Central Thought:
God’s unlimited resources are for His children today.
TEXT: 1Kings 17:1-16; 19:5-8
INTRODUCTION:
A miracle could simply be defined as a supernatural act, intervention of God to the course of nature. Miracles do not follow natural laws and tendency rather they operate at much higher levels. Therefore, a miraculous provision meets the various needs of his people. Miracles are not magical Acts. Whereas magical acts are tricks of the enemy with the intent to confound the heart of depraved men, miracles are acts of God designed to assist men beyond the limits of the human resources and abilities. Miracle always happens for a purpose. To take an individual Beyond his human limitations so that the name of the Lord is glorified. Miracles are never designed to bring to Limelight the vehicle by which the Miracles come but to direct the hearts of men and women to the Lord- the very source of all miracles.
Some individuals claim miracles are over because the circumstances that gave rise to miraculous events in biblical days are non-existent today. To infer that Miracles cannot take place today is to deny the limitation of man and acknowledge that man does not have need for God today. We must acknowledge the finiteness of every human being an all human inventions institution, and the finitude of God whose resources are Unlimited. As we begin to break down the boundaries we have set for God as we enter into the realm of knowing God’s Unlimited provisions.
LESSON OBJECTIVESThe objectives of this study are:
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BIBLE TRUTH
Q1. DISCUSS HOW ELIJAH WAS MIRACULOUSLY BY RAVENS? (1KINGS.17:2-6)
Immediately after prophet Elijah had declared that the heavens would no longer give rain in Israel, God asked him to move to Cherith brook. In this isolated place he will be fed by ravens which God had commanded to supply food to him two times a day after which he would drink water from the brook.
A raven by nature is a kind of bird, big in size, is always scared of the presence of man and popularly known to be the carriers of bad omen. That God decided to use ravens to feed Elijah was therefore significant and a miracle. Though some Bible scholars have tried to equate ravens with “Arabian merchant” on the ground that they have the same consonants in the Hebrew word. This cannot be correct as both words even in Hebrew language were never used interchangeably throughout the scripture. They mean two different things. It is only man’s way of rationalizing these supernatural events.
The question has always been asked of who was baking the cake and frying the meat the ravens made available to Elijah. Without doubt, God was the source. He is the same God who provided manna for the Israelites to eat in the wilderness for forty years. (Exo. 16: 14-21; Num. 11: 7-9). After all cake and meat could never have been plucked from a tree neither do birds manage any bakery. Cake contains carbohydrate and meat contains protein, thus giving prophet Elijah a balanced diet every money and evening. It must be noted, however that Elijah received the blessing because of his unalloyed obedience. God directed him where to go and he obeyed. If Elijah had gone to any other place, he would have faced starvation and thirst, but he obeyed thus receiving the blessing. True blessings from God does not thrive in an atmosphere of disobedience to God’s word.
Q2. HOW WAS ELIJAH FED BY A WIDOW? (1KINGS. 17:7-16)
When the brook dried up, God commanded Elijah to move to the city of Zarephath where God had prepared a widow to sustain Elijah during the period of the drought. Elijah obeyed the voice of God and went to Zarephath.
If he had remained in the brook, Elijah would have died with the brook. The place of the brook and the ravens in sustaining Elijah was over; GOD has made a totally different arrangement for the sustenance of his servant. We should therefore be sensitive of the leading of the HOLY SPIRIT, as old revelations may not be sufficient for the current realities.
By the gates of the city. Elijah met a widow who came to gather firewood to prepare her last meal for herself and her son. Given the prevailing circumstances all over the region at this time, coupled with the very state of this woman, it was not surprising when she told Elijah that she was preparing to have her last meal together with her son, after which they would starve to death. Thus, Elijah’s obedience to the voice of God would not only save him but a family as well. That is always a pattern: our obedience to God has profound positive influences on others.
