5 So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there.
Vs 8-10 Then the word of the LORD came to him: "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." “So he went to Zarephath.”
We can know what people believe by what they do. If Elijah believed in God, then he would obey God’s word.
The first step of trusting God is obedience. Elijah was told to leave and go eastward and hide out at the Kerith Ravine. That was all he needed to know. Can you imagine Elijah saying,” Wait a minute Lord, that is wilderness out there. How about a nicer place than that barren hill region? There are snakes out there. After all I just spoke a good word for you. What else do you have?”
There are many who think just like that. O, they want God’s direction in their lives, but they want to know what all is involved before they do what God tells them to.
If God is directing us, He will direct only one step at a time. We are not given a whole set of blueprints that map out our lives as much as we wish He would. Instead, He leads only one step at a time. Often we can never see the next one until we, by faith and obedience, move on what we know we should be doing next. God doesn’t send us anywhere without providing for us what we need to do what He wants.
told Elijah to go to a barren, wilderness called Kerish. Elijah trusted God by taking that first step. He found the same situation that everyone else found all through their land - draught. There was a little tiny brook and the promise of God, that birds would come by with food for him. Elijah experienced hardship as much as anyone else.
feed their young with bread and meat. Perhaps Elijah could have made himself available to it, or perhaps the food was brought and laid out at his feet. The miracle was that God had so directed Elijah and promised food and drink. The ravens were directed to come to the very spot Elijah was directed to go.
Ravens were the first bird mentioned by name in Gen 8:6. Noah released a raven and it never returned to the ark. That bird was considered by Jewish law an unclean animal. The people were not allowed to eat it. Jesus said in Luke 12 “Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap and they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them.”
arranges the circumstances of obedient servants bent on knowing and following God’s will. Move out on what you know in obedience even if you do not know where that path may lead. Trust Him to arrange the circumstances.
Application: What is the next step of obedience God is asking of you?
Prayer: LORD, I am weak, but thou art strong. Make me willing for Your will and enable me to live a life of obedience.
