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| 1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, saith unto Ahab, 'Jehovah, God of Israel, liveth, before whom I have stood, there is not these years dew and rain, except according to 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
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| 2 And the word of Jehovah is unto him, saying, |
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| 3 'Go from this [place]; and thou hast turned for thee eastward, and been hidden by the brook Cherith, that [is] on the front of 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 hath been, from the brook thou dost drink, and the ravens I have commanded to sustain 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 And he goeth and doth according to the word of Jehovah, yea, he goeth and dwelleth by the brook Cherith, that [is] on the front of the Jordan, |
Dwelt by the brook – For about two years. R2326:2
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| 6 and the ravens are bringing to him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and of the brook he drinketh. |
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 cometh to pass, at the end of days, that the brook drieth up, for there hath 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
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| 8 and the word of Jehovah is unto him, saying, |
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| 9 'Rise, go to Zarephath, that [is] to Zidon, and thou hast dwelt there; lo, I have commanded there a widow woman 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 And he riseth, and goeth to Zarephath, and cometh in unto the opening of the city, and lo there, a widow woman gathering sticks, and he calleth unto her, and saith, 'Bring, I pray thee, to me, a little water in a vessel, and I 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 she goeth to bring [it], and he calleth unto her and saith, 'Bring, I pray thee, to me a morsel of bread in thy hand.' |
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| 12 And she saith, 'Jehovah thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but the fulness of the hand of meal in a pitcher, and a little oil in a dish; and lo, I am gathering two sticks, and have gone in and prepared it for myself, and for my son, and we have eaten it and died.' |
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 saith unto her, 'Fear not, go, do according to thy word, only make for me thence a little cake, in the first place, and thou hast brought out to me; and for thee and for thy son make last; |
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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| 14 for thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, The pitcher of meal is not consumed, and the dish of oil is not lacking, till the day of Jehovah's giving a shower on the face of the ground.' |
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
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| 15 And she goeth, and doth according to the word of Elijah, and she eateth, she and he, and her household 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 pitcher of meal was not consumed, and the dish of oil did not lack, according to the word of Jehovah that He spake by the hand of Elijah. |
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| 17 And it cometh to pass, after these things, the son of the woman, mistress of the house, hath been sick, and his sickness is very severe till that no breath hath been left in him. |
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| 18 And she saith unto Elijah, 'What to me and to thee, O man of God thou hast come unto me to cause mine iniquity to be remembered, and to put my son to death!' |
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| 19 And he saith unto her, 'Give to me thy son;' and he taketh him out of her bosom, and taketh him up unto the upper chamber where he is abiding, and layeth him on his own bed, |
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| 20 and crieth unto Jehovah, and saith, 'Jehovah my God, also on the widow with whom I am sojourning hast Thou done evil to put her son to death ' |
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| 21 And he stretcheth himself out on the lad three times, and calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, 'O Jehovah my God, let turn back, I pray Thee, the soul of this lad into his midst;' |
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| 22 and Jehovah hearkeneth to the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the lad turneth back into his midst, and he liveth. |
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 taketh the lad, and bringeth him down from the upper chamber of the house, and giveth him to his mother, and Elijah saith, 'See, thy son liveth!' |
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| 24 And the woman saith unto Elijah, 'Now, this I have known, that a man of God thou [art], and the word of Jehovah in thy mouth [is] truth.' |
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