I Kings 17
Elijah informs Ahab of coming drought verse 1
And Elijah the Tishbite – who was of the inhabitants of Gilead
said to Ahab
As the LORD God of Israel lives – before WHOM I stand
there shall not be dew nor rain these years
but according to my word
LORD tells Elijah ravens will feed him verse 2- 4
And the word of the LORD came unto him
saying
Get you hence and turn you eastward
and hide yourself by the brook Cherith
that is before Jordan
And it shall be – that you shall drink of the brook
and I have commanded
the ravens to feed you there
Elijah stays at brook Cherith verse 5- 7
So he went and did according to the word of the LORD
for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith
that is before Jordan
And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning
and bread and flesh in the evening
and he drank of the brook
And it came to pass after a while – that the brook dried up
because there had been no rain in the land
LORD instructs Elijah to go to Zarephath verse 8- 9
And the word of the LORD came to him
saying
Arise – get you to Zarephath – which belongs to Sidon
and dwell there
BEHOLD – I have commanded a widow woman there to
sustain you
Elijah asks widow for some bread verse 10- 11
So he arose and went to Zaarephath
and when he came to the gate of the city – BEHOLD
the widow woman was there gathering of sticks
and he called to her
and said
Fetch me I pray you – a little water in a vessel
that I may drink
And as she was going to fetch it – he called to her
and said
Bring me – I pray you – a morsel of bread in your hand
Widow could only feed her and her son verse 12
And she said
As the LORD your God lives – I have not a cake
but a handful of meal in a barrel
and a little oil in a cruse
and BEHOLD – I am gathering two sticks
that I may go in and dress it
for me and my son
that we may eat – and die
Elijah tells her to do as he instructs verse 13- 14
And Elijah
said to her
Fear not – Go and do as you have said
BUT make me thereof a little cake first
and bring it to me
and after make for you and for your son
FOR thus says the LORD God of Israel
The barrel of meal shall not waste
neither shall the cruse of oil fail
until the day that the LORD
sends rain upon the earth
Widow does as Elijah instructs verse 15- 16
And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah
and she – and he – and her house – did eat many days
and the barrel of meal wasted not
neither did the cruse of oil fail
according to the word of the LORD
which HE spoke by Elijah
Widow’s son gets sick verse 17- 18
And it came to pass after these things – that the son of the woman
the mistress of the house – fell sick
and his sickness was so sore
that there was no breath left in him
And she said to Elijah
What have I to do with you
O you man of God?
Are you come to me to call my sin to remembrance
and to slay my son?
Elijah prays for son verse 19- 20
And he said to her
Give me your son
And he took him out of her bosom – and carried him up into a loft
where he abode – and laid him upon his own bed
And he cried to the LORD
and said
O LORD my God
have YOU also brought EVIL upon the widow
with whom I sojourn – by slaying her son?
Elijah presents her son alive verse 21- 23
And he stretched himself on the child three times
and cried to the LORD – and said
O LORD my God – I pray YOU
let this child’s soul come into him again
And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah
and the soul of the child came into him again – and he revived
and Elijah took the child – and brought him down
out of the chamber into the house
and delivered him to his mother
and Elijah said
See your son lives
Widow believes Elijah a man of God verse 24
And the woman said to Elijah
NOW by this I know that you are a man of God
and that the word of the LORD
in your mouth is TRUTH
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. (3427 “dwelt” [yashab] means remain sitting, to be inhabited, remain, tarry, to be set, or stay)
DEVOTION: Listening to the LORD when HE speaks to us is difficult today. There are so many voices that seem to enter into our world telling us what to do. Here is a man who was told by the LORD to go to a brook and wait for the LORD to provide his daily food through ravens.
Ravens were dirty birds or unclean birds according to the LORD and they were the ones HE used to feed Elijah during the time period of the drought in the land. Remember the drought was in the land of Israel because of their worship of false gods. God was judging the nation for following a king who didn’t love HIM. HE wanted them to understand that there were consequences to worshiping a false god.
Now we find that Elijah is a prophet who is following the LORD’S instructions because he is faithful to the LORD. In these cruel times he stayed faithful to the LORD. He was willing to follow the LORD into strange places. He was willing to give God’s message when it meant he might not live to tell about it. He trusted the LORD with all his heart.
Now we need to be willing to go places we don’t want to go if the LORD commands us to go. We have to not be afraid if we are following the directions of the LORD. HE knows what is best for us and for our present location.
