How God Teaches People. (1 Kings 17: 1-24)

The Bible Project Daily Podcast is a daily, in-depth, encouraging, and uplifting study through the entire Bible,  chapter by chapter, verse by verse. 

Today's Episode: How God Teaches People. (1 Kings 17: 1-24)

What does it take for a person to prepare for ministry? 

Most people immediately think, “Well, you’ve got to go to bible college or university to do that.” And if you’re talking about becoming a pastor, perhaps that’s an advantage, although plenty of people have served the Lord faithfully without ever setting foot in a university classroom. But that’s not what I mean by ministry.

 According to Ephesians 4, if you have trusted Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins—if you know that issue is settled and heaven is your home—then you are already in the ministry.

Most people sitting in a pew don’t think of themselves that way, but biblically, every believer is a minister. So how then does God prepare His people to serve Him?  

There are many answers to that question, but there is one fascinating passage in the Old Testament that gives us a living, breathing example of how God shapes one man for ministry, and that man was called Elijah….

Transcript

How God Teaches People. (1 Kings 17: 1-24)

Introduction.

This may sound like a strange question to begin with, but let me ask you anyway:

What does it take for a person to prepare for ministry?

Most people immediately think, “Well, you’ve got to go to bible college or university to do that.”

And if you’re talking about becoming a pastor, perhaps that’s an advantage, although plenty of people have served the Lord faithfully without ever setting foot in a university classroom.

But that’s not what I mean by ministry.

According to Ephesians 4, if you have trusted Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins—if you know that issue is settled and heaven is your home—then you are already in the ministry.

You may not stand behind a pulpit.

You may not have a title.

You may not be on the staff, but God still says you have a ministry, and the role of church pastors is to equip you for your work of ministry.

Most people sitting in a pew don’t think of themselves that way, but biblically, every believer is a minister.

So let me ask the question again:

How does God prepare His people to serve Him?  

What does He do?

How does He train a believer to minister, to serve?

There are many answers to that question, but there is one fascinating passage in the Old Testament that gives us a living, breathing example of how God shapes one man for ministry, and that man was called Elijah….

Main Section.

So, turn with me to 1 Kings 17:1 because it introduces, for the very first time in Scripture, a prophet named Elijah:

Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”

The book of Kings has been walking us through one king after another—Jeroboam, Baasha, Omri, Ahab—and suddenly, without warning, a prophet steps onto the stage and announces:

“No rain. No dew. Not a drop.

For three years.

Unless I say so.”

What a way to begin a biblical story. Imagine tuning in to watch the weather report one evening to be told there is going to be no rain for three years, a three‑year drought.

That’s what Elijah does. 

So, what is going on? Is this drought a random event, or is it judgment?

Well, way back in Deuteronomy, God told Israel, “If you obey Me, I will bless you. If you disobey Me, I will discipline you.”

And one of the specific disciplines God said he would use was drought.

Now, by the time we reach 1 Kings 17, the northern kingdom has abandoned the Lord, embraced idolatry, and begun worshiping Baal, the so‑called “god of rain.”

Archaeologists have found images of Baal holding a lightning bolt, so he was believed to control the weather, which makes God's message all the more pointed:

“You think Baal controls the rain?

Watch this, says the Lord.”

There was already a spiritual drought in the land, and now God sends a physical drought to match it.

But Then Something Strange Happens: You would expect the chapter to continue with Elijah confronting Ahab…. But it doesn’t.

Verse 3:

“Leave here, turn eastward, and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan.

Hide? Why hide?

Well, Elijah has just announced a national disaster, and Ahab is not going to be pleased, and Jezebel, who likes to kill prophets for fun, will be furious.

So, God says, “Elijah, leave town. I’m going to protect you.”

And then something even more surprising:

“Go to the brook Cherith… you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

So, in verses 2–4, God is doing two things:

1. He protects Elijah.

“Get away. Hide. I’ll keep you safe.”

2. He provides for Elijah.

“You’ll drink from the brook. And ravens will bring you food.”

 Ravens???

 Birds that don’t even feed their own young.

God is going to supernaturally feed His prophet with the most unlikely food delivery service imaginable…. Ravens

Anyway, Elijah Obeys. Verse 5:

So, he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there.

That’s the key, Elijah obeyed.

And verse 6 does indeed say.

“The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.”

Morning and evening—like clockwork.

Bread and meat—like a divine Deliveroo service.

Water from the brook—fresh, clean, constant, and food brought by birds.

God protects him, God provides for him, and God will now train him.

Because before Elijah can stand on Mount Carmel, before he can confront Ahab again, before he can challenge Baal, before he can call down fire from heaven… God must first teach him to trust.

