Elijah Raises the Widow's Son

July 10, 2021

 

1 Kings 17:17-24

 

Elijah Raises the Widow's Son

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.   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!”   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.  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?”   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.”   And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived.   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.”   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.”

 

For all of us without medical degrees, when a person stops breathing or as this states, has no breath in them they are dead.  So, the widow's son was dead, and he was her only son, the one that would be her provider in old age.  This means she would be one of the many who would beg for food, and yet she had been faithful to take care of Elijah.

 

Was she different from many who go by the name Christian, many who attend church each Sunday, and believe their pastor is a man of God?   She also believes Elijah was a prophet of God.  If you recall when he came to her she only had enough flour and oil for one meal and believe it would be her last, but obey the man of God and did as he told her, now is that not different than most of those who attend Sunday Church?

 

My pastor has said more than one time that he believes there is a giant eraser at the doors as you go out that removes all that he has said.  My friend Carroll Ray Jr. whose dad was a Baptist Pastor, often said that until God save him, he always believe that was just what preachers were to say.  That we all have preacher filters that dismiss most of the message.  But God, had a plan for Carroll Ray Jr., and one day he sat in a church in Burleson, Texas on a Sunday morning and hear a layman tell of what Jesus had done for him, and he had no filter for that.  My dear friend Carroll became a change agent for God, he had an amazing impact on my life and my marriage.  He became a great teacher and leader to many, thank God that He does not give up on us.

 

The Widow said, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”  Could it be time for each of us to tell our story of what God has done for us, who knows the filters God will remove from those who are in your concentric circle of influence?

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice