God had "Commanded the ravens" to feed Elijah.(1Kin 17:4). And they did.  So when the Lord told him that He had commanded a widow woman in Zarephath to sustain him, Elijah would be full of confidence, despite the fact that a Gentile widow in Jezebel's land was not the most likely person to turn to for help.
But when he arrived the dear lady was NOT expecting him.  But God had obviously spoken to her heart, for when he asked her to share her last meal with him, she agreed.  God keeps His word. 

Vs.3,4 Yahweh instructed Elijah to sojourn by the brook Cherith (meaning separation) where He would feed him through ravens.  Elijah stayed there until the brook ran dry. 

Ravens were unclean under the Law. Yahweh was instructing Elijah that he would be subsequently fed by a Gentile (v.9).  The drying of the brook heralded a three-and-a-half year drought (Luke 4:25). These experiences showed Elijah as a Christ-type.

V.9 Elijah fulfilled the object lesson, shown by the ravens, by going to the woman of Zarephath.  Two other women from this region are noted in the scriptures: Jezebel (1Kin 16:31); and the woman who begged Jesus to heal her daughter (Mark 7:25,26). 

Jesus uses the episode of Elijah in Zarephath to substantiate that He and His message to His own people would be rejected, and that the message would then be taken to the Gentiles (Matt 12:17,18; Luke 4:25,26).

17:23 The raising of the child forms the basis for Jesus behaviour when – Luke 7:15 – Jesus ‘delivered him to his mother’

17:9 And so Elijah is cared for, at God’s provision, by a gentile. A fact that the Jews of Jesus’ day did not like to acknowledge – Luke 4:20 – that gentiles had a part in God’s plan

17:9-12           So there was not much ‘oil’ in this area – the territory of Asher. God had promised – Deut 32:24– that Asher would dip his feet in oil, an indication of blessings. However because of the evil reign of Ahab this blessing has been taken away.

V.16 The woman and her son had been saved from starvation.  Like the Jews, she had experienced the grace and protection of Yahweh, while living.  However, it was only when her dead son was revived that she fully believed Yahweh (v.24).  

Yahweh resurrected His Son, Jesus, which opened the way, for others, to have life (1Cor 15:20-23). This fact has been documented in the Bible, giving men and women, through history, the opportunity for salvation (Mark 16:16).

There does appear to be a parallel between this widow and the woman at the well in Samaria in John 4. Both were Gentiles, both were asked to provide water and both received that which would sustain there life. 

17:4 That God ‘commanded’ the ravens to feed Elijah confirms God’s care for the prophet – and is an interesting twist on the fact that God feeds the birds – Luke 12:24

V.1 A Tishbite is an inhabitant of Tishbi, which is a town in Gilead.

Vs.12-15 The widow’s faith was being tested by being asked to give a stranger some food before she and her son ate.  This food constituted her, and her son’s, last meal.  The widow believed Elijah and complied with his wishes.  This episode is the perfect example of what is meant by Heb 13:2.

V,16 The widow’s faith brought the blessings of Yahweh.   She believed the Word of God, through Elijah, and her faith was rewarded (Heb 11:1).  If we believe the Word of God, concerning salvation, we will, also, be rewarded 1Pet 1:9).

V.21 The three times is indicative of the three days that Jesus lay in the grave (Matt 12:40).  As the widow’s son was brought back to life, so was the Son of God (Acts 10:40).

Commanding widows and ravens

God had commanded a widow to provide for Elijah (v9). But when Elijah meets up with her, she is getting ready to die from hunger (v12). Does that sound like someone whom God has spoken to? It sounds as if she knew nothing about it. So what did God mean when He said "I have commanded a widow there to provide for you"?

God had commanded the ravens to feed Elijah (v4). What language do you think God used to speak to them? Or does it mean something else? Well, here we have no problems explaining what is meant. God had simply caused the ravens to collect food and bring it to Elijah. Likely as not, they suddenly started instinctively doing what was against their natural instinct, by His power.

So scripture, as it usually does, gives us the answer to our question in the very context of the same chapter. The woman, like the ravens, had been prepared by God beforehand to have the natural inclination to help Elijah. It might have been her husband's death, and perhaps his lengthy ilness, that had caused her to be pre-disposed to look after others. Maybe the gap her husband had left in her life needed to be filled so badly that she was desperate to find any man, even a lodger, to fill it. Possibly he had only just died, and with him had gone all their means of livelihood. Any contact with the outside world could lead to help in her difficult circumstances. Every man she met would be eyed for the possibility of marriage, a fact that made her eager to please strangers. These kind of things had prepared her to be the best one to look after Elijah, and it is these things that add up to God's statement: "I have commanded her". And He never said a thing.

