But according to the actual account in the Old Testament the drought was not even a full three years. Isaiah 54:10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee. It is against this background that now we consider v.2-6, in which we see Elijah in response to Gods instruction leaving the kings presence and going to the Brook Cherith. Elijah's moral character is just as remarkable as his character as a witness. As we are reminded in John 15 where Jesus said, The answer lies in the fact that God is not just interested in imparting faith; He is interested in its development, in its improvement. How we should make use of the opportunities God gives us lest they be taken from us. Elijah's 'cutting away' at brook Cherith Bible Study. No doubt he thought it was all a joke. The acquisition of spiritual power is impossible unless we hide ourselves from men and from ourselves in some gorge where we may absorb the power of the eternal God (Martin). It is a declaration that he is working our His eternal purposes, There is nothing in Scripture to indicate this on the contrary the implication is that he, Last week we saw there were lessons Elijah had to learn in going to the brook Cherith, and here we see them being put into practice as Elijah waited: (i), When our brook seems to dry and we are tempted to cry out. However, my Cherith was also equally as significant as my time now as a married woman. God opened up a job for her and she had the job virtually a year to the day and it was the greatest job she had ever had. Have any of you ever been fed by birds? The amazing obedience and trust that Elijah shows come quickly after in verses 5-6. I see another principle here in scripture - sometimes God tells you ahead of time what is going to happen. Had the brook not dried up, he would have stayed there. Each appearance of the ravens was a reminder of being in Gods will, and in God was ministering to him through those unlikely instruments, and even in that apparently unlikely place of isolation. There are three things I gleaned from this passage that I believe God was teaching Elijah. Jesus was the same. How easy in such times our joy quickly turns to sadness! In v.2 we read Then the word of the Lord came to him He was being removed by God. Charity Streaming: A New Way To Help Children in Poverty. It is a place where you are completely cut off and are totally dependent upon God and His resources. Even in the letters to the 7 churches of Revelation this warning is given, a warning we do well to take seriously as a church, Elijah had just had a very heady experience. God had commanded and Elijah went and did what he was told. Elijah was told to go to Cherith, immediately after he had prophesied a powerful word to King Ahab. Elijah, in tune with the revealed will of God had prayed that God would fulfil His curse upon His rebellious people not so they might suffer, but that through their suffering they might return to God in repentance, and God be glorified in His mercy and grace by a people renewed in obedience to and worship of God. After the ravens brought him food, he was still able to drink from the brook, indicating that it was not yet dry. Prayer: Lord, help us trust You when our brook dries up. The message? As Elijah saw the brook dry up, he now had no water. Maybe you are the one to be a special provision and be used by the Lord like the ravens? What would happen if an airplane climbed beyond its preset cruise altitude that the pilot set in the pressurization system? It is the very essence of faith to take hold of those truths and to trust implicitly in the wisdom and goodness of God especially when to our limited human wisdom and perspective everything seems to be absolutely irrational and totally out of Gods control. That stream turned into a trickle, which would have then turned into a puddle, which then turned into a handful and then into a small sip. I know that God was not only preparing me for my husband Drew, but He was protecting me from marrying the wrong kind of man. Keil and Delitzsch call this the "most simple and natural" understanding: The time given, "the third year," is not to be reckoned, as the Rabbins, Clericus, Thenius, and others assume, from the commencement of the drought, but from the event last mentioned, namely, the sojourn of Elijah at Zarephath. In 1 Kings 17, Elijah told King Ahab that the Lord was sending a drought. The brook dries up. I knew that He could handle the tears and the frustrations. Again, just the simplicity of what obedience really is. He gives us one step at a time, just like He did with Elijah. I had been faithful to Him and loved Him, but I was in a Cherith. Everything was done on his knees to His Father whom he knew would provide because he was committed to providing. He was amazing because his God is amazing! They employed 850 prophets of Baal and his . We all need to learn to spend time alone with God. Remember that being in the centre of Gods will is not always made known by the flow of circumstances, that sometimes He removes blessings or changes circumstances even though we are being obedient to His revealed will. Emma is an avid writer for Salem Web Network and provides articles on the Bible, life questions, and on the Christian lifestyle. He did not say 'No, I don't really want to do this can I go a different direction?' These are the testings of life that purify and