Today’s Devotion
Topic: A Passionate Prophet Vrs His Evil King (Part 4)
(Self Assessment 204)
Background:
For three weeks now, we’ve been learning from two of Israel’s leaders; king Ahab and prophet Elijah, who clearly had opposing orientations and goals. The king stood for everything that desecrated the land, while the prophet did everything to bring Israel’s attention back to God.
We’ve also learnt from James 5: 17 that, “Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
But since Elijah lived in the same land he declared will not see rain except at his word, how had he hoped to survive the drought? We’ve seen how God directed him to a place to be fed by ravens, and then afterwards, by a widow. What on earth could this widow offer him, and what was God’s plan to supply this widow’s needs?
For answers to these and more, let’s get straight into our weekly Bible discussion.
Text: 1 kings 17: 12- 16
12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”
13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.
Questions:
1) Please read verse 12 again. After the prophet had asked for water, and bread, the widow takes time to describe her current situation in details.
a) What was the essence of this description? What was she hoping to achieve by doing this?
b) Is the widow’s action similar to ours in any way? As modern day Christians, do we also easily take to describing how bad or situations may be? If so, why do we do so?
2) Kindly read verse 13 again:
a) Elijah’s response to the widow, after her compliant, was “Don’t be afraid…” Why this response; what was the widow afraid of ?
b) Elijah asked the widow to go home and make a small loaf of bread for him first before feeding herself and her son. What was the essence of this instruction? If you were the widow, what would be your response?
c) In the midst of this discourse, Elijah gave the widow a word of prophecy from the Lord. Would you have believed it or not? Does this reveal anything to you about how the God we serve works?
3) Please read verse 15 and 16 again:
a) In your opinion, why did the widow do as Elijah had told her? What motivated her obedience?
b) True to the word of the Lord spoken through Elijah, the flour and oil never run out. What does this tell you about the God we serve? How will this revelation influence your walk with Him?
4) What have you learnt from today’s discussion?
Kindly share your answers with us through this same social media platform (WhatsApp/Facebook). We also learn a lot from what you share.
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