17:17 God had provided for the woman and her son during the famine. Now God is proving her through the death of her son

This chapter shows how dreadful an atribute pride is. In v2 the "proud men" wouldn't believe the word of the Lord sent by the mouth of Jeremiah. Jeremiah had pointed out to them the secret thoughts of their heart; the things that they wouldn't even admit to themselves (42:20). They had proudly said "whatever the Lord says, we will do it, whether good or bad". Yet in their hearts they were hoping for one answer, and one answer was all they were going to accept.

How often, I wonder, do we turn down good, sound advice, just because it goes too close to the bone? How often, I wonder, do we proudly fight back when someone rebukes us, instead of listening and taking the rebuke as it was meant. Proverbs is full of advice on this matter. Only the one who learns from rebuke can be wise. Only the one who listens to reproach and learns from it gains understanding. Only the one who humbly bears the faithful wounds of a friend will develop true knowledge, and with it great reward. (Prov 10:17, 13:1,18, 15:10, 27:6).

Vs 7-13 show us what happened to the people of Judah because of their unwillingness to listen. It is a warning for us. Alternatively, they could have had what was promised in 42:10-12; complete deliverance and safety, simply by listening to some words which were initially hard to bear.

V.3 Those men, who had ample proof of Jeremiah's trustworthiness, had the audacity not only to accuse him of lying, but of being incited against them by Baruch(V.6, Jer 36:4,10,26, Jer 45:1-3) in order to betray them into the hands of the Chaldeans. They felt that Baruch was a traitor, because he was in favor with Nebuchadnezzer.

Vs.8-13 It was not sufficient for Jeremiah to warn the people not to go to Egypt.  When they did go, Jeremiah went with them to continue his warnings and demonstrations.  It is marvellous that Yahweh allowed Jeremiah to continue to prophesy in the Egypt, the iron furnace of idolatry (Jer 11:4). 

43:7  In going to Egypt the people demonstrated that despite having seen God’s hand at work in their lives they felt they could still work out things for themselves. They thought their ideas and pans were better than God’s provision. How often do we feel confident that we can work out what we should do in life and not rely on God?

V.2 We see here that the mind of man is full of deceit. In yesterday's reading Jer 42:3, 5-6 they acknowledged the trustworthiness of Jeremiah, of which they had for so long many proofs; yet here they accuse him of a lie.

43:3 We might have thought that Baruch was simply a scribe who wrote Jeremiah’s words down and reported them to others. However the little comment about him here indicates that his work for Jeremiah had caused others to see him as being associated with the prophet. He was more than a scribe. In giving the message to the prophet he identified with all that the prophet said. This, of course, should be our position. We are not simply givers of a message. The message should change our lives. We should identify with the message and be willing to accept the consequences of such allegiance.

43:4-7 In verse :7  God says ‘they obeyed not ..’ thus we see that the rebellious nature of the Jews was in no way diminished by the fact that the words of Jeremiah had been fulfilled and Zedekiah had gone into captivity and the city laid waste. One wonders who much more evidence they would need before they would realise that God kept His word.

Vs.8-13 Josephus says that, five years after the destruction of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar went to Egypt (approx. 581 BC).

V.2 Jeremiah had spent decades speaking the Word of God; predicting dire consequences for Judah and Jerusalem; had exhorted the people to change and come back to Yahweh to seek His forgiveness and mercy; had suffered ridicule, isolation, imprisonment, and other hardships for his efforts; had been proven a true prophet of Yahweh when all the things he predicted came to pass. 

Even with all this, the remnant of Judah accused Jeremiah of speaking falsely. It goes to show, that even after absolute proof has been given, people will still doubt.  Fickleness often wins out over faith.

43:2 Not only did Jeremiah have to contend with the princes of the and. They had their own prophets who repeatedly attempted to undermine Jeremiah’s words. Surely Jeremiah fund this a great trial.

1:23 In saying that Christ was a 'stumbling block' Paul is quoting Isaiah 8:14. The apostle Peter (1Peter 2:8) makes a similar point.

2:9 Whilst some would use this verse to suggest that we can not know anything about the kingdom of God we should read on to the next very. This shows us that what Paul is talking about is the mystery of God in Christ which has been revealed to the saints.

1:29 That no flesh should glory is a fundamental aspect of understanding God's dealings with man. Human nature always seeks to justify itself. However it is God that is just and we who are not - save through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus (Romans 3:19)

2:10 Often we use the word 'deep' to mean involved and beyond the understanding of many of us. However this is not how Paul is using the word. Another use of 'deep' which is helpful is Ephesians 3:18 where it is used to speak of the extent of God's love.

In John 1v14 we have "and the word became flesh and dwelt among us", compared with "Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God" (1v30).

