A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

Little is known about the life of this mysterious prophet of God before his abrupt
appearance one day before the king of Israel. There is no knowledge of a town called Tish.
Perhaps “Tishbite” does not describe his hometown, but his character. The word comes from a
derivative of “stranger.” Elijah was a loner when it came to getting things done. The nation had
wandered far enough, and God sent His prophet with a message of judgment in hopes of turning
wicked King Ahab and His people from the worship of Baal to the worship of Jehovah. Baal was
the god of the elements, and the God of Israel was about to declare war on this pagan deity,
meeting him on his own turf. “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall
not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word” (1 Kings 17:1). And after Elijah made his
announcement to King Ahab, the prophet left as abruptly as he had entered.
The next morning, an amazing “coincidence” would take place in the land. There would
be no morning dew and the sky would be cloudless. For a while the king might enjoy this “break
in the weather,” but before long the absence of rain and dew would be more than a coincidence,
even in the mind of the wicked King Ahab. Soon the warm summer days would be viewed as
blistering-hot days of drought. Those who enjoyed the absence of rain would soon plead with
their anemic gods for clouds and torrents of rain. As the king came to the realization that the
absence of rain was indeed related to the prophecy of Elijah, the life of Elijah was in danger. But
God’s purpose in the life of Elijah was not to simply parch the Palestinian soil. It was important
to God that the life of His prophet be preserved. As soon as Elijah had delivered his message to
the king, God directed Elijah into the wilderness out of the view of the king, who would
eventually come looking for the prophet. He was alone, as his name suggests.
The prophet’s sanctuary was near a mountain stream (wadi) named Cherith, a tributary of
the Jordan River. Very soon both food and water would be at a premium in Israel. Elijah would
drink water from this brook until it too dried up from the heat of the drought. God would provide
the prophet with food by means of ravens who had been commanded to bring him bread and
meat. Twice daily the ravens brought their meals to the prophet until the mountain stream
became a muddy creek and then a dry riverbed. Only then did God suggest a different source of
provision for his faithful prophet.
God directed His prophet to the city of Zarephath (meaning crucible or place of testing), a
city ruled by Jezebel’s own father. At Zarephath, God provided for Elijah through the agency of
a poor, starving widow. Elijah first met the widow as the was gathering sticks for her final meal
with her son. The famine had taken its toll on her meager resources, and in her mind the situation
was then hopeless. She had determined to make one last meal to share with her son and then
await the inevitable. That was the woman to whom Elijah said, “Do not fear; go and do as you
have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some
for yourself and your son” (v. 13).
The request of the prophet was not without a promise of blessing. If the woman would
give first of her resources to the prophet of God, God would insure that the resources left would
not run out before the end of the famine. As absurd as the request must have seemed in the
context in which it was made, it offered a glimmer of hope in an otherwise hopeless situation.
And it was to that hope that the widow would grasp. “So she went away and did according to the
word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days” (v. 15).
Elijah became a resident of the home of the widow and her son during much of the
remaining days of the drought. As the land burned with the sun, the anger of Ahab and Jezebel
continued to burn against the prophet who had claimed responsibility for, the drought. Days
turned into weeks, and weeks into months. Forty-two months would pass before a cloud would