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Ravens Fed Me, part two
The king watched me cautiously as I entered his room. He knows I’m not intimidated by him.
There were no introductions. I announced, “King Ahab, just as surely as God lives and I serve him, a drought is coming. There will be no rain or dew in Israel until I give the word.” Before he could bellow for a guard, I walked away.
Ahab knows that I am no weather expert, and he knows that I’m not a lunatic. I’m a preacher. My people call me a prophet. What would Ahab do about my announcement? No rain is bad news.
I knew I needed a hiding place. By evening both Ahab and his ruthless wife Jezebel would have a plan to wipe me out. Ahab is worse than all the kings before him in Israel.
God put directions clearly into my mind. “Elijah, travel east, and hide by the Kerith Brook. The water will be good to drink and I will cause ravens to bring you food.”
“God, you sure find creative ways to care for me.” I wonder, How will ravens deliver my food. Will they drop it from the sky? Will they walk up to me and place meat and bread for me on the ground? I’ve watched ravens carry their food as they soar in the air with their wings outspread at least three feet. They’re magnificent!
For several months the birds brought me meat and bread two times a day. They weren’t afraid of me. At first my water supply was great, but the drought was getting worse. Finally, the brook was dry. Water sources all over Israel were drying up. I was sure that Ahab had search squads looking for me.
God told me, “Move near the city of Sidon. I have told a widow there to feed you.”
Sidon, that’s Queen Jezebel’s home country. Her people don’t believe in you. They worship many gods, especially Baal. They think that Baal is in charge of thunder, lightning, and dew. He’s a statue. If he was alive, he would have kept the drought from spreading to Sidon.
So God, you are going to protect me in enemy territory, in the home of a gentile God-believer. I don’t think drought, Ahab, or Jezebel will win this contest. No one will look for me in Sidon. God, your care is extraordinary.
When I saw the widow, I asked her for food. She was near starving with only a handful of flour in a jar and a little cooking oil in a jug. I promised her, “Bake me a little loaf of bread. God has told me that you will always have plenty of flour and oil until He again sends rain and crops grow.”
We ate well for several days. Then the widow’s son got sick and died. She accused me, “Man of God, what have you done to me?”
I took her son’s body and laid it on his bed. Then I prayed. “God, why have you let this child die? This widow opened her home to me.” I stretched my body three times over the child and again prayed, “Please let this boy’s life return to him.”
God heard my prayer and answered by giving life to the child. I took him to his mother. “Look, he lives!”
The woman cried with wonder, “Now I know you are a man of God and in your mouth is truth.”
By this time, three years had passed. I received a new assignment. “Elijah, go to Ahab. Tell him I will send rain.”
I wasn’t excited about this appointment with Ahab, but I soon experienced a cosmic contest.
This is Barbara Steiner anticipating our next story with Ahab and Elijah. Please check out thisweeksstory.com.
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