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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.
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.
And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.
And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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?
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.

New Defender's Study Bible Notes

17:1 Elijah. “Elijah” means “Jehovah is God,” a most appropriate name for a believer in the true God in a nation and time so thoroughly dominated by pagan apostasy.


17:1 not be dew nor rain. This remarkable prophecy was miraculously fulfilled. There was no rain in the land of Israel for 3½ years (note I Kings 18:1, and compare Luke 4:25 and James 5:17), until Elijah confronted and defeated all the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (I Kings 18:17-45). Yet James reminds us that Elijah was a man “of like passions as we” (James 5:17) and that this miracle was simply an answer to his fervent prayer.


17:7 no rain in the land. Thus was Elijah’s prophecy being fulfilled. As a matter of fact, so was that of Moses, who had long before warned that national apostasy would be followed by nationwide drought (Deuteronomy 11:17; 28:24).


17:9 Zarephath. Zarephath, near Sidon, was one hundred miles away, and Sidon was the homeland of Jezebel (I Kings 16:31). The Lord Jesus used this event as an illustration of God’s concern for Gentiles and of the strange rejection of God by many of His own people of Israel.


17:16 wasted not. There were numerous miracles recorded in the days of Elijah and Elisha, perhaps in response to the deep apostasy in Israel at the time. This miracle of the never-diminishing supply of food was a miracle of creation, superseding the normally impregnable physical law of conservation of matter. It was also significant in its application to a Gentile woman rather than to an Israelite. This widow of Sidon believed in the true God, and her faith was greatly rewarded, while the people of Israel had defected to Baal. The Lord Jesus Himself cited her example (Luke 4:25, 26).


17:22 and he revived. This is the first of eight instances recorded in the Bible when a dead person was restored to life miraculously, and the departed soul returned to its body. One was accomplished through Elisha (II Kings 4:32-36), and one at Elisha’s tomb (II Kings 13:21); one each through Peter and Paul (Acts 9:40; 20:9-12), and three through Christ (Matthew 9:18-25; Luke 7:12-15; John 11:43-44). These were all “resuscitations,” of course, and each of these people eventually died again. The first true resurrection was that of Christ Himself (I Corinthians 15:20), who could say after His resurrection: “I am alive for evermore” (Revelation 1:18). Accompanying and following His resurrection was that of “many” (perhaps all) of the Old Testament “saints” (Matthew 27:52,53).


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