17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, [who was] of the inhabitants of
Gilead, said unto Ahab, [As] the LORD God of Israel liveth,
before whom I a stand, there shall not be dew nor rain
these years, but b according to my word.
(a) That is, whom I serve.
(b) But as I will declare it by God's revelation.
17:4 And it shall be, [that] thou shalt drink of the brook; and
I have commanded the c ravens to feed thee there.
(c) To strengthen his faith against persecution, God
promises to feed him miraculously.
17:8 And the d word of the LORD came unto him, saying,
(d) As the troubles of the saints of God are many, so his
mercy is always at hand to deliver them.
17:10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the
gate of the city, behold, the widow woman [was] there e
gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch
me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may
drink.
(e) All this was to strengthen the faith of Elijah, to the
intent that he would look for nothing worldly, but
only trust God's providence.
17:12 And she said, [As] the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a
cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil
in a cruse: and, behold, I [am] gathering two sticks, that
I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may
eat it, and f die.
(f) For there is no hope of any more sustenance.
17:14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, g The barrel of
meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail,
until the day [that] the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.
(g) God receives no benefit for the use of his own, but he
promises an ample recompence for them.
17:15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah:
and she, and he, and her house, did eat h [many] days.
(h) That is, till he had rain and food on the earth.
17:17 And it came to pass after these things, [that] the son of
the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his
sickness was so sore, that there was no i breath left in
him.
(i) God would test whether she had learned by his merciful
providence to make him her only stay and comfort.
17:20 And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast
thou also k brought evil upon the widow with whom I
sojourn, by slaying her son?
(k) He was afraid lest God's name be blasphemed and his
ministry contemned, unless he continued his mercies as
he had begun them, especially while he remained there.
17:24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this l I know that
thou [art] a man of God, [and] that the word of the LORD
in thy mouth [is] truth.
(l) It is hard to depend on God, unless we are confirmed
by miracles.