And that is what chapter 17 is all about.

Now, the word “bread” in verse 6 literally means food. Many scholars suggest this probably included berries, fruit, nuts—whatever the ravens could gather from places untouched by the drought.

In other words, Elijah had a pretty good diet, and it arrived twice a day, right on schedule.

But then verse 7 says: “Sometime later, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.”

Of course, it dried up. Elijah himself had announced the drought after all. But here’s the important part:

Elijah was exactly where God told him to be.  

He was in God's will, obeying God, and doing everything right…And the brook still dried up.

There’s a lesson in that.

It tells me that being in God’s will doesn’t mean you avoid trouble

Some believers think that if they’re doing God’s will, life should be smooth, no problems, no trials, and no dry brooks.

But Scripture never promises that.

Elijah is in the center of God’s will—and the water still disappears beneath his feet….

Why?

Because God is teaching him something.

He’s already learned that God can protect him.

He’s already learned that God can provide for him.

Now he must learn that God can do both, even when the circumstances change.

God still wants to be your God. He wants to provide for you, he wants to prosper you, and God wants to protect you.

That theme runs all through the Old Testament.

In fact, that idea is embedded right in the Lord’s Prayer:

“Give us this day our daily bread” — that’s provision.

“Deliver us from evil” — that’s protection.

God wants to take care of His people, and he sometimes trains us by putting us in situations where we learn that firsthand.

I recently came across a passage in Psalm 81, and it perfectly expresses what I’ve been saying. Listen to verses 13–16:

“Oh, that My people would listen to Me…

I would soon subdue their enemies…

I would feed them with the finest of wheat,

and with honey from the rock, I would satisfy you.”

Do you hear God’s heart?

“I would protect you.” “I would provide for you.” “I would satisfy you.”

That’s exactly what God is doing with Elijah.

Even Jesus Himself said:

“Look at the birds of the air… your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not much more valuable than they?”

Elijah is literally being fed by birds, and God is saying be like a baby bird and open your mouth, trust Me, and I will fill you.”

That’s the first lesson in Elijah’s training.

And now God moves him to the next training location. Verse 8-9:

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.”

A widow?

Widows were the poorest people in the land, and in a famine, they were the first to run out of food.

But God again is teaching Elijah something:

God is saying, “I can provide for you through anyone—even the most unlikely person.”

And not only is that person a widow— she’s a Gentile widow living in Sidon, outside Israel.

So, Elijah travels to Zarephath, and then it tells us.

So, he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

“As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

(1 Kings 17: 10-12)

So, he calls out, “Bring me a little water.”

Why does he do that?

Because he’s trying to identify the widow God spoke about. If she can give him water, she might be the one. And as she goes to get it, he adds: “And bring me a morsel of bread.”

Notice that when this widow speaks, the word LORD is in all caps. The word she uses is Yahweh,  the LORD Jehovah.

This Gentile widow knows the God of Israel, and she swears by His name.

But her purse is empty, and her cupboard is bare. She has enough for one last meal. And yet God says, “Elijah, this is the woman who will provide for you.”

Why? 

Because God is teaching Him:

Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first, make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.

(1 Kings 17: 13)

What?

She has enough for one last meal, and Elijah says, “Give it to me first.”

This prophet has a real nerve, but he’s not being selfish—he’s inviting her to assume a posture of faith.

Because in verse 14, he adds:

For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up, and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”

In other words: “Trust God—and He will provide, everyday.”

And she does.

Verse 15:

She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So, there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.

Many days.

Not one meal.

Not two meals.

Many meals over many days.

She gave the last that she had—and God multiplied it.

Verse 16:

For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

Every time she reached into the flour bin, there was more. Every time she tipped the oil jar, something poured out.

God is teaching Elijah: 

“I can protect you, I can provide for you, and I can do it supernaturally if I have to.”

He used birds.

He used a river.

Now, He uses a widow’s empty cupboard.

Elijah is learning that God can supply his needs in any circumstance, through any means, in any place.

Whenever I come to a passage like this, I ask, “Lord, what do I say to the people listening to this podcast today? What’s the application?”

And sometimes I wish the Lord Himself would explain these stories.

Well, on this occasion, he did.

Jesus used this very story in His first sermon in Nazareth.

Luke tells us that when Jesus announced He was the Messiah, the people of His hometown rejected Him. They knew Him as a carpenter. They had preconceived ideas about who He was—and those ideas blinded them.

So, Jesus said:

“There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah… but Elijah was sent to none of them except the widow in Sidon.”

What’s His point?

Israel didn’t believe…. But a lone little widow woman did.

Jesus uses this story to expose unbelief—and to highlight simple, trusting faith, and that’s exactly what Elijah needs to see.

