We continue this week in I Kings 17. A great story of triumph and God’s faithful provision for a physical need is followed by a tragic event. The son of the widow with whom Elijah was staying became sick and died. This raised all the logical questions that limited human wisdom cannot provide answers for. God brought Elijah to save their lives in the midst of famine but now the boy was allowed to die. Why would such a thing happen? What purpose could it serve?
The widow had experienced God’s blessing and was grateful, I am sure. She proved her faithfulness by providing shelter for the prophet of God. There would have been social and even legal consequences for her. We too can fall into the belief that if I do what God says I will not experience trials or tribulations in my life. Yes, some things are consequences of our poor choices, but other hardships seem almost arbitrary. However, we read throughout the Bible that most of God’s servants were not exempt from testing. I think of all that Paul went through. He writes in II Corinthians 11 that he was shipwrecked, snakebit (Acts 28), imprisoned, robbed, stoned, beaten, and flogged for the sake of the Gospel. Earlier in II Corinthians 4 Paul wrote these amazing words: 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you… 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Yes, Paul had a perspective the widow could not have known, but we can apply these words to our lives just as Paul did. I may have moved away from the main idea of the lesson, but I hope Paul’s inspired words help someone who may need them this week.
We tend at times to think as the widow did. Her question was what did Elijah have against her or was her son’s death a punishment for some sin she had committed? Similarly, Job’s friends accused him of some great sin that earned God’s wrath. Unfortunately, we live in a fallen world and suffering is a consequence of the fall. We do not get a free pass, but we live with the promise that we will one day inhabit a place where sin, death and pain are no more. God will make all things new, and He will wipe a lifetime of tears from our eyes. Some of you know all too well the feeling I am writing about, but there is hope for the believer.
Back to I Kings now… The story does have a happy ending. Elijah also cried out to God, questioning why this was allowed to happen. He pleaded for the life of the boy to be restored.
We see in verse 22 that the LORD heard and even listened to Elijah’s plea to let the boy live again. Yes, God does hear the cries of His people and He is merciful. This act of God displayed His power and might. Words cannot describe the joy that must have been felt in the household that day when Elijah and the boy appeared with the pronouncement, “Look, your son is alive.” We also see the widow responded in faith. She recognized that Elijah served the one true God and the words he spoke were from God. This was her confession of faith in the God of Elijah.
The life lesson for us will not be as dramatic as what we read in I Kings, but Elijah is an example of how we can step into the lives of others by praying for them. Elijah may not have seen at the beginning how God would bring resolution. However, Elijah made his request and made himself available to be used as God’s instrument to bring life back to the widow’s son. Hopefully, we will keep our eyes open to the opportunities to involve ourselves in the lives of others by praying for them and pointing them to God’s truth. As we pray and God answers those prayers, the results can lead others to turn to God in faith.
