1 Kings 17

1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, By the living Lord, the God of Israel, whose servant I am, there will be no dew or rain in these years, but only at my word.

2 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying,

3 Go from here in the direction of the east, and keep yourself in a secret place by the stream Cherith, east of Jordan.

4 The water of the stream will be your drink, and by my orders the ravens will give you food there.

5 So he went and did as the Lord said, living by the stream Cherith, east of Jordan.

6 And the ravens took him bread in the morning and meat in the evening; and the water of the stream was his drink.

7 Now after a time the stream became dry, because there was no rain in the land.

8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying,

9 Up! go now to Zarephath, in Zidon, and make your living-place there; I have given orders to a widow woman there to see that you have food.

10 So he got up and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the door of the town, he saw a widow woman getting sticks together; and crying out to her he said, Will you give me a little water in a vessel for my drink?

11 And when she was going to get it, he said to her, And get me with it a small bit of bread.

12 Then she said, By the life of the Lord your God, I have nothing but a little meal in my store, and a drop of oil in the bottle; and now I am getting two sticks together so that I may go in and make it ready for me and my son, so that we may have a meal before our death.

13 And Elijah said to her, Have no fear; go and do as you have said, but first make me a little cake of it and come and give it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.

14 For this is the word of the Lord, the God of Israel: The store of meal will not come to an end, and the bottle will never be without oil, till the day when the Lord sends rain on the earth.

15 So she went and did as Elijah said; and she and he and her family had food for a long time.

16 The store of meal did not come to an end, and the bottle was never without oil, as the Lord had said by the mouth of Elijah.

17 Now after this, the son of the woman of the house became ill, so ill that there was no breath in him.

18 And she said to Elijah, What have I to do with you, O man of God? have you come to put God in mind of my sin, and to put my son to death?

19 And he said to her, Give your son to me. And lifting him out of her arms, he took him up to his room and put him down on his bed.

20 And crying to the Lord he said, O Lord my God, have you sent evil even on the widow whose guest I am, by causing her son's death?

21 And stretching herself out on the child three times, he made his prayer to the Lord, saying, O Lord my God, be pleased to let this child's life come back to him again.

22 And the Lord gave ear to the voice of Elijah, and the child's spirit came into him again, and he came back to life.

23 And Elijah took the child down from his room into the house and gave him to his mother and said to her, See, your son is living.

24 Then the woman said to Elijah, Now I am certain that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is true.

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1 Kings 17 Commentary

Chapter 17

Elijah fed by ravens. (1-7) Elijah sent to Zarephath. (8-16) Elijah raises the widow's son to life. (17-24)

Verses 1-7 God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased with the idolaters, and would chastise them by the want of rain, which it was not in the power of the gods they served to bestow. Elijah was commanded to hide himself. If Providence calls us to solitude and retirement, it becomes us to go: when we cannot be useful, we must be patient; and when we cannot work for God, we must sit still quietly for him. The ravens were appointed to bring him meat, and did so. Let those who have but from hand to mouth, learn to live upon Providence, and trust it for the bread of the day, in the day. God could have sent angels to minister to him; but he chose to show that he can serve his own purposes by the meanest creatures, as effectually as by the mightiest. Elijah seems to have continued thus above a year. The natural supply of water, which came by common providence, failed; but the miraculous supply of food, made sure to him by promise, failed not. If the heavens fail, the earth fails of course; such are all our creature-comforts: we lose them when we most need them, like brooks in summer. But there is a river which makes glad the city of God, that never runs dry, a well of water that springs up to eternal life. Lord, give us that living water!

Verses 8-16 Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, and some, it is likely, would have bidden him welcome to their houses; yet he is sent to honour and bless with his presence a city of Sidon, a Gentile city, and so becomes the first prophet of the Gentiles. Jezebel was Elijah's greatest enemy; yet, to show her how powerless was her malice, God will find a hiding-place for him even in her own country. The person appointed to entertain Elijah is not one of the rich or great men of Sidon; but a poor widow woman, in want, and desolate, is made both able and willing to sustain him. It is God's way, and it is his glory, to make use of, and put honour upon, the weak and foolish things of the world. O woman, great was thy faith; one has not found the like, no not in Israel. She took the prophet's word, that she should not lose by it. Those who can venture upon the promise of God, will make no difficulty to expose and empty themselves in his service, by giving him his part first. Surely the increase of this widow's faith, so as to enable her thus readily to deny herself, and to depend upon the Divine promise, was as great a miracle in the kingdom of grace, as the increase of her meal and oil in the kingdom of providence. Happy are all who can thus, against hope, believe and obey in hope. One poor meal's meat this poor widow gave the prophet; in recompence of it, she and her son did eat above two years, in a time of famine. To have food from God's special favour, and in such good company as Elijah, made it more than doubly sweet. It is promised to those who trust in God, that they shall not be ashamed in evil time; in days of famine they shall be satisfied.

Verses 17-24 Neither faith nor obedience shut out afflictions and death. The child being dead, the mother spake to the prophet, rather to give vent to her sorrow, than in hope of relief. When God removes our comforts from us, he remembers our sins against us, perhaps the sins of our youth, though long since past. When God remembers our sins against us, he designs to teach us to remember them against ourselves, and to repent of them. Elijah's prayer was doubtless directed by the Holy Spirit. The child revived. See the power of prayer, and the power of Him who hears prayer.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 17

This chapter begins with a prophecy of Elijah, that there should be want of rain for some years to come, and he is directed to go first to the brook Cherith, where he should be fed by ravens, 1Ki 17:1-7, and afterwards he is sent to a widow at Zarephath, where he, she, and her son, were supported for a considerable time with a handful of meal, and a little oil in a cruse miraculously increased, 1Ki 17:8-16, whose son falling sick and dying, he restored to life, 1Ki 17:17-24.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible