![the fisherman bible study guide elijah the fisherman bible study guide elijah](https://g.christianbook.com/dg/product/web/w163/4218.jpg)
But he would have missed the widow’s cruse, the Carmel experience, and Elisha plowing in the field. He would have relaxed in the satisfying fullness of material blessing. Had the brook not dried up, he would have stayed there. In the dynamics of divine Providence, Elijah was scheduled to experience another miracle in another place. It would have been a tragedy for the prophet to remain longer in the wilderness. God provided the brook, and God dried it up. God had another experience waiting for him in Zarephath. But as he lingered and listened, God spoke these words, “Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee” (1 Kings 17:9).ĭon’t you see how God closed one door so that He could open another one? Elijah had been there long enough. God had abandoned him to an agonizing death in the parched wilderness. It probably seemed that all the promises were failing. For a time, at least, Elijah had to wait in faith. We have no way of knowing how long God tested His prophet by the barren brook. A terrible tragedy had over taken him-THE BROOK HAD DRIED UP! And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up” (1 Kings 17:6, 7).Ĭan’t you picture the shock and disappointment as Elijah walked out to the brook to get his daily water supply? He looked down upon the dry, brown stones of the brook-bed and could scarcely believe what he saw. Let’s read on in the biblical account: “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 prophet was walking in the center of God’s will, and the promised blessings never failed. Haven’t we seen the same kind of providence in our own day? The God of Elijah still takes care of the needs of His children. Without fail, the ravens flew in twice a day with their fare of food and the brook was always yielding its life-giving supply of water. Everywhere else the people were suffering from the terror of the drought, but God would not let His obedient child lack for anything. What a perfect picture of God’s power and willingness to care for the physical needs of His faithful servant! With pleasure we contemplate that scene of restful abundance. In addition to the bread and flesh brought by the birds, God provided plenty of refreshing water from the splashing brook that flowed nearby. But Elijah was well supplied, morning and evening, by the miraculous ministry of the ravens. There God arranged providentially for ravens to deliver food to the isolated fugitive during the predicted years of famine.Īs the land baked and cracked under the withering heat of the sun, every green plant died for lack of water. After delivering his inspired message, the courageous prophet was commanded by God to hide himself in the eastern wilderness by the brook Cherith. "There shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word" (1 Kings 17:1).
![the fisherman bible study guide elijah the fisherman bible study guide elijah](https://stepsoffaithfordeaf.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/resource_easy-reading-bible-lessons-197-745x1024.jpg)
Fired by a holy indignation, he confronted the wicked ruler of Israel with words of judgement. Called of God from the rugged mountains of Gilead, he walked into the palace of King Ahab while apostasy was at its darkest point. Little is known about the background of this colorful reformer of Israel. Like a shooting star he flashed out of obscurity and changed the character of a whole nation in a very short time. Why Do Christians Suffer?Some of the most dramatic and adventurous stories in the Bible revolve around the meteoric rise of Elijah the prophet.