requirement. He asked her to make him a small cake first before preparing anything for herself and her son. Human reason would immediately label this as inconsiderate or even exploitative. However, Elijah was not acting in selfishness. He was acting in obedience to the explicit word of the Lord. God was calling the widow into an act of faith. True obedience always requires trust in the character and promise of God. God often asks His servants to put Him first in their resources so that they may learn that His supply will never fail.

The promise Elijah spoke next was the foundation of his bold request. He declared with certainty that the Lord God of Israel had promised that the widow’s flour would not be exhausted and that her oil would not run dry until God once again sent rain upon the earth. This miracle would not merely preserve Elijah. It would preserve the widow and her son as well. God took what little she had and assured her that it would be enough. The Lord used Elijah to stretch her faith, elevate her trust, and bring her into the sphere of divine blessing. What appeared to be loss would become increase. What seemed like sacrifice would lead to sustenance. God does not test His people to destroy them. He tests them to demonstrate His faithfulness.

The Widow’s Obedience and God’s Great Blessing

1 Kings 17:15-16

“And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah. And she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.”

The widow responded to Elijah’s words with remarkable obedience. Scripture states that she went and did according to the saying of Elijah. This simple statement reveals great faith. Her act of giving required complete trust in the promise God had announced through His prophet. She surrendered her last resources in obedience to the word of God. Her willingness to place God first, even when her circumstances were dire, demonstrated the essence of true faith. She was willing to believe that obedience to the Lord’s word would not lead to death but to life. Faith does not always understand the method, but it takes God at His word. This widow embodied that truth in action.

God honored her obedience immediately. Scripture declares that she, Elijah, and her household ate for many days. The provision was not momentary. It was sustained day after day. The miracle did not produce a mountain of flour or a vast storehouse of oil. Instead, the supply continued one day at a time. The barrel never gave the appearance of abundance, yet it never ran empty. The cruse of oil was not overflowing, yet it never ran dry. God’s provision appeared modest, but it was perfectly sufficient. The widow gave out of her poverty, and God supplied out of His infinite store. Through her, God provided for His prophet, and through her obedience, she and her son were preserved.

The ongoing nature of this miracle demonstrates the wisdom of God. If the Lord had given her a large stockpile of food, she would have been in danger. Spurgeon correctly noted that in a city ravaged by famine, a sudden abundance would have attracted unwanted attention. The desperate masses would have descended upon her home and taken everything by force. She and her son might have been murdered in the process. The Lord protected her by giving enough for each day and no more. God’s method preserved her life, glorified His name, and kept the miracle hidden from those who would have misused it. Sometimes God’s provision is intentionally measured so that His children remain safe, humble, and dependent upon Him.

This miracle also highlighted the integrity of God’s promise. The provision continued exactly as the Lord had spoken through Elijah. The power was divine, but the word came through the prophet. This affirmed Elijah’s calling and confirmed that the God of Israel was sovereign even in Gentile territory. The widow of Zarephath was given daily proof that the Lord is the God who sustains life. Her obedience placed her under the shelter of God’s faithfulness. Her home became a testimony to the truth that obedience always leads to divine provision, and faith always receives what God has promised.

Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son

1 Kings 17:17-18

“And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick. And his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God. Art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son.”

After the season of divine provision and daily sustenance, tragedy entered the widow’s home. The son who had been preserved through famine suddenly became sick, and his condition grew worse until no breath remained in him. Scripture records that this happened after these things, meaning that it followed a long period in which God had demonstrated mercy and faithfulness to the household. This contrast heightens the weight of the trial. The home that had become a living testimony of God’s miraculous supply now faced the darkness of death. Such experiences often perplex believers, for God may permit deep sorrow even after seasons of evident blessing. Yet these trials become opportunities for God to reveal Himself in ways that surpass all previous experiences.

