David Bahn – Reflections

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These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are 1 Kings 16, 2 Chronicles 17, 1 Kings 17, Psalm 5.

1 Kings 17:8-16

Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah, ⁹ “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” ¹⁰ So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” ¹¹ And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” ¹² And she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” ¹³ And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.’” ¹⁵ And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. ¹⁶ The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.

These Are the Days of Elijah is a contemporary Christian song by Robin Mark. I loved it the first time I heard it – energetic, hopeful, and rooted in the image of Elijah as a prophet who stood courageously against false gods and corrupt rulers.

We are introduced to Elijah in 1 Kings 17 as he confronts King Ahab, one of Israel’s scoundrel kings: “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”

That is a breathtaking declaration. Then comes the widow of Zarephath, who is asked to give Elijah bread from the very last of her flour and oil. Once again Elijah speaks boldly: “The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty…”

As I read these chapters, something struck me more clearly. Elijah was not merely brave or unusually confident. This wasn’t a case of a wild dream or an ecstatic experience. He was not speaking for God based on instinct or enthusiasm. Elijah believed that God had spoken – and that God was already at work. God was shutting up the heavens. God would sustain the widow. God would raise her son. Elijah’s confidence rested not in himself, but in the God who acts. I would not make such promises unless I was certain that God was behind it. But so Elijah believes. And so he speaks.

That makes Elijah unique. He boldly confronted kings, called people back to faithfulness, and performed signs that testified to God’s power. Yet even Elijah would later struggle with fear and doubt.

And that turns my attention to Jesus. I’m reminded of the man with leprosy who came saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Jesus stretched out his hand and replied: “I am willing. Be clean.”

Elijah spoke boldly because he was convinced that God had spoken. Jesus, on the other hand, did not merely speak for God. He was God in the flesh – and spoke with the authority of the One who heals, restores, and saves. He calls us to believe – and then commands us to go and tell. Faith listens, and faith also speaks.