After announcing God’s just but harsh judgment upon Ahab’s kingdom, Elijah heard God’s clear command. “Leave here, turn eastward, and hide at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. You are to drink from the wadi. I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there” (1 Kings 17:3-4).
God had two purposes. First, God cared about the Prophet’s safety. The wicked King Ahab and his even more wicked wife, Queen Jezebel, painted a bullseye on Elijah’s back. He was wanted dead or alive … preferably dead.
There is a time to stand and fight. There is also a time to retreat, to get away, to duck and run.
Paul commands Christians to “flee sexual immorality!” (1 Corinthians 6:18), to “flee from idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10:14), to “flee from youthful passions” (2 Timothy 2:22), to “flee from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11).
God instructed Elijah to flee to “the Wadi Cherith.”
God’s second purpose for sending Elijah across the Jordan River into the wilderness was to demonstrate His power to provide.
For forty years, God gave his people bread that fell from heaven. Though God could have sent manna, God chose to provide for Elijah in a different manner. “The ravens kept bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening, and he would drink from the wadi” (1 Kings 17:6).
Carrion birds, birds of prey, don’t share. That’s not normal… unless, of course, God sends them on a miraculous mission of mercy.
Elijah was obedient to declare God’s judgment, and he was obedient to go when and where God directed Him. And … God was faithful!
God cares about our safety and sustenance.
“… think on these things” (Philippians 4:8, KJV).
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