For the widow, the death of her son was a devastating blow. She suffered the grief of any mother who loses a child. Yet in her cultural context, the loss carried an additional weight. Her son represented her future security. He would have been her provider in old age. Without him, she faced poverty and abandonment. The famine had threatened her life. Now death threatened her hope. The widow interpreted the tragedy through the lens of guilt. She cried out to Elijah, asking if he had come to bring her sin to remembrance and to slay her son. Her conscience carried the memory of some undisclosed sin, and in her anguish she assumed that divine judgment had come upon her. Grief often awakens old guilt, and sorrow can tempt a person to interpret suffering as punishment. Her words reveal a troubled heart still learning who the Lord truly is.

1 Kings 17:19-20

“And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son.”

Elijah responded with calm compassion. He told her to give him her son. The detail that he took the child out of her bosom paints a vivid image of a grieving mother holding her lifeless son tightly against herself. Elijah gently took the boy and carried him to the upper room where he was staying. This upper chamber was a small structure built upon the roof of the house, reached from the outside and used for lodging or privacy. Such a room allowed Elijah to dwell in the widow’s home while preserving her dignity and avoiding any appearance of impropriety.

Once Elijah laid the boy on his own bed, he turned to prayer. Scripture says that he cried unto the Lord. This was not a formal or distant prayer. It was a cry from a heart that knew God intimately. Elijah wrestled with the sorrow brought into this home and appealed directly to the Lord. He acknowledged the widow’s hospitality and laid the burden before God, asking whether tragedy had been brought upon her by the death of her son. The prophet was not accusing God. He was expressing the perplexity of a faithful servant confronted with a mystery of divine providence. Elijah believed that God had led him to this widow. Therefore, he brought the crisis back to God for resolution. Faith does not pretend to comprehend every circumstance. Faith takes unanswerable sorrow into the presence of God and pleads for His intervention.

The Son Is Raised from the Dead

1 Kings 17:21-24

“And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother. And Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.”

Elijah continued to intercede for the child with fervent prayer. Scripture records that he stretched himself upon the child three times. This action was unusual and without biblical precedent. Elijah was not following a ritual or technique. He was a prophet confronted with a situation completely outside ordinary human experience. His actions expressed intensity, identification, and earnest petition. The power of the miracle did not come from the physical posture but from Elijah’s faith in the living God. Elijah cried out to the Lord with a direct request that the child’s soul would return to him. The prophet approached God with boldness and reverence. He addressed the Lord as his God, appealing to the covenant relationship that bound him to the Lord and shaped his confidence in prayer.

Elijah’s prayer was full of compelling appeals. As Poole observed, the prophet reminded God that He alone had the power to restore life. Elijah also appealed to the widow’s vulnerability as a woman who had already suffered greatly. Her son was her support, her hope, and her future. Elijah further appealed to the widow’s hospitality, noting that she had shown kindness to the servant of God. The prophet understood that the loss of her son could bring reproach upon God’s name from unbelievers. Elijah therefore interceded not only for the boy’s life but also for the honor of God and the good of the widow who had sheltered him.

The Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the child revived. This stands as the first recorded instance in Scripture where God raised someone from the dead. This miracle cannot be reduced to natural explanations or ancient superstitions. The child revived because the Lord sovereignly restored his soul. Elijah functioned as an instrument of intercession, but the power was entirely divine. Elijah then carried the living child down from the upper room and presented him to his mother. His words were simple yet profound: “See, thy son liveth.” After days of grief, fear, and confusion, the widow received her son back from death through the power of God.

The widow’s response revealed the spiritual impact of the miracle. She declared that she now knew Elijah was a man of God and that the word of the Lord in his mouth was truth. Her earlier reverence had been respectful yet uncertain. Now through this resurrection, her understanding of God and His prophet became clear and firm. The miracle authenticated Elijah’s ministry and confirmed the trustworthiness of the word of the Lord. In this Gentile home, far from the land of Israel, God displayed His power in a manner that foreshadowed the greater resurrection power revealed through Jesus Christ centuries later. This event demonstrated that God’s sovereignty extends beyond national boundaries and that He delights to reveal His glory wherever there is faith.