'He Gave Gifts Unto Men'
"Jehovah-jireh" The Lord Will Provide
*Ezekiel 46:16, "Thus saith the Lord GOD; If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, the inheritance thereof shall be his sons'; it shall be their possession by inheritance."
We all like gifts especially ones wrapped and tied with a bow. With anticipation of what is inside we judge it by its size, shake it, and then excitedly unwrap it hoping that what its secret holds is just what we wanted.
Gifts can become precious memories, a treasure that is often shared with others during the course of our life. Many people, as they become older, present this gift and this precious memory to their children with the expectation that they too will pass it on to the next generation. However, often this precious gift is sealed in a box then stored on a shelf or in a trunk in the attic and kept secret.
The word of God is often treated in this way, placed in a drawer or on a table in full view of everyone. Often it's left unused collecting dust and never opened to read or share. It's truth hidden away as a precious treasure waiting for someone to discover what is contained inside.
Far too often, the word is held in our hearts as a blessing and never spoken. There is the fear that the one who hears it might consider it offensive. Or perhaps, even worse, we might be thought of as fanatical trying to change beliefs or ideals. In apprehension, fear of the reaction consumes more than the love of the One Who gave us the word of truth.
Israel had become a nation divided, separated because of David's transgressions. Weakened by idolatry, the northern kingdom turned away from following the ways of the Lord and chose another king not of his lineage. A king which lead them away from God, forgetting His commandments, to follow the gods of the nations He rejected.
*I Kings 16:21-30, "Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri. But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri reigned. In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah. And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria. But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities. Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his might that he shewed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria: and Ahab his son reigned in his stead. And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years. And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him."
Ahab took a wife, the daughter of Ethbaal king of Zidon. Her name was Jezebel, and she turned Ahab's heart to worship and serve Baal the god of the Zidonians. Jezebel hated the prophets of God and commanded them to be slain; however, Obadiah, Ahab's governor, hid one-hundred of the sons of the prophets by fifty in a cave.
Now Elijah the Tishbite of Gilead, a prophet of God, came to Ahab and said, "As the Lord God lives, by whom I stand, there shall not be rain nor dew during these days except by my word." So God caused a draught in the land of Israel and sent Elijah to the brook Cherith for water where he remained and was fed by the ravens. When the brook ran dry God sent Elijah to a widow in Zarephath in Zidon.
There was famine in the land of Israel for three years. During that time Elijah remained in Zarephath while Obadiah fed the one-hundred prophets in a cave, but all the prophets of Baal sat at Jezebel's table. There was famine throughout the whole country both of food and the word of God.
When Elijah arrived at the gate of Zarephath he found the woman gathering sticks and called to her saying, "Bring me a little water in a vessel to drink and a little bite of bread." The woman responded, "As the Lord your God lives I do not have a cake but a handful of meal in a barrel and a little jar of oil. I am gathering sticks so that I can prepare it for me and my son that we can eat it and die." But Elijah said to her, "Don't fear. Do as you have said but make me a cake first and then one for you and your son. The Lord God of Israel has said neither the barrel of meal nor the oil will fail until the day that He sends rain upon the earth." Then the woman did as Elijah said and neither the barrel of meal nor the oil failed until the day that God sent rain upon the earth.
Now after this the woman's son became so ill he died and the woman came to Elijah and said, "What do I have to do with you man of God? Have you come to call my sin to remembrance and kill my son?" So Elijah took the boy, laid him upon his own bed, and stretched his body upon him three times praying, "O Lord my God, please I pray, let this child's soul be restored." God heard the voice of Elijah, the soul of the child was restored and he revived. When Elijah took the child back to his mother alive she said, "Now, by this I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord you speak is truth."
When God brought Israel out of bondage in the land of Egypt Moses gave them these instructions, "Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates," (*Deuteronomy 6:1-9.)
Because Israel chose to forget their God and followed the ways of Jeroboam the generation of Ahab knew nothing concerning the commandments of God. When Elijah summoned all the prophets of Baal and the people of Israel to Mount Carmel he asked them a timeless question, "How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word," *I Kings 18:21. If we forget the precious Word of God allowing it to lay dormant in our homes or within ourselves we leave the next generation wavering.
For three years the widow of Zarephath and her son witnessed the Lord God of Israel moving in their lives. There is no record in the scriptures to indicate she told anyone of the miracles performed while Elijah remained in her house; however, they were miracles that were shared until the time of Christ and continue to be shared today. Blessings spoken over and over again to each new generation.
Jezebel did not believe in the God of Israel nor did she want the prophets of God to speak His word. Although Jezebel commanded that all the prophets of God be slain, God spared Elijah the prophet and sent him to a widow in Jezebel's own country of Zidon. Jesus said, "Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow, (*Luke 4:24-26). Faith sprang up in the woman's heart through the word of God that Elijah spoke and the Lord performed a miracle.
The Old Testament prophets referred to miracles as 'a new thing.' From Genesis to Revelation the word of God reveals many new things but the greatest new thing of all is the gift of eternal life that comes through our belief in Jesus Christ. When we hear the word of truth and believe it in our heart a miracle occurs. God is no respecter of persons He will perform 'a new thing' in the lives of all those who believe.
The word of God is a pearl of great price. It holds the treasures of the kingdom of heaven. The word is near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, the word of faith. The Lord Who is over all is rich to all who call upon Him. The book of Romans chapter ten tells us, "How then shall they call on Him in Whom they have not believed? How shall they believe in Him of Whom they have not heard?" Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
Hear the word, read the word, and share the word. God will move in your life and in the lives of all those who hear His word that you share. His ways are higher than our ways and His word will not return to Him void. It is a living word, a living truth, that can bring health and healing that will last an eternity.
O Elijah was one of the greatest prophets who was ever anointed of God, but there was one who followed him that picked up his mantle and performed greater things than Elijah could ever imagine.
*August 21, 2004