Brown's Daily Word 6-7-10

Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day. The Lord blessed us in His house with His presence as we gathered with His people on His day yesterday. One of the readings for yesterday was taken from 1 Kings 17.
Yesterday was also the 66th anniversary of D-Day. The assault was conducted in two phases. First there was an air assault, which landed 24,000 British, Canadian, and Free French airborne troops shortly after midnight. There was also
an amphibious landing of Allied infantry and armored divisions on the coast of France commencing at 6:30 AM. The operation was the largest amphibious invasion of all time, with over 160,000 troops landing on June 6, 1944. Praise the Lord for the gallantry and courage, and the ultimate sacrifice, of those gave their lives for the sake freedom.
It is written," The Effectual, Fervent Prayer of A Righteous Man Availeth Much" James 5:16. We have all been cautioned to be careful what we pray because we just might get it. That is exactly the case for Elijah. Elijah was a man of effectual prayer, who took on the dubious joy of praying against his own nation as it fell deeper and deeper into sin. The effect of his prayer was that Jew and Gentile, young and old, person and livestock were all in the midst of a deep drought and the famine that went with it.
Elijah's prayers were generated because Ahab, King of Israel, had decided to worship the god of his wife, Jezebel. It had been a scant fifty years after Solomon when Ahab rose to power. The once peaceful nation had been torn apart by warfare from within and from without, and split into a Northern and Southern kingdom. Of the six kings who had ruled in Israel three of them had been murdered. To further complicate the matter Baal, a Canaanite god often linked to rain, had begun to be worshipped in earnest in Samaria. God had had enough. If the people wanted to worship this Baal then let Baal provide the rains.
The Lord brought judgement upon the nation of Israel, allowing natural disaster to come upon the land to bring His people back to Him. God alone is sovereign. He is upon the throne. Sometimes, in our arrogance and pride we go after the false gods. We begin to worship the idols that we fashion in our own images. Currently, as a nation we are deeply concerned and consumed by the disaster emanating from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Perhaps the Lord may be once again allowing this to happen in order to draw His people back to Him.
Elijah seemingly came from out of nowhere to rebuke King Ahab, telling him that there would be no rain, nor even dew, according to his word. One of the great judgments that God said He would send against His people if they did not keep His word was drought. Deuteronomy 11:17 states, "And then the LORD’S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you". Elijah delivered the word of God’s judgment against Ahab. He withstood the king and was, no doubt, under the king’s anger.
Following Elijah's confrontation with Ahab, the word of the Lord came to him to give him direction. God told him to go east and hide by the brook Cherith. It is interesting that Cherith means in the Hebrew a “cutting” or more literally a separation. Elijah was going to separate himself from Israel and hide under God’s protection. According to 1 Kings 18:10 Obadiah, Ahab’s servant, spoke to Elijah, "As the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee". Elijah, however, went to Cherith, and while he was there he was able to drink from the brook and every day God commanded the ravens to bring him food to eat.
While I was studying for this message I discovered that ravens are not noted for being good parents for they will often leave their young without. Yet, when God commands, even the ravens obey. God was taking care of His prophet. Most Biblical scholars believe that Elijah stayed by the brook for around 2 years. Everyday the ravens brought him food and everyday he drank from the brook. In a sense, Elijah had it made. His needs were being taken care of; he was hidden, he was fed, and he had water to drink while the rest of Israel were under the judgment of severe drought. However, in verse 7, it says that the brook dried up.
If God can command ravens, He certainly could have commanded that brook to continue to flow, even during dry times. God provided a million Israelites and their flocks in the desert with enough water; surely He could have watered one man for a period of time. However, it was not the will of God that Elijah stay at Cherith, for there were still greater miracles to perform. Elijah did not raise the dead at Cherith, but he would where God was calling for him to go. There were greater miracles in store for Elijah and that was why God was moving him from Cherith to someplace else.
When our brook dries up, it may well be because God has some greater miracles in store for us and that may be the only way God has of getting us to move.

In Christ,
Brown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngw3jUt5v60