God's Schoolhouse in the City

Elijah: A Man Like Us • Sermon • Submitted 7 years ago

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God often prepares His servant to do His will and work by sending him/her into a wilderness experience of suffering to teach them total dependence upon Him.

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Introduction

Elijah had endured God’s wilderness by trusting God. God supplied his every physical need, but more importantly Elijah’s faith in God grew. We would think that the test was successful and his suffering was over, but THE BROOK DRIED UP! When Elijah drank the last sip of water from the brook God spoke to him again. Why did God wait until the brook was dry to speak to Elijah? Why not give him some kind of advanced notice. Couldn’t Elijah have figured out the brook was drying up and simply move on to another place which had some water? Elijah saw the brook drying up but God had not spoken to Him and Elijah had learned that the child of God never must get ahead of God. Elijah did not do anything until God told him. Jesus lived that way, and all His followers must live that was too.

Elijah was still a student in God’s Schoolhouse, but this time class would take up in a city instead of a wilderness. The course was about to get tougher for Elijah. But, God’s sustaining grace would again supply his every need as his trust in God grew. Let’s examine Elijah’s next assignment in God’s Schoolhouse.

We would think that the test was successful and his suffering was over, but THE BROOK DRIED UP!

A. The Difficulty of the Assignment (17:8-9)

So far, every time Elijah obeyed God his circumstances had gotten worse. This pattern will continue for him all the while he is in God’s classroom of testing. How difficult for us to handle this truth. It goes against all logic and human experience. Life ought to get better, not worse when we obey God. Yet, that is not the way God teaches us valuable and necessary spiritual lessons in His schoolhouse. How difficult was this lesson going to be for Elijah?

1. The Difficult Place (17:8)

The wilderness would have been bad enough, but now God was sending him to an even more difficult place. Zarephath is Sidon was the enemies epicenter. This city is Jezebel’s hometown. Her father, Ethbaal, ruled there. This city was the heartland of Baal worship.

Richard Blackaby, Living Out of the Overflow

Once again God is leading His servant to do something that contravenes common logic. Elijah is so impoverished he cannot provide a cup of water for himself. Yet God commands him to advance into the heart of enemy territory! At Elijah’s seemingly weakest point, God challenges him to make his most daring move.

What is to be learned by this move to enemy territory? Elijah’s faith will grow as learns that He fights from victory not for victory!

2 Chronicles 20:12 ESV

O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

2 Chronicles

2 Chronicles 20:15 ESV

And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s.

2 Chronicles 20:

2 Chronicles

2. The Deficient Person (17:9)

2 Chronicles 20:17 ESV

You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”

2. The Deficient Person (17:9)

Not only was the place difficult, but the person to whom God sends Elijah is deficient in resources. She is a widow. Remember a drought and famine is upon the land. Widows were the first to suffer in difficult time because their lives depended on others generosity. How could this widow woman feed the man of God, when she couldn’t even feed herself? Elijah’s faith would grow as he learned that human resources cannot sustain him, he must depend upon God’s resources in order to live.

2 Corinthians 3:5–6 ESV

Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

2 Corinthians 3

Two great lessons are learned as we progress through God’s schoolhouse of testing: 1) As we face difficult circumstances we can be confident in God because we fight from victory, not for victory. 2) As we face difficult circumstances we can be confident in God because He is our resource (supplier) not ourselves.

B. The Depravity in the Assignment (17:10-12)

As Elijah arrived in the city the depravity of his assignment becomes very real to him.

1. The Demeaning Obedience (17:10)

Elijah knew not to move until God said move. Elijah obeyed God. Remember, the formula for Christian living:

FAITH + OBEDIENCE = VICTORY. However, victory may not come immediately when the believer is in God’s schoolhouse. Victory comes when you have passed the final exam, and Elijah is not there yet.

Elijah has concluded his 100 mile journey to Zarephath and he is very thirsty. He sees a widow gathering sticks. Could this be the one God has instructed? He tests her, with his request.

2. The Destitute Order (17:11-12)

Elijah make one more request of the widow which reveals to him her destitute desperate situation. She too is a believer in Yahweh, Elijah’s God. Isn’t this interesting? It seems that this destitute widow was in God’s schoolhouse as well and God has sent His prophet to her as part of her test. God is about to “kill two birds with one stone,” for the lack of a better term. God is working this widow’s life out through the same school of suffering that Elijah is going through.

Folks, we don’t go through God’s schoolhouse alone, others are with us.

James 1:2–4 ESV

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Jesus reveals God’s purpose in both Elijah and the widow’s suffering for the learning of a spiritual lesson and not a physical one.

Luke 4:25–26 ESV

But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

Luke

C. The Declaration in the Assignment (17:13-16)

God’s spiritual lessons are taught to both Elijah and the widow in these verses. As both of them obey God’s command, the assignment is completed and God reveals His power.

1. The Prophet’s Command (17:13-14)

“Do not fear” is what this widow needed to obey. Fear of dying, not only her, but her son, had paralyzed her faith. That is what fear does to faith. However, when we exercise faith in God, our fears are calmed. “Do not fear” or “do not be dismayed” are stated 365 times in the Bible. God is sending us an important message—never fear, instead have faith in God everyday.

2. The Patron’s Compliance (17:15a)

Would the widow obey? If she did, then God would sustain her, her son, and Elijah for 2 years, that is how long until the drought would end. Elijah had believed God’s promise, now the widow must obey. What will she do?

Richard Blackaby

Scripture tells us, “So she proceeded to do according to the word of Elijah.” Though she is a poor, humble, Gentile widow, she gives to God’s servant what she cannot afford, and thus performs one of the greatest acts of faith recorded in Scripture. Paradoxically, it was by losing her life that she would save it.

Here is the great lesson of obedience to God: to obey God requires complete dependence on God and dying to self.

Luke 9:23 ESV

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

3. The Potentate’s Capability (17:15b-16)

Both Elijah and the widow enjoyed daily provisions as a result of their faith and obedience to God. Both had passed their assignment in God’s schoolhouse of suffering. However, as we will see, the suffering is not over; in fact, it intensifies with Elijah’s next assignment.

Conclusion

We have learned from these verses of Scripture some very valuable and necessary lesson in Christian living. To summarize what we have learned, let me conclude with this statement: If we will trust God and give him all we have, He will handle the rest.

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