Elijah and the Ravens

A prophet in a drought. Ravens by a creek. A widow and her dead son. A showdown and a whisper. The stories of Elijah the prophet are definitely epic. Over the next four weeks I would like to explore some of them on this blog. There’s no way for me to cover everything completely, so I would encourage you to do your own reading and study, when you have time, and see how the Holy Spirit might speak through Elijah’s experience. You can find his story in 1 and 2 Kings.

As we begin, it’s important to make ourselves aware of a significant assumption that comes from the wider story of Scripture. That assumption is that God has designed the world to flourish. But God also warns us that when we choose otherwise, the consequence is death. This might not sound new, but what’s consistently amazing about our Creator is that whenever humans decide to walk the way that leads to brokenness and death, God tries to pull us back. God tries to intervene to bring us back to life, back to Himself.

Prophets in the Bible were individuals whom God used in order to get the message across to people who were straying off the path of life. God called prophets to be His mouthpieces with the goal of drawing the hearts of the people back towards Him. Prophets would remind the people of the covenant promises between them and God and call them to faithfulness. As you can imagine, these messages were rarely well-received. Being a prophet was a scary, life-threatening, and lonely job. 

Elijah was a prophet during the reign of Ahab (King of Israel), approximately 850 years before the birth of Jesus. By this time, the kingdoms of Israel and Judah had been divided for roughly 60 years. Every king of Israel that preceded Ahab did evil, but Ahab “did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him” (1 Kings 16:30).

Ahab’s sin can be summed up as a complete disregard and apathy for the things of God. He paid no attention to the covenant that God established with Israel, and because of his influence, the people of Israel worshipped other gods, like Baal, for whom Ahab built altars and temples. The kings of Israel were supposed to lead the people in the way of life, but instead, Ahab led them down the path of death to idolatry and injustice. 

In 1 Kings 17:1 we find Elijah in the presence of King Ahab. Elijah delivers this message to him: “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”

It’s short and sweet. Elijah doesn’t even tell Ahab that something’s wrong, or which of Ahab’s actions God is calling into question. But there’s profound meaning in Elijah’s declaration.

First of all, Elijah declares there to be one, and only one, Lord of Israel. This Lord is the same God who brought His people out of Egypt and gave them the land they are in. It’s the same God who made a covenant with them and promised to bless them and make them a blessing to the rest of the world. And yet, Israel turned away; Ahab is largely to blame for that. But Elijah reminds the King that there is one true ruler of Israel (God) and he positions himself as God’s servant. Perhaps he’s publicly rebuking Ahab. Elijah serves the Lord God, but whom does King Ahab serve?

Because of Ahab, there will be no more rain in the land until further notice. Through this act, God is demonstrating His power to Israel. The creator is showing His control over His creation. It’s even more interesting to note that Baal was believed to be a god of fertility. King Ahab and his religious leaders told the people to pray to Baal for rain since they believed that Baal made life grow. 

“God isn’t simply demonstrating His power over creation, but subverting the very gods that have taken Israel’s attention and drawn them away from the Lord.”

God isn’t simply demonstrating His power over creation, but subverting the very gods that have taken Israel’s attention and drawn them away from the Lord. God is trying to remind the people of who the true God is. Why would Israel pray to Baal when it is God who can close and open the heavens? Why worship Baal when it is God who provides for life?

God then demonstrates His provision to Elijah personally, and in an interesting way. God tells Elijah to hide near a brook in the Kerith Ravine, most likely because King Ahab was angry and wanted to confront Elijah. In the morning and evening, God sends ravens to bring Elijah bread and meat. Every time I read that part of the story, I’m astonished. Elijah just told the king that the living God will stop the provision of rain, and yet Elijah experiences how God can provide in mysterious and extraordinary ways.

I don’t know about you, but it’s extremely difficult to trust God sometimes. In our North American culture of self-sufficiency, we have a lot of things we can turn to in order to achieve the outcomes we desire. We are pulled in a myriad of directions that often put our allegiance to God into question. But this first part of the story of Elijah serves as a reminder for us about who’s in control of the universe. God, the Lord, the creator of all things is in control and has the ability to provide for His creation. 

The same questions that the people of Israel faced stand before us today. Do we believe God to be real? Do we believe the Word of God that calls us in the direction of life and flourishing? Do we believe that God is actually good, that His way is actually the best for us? Sometimes it takes the voice of a prophet for us to open our eyes once again and trust in God alone. If we listen, we may just discover God in the most unlikely and bizarre ways, providing and taking care of us as we put our trust in Him. 

We don’t actually know how Ahab reacted to Elijah’s words. Only time will tell if the word from Elijah was true. Will the rain actually stop? Will Ahab turn to follow God? Will Elijah succeed in his call? We will continue the story in next week’s blog.