WHEN THE BROOK DRIES UP
Reference 1 Kings 17: 1-16 (NKJV)
1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”.2 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 3 “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 4 And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. 7 And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been 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 dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”12 So she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.’”15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah.
What do you do when the brook dries? Go find someone who is gathering sticks! When circumstances dictate that our resources are dried up, listen and obey the prompting of the Lord! Samaria, under the rulership of Ahab had turned to Baal, idol worship. He was the worst king in all of Israel. God was so angry, He told Elijah to make a decree.
Elijah decreed, that Samaria would have both a drought and a famine until he said when. He could make this declaration because he knew the power of God that was at work in him. (Ephesians 3:20 Now unto Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we may ask or think according to the power that is at work in us…). Elijah had confidence in the God of Israel and so he could boldly speak the word of faith…there would be no rain until he said so. What a confidence! He knew that death and life are in the power of the tongue. He knew that God said, “Let there be.” And it was so. (Genesis 1:1) Because of Elijah’s confidence in this same God, he hid by the brook Cherith as he was commanded.
Why would God send him to hide? It was not to create fear, but rather, he was being set apart so he could focus on God instead of on Ahab. As the story unfolds we realize that it was all in the path that God chose for him. In our finite minds, we want to rationalize with God and show Him all the alternatives of how our life could be played out. BUT HE IS GOD! He knows what is ahead and He must receive the glory. He does what is best for us.
Elijah followed strictly. He went to the brook and waited for the next steps. He was doing God’s perfect will. As a matter of fact, God also provided bread and meat for him there, although it was transported by an unlikely delivery service (ravens). Imagine if Elijah had said, “Oh no! You cannot bring my entrée.” He would have starved to death. On a positive note, he did not have to go find his own food. His energy was being preserved for the trip that was ahead of him.
It may be that when it seems that we have an encumbrance, God is preserving us for the next leg of our journey. Sometimes, while on God’s mission, we are in hiding and must adapt to our surroundings. So, Elijah learned and made himself content in the state that he found himself. (Philippians 4:11). The surroundings were not perfect. After a while, the brook evaporated. We are not told how long that while was but it was long enough for the water to disappear. Did God know that that would happen? Of course, He did!
Since Elijah was in hiding we assume he had no human company and his main resource was gone. He could neither fish, drink, wash his clothes, bathe nor swim to pass the time. Was Elijah still in God’s will? Yes, he was! Elijah had to be still and listen for the next marching orders. We too, must stand still until God gives us direction to “Arise and go…”.
When we hear God’s voice, He gives specifics. Elijah heard God’s word again. He had provisions already awaiting Elijah’s arrival. Again, Elijah was given detailed instructions. He was to go to a widow at Zarephath. God said she would sustain him. In rationalizing the directive, it seemed unreasonable to expect a widow to have extras for anyone? She might have been facing a huge, inherited debt from her late husband.
On Elijah’s arrival, to his amazement, he saw the said widow at the city gate eking out her means of existence… gathering sticks to make a fire. It was hardly likely that she could sustain anyone, but because God said it, Elijah acted on the promise. What did she have? She had sticks, a vessel, water, meal, a bin, oil, a resolution to die, and a jar. Collectively, these were more than what she did not have: “I have not a cake.” She focused on what she lacked rather than what was in her possession. She had the ingredients for the miracle that would sustain her and her house until the drought ended. It was good that she did not have a cake because if she did, it would have been consumed in no time.
In Luke 10:38 we are admonished to give and it shall be reciprocated, by mankind. The widow’s obedience earmarked the extent of her supply. If she and her son had eaten then, her words, no doubt would have become a reality… we may eat it and die. Beware of self-fulfilling prophecies! Even when circumstances dictate otherwise, we can give God our trend of thought and experience His giving good measure, pressed down, shaken together and the running over of personal promises.
Momentarily, Elijah calmed her fears, but made an unthinkable request. He told her to feed him first and then herself and her son, then God would give her exceeding abundantly above all she could think. There is no telling what thoughts she might have had then, but she put the promise (I Kings 17: 14) to the test, thus obeying Elijah.
What did she have to lose? All she knew was that either way she and her son would die. Maybe she did not so much believe in Elijah per se, but she believed in his God. Because of her obedience, the meal and the oil became more than she, her son and Elijah could consume. Never in her wildest dream could she anticipate that outcome. She had enough and to spare. When we obey God, those around us will see the miraculous hand of God.
A specific promise God gives us is found in Proverbs 11:25. It is paraphrased that we shall be watered if we water others even from what we think is insufficient to share. God is reasonable. He only asks us to use what we have, however small. That’s when He shows Himself strong on our behalf. He wants to increase our little, but He can’t do that unless we trust Him.
This experience, for Elijah, the widow, the son, and the neighbors came about because of the brook being dried up. If the brook had not dried up, maybe Elijah would still be there drinking water and eating from ravens. He would not have heard from God and the widow would have missed out on seeing the results of obedience, that is, the miracle that awaited her household.
God gave Elijah a prophetic word for Samaria, but hidden in that word was a prepared, planned path for this servant of God. Let’s reflect on it …he hid by the brook … was fed by birds of prey…the source of satisfying his thirst evaporated… informed about sustenance from a needy person…experienced a miracle that derailed the predictability of the present and fast forwarded to the future.
Whereas Elijah might have thought that his sole purpose for being sent to the brook was to hide, the real purpose was far-reaching. He could have wondered whether it was really God’s voice that he heard. Why would God deplete his resources when he was only being obedient?
Has your brook (your comfort zone/ your resource/ your efforts) dried up? What should you do? Listen! God gives us directives, even if our provisions come from an unlikely or unexpected source. When our resources fail, remember that THE SOURCE is always available and is concerned about us. Sometimes it takes a dried-up brook to propel us into the path of our miracle where God alone gets the glory. Follow the leading that He gives and experience the miracle He has in store. We too are channels/conduits of blessings, especially when our brook dries up.
REFLECTION
1. In what ways does God give us confirmation when He gives us a directive?
2. Discuss…God’s requirement of us does not exceed what we have.
Dr. O. A. James