Elias prophesied that “there shall not be dew nor rain these years.”
And the word of the Lord came to him and told him to “go towards the east, and hide thyself by the torrent of Carith, which is over against the Jordan, and there thou shalt drink of the torrent: and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the torrent.
But after some time the torrent was dried up…
God to Elias: Arise, and go to Sarephta of the Sidonians, and dwell there: for I have commanded a widow woman there to feed thee.
The widow and her son were starving to death and had but one final meal to eat.
Elias to the widow: Fear not… For thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: The pot of meal shall not waste, nor the cruse of oil be diminished, until the day wherein the Lord will give rain upon the face of the earth… the pot of meal wasted not, and the cruse of oil was not diminished, according to the word of the Lord.
The son of the widow… fell sick… and the sickness was very grievous, so that there was no breath left in him.
Elias: O Lord my God, let the soul of this child, I beseech thee, return into his body. And the Lord heard the voice of Elias: and the soul of the child returned into him, and he revived.
Widow to Elias: Now, by this I know that thou art a man of God, and the word of the Lord in thy mouth is true.
What true faith that Elias and the widow had. Not only does God feed and take care of the birds but in this biblical account had the birds feeding Elias. And then a widow who had no more food to eat believed in God and Elias and shared when most of us, including me, would have become territorial and tried to save our own families first. But her faith brought her son back to life. Another true miracle of the Old Testament.
Continuing the story……in the third year… there was a grievous famine in Samaria.
sunset on the ground dried by dryness
Elias to the people: I only remain a prophet of the Lord… and the God that shall answer by fire, let him be God… Come ye unto me… Elias the Prophet…
Elias: Lord God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, and I thy servant, and that according to thy commandment I have done all these things. Hear me, O Lord, hear me that this people may learn, that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart again.
Then the fire of the Lord fell… And when all the people saw this, they fell on their faces, and they said: The Lord he is God, the Lord he is God.
Elias to the people” Take the prophets of Baal, and let not one of them escape.
And when they had taken them, Elias brought them down to the torrent Cison, and killed them there.
And Elias said to Achab: Go up, eat, and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain… behold the heavens grew dark, with clouds, and wind, and there fell a great rain.
…and behold the word of the Lord came unto him (Elias)… Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord: and behold the Lord passeth, and a great and strong wind… the Lord is not in the wind… an earthquake… the Lord is not in the earthquake… a fire… the Lord is not in the fire… a whistling of a gentle air… and the Lord said to him: Go and return on thy way through the desert to Damascus: and when though art come thither, thou shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria…. And thou shall anoint Jehu… to be king over Israel… and Eliseus… thou shalt anoint to be prophet of thy room… And I will leave me seven thousand men in Israel, whose knees have not been bowed before Baal.
So we listen for the Lord in the whistling of a gentle air (wind)… we denounce idols… we live out our seasons of a day, a lifetime and become our Splendid Spiritual Self for all of eternity.
Like and with the true faith of Elias and the Widow we are destined to be a miracle of The Old, The New and the Third Testaments.
Amen. Al-le-lu-ia!
Day 121: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; Faith of Elias & Widow destine a Miracle of the Old Testament!
Read and inspired by the Old Testament, The Third Book of Kings Chapters 17-20
Bible Notes:
This Book opens with the death of King David. Solomon, his son, succeeded him. King Solomon ruled wisely, beautified Jerusalem, and built the Temple. But later he encouraged idolatry. After his death his kingdom split into two hostile sections, Israel in the North and Juda in the South.
3 Kings Chapter 17: Elias predicts drought; Elias is fed by ravens; Elias visits a widow of Sarephta; Elias feeds the widow’s household; Elias restores life to the widow’s son.
Elias to Achab: …there shall not be dew nor rain these years…
And the word of the Lord came to him (Elias)…
God to Elias: …and go towards the east, and hide thyself by the torrent of Carith, which is over against the Jordan, and there thou shalt drink of the torrent: and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the torrent.
But after some time the torrent was dried up…
God to Elias: Arise, and go to Sarephta of the Sidonians, and dwell there: for I have commanded a widow woman there to feed thee.
Widow to Elias: …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.
Elias to the widow: Fear not… For thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: The pot of meal shall not waste, nor the cruse of oil be diminished, until the day wherein the Lord will give rain upon the face of the earth… the pot of meal wasted not, and the cruse of oil was not diminished, according to the word of the Lord.
The son of the widow… fell sick… and the sickness was very grievous, so that there was no breath left in him.
Elias: O Lord my God, let the soul of this child, I beseech thee, return into his body. And the Lord heard the voice of Elias: and the soul of the child returned into him, and he revived.
Widow to Elias: Now, by this I know that thou art a man of God, and the word of the Lord in thy mouth is true.
3 Kings Chapter 18: Elias goes to Achab; Achab and Abdias seek feed for the cattle; Elias meets Abdias; Elias meets Achab; The prophets of Baal fail; Elias prepares a sacrifice; Elias brings down fire from heaven; The prophets of Baal are executed; The prayers of Elias bring rain.
