1 Kings 17 17-24

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1 Kings 17:17-24

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Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worseand worse, and finally stopped breathing.

18

She said to Elijah, “What do you have againstme, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”

19

“Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to theupper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed.

20

Then he cried out to theLord, “O Lord my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am stayingwith, by causing her son to die?”

21

Then he stretched himself out on the boy three timesand cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”

22

The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.

23

Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him tohis mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”

24

Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that theword of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”

Now I know…

[Introduction = Paul Harvey and the rest of the story]Last week we heard the beginning of the story of Elijah and thisSidonian widow and it got me to thinking…what about the rest of the story? What happened to this widow and her son? We heard briefly that he died…now what? and why does it matter? Why isthis story here in Scripture…

I. We begin this morning by hearing a little bit more about theprophet Elijah’s story, we hear the rest of it.

And the story that we’ve heard so far is that he’s come to stay withthis Sidonian woman and her son. He has no food and we heardlast week that she had barely any herself. They were in the middleof a drought and she had just enough flour and oil to bake a smallmeal for her and her son before they died. Now Elijah asked her for a bit of that food and promised her a blessing in return. And she listened to the prophet and we heardabout the miracle of the jar of flour that was never used up and the jug of oil that did not run dry.

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God supplied this miracle and you would think that the storywould have a happy ending for this woman and her son. There wasnow a source of food for them that would last through the drought.But we just heard that this wasn’t the case. The woman’s son became sick. Maybe the effects of malnutrition, or some virus, or infection – we don’t know. What we do know is that he got worseand worse. His condition deteriorated and finally the illnessovertook him, he stopped breathing, and he died.And we hear her reaction in verse 18…

18

She said to Elijah, “What do you have againstme, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”

My friends, we understand her reaction. When trouble comes – when we get sick, when someone we love dies, when our world just seems like it’s crashing down all around us we ask the question –

what did I do to deserve this?

Many of us would love to ask that very question. To say to God“What’s up with that.” Why am I suffering? Why am I injured?Why did I lose my job? Why cancer? Why did he have to die? Yetwe don’t. We either think that God is going to punish us more for our insolence or we don’t trust him enough to have an honestrelationship with him.Sometimes we have to be broken right down before we can findourselves really asking those questions. Brothers and sisters, it’sonly when we can be honest with ourselves and with God that wecan begin to experience grace. And that’s right where this womanis right now…and she finds it…verse 19…

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19

“Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upperroom where he was staying, and laid him on hisbed.

20

Then he cried out to the Lord, “O Lordmy God, have you brought tragedy also uponthis widow I am staying with, by causing herson to die?”

21

Then he stretched himself out onthe boy three times and cried to the Lord, “OLord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”

22

The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s lifereturned to him, and he lived.

23

Elijah pickedup the child and carried him down from theroom into the house. He gave him to hismother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”

What a beautiful picture of grace. The Bible tells us that the Lordheard Elijah’s cry and because of that the boy’s life returned tohim. It’s important for us to see this as God hearing her cry as well.But she was a Sidonian widow – a foreigner and a worshipper of Baal. The story of God’s people tells us, however, that God’s gracewas only shown through Israel. And so the prophet here was themediator of that relationship.You get two people fighting and sometimes it’s good to havesomeone in the middle bringing messages back and forth. That’swhat Elijah’s doing here. He bridges the gap between God and thiswoman. And because these lines of communication are open, graceand healing…the miracle of life coming to this boy is able tohappen.And really this whole situation shows us how our relationship withGod is right now. Scholars would say that in Elijah we see whatChrist does for us. That when we were broken down and dead insin, Christ bridges the gap so that we might experience God’s graceand the life that comes through him.

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