That God decided to use this widow to feed Elijah instead of a well-to-do in the society demonstrates His miraculous power. Elijah requested that the woman should make a small loaf from what they and bring it to him despite the woman’s passionate words. We should not consider the request of Elijah as selfish but a test of faith of the woman. If Elijah had sympathized with the situation, the woman and her son would have died of starvation. The handful flour and the little oil in a cruise was not their last hope after all. God wanted this widow to let go of her “last hope” which does not offer an enduring solution to her physical need. Many times, we cling tightly to things that would not offer a sustained solution to our circumstance, and even when God requests us to give them up for a more satisfying provision we turn Him down. Elijah, who was led by the spirit of God in his utterances, predicted that the woman’s barrel of meal shall not run short of flour or the jar run short of oil until the Lord sends rain to the land.
The woman obliged Elijah and her food vessels never lacked for the “many days” that the drought lasted (1Kings 17:16). The woman no doubt had faith in God and in the word of prophet Elijah. For the woman to believe the words of this strange man who had no bread and water for himself is an act of faith, she did not doubt the credibility of Elijah hence she accepted his bidding. She gave out her need, and God honored her faith. Jesus later commended the faith of this woman in Luke 4:25-26. This widow’s example should serve as a lesson to all believers in their attitude in their possessions. They must be willing to let go of some of their possessions to assist someone else in need, as such actions may be gateway to their expected miracles.
Q3. DISCUSS HOW ELIJAH WAS FED BY AN ANGEL? (1KINGS. 19:5-8).
With the threat on his life by Jezebel, Elijah ran into the wilderness of Beersheba. He became depressed because he could not see how his life would be threatened by a woman who had seen God use him so powerfully in confounding the prophets of Baal. In that depressed state he requested God to take his life. Just after the prayer, and in an unusual answer to his prayers, God will not take his life but offer him food to sustain him with longer life.
An angel woke him up and asked him to eat the cake baked on coals and take a cruise of water. What a great miracle after such a long journey! He ate and still fell asleep. The angel woke him the second time and provided another round of food and water. The food and water were not only miraculous for its source but also in its sustaining power. Elijah had to go for another forty days and forty nights on the strength on that food. No doubt Elijah enjoyed the delicacy which our god whose resources are unlimited, provided.
We may have gotten to a point of despair in our personal lives. This might have resulted from either lack of job, a declining business fortunes or failing health, marriage, or stubborn and unruly children etc. and we may have become terribly dissatisfied with ourselves, spouses, society and even God. It is possible that although we might not have prayed a prayer for God to take our life, but we may have become very disillusioned about life. At such times we should renew our faith in God, as the contrary is to succumb to the wishes of the enemy. The lord still answers prayers and there is an abundance of grace to sustain us in the years ahead.
Q4.MENTION FEW OTHER EXAMPLES WHEN GOD MIRACULOSLY MET PEOPLES NEED.
The pages of scriptures are full of miraculous ways God met the needs of various people. There was a time when the famine in Samaria was so severe that people became cannibalistic (2Kings. 6:25-29). Prophet Elijah predicted that the pieces of food items will fail overnight in the city. (2Kings, 7:1). This was beyond every human economy strategy; no wonder the King’s messenger expressed his doubt (2Kings. 7:2-3). But the man of God quickly informed him that he will see it but will not partake of it.
Five thousand men were fed with five loaves of bread and two fishes, and twelve baskets full of bread and fish was left (Mark 6: 38-44). Money was taken from a fish’s mouth with which temple task was paid for Jesus and his disciples (Matt 17:24-27). Miraculous drought of fish was caught at the obedience to the command of Jesus (Luke. 5:4-11). God has power over all realms. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof (Psalm 24:1). Your situation is not different and cannot make the difference.
DAILY LIVING APPLICATION:
A study like this on the miraculous providence of God is most relevant to the hard times that our nation has been passing through these years with the attendant galloping inflation. Weak currency and low industrial growth. In such times like this, the believer can experience the super-abundant providence of God because the resources of God are unlimited and not tied to the economy or our present circumstances. Many times, we tie our wellbeing to our monthly pay package or the usual returns from our business but fail to realize that we serve the God who can supply our needs outside these channels.
To avoid being misunderstood, the believer is not expected to sit at home and expect manna from heaven. Rather he is to work with his hands. As the believer does this he receives the miraculous providence of God for strength and good health for his daily jobs, new and wilder business opportunities etc.
MEMORY VERSE:
Philippians 4:19
“But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus”