Author Archive for: meiling

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 17:1-16.  Let’s go!

On verses 17-24:  A widow in the town of Zarephath has been taking care of the prophet Elijah.  With Elijah’s help she has learned to put God first in her life.  But when this widow’s son, only a young boy, becomes sick and eventually dies, this widow gets angry at God and directs that anger at Elijah, God’s servant: “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” (v18)  

Elijah too is distraught by the boy’s tragic death.  He takes the dead boy in his arms, brings him to his room, and begins to pray: “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” (v20).  But then Elijah stretches himself on the boy and cries out to God three times for this boy to come back to life, and “The Lord heard Elijah’s cry” (v22).  Seeing her son back alive, the woman says “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth” (v24).

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 17:1-16.  Let’s go!

On verses 1-16:  In these verses we are introduced to Elijah, one of the most powerful prophets in the Bible.  First, Elijah goes to King Ahab (probably in the capital city of Samaria) and predicts that rain will not fall in Israel for years except at his word (v1).  

Second, we see how God supernaturally provides for Elijah’s needs, initially at a brook in the Kerith Ravine while Elijah hides from Ahab and his prophet-killing wife Jezebel (v2-7).  Later God provides in an amazing way for Elijah and a widow’s family in the town of Zarephath (v8-16).

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 16:29-34.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 16:31 (NIV) 
31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 

On verses 29-33:  These verses summarize the 22 year reign of Ahab as king of Israel, although we will read about Ahab again in later chapters of 1 Kings.  One can make the argument that Ahab was the most wicked king in Israel’s history.  According to the writer of 1 Kings, Ahab “did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him” (v30) and “did more to provoke the Lord to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him” (v32).

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 16:21-28.   Let’s go!

On verses 21-28:  These verses summarize the 12 year reign of Omri.  From a political and military standpoint, Omri was an impressive king.  Omri outlasted his opponent Tibni in a six year civil war (v21-22).  Omri built a new capital city for Israel called Samaria.  Ancient Assyrian records even refer to Israel as “the land of Omri”.  So from a secular perspective, Omri was an effective king.  

However, from a spiritual perspective, Omri was a failure. As verses 25 and 26 say, “Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord and sinned more than all those before him.  He followed completely the ways of Jeroboam…so that they aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, by their worthless idols.” 

What can we learn from this?  When measuring a person’s success, the criteria God focuses on is different from what most people focus on.