3/5/2011 8:21:35 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: Life for a dead boy
Bible Reading
& Meditation Reference: 1Kings 17:11-24
Message of the verses: “17 ¶
Now it came about after these things that the son of the woman, the
mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there
was no breath left in him. 18 So she
said to Elijah, "What do I have to do with you, O man of God? You have
come to me to bring my iniquity to remembrance and to put my son to
death!" 19 He said to her,
"Give me your son." Then he took him from her bosom and carried him
up to the upper room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed. 20 He called to the LORD and said, "O LORD
my God, have You also brought calamity to the widow with whom I am staying, by
causing her son to die?" 21 Then he
stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to the LORD and said,
"O LORD my God, I pray You, let this child’s life return to him."
22 The LORD heard the voice of Elijah,
and the life of the child returned to him and he revived. 23 Elijah took the child and brought him down
from the upper room into the house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said,
"See, your son is alive." 24
Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of
God and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth."
This
is the forth miracle that Elijah was involved in and this time it was the Lord
who used Elijah as part of this miracle.
As Dr. Wiersbe points out the Lord was preparing Elijah for
confrontation with the worshipers of Baal as he was on a three year training
program to confront those who worshipped Baal including Jezebel, the on who
brought Baal worship into Israel.
There
are some who would say that this boy was not dead, but that is just not
true. This is the first time in the
Scriptures that a person who was dead was brought back to life. Elijah identified himself with this dead boy
by laying on him, and doing it three times is a reminder that Jesus was in the
tomb for three days.
The
mother of the boy was reminded of her sins when this boy died, and that is
something that happens to people who are grieving. It seems that this woman was brought to the Lord
by the miracle of having her son brought back from the dead.
Jesus
used this portion of Scripture along with the healing of a Gentile man by Elisha
in a sermon He preached at His home town.
He was pointing out the lack of faith in the nation of Israel, and also
that God is not a respecter of people, for all have sinned an come short of the
glory of God. “The emphasis from the
Lord in this sermon was on the grace of God.
He wanted the proud Jewish congregation in the synagogue to realize that
the God of Israel was also the /god of the Gentiles (see Romans 3:29) and that
both Jews and Gentiles were save by putting their faith in Him.”
Dr.
Wiersbe writes about Elijah: “The
servant who won’t ‘hide himself’ and minister to a few people isn’t really ready
to stand on Mount Carmel and call down fire and rain from heaven. People who have proved themselves faithful
with a few things in small places can be trusted by the Lord with many things
before many people in the bigger places (Matthew 25:21). Elijah had proved the power of God in Baal’s
own home territory, so he was now ready to challenge and defeat Baal in the
kingdom of Israel.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I am just loving and getting a lot out of
this section of 1Kings as Elijah has always been a favorite person from the
pages of the Bible. I love the way he
lived and the strength that he had even though he became depressed after his
great victory, which shows how human he really was. Another reason I like Elijah is because I
believe that he is one of the two witnesses of the book of Revelations and the
things that he does then show me more of his strength.
I
have written before about how the story of Elijah seems to be showing me that I
am suppose to be here in Kauai, and that I am to be patient and the Lord will
lead me to where He wants me to worship Him, and also what is the purpose of my
being here.
My Steps of
Faith for Today:
1.
Trust the Lord to lead us to the church He desires
us to be in.
2.
Trust the Lord to direct my path today.
3.
Remember that I am in a battle and in need of the
spiritual armor.
4.
Continue to learn contentment.
3/5/2011 8:48:48 AM
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