GOD’S CIRCLE OF BLESSINGS (3)

“And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to FEED you THERE” – 1 Kings 17:4

Prophet Elijah, at Cherith, experienced the reality of GOD’S CIRCLE of BLESSINGS: “Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there” (1 Kgs.17: 1-7). Elijah confronted the idolatry and immorality in the land, at the risk of his personal safety. He announced to King Ahab that there would be no dew nor rain, such that Israel would suffer a severe drought as clear evidence that the Lord God of Israel – not Baal – controlled the weather! The famine lasted three-and-half years (Lk.4:25; Jam.5:1). Amidst the draught however, Elijah was directed to the Brook Cherith, a remote place where God led him, hid him, and fed him.

Ahab, Israel’s current king, was the worst of the lot (1Kgs.16:33). He and his wicked wife, Jezebel, served and worshiped Baal – the Canaanite storm god, considered the life-giving god who brought rains and fertility. Child sacrifice and deviant sexual practices were part of Baal’s worship, which had become the official religion of the royal court. Hundreds of pagan priests lived in the palace precincts (1Kgs.18:19). God’s faithful priests and Levites had left Israel, for Judah (2Chr.11: 13-16). It was at this crucial time – when pagan worship was proliferating in Israel – that Elijah emerged. It was a small thing for Elijah to stand before Ahab because he had stood before the King of Kings (v.1).

We can learn from Elijah’s experiences, lessons related to God’s Circle of Blessings. God had forewarned that if His people did not obey Him, He would withhold the rain and the earth would not produce crops (Dt.11: 16-17). He had to capture the attention of idolatrous Israel! Elijah’s message must have infuriated the king, and it was not safe for him to stay in the vicinity of Samaria. God ordered him to hide east of the Jordan River, by the brook Cherith (vv.1-3). Elijah was instructed how he would survive: Drink from the brook (natural provision) and eat what the ravens brought to him (supernatural provision) (vv.4-6). This wilderness area became God’s Circle of Blessings!

Ravens are not the most admirable of birds. They are mysterious, spooky, scary, talking and singing birds, usually symbolising death, illness, loss and ill omen. Being fed by ravens seemed like a strange means of provision, but Elijah did as he was told, a striking testimony to his faith in the Word of the Lord. God honoured his faith by providing for his physical needs. We’re to trust the God who provides, not the means He uses. The ravens brought bread and meat every morning and evening. Where they obtained this food in a time of famine remains a mystery – but the Lord supplied, and the birds delivered! God never forsakes His people, no matter how severe the circumstances.

Cherith is a place of isolation, where one is completely cut off and totally dependent upon God and His resources. Most of God's saints have gone through a 'Cherith'. David had his cave of Adullam. Moses was forty years in the backside of the desert; a season of isolation when he had no resources of his own. Joseph was in prison, falsely accused and isolated. He went from prison to the right hand of Pharaoh in one day. God had his reasons for isolating David, Moses and Joseph. Jesus, also, often drew aside for prayer, including Gethsemane.

Just as Elijah trusted God to send food by way of the ravens while he obeyed and lodged by the brook, so we are to trust and obey, casting all our anxieties on Him, because He cares for us (1Pet.5:7). The drought persisted, and the famine permeated Israel, lasting more than three years (1Kgs.18:1). Eventually Elijah’s own water supply dried up (V.7). Again, the Word of the Lord directed him to travel northwest to the city of Zarephath, into the next Circle of Blessings!