| Scripture |
Expanded Comments |
| |
|
| 1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, As Jehovah the God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except by my word. |
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
|
| 2 And the word of Jehovah came to him saying, |
|
| 3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the torrent Cherith, which 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
|
| 4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the torrent; 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
|
| 5 And he went and did according to the word of Jehovah; he went and abode by the torrent Cherith, which is before the Jordan. |
Dwelt by the brook – For about two years. R2326:2
|
| 6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the torrent. |
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
|
| 7 And it came to pass after a while that the torrent dried up, for there had been 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
|
| |
|
| 8 And the word of Jehovah came to him saying, |
|
| 9 Arise, go to Zarephath, which is by Zidon, and abide there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to maintain thee. |
Zarephath – Outside the kingdom of Israel. R3400:5
A widow woman – A godly Gentile who had respect to Jehovah. R3400:5, R2326:4
|
| 10 And he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the entrance of the city, behold, a widow woman 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
|
| 11 And she went to fetch it, and he called to her and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand. |
|
| 12 And she said, As Jehovah thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a 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
|
| 13 And Elijah said to her, Fear not; go, do as thou hast said; but make me thereof a little cake first; and bring it to me; and afterwards make for thee and for thy son. |
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
|
| 14 For thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: The meal in the barrel shall not waste, neither shall the oil in the cruse fail, until the day that Jehovah sendeth rain upon the face of the earth! |
Barrel of meal – Symbol of the bread of truth, of which our supply is continued from day to day. R2326:6
Neither shall ... oil fail – You will increase your own store of spiritual food as you give it to others. CR302:3
Representing the holy Spirit, which helps to make the truth nourishing and profitable to us. R2326:6
|
| 15 And she went and did according to the word of Elijah; and she, and he, and her house, ate a whole year. |
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
|
| 16 The meal in the barrel did not waste, neither did the oil in the cruse fail, according to the word of Jehovah which he had spoken through Elijah. |
|
| |
|
| 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 severe that there was no breath left in him. |
|
| 18 And she said to Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come to me to call mine iniquity to remembrance, and to slay my son? |
|
| 19 And he said to her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the upper chamber where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. |
|
| 20 And he cried to Jehovah and said, Jehovah, my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? |
|
| 21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried to Jehovah and said, Jehovah, my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again! |
|
| 22 And Jehovah heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child came into him again, and he lived. |
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
|
| 23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and delivered him to his mother; and Elijah said, See, thy son lives. |
|
| 24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of Jehovah in thy mouth is truth. |
|