In John 1v14-18 we have "and we beheld his glory, as of the only begotten of the father…. he (Jesus) has declared Him" compared with "God has revealed them (the hidden things of God) to us… these things we also speak" (2v9-13).

In John 1v10 we have "the world did not know him" compared with 1 Cor 2v14 "natural man does not receive the things of the spirit of God…neither can he know them".

Paul is using this illustration not of Christ only, but also of himself. Not himself only, but also of us. If we allow God to influence and change our lives and thinking by His word and His chastening, then He will develop in us heavenly wisdom, rather than earthly. We will then, like Jesus, show forth the glory of God in our characters.

1:31 A problem in Corinth was pride. So the antidote – quoting Jer 9:24 – is to glory in God, not ourselves. In the days of Jeremiah the temple was to be destroyed and still the people did not glorify God. In like manner we are the temple of God 2Cor 6:16 so we should glorify God in our lives, not men.

2:4 ‘Enticing words’ do not form part of the gospel – they are the trademark of the serpent.

POWERFUL CHANGES
 
Have you noticed the changes in your life since you gave yourself to Christ? Since that day we have been blessed with a power at work in our lives that we never had before.
 
Think about what Paul told the Corinthians:
* "I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus." (1Cor 1:4)
* "In him you have been enriched in every way - in all your speaking and in all your knowledge." (v.5)
* "Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift." (v.7)
* "He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." (v.8)

God is so keen for us to live full, blameless and powerfully effective lives in Christ, that he supplies all we need to do it. He gives us grace - the grace to give us the hope of eternity even when we don't deserve it, the grace shown in forgiveness and grace to help in times of need. He has enriched our lives in giving us help when we speak to others of the hope we have, and enriching our knowledge so that we can effectively preach his word. There are no spiritual gifts we lack for the tasks he has planned for us to do. And he will give us strength - all the strength we need to do what is right and to avoid what is wrong.
 
So let us not rely on our own weak selves, but instead live our lives relying on the power and grace of God

THE CHAMELEON ECCLESIA

As a chameleon changes color to adapt to it's surroundings, so can brethren, sisters and especially our young people can do the same with respect to blending in with the world around us. The brethren & sisters in Corinth were struggling with their environment, so Paul wrote to identify the problems in the Corinthian eccleaia, to offer solutions and to teach the believers how to live IN CHRIST in a corrupt society.

The first step to solving a problem is to identify and acknowledge the problem.

1:8 How would we write to brethren who we knew had serous moral and doctrinal problems? Doubtless we would start by castigating them and reproving them. Paul, by the Holy Spirit, does not. He speaks of their wonderful hope. This would be an incentive to those who wanted to be faithful to mend their ways.

1:23 Jesus is described as a stumblingblock. The word stumblingblock is translated from the Greek skandalon which defines a sapling, bent to act as a snare to catch game. Isaiah describes Jesus as a tender plant, root, rod (shoot), branch (Isa 11:1; 53:2).

The English word scandal is derived from skandalon. Scandal means something disgraceful or offensive. Jesus is depicted as a rock of offence that can cause men to stumble (Rom 9:33; 1Cor 2:8 KJV). The word offence is skandalon in the original Greek.

2:13-14 Whilst we may use the idea of comparing spiritual things with spiritual things to explain how we interpret Scripture this is not how Paul is speaking. He is emphasising that one cannot use worldly thinking to understand spiritual tings. The mind of the flesh cannot be used to understand the mind of the spirit as is borne out by the rest of the chapter.

1:1,2 Having spoken of his own calling Paul includes the brethren and sisters at Corinth in this calling. So he is cementing his association with them in exalted things. A basis on which he will build in the rest of the letter.

1:2 Paul established the ecclesia at Corinth in about 52 AD (See Acts 18:1).

1:10 Spiritual unity, in the household of Christ, is of optimum importance. And, it is just as important today as it was in the first century. Those who would cause divisions by errant beliefs must be opposed (2Tim 2:25).  It they cannot be persuaded to change and harmonize with the Truth, they should be avoided (Rom 16:17).

1:27,28 If worldly criteria were used to choose our brothers and sisters in Christ, we would not be looking at the same kind of group that we see now.  But, the choice has not been made on the basis of worldly criteria. Yahweh has chosen weak and foolish vessels to strengthen and educate with His spiritual wisdom and guidance.

But, we must remember that Yahweh can only mold what is moldable (Isa 45:9; Rom 9:21). And so, let us be malleable and allow Yahweh to teach us of His ways (Psa 25:4).

1:17 ‘not with wisdom of words’ does not mean that the wisdom of God was not relevant in understanding of the gospel message. Rather Paul was countering those in Corinth who used human reasoning to complicate the gospel and enabled them to set themselves up as teachers to draw a following. We need to be careful that we always speak God’s truth in clear terms which do not cloud the simple message with any agenda of our own.