Because in the next chapter, he will face Ahab, an Israelite king who will not believe.

So, God first gives him a living example of someone who does believe.

A Gentile widow. Who owns nothing but who trusts God anyway.

God is preparing Elijah by allowing him to see God work in someone else’s life so that he will trust God in his own.

But then there is a new crisis, because just when things seem stable, verse 17 says:

Some time later, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse and finally stopped breathing.

Another problem. 

Did I mention life is full of problems?

Elijah obeys God— and the brook dries up.

He trusts God— and the widow’s son dies.

This is real life, and the widow reacts the way many people would.

Verse 18:

She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”

She blames Elijah, she blames herself, and she assumes her sin caused her son’s death.

People still do this. I’ve talked to many who, when tragedy strikes, immediately assume, “God is punishing me.”

Sometimes trouble is discipline…. But not always.

In this case, her sin has nothing to do with it; God is doing something else.

Elijah then takes the boy to God, and verse 19 says.

Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed.

He carries the boy to the upper room. The living quarters above the ground floor and lays him on his own bed.

Then Elijah cries out to the Lord.

Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?”

And verse 21:

“He stretched himself out on the child three times and cried out…

‘O LORD my God, let this child’s soul come back to him.’”

The boy is dead, His soul has departed.

Now, before we go further, let’s clarify something.

What is death?

Death is the separation of the body and the soul. Some people believe in what they call “soul sleep”—that when the body dies, the soul sleeps with it. But Scripture is clear: when you die, your body stays here, and you go somewhere else—and you are conscious. 

The widow’s son is dead.

His soul has departed.

And Elijah prays, and he prays a persistent prayer. It says Elijah prayed over the child three times and cried out to the Lord.

Why three times?

Because sometimes you pray once and nothing happens.

Sometimes you pray twice, and nothing happens.

Sometimes you pray again—and God answers.

Jesus also emphasized persistent prayer.

Remember the parable of the persistent widow?

She kept coming, kept asking, kept knocking—and finally the judge said, “I’ll give you what you want; just stop wearing me out.”

Jesus said that story to teach us:

·         Don’t stop praying.

·         Don’t stop believing.

·         Don’t stop trusting in God.

If you’ve been praying for something and haven’t seen an answer yet—

Keep praying.

He hears you.

Relax and trust Him.

Then God answers. Verse 22:

The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.

God raised the boy from the dead, and Elijah carries him downstairs, hands him to his mother, and says: “See, your son lives.”

And the widow responds:

“Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.”

Elijah needed to hear that. He needed confirmation that God was working through him, and He needed assurance that God’s word in his mouth was true.

Because the next chapter will demand every ounce of courage he has.

So why did God raise this boy?

Because God is training Elijah. He is saying, “Elijah, if I can raise the dead, I can take care of you. I can protect you. I can provide for you, and I can empower you.”

And Elijah is going to need that confidence because in chapter 18, he will stand alone against.

King Ahab, and Queen Jezebel, and 450 prophets of Baal, and 400 prophets of Asherah, and an entire nation in rebellion

This chapter is God’s training ground for that.

All of this is preparation for what comes next.

And the same is true for you.

I’ve had the privilege of leading many people to Christ over the years.

And I’ve watched God work in their lives, and I’ve noticed something:

God often blesses new believers in remarkable ways.

He answers prayers.

He provides jobs.

He brings the right people into their lives.

He gives grace in abundance…. Why?

Because He’s training them and he is teaching them to trust Him.

And He’s preparing them to minister to others.

 And He does the same with older believers— but often through trials, because He’s building a deeper faith.

Let me end with a biblical illustration.

Before David ever faced Goliath, he faced something else.

He told Saul:

“When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb, I struck it and killed it

The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from this Philistine.”   (1 Samuel 17)

Do you see it? God trained David with:

A lion, then a bear, and then a giant

Each challenge prepared him for the next, and that’s exactly what God is doing with Elijah. And that’s exactly what God is doing with you.

If I could summarize 1 Kings 17 in one sentence, it would be this:

God trains His servants by showing them that He has the power to provide for them and protect them.

So let me ask… What are you facing right now?

What need do you have?

What trial are you walking through?

Well, I’m telling you that God can meet it head-on with you, so don’t look elsewhere.

Look to the Lord and trust Him and obey Him.

And he will bless you if you do….

Outro:

Elijah has now been trained— protected, provided for, empowered, and prepared.

And in the very next chapter, he steps onto Mount Carmel to confront Ahab, Jezebel, and the prophets of Baal in one of the most dramatic showdowns in all of Scripture.

Tomorrow, we begin 1 Kings 18, and