build as they teach us to trust in the Lord and . Our relationship with God is not like the army where we are told what to do so we obey, otherwise we are going to be doing 40 press ups or running around a field forever. God has prepared a place for Elijah. First letter in argument of "\affil" not being output if the first letter is "L", The "third year" refers to the third year of Elijah's stay in Zarephath, following a stay of some months at the brook Cherith (Adam Clarke, Barnes, Haydock, Keil and Delitzsch), The "third year" refers to the time of Elijah's exile, which did not begin until the dry period had already been underway for six months (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown; Thomas Coke). God had his reasons for isolating David and for isolating Moses and Joseph. Introducing Your Children to Poverty: When Should You Start? There is nothing in Scripture to indicate this on the contrary the implication is that he waited. when suddenly there was a knock on the door and a baker was there who said 'God has kept me awake all night and I knew I had to bake an extra three batches of bread for you.' The second lesson that Elijah is learning concerns His provision. This brook was not far from where he lived. This is the key to Elijahs experience and life. What if he had kicked the dirt and moaned to God about how much he liked and deserved the brook? But God always has a way! Encyclopedia. Dont throw in the towel but wait on the Lord. Oswald Chambers made this quote. It was to this area and by the brook Cherith that God sent His prophet Elijah. God had commanded him to go and hide by the brook Cherith and had commanded the ravens to feed him there. Zarephath: It is so easy to think that God has forgotten us, or to enter in a false morbid introspection of blaming ourselves for some error when in fact God may merely be saying it is time to learn a new lesson in the school of faith. He said, Lord what will you have me to do? (Acts 9:6). Many modern translations add "of the drought" or "of the famine," but it's not actually in the text. This is how God trains His young eaglets to fly. She began with pluralism, which meant that it was alright to worship more than one God - both Yahweh and Baal it didn't seem to matter. She did many evil things such as setting up high places for Baal and she also had the prophets of the Lord killed. Now brooks can be mean many things. Elijah needed to hide, far away from King Ahab and his Queen Jezebel. Elijah was a prophet of God from the region of Gilead, on the eastern side of the Jordan River. (1 Kings 17:5) To the functionally minded, Elijah's prolonged stay by the brook Cherith looks like a waste of a promising life. It would have been a tragedy for the prophet to remain longer in the wilderness. Having passed one grade in the school of faith, it was now time for the next. VERSES: 1 Kings 17:1-7 MEMORY VERSE: 1 Kings 17:4 ".thou shalt drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there." BOOK TO REMEMBER: Song of Solomon.Write "Song Of Solomon" on small slips of paper and hand out at the end of class. Her article on InterracialMarriage was the number 1 viewed article on Crosswalk for the year 2021. All rights reserved. God's provision was with Elijah and though hard times came and the provision in that location started to dwindle, God still had other means available for His servant if he would simply wait and be obedient upon the word of God. Then the company got sold and restructured and the job was gone. Jezebel, the wicked wife of Ahab, wants Elijah dead and so God tells him to hide himself by the Cherith book, east of the Jordan River. I love how Elijah boldly and confidently obeyed the voice of God in an unknown circumstance. how long was elijah at the brook cherith how long was elijah at the brook cherith. Let me leave you with the lyrics of a song I've come to love: We are pressed on every side, but we won't be shaken. Let us remember that though such times may come upon us unexpectantly, but they are never unexpected to God. 1 Kings 17:3 Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.. This might seem like a strange story to you. God may teach and test us but He never deserts us. If we have too much of the world in our lives we will be put into a position where we have to be cut off from things that control us. The nation had already had the tap of refreshing moisture turned off, and now having been given a prophet he is immediately removed. Here he was to be alone for at least a year without human company. Why would God have led him to a place where the water would dry up? So we should not run off and we can only ask 'am I in the place where God wants me to be' You can only say that for yourself before God. How do we build on it. If Elijah had yielded to such things his faith wouldve also dried up, and his confidence wouldve disappeared like the brook. By the Brook Cherith Chapter three. Scriptures help us to see the love of Christ and then learn how we can reach out to the world who is in great need of the Savior. - sometimes God tells you ahead of time what is going to happen was told company got sold restructured! Never deserts us equally as significant as my time now as a.... Read Then the company got sold and restructured and the frustrations Network and provides articles the... 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