For the week of March 29

Date
March 29, 2021
Author
Mark Lautenschlager
Category
Personal Worship, Study Notes

Welcome to week thirteen of Desiring the Kingdom and 1 Kings chapter 17, where we find the story of a contest between Yahweh, God of Israel, and Baal, a major deity of the Canaanite people. We are also introduced to the prophet Elijah, a huge figure in the history of Israel. Elijah was brash and emotional, unafraid of confrontation, and fiercely loyal to the Lord.

Index to Days 2 through 5

Day 1

The Contest

Observe

Among all the wicked kings of Israel, Ahab was arguably the worst. He didn’t just allow the worship of Baal, he pursued it passionately and made a real effort to replace Yahweh with Baal. God sends Elijah to go before Ahab and declare God’s judgment on Israel, after which God sends Elijah into hiding.

1 Kings 17:1-4

Elijah Predicts a Drought
17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “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.” 2 And the word of the Lord came to him:3 “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

RELATED SCRIPTURES

1 Kings 16:30-33
30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. 31 And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. 32 He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.

Consider

The Ugaritic tablets hold some of the earliest known writings of the Canaanite people. In these texts, Baal is depicted as a god of lightning and storm, responsible for the fertility of the land. With the people believing that Baal provided the rain, when Elijah declared Yahweh was withholding it, the contest was on.

Questions for Reflection

Why do you think God sent Elijah into hiding?
The name of the brook, Cherith, means “cutting.” It is very close to the Hebrew word for divorce (“cutting of the marital ties”). What do you think God was saying to Israel by choosing that location for Elijah to hide?

Heavenly Father, only you are worthy of worship. But just like these people from long ago, I am easily turned aside by the things in this world, and I worship the creation instead of the Creator. I may not be bowing before any idols, but when I look at the things I show the most affection for, my wandering heart is revealed. Forgive me for this, Lord, and give me the strength to turn away from any temporary pleasure that holds my heart captive. Amen.

Day 2

No Immunity

Observe

Sent into hiding, Elijah experienced God providing for him both supernaturally with the ravens bringing him food and naturally through the water of the brook. However, when the lack of rain caused a drought, that water dried up for Elijah just as it did for everyone else.

1 Kings 17:5-7

5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 7 And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

RELATED SCRIPTURES

Matthew 5:44-46
44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

Consider

Even though Elijah had done as the Lord commanded and the Lord had protected and provided for him, Elijah was still not immune to the hardships of the land in which he lived.

Questions for Reflection

Do you think God will spare us when he judges our land?
God used the hardship of the brook drying up to relocate Elijah. What examples can you think of where we might find opportunity in the midst of hardship?

Dear Lord, your judgments are righteous and the world is yours to judge and rule over. When you choose to direct my path through hardship, I know that, in some way I can’t see right now, this is the best way forward for me. Give me patience, Lord, when I’m getting wet in that rainstorm right alongside those who don’t acknowledge that the rain comes from you. I will trust your goodness even when I can’t understand your reasons. Amen.

Day 3

Unlikely Hero

Observe

God sends Elijah to Zarephath, a town in the Gentile territory of Sidon (Sidon and Tyre were the two capital cities of Phoenicia). Sidon was probably named after the son of Canaan, one of Noah’s sons. Sidon was also where the father of Ahab’s wife Jezebel ruled as king.

1 Kings 17:8-12

The Widow of Zarephath
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, 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.”

RELATED SCRIPTURES

1 Corinthians 1:26-29
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

Consider

God sent Elijah outside the territories of Israel, into the heart of Baal country, to an area where word of his presence would quite probably get back to Ahab through Jezebel’s people. God had also chosen to provide for Elijah through a widow, someone with many needs of her own.

Questions for Reflection

We are all guilty of judging people by their appearance. When have you been surprised by an unlikely person God chose to use in your life? What happened?
When Elijah asked for bread in addition to the water she was bringing him, the widow responded that she had barely enough to prepare a last meal for herself and her son. What do you think about her answer? Was she irritated at Elijah’s additional request? Or was it more of a tired resignation to their circumstances?
When God asks something of you, how do you respond? Is it with irritation, or resignation? If it is, do you understand why you feel that way?

Heavenly Father, thank you for all the wonderfully different people you have used in my life. I’ve been surprised many times by where I hear your voice or from whom I receive your mercies. When it’s me you call on to be that person for someone else, may I respond with humility and joy to willingly answer your call. Amen.

Day 4

Faith Comes First

Observe

Elijah tells the widow God will provide for her and her son through supernatural means, using a jar of flour and a jug of oil that would never run out. But he asks her to make him some food before that happens.

1 Kings 17:13-16

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.

RELATED SCRIPTURES

Matthew 6:9-13
9 Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
11
Give us this day our daily bread,
12
and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.

Consider

It’s easy to be generous from abundance. But the widow was asked to share some of her food when all she had was barely enough to make a final meal for her and her son. Elijah told her God would provide, but at the time she was making that cake, she hadn’t seen any provision.

Questions for Reflection

Why do you think God sometimes asks us to do things before giving us the means to do them?
How does that relate to what Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “give us this day our daily bread?”

Father, it’s really hard for me to ask just for a single day. Left to my own devices, I want to build storehouses. I want you to give me everything I could possibly need for the rest of my life, so I can store it up and feel safe. But that’s why you don’t do it. God, I want to be satisfied with manna. I want to feel safe knowing that you will bring what I need every day and not because I have stored it up on my own. Give me the same kind of faith that widow had before she’d seen the miracle. Amen.

Day 5

Only God Raises the Dead

Observe

The widow’s son falls sick and dies. Given that she was caring for him and not the other way around, we can assume her son was young. She blames Elijah, even while acknowledging this may have had something to do with her own sin. Elijah takes the boy from her and, after crying out to the Lord, sees him come back to life.

1 Kings 17:17-24

Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son
17 After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” 19 And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed.20 And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” 22 And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” 24 And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

RELATED SCRIPTURES

1 Corinthians 15:53-57
53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Consider

First God stopped the rain, proving he was there and Baal was not. Then God miraculously provided each day what Elijah and the widow needed to survive. God’s ultimate display of power, though, was returning the widow’s son to life. By defeating death, God has won the final battle.

Questions for Reflection

As we come into Easter weekend, take this time to pause and reflect on what the empty tomb means to you. Hallelujah! He is risen!

Merciful God, tonight we remember the death of your Son on the cross. We remember this execution of an innocent man and call it good. For it truly WAS good, because without it we would have no hope. But the good news is that the tomb is empty, Lord, and the grave has been defeated! We celebrate that on Sunday even as we remember tonight what it cost you. Hallelujah! You are the God who saves. You have defeated the last enemy! For Jesus IS risen! We pray this in the name of your risen Son, our living Savior, Jesus. Amen.

Watch for other Personal Worship pushes!

Friday you’ll receive Worship Prep guidance and Sunday’s songs. Take time to learn those you don’t know so that you can join in worship in full voice!