Can we settle our hearts to understand that no matter where the LORD sends us HE is right there with us to continue to lead and guide our lives? That is what Elijah was doing. CHALLENGE: We need to be willing to do the same when HE calls on us to face new locations and new challenges.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 13 And Elijah said to her, Fear not, go and do as you have said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it to me, and after make for you and for your son. (7223 “first” [ri’shown] means beginning, chief, before, foremost, preceding, front, or earlier)
DEVOTION: Here is a complete stranger telling a foreign woman who is a widow seeking her last meal for herself and her young son telling her to trust him. Elijah was in a strange land asking a widow woman for a meal that she didn’t think she could provide for her and her son alone and yet she was expected to trust a stranger with her life.
God says to us often “Don’t be afraid!” It seems that HE allows us to get into spots in our life where we think that all hope is lost but HE comes with the words “Don’t be afraid!” How are we to react to such a statement from HIM?
The widow did what Elijah asked based on his promise that there would be more meal in the barrel and oil to prepare a second meal for her son and herself.
Trust was something that HE gave to both of them. Elijah was hungry. The widow was hungry? The widow’s son was hungry? Are you hungry and in need of the LORD’S supply for your daily bread?
Each of us has to realize that we are in the same condition as this widow and Elijah. We have to trust the LORD for our daily needs. HE is the one who keeps us alive to serve HIM. We have to trust HIM to provide what we think we need to keep going in life.
Children look to their parents for these basic needs. They need to thank the LORD for parents that do provide for these basic needs. Parents need to thank the LORD for this provision as well. Too often we think it is our own effort that provides for our basic needs. It is always the LORD.
There might not be a drought in our land of food and water but there is a drought regarding our trust in the LORD. Both parents and children need to look to the LORD for their daily provisions. There is a drought in the area of trust in our time. Who are we going to trust besides ourselves? We need to trust in the LORD with all our heart.
CHALLENGE: God will provide a good work in each of us if we really trust HIM each day.
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: 14 For thus says the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth. (3607 “waste” [kala’] means stayed, refrained, restrained, withhold, to have an end, to be finished, to vanish, fade, or spent)
DEVOTION: It is great to be in a close relationship with the LORD. Elijah had that type of relationship with HIM. He was able to inform the woman that the LORD would not let them starve. He told her that they would have enough meal in the barrel and enough water that they didn’t have to worry.
It is normal for a mother to be concerned for her child. So to hear the words of Elijah had to give her comfort. This should also give us comfort that the LORD will take care of those who are faithful in giving to HIM and to HIS servants.
We have to remember that the giving has to be given with the right attitude. This woman was learning the right attitude and in time she would see that the prophet was not lying and that the LORD did provide for those who are faithful in caring for others.
Today we have individuals who are not concerned with others but only themselves and claim to be servants of the LORD. They live on the hard earned dollars of people who want to serve the LORD and sacrifice to give to these organizations.
The LORD wants HIS servants to be provided for but not to live higher that the people that are supporting them. Too often these individuals have million dollar homes and expensive cars while still claiming they need more.
We need to be individuals who serve the LORD within an income that allows us to have an income that shows that we are dependent on the LORD for each meal and all of other basic needs of everyone.
Once we have the attitude that we are better than the rest of the servants of the LORD we are no longer serving the LORD but only ourselves.
CHALLENGE: Trust in the LORD for our daily needs and allow HIM to show us HIS provision for us.
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DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 20 And he cried to the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, have you also brought evil on the widow with whim I sojourn, by slaying her son? (7121 “cried” [qara’] means call, shout, summons, loud sound, invite, or appeal)
DEVOTION: Elijah had stayed with this widow woman for a while in her guest room on the roof. He had watched the LORD provide for them by keeping oil and meal in the barrel for food. He knew that the LORD had fed him with ravens before but now he was in a strange land with a widow who had nothing.
The widow thought that Elijah had been praying and had included in his prayers the sins of her past. She thought that the LORD was judging her for her past sins and she thought that wasn’t fair.
So Elijah went to his room and appealed to the LORD for the young man. He challenged the LORD with his words in the prayer. He was direct to the LORD concerning his thoughts regarding why the young man should not be judged because he was the son of widow woman who needed help to survive.
He realized that his God had the power to resurrect life even though it had never been recorded that HE had done this. He was confident that the LORD could do anything. He didn’t doubt that the LORD could bring the widow’s son back to life.
He also realized that he could question the actions of the LORD without fear of his own death. He went honestly to the LORD in prayer and asked HIM questions about HIS actions in his world.
We can do the same today. We can go to the LORD with our honest questions and ask for answers. HIS Word has the answers but we need wisdom from above to discern HIS answers that are found in HIS Word. Too often we think we really understand the Bible and God when we are only a beginner rather than a true Biblical scholar. Many Biblical scholars are only beginners when it comes to understanding the LORD and HIS work in our life.
