Sermon – 1 Kings 17:17-24 – A Man of God

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon – 1 Kings 17:17-24 – A Man of God
Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Presbyterian Churches
June 6, 2010

Listen to this sermon.

Good morning and welcome to Beaver Dam church on this Communion Sunday. Today we turn our attention to the Old Testament and one of its most important figures. We will be looking at the prophet Elijah, a man of God. When Elijah saw God’s people being led astray he risked his own life to bring them back to God. All along he was confident of God’s love and faithfulness. But before we look at one of the most touching stories of God’s faithfulness in all of scripture, please pray with me.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

1 Kings 17:17-24 17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, "What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?" 19 "Give me your son," Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?" 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the LORD, "O LORD my God, let this boy's life return to him!" 22 The LORD heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, "Look, your son is alive!" 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth."

In the tenth century before Christ the people of God wanted a king because they were afraid. They were afraid of the Philistines who had begun settling on the coast and brought with them terrifying new weapon made from iron. The bronze weapons of the Israelites were no longer adequate. So they wanted a standing army with modern weapons made from iron and a king to lead them. There was no real need for this because God had protected them for hundreds of years. Wanting a king and a modern army was a sign of their unfaithfulness. God’s people were unwilling to trust God. So they anointed a king and then their troubles started.

A hundred years later a king came to the throne in Israel. He was a violent army general named Omri. He nationalized the farms and built storehouses for the grain which he used to build up his army and his new capital city called Samaria. He negotiated peace treaties with the surrounding nations and arranged for the marriage of his son with the daughter of a Phoenician priest. This son, Ahab, became king and his wife Jezebel convinced him to covert to and lead his nation to the god Baal.

Baalmarqart was the Phoenician weather God. If your fields were to wet to plant potatoes you would climb a local hill and pray to Baal to close the windows of heaven and keep the water out. Of if your fields were baking in the summer sun you would return to the hill and ask Baal to open the windows and let the rain fall.

Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel, did not want his people to worship Baal because Baal was a false God, he did not really exist. So Yahweh sent the profit Elijah to speak with King Ahab. And this must have really annoyed Ahab because Elijah’s name literally means “Yahweh is God”.

So Elijah, Yahweh is God, appeared before Ahab an announced a test. Yahweh was going to close the windows of heaven and lock them for three years and Baal couldn’t do anything about it. Elijah, confident that the promised drought would occur fled to the wilderness where God provided him with food and water. Ahab went back to his lavish lifestyle confident that his storehouses of grain and his cisterns filled with water would satisfy his needs no matter what happened.

This contest between God and Baal affected more that just Ahab and Elijah. As the drought deepened people became hungry and thirsty. Their health began to deteriorate. Some died. As you heard earlier a woman raising a young son lost her husband, and then watched as the limited amount of grain and olive oil in her panty began to run out. And she realized that it was just a matter of time until she and her son would also die. This woman had been betrayed by her god. She was a worshiper of Baal, and Baal did not send the rain as promised.

Elijah came to her home and asked for something to eat. He told her that Yahweh, his God, would provide enough grain and enough oil to sustain all of them until the drought ended. Elijah asked the widow to believe this, to have faith in his God. She did believe and was blessed by God with sufficient food.

But her faith was fragile. When her son died she feared that her unfaithfulness to Baal might have been the cause. But Elijah, using the power of God brought her son back to life. This miracle sealed the deal, and the Phoenician follower of Baal, from Jezebel’s home town, became a believer in Yahweh, the Lord, God of Israel.

This is a story of faith, not just belief in God, but trusting that God will love and care for us no matter what happens. So if you find yourself in the hospital after a stroke or after surgery on your back, your knee or your stomach remember that God loves you and is with you always. We can have faith in a faithful God.

Psalm 146 puts it this way, “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in Yahweh his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—the LORD, who remains faithful forever.”

Thomas A. Dorsey, “Georgia Tom” as he was called was the son of a revivalist preacher. Tom played the piano and went on to study jazz. For forty years he was the music director for Pilgrim Baptist Church in Chicago and served as the President of the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses. In 1932 Tom’s wife died and Tom’s placed all of his faith in his faithful God. And God blessed him with a hymn which has become the most successful gospel song ever written and the theme song for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement. We sang it earlier, and listen again as it talks about faith in a faithful God.

1. Precious Lord, take my hand,
Lead me on, help me stand;
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;
Through the storm, through the night,
Lead me on to the light;
Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.

2. When my way grows drear,
Precious Lord, linger near;
When my life is almost gone,
Hear my cry, hear my call,
Hold my hand lest I fall;
Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.

We are gathering around this table this morning to remember the great faithfulness of God. No matter what happens God is faithful and will be there with us. If we have no money, no food, nowhere to turn God is there. If we loose our health or a loved on dies God is there. God is always faithful to those who believe. We trust that God is with us and loves us no matter what happens. So we return again and again to feed on this spiritual food that will never run out and will always satisfy our hunger and quench our thirst for God and lead us to resurrection and eternal life.

Over the next few weeks we will continue our look at the contest between Yahweh and Baal
and the conflict between King Ahab and Elijah. The final destruction of faith in Baal is still in the future, but already God has proven his faithfulness, love and compassion.

Lord, God of Heaven, we thank you for being our rock upon which we stand. We thank you for your steadfast love for us. We trust that you will be there whenever we need you. Amen.

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