1 Kings 17

Elijah the Tishbite
1 Kings 17

Historical Context

Saul-----------David------------Solomon
1049-1009---1009-969--------971-931

southern kingdom-------------northern kingdom
Rehoboam--933-916
-------------------------------930-909 Jeroboam
Abijah----- 915-913
Asa--------912-872
-------------------------------909-908 Nadab
-------------------------------908-886 Baasha
-------------------------------886-885 Elah
-------------------------------885-885 Zimri
-------------------------------885-880 Tibni
-------------------------------885-874 Omri
-------------------------------874-853 Ahab
Jehoshaphat--874-850

Northern Kingdom (930-722)
- 20 Kings
- 20 Wicked Kings
- 00 Righteous Kings

Souther Kingdom (933-586)
- 20 kings
- 12 Wicked Kings
- 08 Righteous Kings

Character Background

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."

Elijah the Tishbite Prophet
1. Name means “my God is Jehovah”
2. On a worldly scale, he was a nobody
3. His message was bold and unpopular

Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: "Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there." So he did what the LORD had told him.

1. Kerith means to ‘cut-off, cut-down’
2. Elijah was ‘cut-off’ from other people
3. Elijah was ‘cut-down’ in humility
4. He was protected from Ahab/Jezebel
5. He was totally dependant on God
6. He learned to totally trust God
7. His experience made him a man of God

Think of the main heroes and Scripture and whether or not they had to go through a difficult time prior to their exaltation

Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land

1. Faith won’t always come easily
2. God can provide water and take it away
3. Elijah learned to take prayer seriously

James 5:17
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.

Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."

1. God never forgets where we are
2. God knows where He’s taking us
3. God will protect our journey
4. God provides a destination

The Test at Zarephath
1. Will you give up easily?
2. Will you believe the unbelievable?
3. Will you be patient in ministry?