CHALLENGE: Going to the LORD directly with a humble spirit will give us the answers we need to face any difficulty in life. Elijah received an answer and so will we.
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: 24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now, by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth. (571 “truth” [‘’emeth] means stability, certainty, trustworthiness, faithful, right, sure or verity)
DEVOTION: The LORD gave Elijah instructions to confront Ahab. He told Ahab that there would be no rain until he asked the LORD for rain. This not only affected the nation but Elijah himself.
Elijah was commanded to live near a brook and be fed by ravens. The brook dried up because there was no rain. The LORD told him to go to a widow woman and she would feed him. He went and asked her to feed him with what she had left in the house. He promised that the LORD would never let the meal or oil fail. They didn’t the many days that he stayed with her. The widow woman saw her food and oil supply never run out. She had seen the LORD working in her house but she still didn’t believe.
Her son is sick and dies. She blames Elijah. She knows that death comes because of sin. She wants Elijah to do something. Elijah takes the son and prays for his soul to return to him.
The LORD grants his request. Now Elijah brings back her dead son to her and she believes. Now she will trust every word that comes out of Elijah’s mouth.
What will it take for us to believe that God is speaking to us in HIS word for our good? HIS word is CERTAIN!! HIS word is ABSOLUTE!!! HIS word is FINAL!!! Jesus told his disciples that they have the ability through prayer to move mountains. We have the same promise. Are we moving any mountains in our world for the LORD???? Are we praying to that end?
Elijah listened to the word of the LORD. Each time the LORD spoke, Elijah acted on HIS words. The LORD was faithful and heard the prayers of Elijah. Once the widow woman saw her son alive, she believed truly that Elijah was a man of God.
We are to be men and women of God. When we speak, we should be manifested the TRUTH that is found in the Word of God.
CHALLENGE: The only way we can speak the TRUTH is to know the TRUTH through meditation in the Word of God. Spend time with the LORD. Once HE speaks ACT!
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Elijah submitted to the LORD verse 5, 10
Widow woman submitted to Elijah verse 13
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
Elijah commanded to live near brook verse 2- 7
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Elijah prays for widow’s son verse 20, 21
LORD hears his prayer verse 22
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Word of the LORD verse 2, 8, 16, 24
Word of the LORD = TRUTH verse 24
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1, 2, 8, 12, 14, 16, 20- 22, 24
God – Elohim (Creator) verse 1, 12, 14, 18, 20, 24
LORD God of Israel verse 1, 14
Word of the LORD verse 2, 8, 16, 24
LORD thy God verse 12
LORD God of Israel verse 14
LORD my God verse 20, 21
LORD heard verse 22
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Sin verse 18
Evil verse 20
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Stand before the LORD verse 1
Daily bread verse 4, 6, 9- 11, 13, 14, 16
Fear not verse 13
Blessing of rain verse 14
Man of God verse 18, 24
Prayer verse 20, 21
Answered prayer verse 22
Revived verse 22
Truth verse 24
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Elijah the Tishbite of Gilead verse 1- 24
Stands before LORD God of Israel
No rain
Brook Cherith – fed by ravens
Zarephath – fed by widow
Daily supply of meal and oil
Widow’s son sick
Cried to the LORD for widow’s son
Man of God
Word of the LORD in his mouth
Ahab verse 1
Widow verse 9-24
Commanded of LORD to feed Elijah
Elijah told her that LORD would provide
for her and her son
Son of widow fell sick verse 17- 24
No breath left in him
Healed of the LORD
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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DONATIONS:
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QUOTES regarding passage
God told Elijah exactly where to go and what to do. See Prov. 3:5–6 and Ps. 37:3–6. God withdrew Elijah’s ministry from Israel as another punishment for their sins (Ps. 74:7–9). The Lord permitted Elijah to drink of the brook, and He provided bread and meat daily, delivered to the prophet by ravens. The raven is the first bird named in the Bible (Gen. 8:7); it was an unclean bird, yet God used it to help His servant. Note that while Elijah was enjoying bread, water, and meat in the place of God’s appointment, the 100 prophets hiding in the cave (18:4) had to settle for only bread and water. But there came a day when the brook dried up. Did this mean Elijah had sinned, or that he was out of God’s will? No! It simply meant that God had another place for him, and it was a reminder for Elijah to trust the Lord and not the brook. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1993). Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament (1 Ki 17). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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Elijah’s faith in the midst of uncertainty allows God to use him to demonstrate God’s life-giving power, his constant watchfulness, and his compassion even on those outside the elect nation (Luke 8:40–56). Elijah stretches himself on the child, thereby seemingly transferring life from himself to the sick one. Regardless of the method used, the important fact is that God raises the boy from the dead. The child revives because Yahweh hears Elijah’s plea, not because of the prophet’s prowess. Yahweh is God, not Baal, not Elijah. (House, P. R. (1995). 1, 2 Kings (Vol. 8, p. 215). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