…in the third year… there was a grievous famine in Samaria
God to Elias: Go and show thyself to Achab (king over Israel), that I may give rain upon the face of the earth.
Achab called Abdias the governor of his house… to see if we can find grass, and save the horses and mules… Achab went one way, and Abdias another way by himself.
Abdias feared the Lord very much. For when Jezabel killed the prophets of the Lord, he took one hundred prophets and hid them by fifty and fifty in caves, and fed them with bread and water.
Abdias to Elias: Art thou my lord Elias?
Elias to Abdias: I am. Go, and tell thy master: Elias is here… this day I will show myself unto him.
Elias to Achab: thou… have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and have followed Baalim… nevertheless… gather unto me all Israel, unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred and fifty..
Elias to the people: I only remain a prophet of the Lord… and the God that shall answer by fire, let him be God… Come ye unto me… Elias the Prophet…
Elias: Lord God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, and I thy servant, and that according to thy commandment I have done all these things. Hear me, O Lord, hear me that this people may learn, that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart again.
Then the fire of the Lord fell… And when all the people saw this, they fell on their faces, and they said: The Lord he is God, the Lord he is God.
Elias to the people” Take the prophets of Baal, and let not one of them escape.
And when they had taken them, Elias brought them down to the torrent Cison, and killed them there.
And Elias said to Achab: Go up, eat, and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain… behold the heavens grew dark, with clouds, and wind, and there fell a great rain.
3 Kings Chapter 19: Elias flees from Jezabel; An angel feeds Elias; Elias to anoint Hazael, Jehu, and Eliseus; Eliseus follows Elias.
Where did the name Dr. Seus come from? Only other place I have seen these four letters so arranged. Dr. Eli Seus?
And Achab told Jezabel all that Elias had done, and how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. And Jezabel sent a messenger to Elias, saying: Such and such things may the gods do to me, and add still more, if by this hour to morrow I make not thy life as the life of one of them.
Then Elias was afraid, and rising up he went withersoever he had a mind…
Elias… went forward… one day’s journey into the desert… he requested for his soul that he might die… slept in the shadow of a juniper tree… an angel of the Lord touched him… Arise and eat… and he ate and drank and fell asleep again… the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him… Arise, eat: for thou hast yet a great way to go. And he arose, and at, and drank, and walked in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights, unto the mount of God, Horeb.
…and behold the word of the Lord came unto him (Elias)… Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord: and behold the Lord passeth, and a great and strong wind… the Lord is not in the wind… an earthquake… the Lord is not in the earthquake… a fire… the Lord is not in the fire… a whistling of a gentle air… and the Lord said to him: Go and return on thy way through the desert to Damascus: and when though art come thither, thou shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria…. And thou shall anoint Jehu… to be king over Israel… and Eliseus… thou shalt anoint to be prophet of thy room… And I will leave me seven thousand men in Israel, whose knees have not been bowed before Baal.
3 Kings Chapter 20: The Syrians besiege Samaria; Achab refuses to meet Benadad’s terms; Achab defeats the Syrians; The Syrians again invade Israel; Achab again defeats the Syrians; Achab gives Benadad his freedom; A prophet reprehends Achab.
Benadad, king of Spain said to Achab, king of Israel: Thy silver, and thy gold is mine: and thy wives, and thy goodliest children are mine…
Achab: To morrow…
Ancients of Israel: Hearken not to him, nor consent to him.
Achab to Benadad: Let not the girded boast himself as the ungirded…
Benadad… and the kings were drinking in pavilions…
And behold a prophet coming to Achab… said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Hast thou seen all this exceeding great multitude? Behold I will deliver them into thy hand this day: that thou mayest know that I am the Lord…
…he found the number of… seven thousand and they went out at noon…
But Benadad was drinking himself drunk in his pavilion…
Servants to Benadad… There are men coming out of Samaria…
Benadad to servants: Whether they come for peace, take them alive: or whether they come to fight take them alive…
So everyone (Israelites) slew the man that against him… the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued after them. And Benadad king of Syria fled away on horseback with his horsemen…
…the king of Israel going out… and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.
Servants to Benadad: Their gods are the gods of the hills, therefore they have overcome us: but it is better that we should fight against them in the plains, and we shall overcome them…
Lord to Achab: Because the Syrians have said: The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys: I will deliver all this great multitude into thy hand and you shall know that I am the Lord.
…And the Children of Israel slew of the Syrians a hundred thousand footmen in one day.
And Benadad fleeing went into the city, into a chamber that was within a chamber…
Behold, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful: so let us put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes on our hands, and go to the king of Israel: perhaps he will save our lives…
So he (Achab) made a league with him (Benadad), and let him go…
Prophet to Achab: Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man worthy of death, thy life shall be for his life, and thy people for his people…
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