Bible Glide

1 Kings 17 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

1 Kings 17 shows Elijah trusting God's word in a time of drought and need. The chapter follows him from a hidden place by a brook to a widow's home, where God's provision and power are seen in practical ways. It ends with the raising of the widow's son and her confession that the Lord's word is true.

What happens in 1 Kings 17?

Elijah announces drought to King Ahab, then follows God's command to hide by the Brook of Cherith, where ravens bring him food. When the brook dries up, God sends him to Zarephath, where a widow with almost nothing is asked to share what she has. God keeps her flour and oil from running out, providing for Elijah, the woman, and her son. Later, the son dies, but Elijah cries out to the Lord, and the boy is brought back to life. The widow then recognizes God's word through Elijah as true.

This chapter comes after the early rise of Ahab and the spread of idolatry in Israel. Elijah now appears as God's prophet during a national crisis, confronting the king and showing that the Lord still rules over rain, food, and life itself. The chapter prepares for the public showdown between the Lord and Baal in the next chapter.

  • God's provisionThe Lord supplies food and water in impossible circumstances through ravens, a brook, and a poor widow.
  • Faithful obedienceElijah and the widow both respond to God's word before they can see the outcome.
  • Life from GodThe raising of the widow's son shows that God has power over death and hears prayer.
  • What does Elijah's response to God's instructions show about trust during scarcity?
  • How does the widow's act of sharing what little she has reveal her faith?
  • What does the restoration of the widow's son teach about God's power and care?

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1 Kings 17

The Ravens Feed Elijah

1Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel before whom I stand—there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!”

2Then a revelation from the LORD came to Elijah:3“Leave here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan.4And you are to drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”5So Elijah did what the LORD had told him, and he went and lived by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan.6The ravens would bring him bread and meat in the morning and evening, and he would drink from the brook.7Some time later, however, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

The Widow of Zarephath

8Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah:9“Get up and go to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”

10So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering sticks. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, so that I may drink.”

11And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread.”

12But she replied, “As surely as the LORD your God lives, I have no bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. Look, I am gathering a couple of sticks to take home and prepare a meal for myself and my son, so that we may eat it and die.”

13“Do not be afraid,” Elijah said to her. “Go and do as you have said. But first make me a small cake of bread from what you have, and bring it out to me. Afterward, make some for yourself and your son,14for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be exhausted and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain upon the face of the earth.’”

15So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and there was food every day for Elijah and the woman and her household.16The jar of flour was not exhausted and the jug of oil did not run dry, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through Elijah.

Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son

17Later, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill, and his sickness grew worse and worse, until no breath remained in him.18“O man of God,” said the woman to Elijah, “what have you done to me? Have you come to remind me of my iniquity and cause the death of my son?”

19But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.20Then he cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on this widow who has opened her home to me, by causing her son to die?”

21Then he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, please let this boy’s life return to him!”

22And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah, and the child’s life returned to him, and he lived.23Then Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. “Look, your son is alive,” Elijah declared.

24Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is truth.”

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