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17:8–11. Elijah was directed to Zarephath, a town on the Mediterranean coast between Tyre and Sidon in Phoenicia, the homeland of Jezebel (cf. 16:31) and the heart of Baal-Melqart territory (see the map “Elijah’s Travels”). Zarephath was 80–90 miles from Kerith. God told Elijah that a widow would feed him (cf. Luke 4:25–26). Widows were usually poor people; normally they ran out of food first in a famine. This famine had been created by the drought. Therefore going to a widow for food was a strange directive. God was again using an unusual source to feed His prophet. (Constable, T. L. (1985). 1 Kings. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 523–524). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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17:9 Zarephath. A town on the Mediterranean coast about 7 mi. S of Sidon. Elijah was sent to live there, in a territory controlled by Ahab’s father-in-law, Ethbaal. In this way, he showed the power of God in the very area where the impotent Baal was worshiped, as He provided miraculously for the widow in the famine (vv. 10–16). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (1 Ki 17:9). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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1 Kings 17:19, 20. Elijah told her to carry the dead child up to the chamber in which he lived and lay it upon his bed, and then cried to the Lord, “Jehovah, my God! hast Thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, to slay her son?” These words, in which the word also refers to the other calamities occasioned by the drought, contain no reproach of God, but are expressive of the heartiest compassion for the suffering of his benefactress and the deepest lamentation, which, springing from living faith, pours out the whole heart before God in the hour of distress, that I may appeal to Him the more powerfully for His aid. The meaning is, “Thou, O Lord my God, according to Thy grace and righteousness, canst not possibly leave the son of this widow in death.” Such confident belief carries within itself the certainty of being heard. The prophet therefore proceeds at once to action, to restore the boy to life. (Keil, C. F., & Delitzsch, F. (1996). Commentary on the Old Testament (Vol. 3, pp. 168–169). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.)
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20 And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?
A prayer full of powerful arguments. Thou art the Lord, that canst revive the child; and my God, and therefore wilt not, do not, deny me. She is a widow; add not affliction to the afflicted; deprive her not of the great support and staff of her age. She hath given me kind entertainment; let her not fare the worse for her kindness to a prophet, whereby wicked men will take occasion to reproach both her and religion. (Poole, M. (1853). Annotations upon the Holy Bible (Vol. 1, p. 698). New York: Robert Carter and Brothers.)
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Ver. 20. And he cried unto the Lord, &c.] Or prayed unto him, as the Targum, with great vehemence and importunity: and said, O Lord, my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow, with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? he pleads his interest in the Lord, and makes use of it as an argument with him to hear his prayer; he observes the character and condition of the woman, a widow, such as the Lord has a compassionate regard for; and he urges the kindness of her to him, with whom he had sojourned so long; and seems to represent the case as an additional evil or affliction to him, as well as to the widow. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 2, p. 747). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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Jesus teaches on truth.
INSIGHT
By nature, we want absolute freedom. But such freedom is not possible. In fact, no such thing as absolute freedom exists. To be free to sail the seven seas, we must make ourselves a slave to the compass. This subservience irritates us.
All of life is a contrast between freedoms and corresponding bondages. We can be slaves to Jesus and free from the bondage of sin, or we can be free from Jesus and slaves to the bondage of sin. We can make ourselves slaves to truth, and the truth can set us free.
(Quiet Walk)
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THE CROSS AND THE SOUL OF MAN
What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Mark 8:37
The cross expounds the truth that the soul of man is something that is very precious. You remember our Lord’s own teaching about this. He said: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37). The cross talks about the soul of man; our Lord is on the cross because of the preciousness of a man’s immortal soul. So at once you see that the cross tells me something about myself and the nature of this manhood that God has given me. It tells me also about the whole purpose of life in this world. This is my soul; this is the thing that matters.
Now my body is important, and I must not despise it. Many other things are important, too, in this world. It is no part of the preaching of the gospel to depreciate legitimate things or to ridicule them. But I would say that it is the business of the Gospel to say that it is the soul of man that matters, that part of us that goes on even when we die—something imperishable, something that goes on into eternity. The cross puts tremendous emphasis upon that. He came there not in order that our bodies might be healed, not in order that we might be better fed or clothed or have more information and knowledge; no, He came to save the soul. “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10), and what was lost is man’s soul.
