Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary1 Kings 17

Elijah. Here begins a new section of Kings, entirely different in spirit from that which has gone before. Instead of a few cold facts concerning the evil reigns of the kings, we now find a recital of some of the most stirring deeds of the greatest of prophets. The stories are detailed and graphic, full of spiritual beauty and moral instruction. Elijah appears on the scene as a man with an urgent errand for God. The hour is one of crisis. Sin has invaded the land, and if not stopped, will soon engulf all in tragic ruin. Elijah meets the foe as a valiant warrior for God, bearing witness for Him by word and deed, living the life of a recluse, or standing boldly on the heights of Carmel, calling down fire from heaven, and wielding the sword of vengeance in the slaughter of the prophets of Baal. As the gripping tale unfolds its account of courage, faith, amazing fidelity, kindly affection, or earnest zeal in service for God, it is impossible not to see in the prophet a type of the greater Elias who was yet to come (Matt. 17:10–12). The name Elijah well suited the prophet for his mission. It means “Jehovah is my God.” Of Gilead. The home of Elijah was in Gilead, east of the Jordan. The exact location of the town of his origin is unknown. Said unto Ahab. The story of Elijah is introduced with dramatic abruptness. There is no introduction, nothing concerning the prophet’s call, nothing concerning the prophet’s call, nothing concerning his early experiences. He is mentioned by name as one of the inhabitants of Gilead, and then he stands before the king delivering his solemn message of judgment to come. In the solitude of the mountains of Gilead the heart of Elijah had been deeply moved as he thought of the ever-increasing tide of apostasy that was flooding the land. His soul was distressed and his indignation aroused, and he prayed most earnestly that something might happen to stay the tide of evil—that if necessary, judgments might come to bring the people to their senses and help them to see the folly

Nichol, F. D. (1978). The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary : The Holy Bible with exegetical and expository comment. Commentary Reference Series (1 Ki 8:53). Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association.

of trusting in Baal. His prayer was heard, and Elijah was himself sent to the king with his startling message of judgment to come (see PK 119, 120). Dew nor rain. Baal was worshiped as the source of life and blessing, as the great storm god, who supplied the earth with moisture, and gave to the land its increase. Now Israel was to learn that Baal could not provide these blessings.

Ellen G. White

Get thee hence. There was no time to lose. Before the king could recover his senses to lay hold on the prophet and have him put to death, he was gone. The Lord instructed him to make his way to the valley of the Jordan, by the brook Cherith. The exact location is not known, but was probably in some quiet ravine, far removed from the busy thoroughfares of men.

The ravens. The times were strange and the hearts of men were hard. If anything good was to be accomplished, God must manifest Himself in ways most unusual. Whatever means it might take, however long the time, God would demonstrate the fact before the nation that He was God and that He would take care of His own.

Dried up. Elijah’s word to the king had gone into immediate effect. From the moment the words were uttered, there was no rain, and the whole land was becoming parched and seared. King and people refused to believe that the drought was a judgment from God. They insisted that Baal and Ashtoreth would yet give them the life-giving rain. Then the brook Cherith itself dried up.

Zarephath. A coastal town in Phoenicia, 9 mi. (14.4 km.) south-southwest of Sidon, and 13 1/2 mi. (21.6 km.) north-northeast of Tyre. To this city, within the very heart of the country ruled by the kings of Baal, Elijah was sent to be sustained by a widow who was not an Israelite. Certainly Ahab would never search for him there. Zarephath is a small village known today as Ṣarafand.

Gathering of sticks. This is one of the commonest of scenes in Oriental lands, where fuel is scarce. Women and children search everywhere for a few sticks or bits of grass that can be used to kindle a fire.

A morsel of bread. It was the Lord who prompted the prophet to make this request for bread. He knew exactly the situation that prevailed—the dire poverty of the widow and the prophet’s need for bread. Being in such desperate need herself, would the widow feel she was able to deny her own son in order to give to a stranger from another land?

Make me thereof. The request was a test of faith. The widow had just explained her own financial straits. Her meager store was almost gone—only enough left for one last pitiful meal, and then starvation.

Thus saith the Lord. The request was accompanied by a promise. She was told of the blessings that her giving would bring. God made clear to her that if she gave to the prophet, He would return to her far more than she had given. She met the test and was richly rewarded.

Eat many days. She ate because she believed the promise of God. Thousands about her, those who trusted in Baal, were starving. When the call came to give, she had only enough left for one last meal for herself and son. But when she had given, she had enough for herself and all her house, and for the prophet as well, for many days. She found life and blessing because of her faith. “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth” (Prov. 11:24).

Wasted not. God’s store never becomes bare. The Lord is the source of all blessings. Those who learn to rely on Him will find even in this life a fullness of joy and blessing that despisers of His grace can never know (see Matt. 6:25, 33).

Fell sick. The widow had every evidence of God’s presence and blessing, and yet her son was stricken. Sorrow and death come to the homes of the righteous as well as the wicked. However diligent and devoted one may be in the service of the Lord, suffering and affliction, disappointment and bereavement, may still be the lot.

Man of God. The words indicate the woman’s belief in God and in Elijah as His prophet. It is a remarkable expression of faith from the mouth of a woman of Phoenicia. Even before the arrival of Elijah she had been “a believer in the true God, and had walked in all the light that was shining on her pathway” (PK 129). At an hour when Israel was turning away from God to the worship of Baal, a woman of the country of Baal was demonstrating her faith in the God of Israel. Seed sown in the most unlikely places may spring forth to produce its harvest of grace. To remembrance. The words express the unreasonableness of the sorrowing heart. The visit of Elijah had brought to the widow life, not death, and joy, not sorrow. In her affliction she associated her trouble with the prophet and God, and felt that judgment was being meted out of her because of some sin in her life. The presence of the prophet had brought to her a keener sense of sin, and she now looked upon her sorrow as a punishment from God.

Cried unto the Lord. An example of how, in the presence of death, God’s own may cry unto Him. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16).

Stretched himself. This does not mean that the prophet was resorting to some natural means of reviving the dead. Only God, who gave life, can restore life. Elijah prayed earnestly to God that He would bring the child back to life. Soul. Heb. nephesh. This Hebrew word occurs more than 700 times in the OT and has been variously translated “soul” (Gen. 2:7; 12:5, 12; etc.), “creature” (Gen. 1:21, 24; 2:19; Lev. 11:46; etc.), “person” (Gen. 14:21; Joshua 20:9; Jer. 43:6; etc.), “life” (Gen. 9:4; Ex. 4:19; Joshua 2:14; etc.), “dead” (Lev. 19:28; Num. 9:6, 7, 10; etc.), “self” (Lev. 11:43; 1 Kings 19:4; Isa. 46:2; etc.), and a number of other ways. Of all the various renderings, the translation “life” would probably be the most suitable in the text under consideration. The translation “soul” is misleading and conveys to many the idea of an immortal entity, capable of a conscious existence separate from the body. This idea is not resident in the word nephesh. In all of the more than 700 occurrences of the word, never once is such an idea attached to it or even implied. Not once is a nephesh called immortal. To translation nephesh “life” is in harmony with what the translators of our Bible have done in 119 other instances. A notable example is 1 Kings 19:4, in which Elijah declares: “O Lord, take away my life [Heb. nephesh].” Here the translators have correctly employed the word “life.” For a further discussion of the problem see on Gen. 35:18.

He revived. Through the prayer of faith, “women received their dead raised to life again” (Heb. 11:35). This miracle was performed at an hour of crisis in the history of Israel and of the world. Faith in God was at a low ebb. Men looked to the forces of nature

as the source of life and healing. They needed to have their attention directed to God, and to learn that it is He who gives life, and that it was in His power not only to heal the sick but to raise the dead. News of such a miracle could not be kept silent. Here was something that Baal could never do. As men learned that, through the power of God, the son of the widow had been raised from the dead, the power of Baal began to be broken.

Thy son liveth. How many a mother’s aching heart has longed to hear words like these! But the same glad words that were heard then, many mothers, if faithful, will hear in the near hereafter. What unexpected blessings and favors had come to the widow of Zarephath as a result of her faith and hospitality! She had shared her last meal with the prophet, and had given him a place in her humble home. As a return her child was restored to life. “He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward” (Matt. 10:41; see also Isa. 58:10, 11). 24 By this I know. The widow had had a most unusual confirmation of the reliability of the word of the Lord. God had promised, and He had done to her according to His promise. The Lord’s promises are always sure. It is well for every child of God to hold fast the profession of his faith without wavering, “for he is faithful that promised” (Heb. 10:23). Even though the Lord may perform no miracles for us as He did for the Phoenician widow, there are thousands of ways by which every child of His may know that God’s Word is truth. God is as good, as powerful, as close to us today as He was to the widow of Zarephath, and as interested in supplying our every need (see Matt. 6:25– 34).