THE VANISHING BROOK
I KINGS 17:1-9a
17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 2 The word of the Lord came to him, saying, 3 “Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is [b]east of the Jordan. 4 It shall be that you will drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook. 7 It happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there;
A.W. Tozer said, “It is doubtful that God can use any man greatly until he has hurt him deeply.”
Are you willing for God to suddenly redirect your steps and your plans, if that redirection leads you in a direction you did not plan to go?
Are you willing to follow the Lord not only through the green pastures and still waters, but down a path to obscurity or great sacrifice?
As we look at our text we need to ask ourselves what is God doing here?, and, What are some lessons that we should learn from this text?.
1. GOD’S JUDGEMENT IS DELIVERED TO AHAB (vs 1)
Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of [a]the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”
An evil King that worships Baal is on the throne. Baal is a harvest god. He is master over the weather, over crops, and fertility. God has had enough of Ahab and his god and “El Shaddai- the Lord God Almighty is about to display of His power over them.
I picture God up in Heaven saying to Himself “Let’s see how much crops their “harvest god” can produce without any rain.”
So God raises up Elijah to deliver the message. And the showdown is set in motion. God verses Baal. Elijah verses Ahab and Jezebel.
God’s desire is to win back the hearts of Israel and for them to drive out the idols and false gods.
2. GOD’S WILL IS REVEALED TO ELIJAH (vs 2-4)
2 The word of the Lord came to him, saying, 3 “Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 It shall be that you will drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.”
4 things to remember about God and us!
A. God Speaks- Our job is to Listen
** E.F. Hutton advertisement from 70s & 80s.
“When E.F. Hutton Talks, People listen”
** Momma always told me that I have 2 ears, 1 mouth. I should talk less than half as much as I listen.
God is still speaking today to those who will listen.
B. God Leads- Our Job is to Follow
God is leading Elijah to Cherith. Why?
(1) God’s Timing is Perfect.
It’s not time for Elijah to take the next step. A 3.5 year drought is needed to get the people’s attention.
** Early in Jesus’ ministry He urged folks to not yet reveal Who He really is. Why? The Countdown to the Cross would start ticking.
** God’s Timing is Perfect.
(2) Elijah Needs to be Tested. (Brook is named “Cherith”- cut off)
(3) Elijah Needs to Grow Spiritually/ Get Prepared for the Next Task
** Maybe Elijah didn’t even understand why, but he followed anyway.
** In your life, you may not understand why, but when God takes the opportunity to speak to you and lead you, the best thing to do is lace up your Nikes and follow.
C. God Blesses- Our Job is to be Prepared to Receive It.
* Vs 4- God tells Elijah that He will provide for him THERE.
Most important word is “there”. Why is it important to be “there”?
** “There” is where the brook is
** “There” is where the water is.
** “There” is where the ravens are.
** God is saying “There” is where I am and “there” is where My blessings for you are.”
If you want to receive the blessings of God, you have to be in the right place to be prepared to receive them.
(1) You must be in the right place geographically (Chris)
You may need to change jobs, churches, cities, states.......
(2) You must be in the right place spiritually.
You can be in the right place, job, church, etc but if your heart isn’t right, you won’t be either.
(3) You must be in the right place morally.
If your lifestyle doesn’t match your testimony, it is worthless.
D. God Is Still At Work Even in Our Absence
Imagine being Elijah. God gave you a Word.
A 1 sentence sermon to preach to an evil Idol-worshiping King. You’ve summoned up the courage to go and preach it.
You’ve delivered the message with power and conviction.
Common sense would tell you that you are right where you are supposed to camp out. Logic tells you that you must stay in Ahab’s face until he repents and turns to God. But then God tells you to leave and go to some lonely stream in the desert with no one to preach to except ravens and jackrabbits. Surely God is mistaken!!!!
* Has it ever occurred to you that before there was a “you” God was still God and He was doing just fine?
Before you ever became a deacon.... SS teacher... Preacher. God was in charge. You are not indispensable to him, this church, or this world.
* Many folks end up over-committed because someone has convinced them or they’ve convinced themselves that they are indispensable.
*** Charles De Gaulle said “Graveyards are filled with indispensable men.”
Points to remember while God has you at Cherith:
(1) God’s Word, when properly delivered, continues speaking to the hearer long after the speaker has forgotten saying it.
**I heard the most awesome sermon last week. Adrian Rogers preached it. He may have died a few years ago but his message lives on.
** I went to the dentist the other day. Donna works at reception and Liz cleaned my teeth. They began talking about a sermon I preached at their church about 20 years ago, long before I was a pastor. They were able to tell me all the details of the sermon and how it touched their lives. The funny part? I had long forgotten that sermon, but as they shared the details I came to remember it. I came home and looked it up on my computer and sure enough, there it was with all the statements I had made. My sermon had lived on longer than my memory. lol.
(2) You are not God’s only servant on the field.
(3) Every Servant needs some time away... to rest, recharge, grow...
(4) God ain’t through with you yet!!
3. GOD’S PROVISION IS RECEIVED BY ELIJAH (5-6)
5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook.
A. Many of God’s Blessings are Tied to Obedience
1) God Commands.
2) Elijah Obeys
3) God Blesses with a Miracle via the ravens.
** Throughout Old Testament, God made “If, then” covenants with Israel. God always kept His Word when they were obedient. But God often brought judgement when Israel broke the covenant.
B. We Must Learn to Trust God One Day at a Time
** Sometimes God dispenses His grace a little bit along the way instead of all at once. This:
1) Keeps us needful of God
2) Keeps us focused on God
4. THE VANISHING BROOK (vs 7-9a)
7 It happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there
A. To be Useful to God, We Must be Set Aside At Times
Elijah has a major battle coming up that he must be made ready for.
He needed time at Cherith to grow spiritually.
* I once turned a church down to preach after a 3 year interim that was an hour away. God used that time off to make me hungry to preach His Word.
B. A Dried Up Brook is Often a Sign of God’s Pleasure, not His Disappointment
1) The brook dried up BECAUSE God answered his prayers.
James 5:16-18 The effective [o]prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed [p]earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.
2) God Always Tests His Own before “promoting” them.
In your life right now, do you feel like your brook is drying up?
* Then pay attention and seek the Lord.
* It may be that God is about to lead you to a new ministry.
God has plans for you.
* He greatly desires to raise you up, anoint you, and empower you to do Great and Mighty Things in the Kingdom.
* Whether or not you accept that call is up to you.