Here is this tremendous statement, therefore, coming from the cross to us. Have you heard it—have you realized that the most important thing about you is this soul of yours?
A Thought to Ponder: Have you realized that the most important thing about you is this soul of yours? (From The Cross, pp. 156-157, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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The Living Savior
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
There is a popular Christian song whose chorus ends with these words: “You ask me how I know He lives; He lives within my heart.” This may sound spiritual, but this is not how we know He lives! We are saved because of the objective fact that He died for our sins and then rose bodily from the tomb, triumphant over sin, death, the curse, and Satan, alive in His glorified body forevermore. It is this which we must believe in our hearts and confess with our lips. For Him to rise bodily from the grave means that He is nothing less than God, the very Creator Himself. It is only because of who He is that He could do what He did, and this is what we must believe in our hearts.
There are people who believe that Buddha lives in their hearts, or the spirit of “the gods” indwells their hearts, or even that “the Christ” is in their hearts, but “the heart is deceitful above all things” (Jeremiah 17:9). We can believe many things and feel many things that are not so. We know Jesus Christ is a living Savior not because we feel His presence in our hearts but because He rose from the grave on the third day and “shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days” (Acts 1:3). The gospel of our salvation does not rest on our feelings, nor on someone’s teachings, but on the objective, proven, certain facts of history. Jesus Christ is alive, whether anyone feels Him living in their hearts or not, and He is at this moment bodily in heaven at the right hand of the Father (e.g., Romans 8:34).
“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).
(HMM, The Institute for Creation Reserch)
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Anyone who has tasted the maturity given from the Lord to those who serve Him over time will testify that it did not come quickly or easily. Paul writes that we should exercise ourselves to godliness; that “bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things” (v. 8). Like an athlete, a Christian should rejoice with a rigorous course of training – knowing that the more demanding the training, the greater will be the spiritual prowess at the end. The present discomfort is fitting him or her for more victorious effort later. Present pain = later gain. This message is difficult to communicate and even more difficult to learn. But to this end we must labor (v. 10). (Quiet Time)
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The Voice of the Lord
“The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.” (Psalm 29:4)
This solemn phrase, “the voice of the LORD,” occurs seven times in Psalm 29, centered especially on the awful judgment of the great Flood in the days of Noah. “The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: The God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters” (v. 3). It occurs many other times in the Old Testament as well, with a wide variety of applications and circumstances.
The very first time it occurs, however (and this is also the first occurrence of “voice” in the Bible, indicating thereby that it is God’s voice—not man’s—that we must hear if we seek guidance for life), is in the Garden of Eden immediately after man brought sin into the world. “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden. . And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, “Where art thou?” (Genesis 3:8-9). Mankind is lost and separated from God, but God calls unto each of us as He did to Adam, and we desperately need to hear His voice if our lives are to be fulfilled and spiritually fruitful.
In contrast to this scene of alienation, the final occurrence of a “voice” in the Bible is a beautiful scene of reconciliation when God again speaks to lost mankind, this time in glorious restoration of that broken fellowship. “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Revelation 21:3).
To hear His voice then, however, we must first hear His voice now, through His Word. Jesus said, “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life. . . . the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live” (John 5:24-25). (Days of Praise by HMM at The Institute for Creation Research)
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Near the foothills of the Himalayas, a visitor noticed a row of houses without windows. His guide explained that some of the villagers feared that demons might sneak into their homes while they slept, so they built impermeable walls. You could tell when a homeowner began to follow Jesus because he put in windows to let in the light.
A similar dynamic may take place in us, though we might not see it quite that way. We live in scary, polarizing times. Satan and his demons instigate angry divisions that split families and friends. I often feel like hiding behind my walls. But Jesus wants me to cut in a window.
Israel sought refuge in higher walls, but God said their security lay with Him. He reigns from heaven, and His word governs all (Isaiah 55:10–11). If Israel would return to Him, God would “have mercy on them” (v. 7) and restore them as His people to bless the world (Genesis 12:1–3). He would lift them up, ultimately leading them in a triumphal parade. Their celebration “will be for the L ord ’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever” (Isaiah 55:13).
Sometimes walls are necessary. Walls with windows are best. They show the world that we trust God for the future. Our fears are real. Our God is greater. Windows open us to Jesus—“the light of the world” (John 8:12)—and to others who need Him.
By Mike Wittmer (Our Daily Bread)
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