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| 1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the sojourners of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As Jehovah, the God of Israel, liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
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And Elijah – Type of the true Church in the flesh--The Christ, Head and Body. B256; R5629:1, R5569:5, R5741:3, R5857:4; Q259:1
Said unto Ahab – Worldly system, to which this professed nominal church of Christ is united. R5741:6
Type of the Roman empire. R3408:3; B256
He reproved King Ahab, Jezebel and the ten tribes. R4730:3
The king doubtless considered this a vain boast. R4731:2
God of Israel liveth – Whom you seem to think is dead. R2326:1
Before whom I stand – Whose representative I am. R3400:1
True prophets of God are not boastful; they speak merely as divine mouthpieces. R5741:2
Not be dew nor rain – A declaration of a divine judgment. R2326:1
Intended to be corrective. R5741:2
A drouth which was a retribution of punishment upon Israel. R4730:6
The 3 � year drouth and resulting famine of 1260 days were prophetic of the 1260 years from 539 AD to 1799 AD, when there was a famine in the world for the hearing of the word of the Lord (Amos 8:11, 12) under Papal dominatio R5742:1, R5741:6, R5751:5, R234:6
The word for rain is that which refers to the principal rain, which comes in the fall of the year. R3400:2
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| 2 And the word of Jehovah came unto him, saying, |
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| 3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before the Jordan. |
And hide thyself – Keep his whereabouts unknown to the king. R3400:2
Representing the flight of the true Church into a condition of isolation during the three and one-half symbolic "times" of Papal supremacy. B256
Brook Cherith – On a mountainside, on the road leading from Jerusalem down to the Dead Sea, a lonely spot. R5741:2
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| 4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. |
Ravens to feed thee – Our Heavenly Father was quite able to use the ravens in supplying the needs of his servant, and we are told, "He careth for you" (1 Pet. 5:7); "My God shall supply all R3400:3,4
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| 5 So he went and did according unto the word of Jehovah; for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before the Jordan. |
Dwelt by the brook – For about two years. R2326:2
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| 6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. |
Ravens – Exhibit not only extraordinary intelligence, but sometimes also sympathy. R2326:2
The food for Elijah was probably stolen from the bazaars of Jerusalem or Jericho. R2326:3
Bread and flesh – Typifying the Lord's care of the true Church during the time she was hiding from Papacy. B256
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| 7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. |
No rain in the land – Typifying the lack of truth the living water, during the 3 ½ symbolic "times" of papal persecution. B256
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| 8 And the word of Jehovah came unto him, saying, |
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| 9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Sidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain thee. |
Zarephath – Outside the kingdom of Israel. R3400:5
A widow woman – A godly Gentile who had respect to Jehovah. R3400:5, R2326:4
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| 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. |
A little water – The gift of water to the thirsty is regarded as a sacred duty. R2326:4
The streams of that vicinity, from the mountains of Lebanon, had evidently not completely dried up. R3400:5
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| 11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand. |
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| 12 And she said, As Jehovah thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in the jar, and a little oil in the cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. |
An handful of meal – Even so, small amounts of consecrated funds can greatly spread the gospel. R2549:5
Eat It, and die – What she presumed would be her last meal. Your meal and oil may run low, but God knoweth it and will provide with spiritual blessings accompanying, if you will trust him. R2326:5, R2021:4
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| 13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said; but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it forth unto me, and afterward make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, The jar of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that Jehovah sendeth rain upon the earth. |
Fear not – This was a severe test to the woman's faith and generosity. R4731:4
A little cake first – If the woman had the faith necessary to obey she would be esteemed worthy of the Lord's assistance through the prophet. The Lord tests our faith, too. R2326:5, R3400:6
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| 15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. |
She went and did – She had faith enough to share her little remnant with him, resulting in a miracle. R5741:3
A lesson that, even in our extremities, we should exercise sympathy toward others. R4731:5
Is thy cruse of comfort failing? Rise and share it with another. R2326:6*
Did eat many days – The Lord's people have great need to cultivate a large generosity, not only of thought, but of deed. R2326:4, R3400:6
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| 16 The jar of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of Jehovah, which he spake by Elijah. |
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| 17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. |
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| 18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? thou art come unto me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son! |
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| 19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the chamber, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. |
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| 20 And he cried unto Jehovah, and said, O Jehovah my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? |
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| 21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto Jehovah, and said, O Jehovah my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again. |
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| 22 And Jehovah hearkened unto the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. |
And the soul – Nephesh, being, life, existence. R366:6
And he revived – Awakening, not resurrection, of the dead. R2618:2, R360:2; F704
Thus foreshadowing the Times of Restitution. (Isa. 25:6-9) R4758:5, R62:1*; HG336:1
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| 23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother; and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. |
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| 24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of Jehovah in thy mouth is truth. |
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