1. Ravens fed Elijah
We start today the first lecture series of this year 2011 and, for coming 3 months, the reading passages will be taken from the book 1 Kings. The two books of Kings tell the history of Israel since the enthronement of Solomon, the son of King David, till schism and destruction of the country. Thought their authorship is uncertain, the contents are said to be compiled by an editor called ¡Èthe Deuteronomist*1.¡É

During the reigns of David and Solomon, the kingdom of Israel enjoyed the most glorious period of the Jewish history. But, after the death of Solomon, the kingdom was split into two parts: Israel in the North and Judea in the South. Then the both were defeated respectively by Assyria and Babylonia. And, at the time of invasion of Babylonians, many of Jewish people of Judea were brought to Babylon under captivity. Even though loving the kingdom of David, God destructed it. Furthermore, God also demolished the Temple of Jerusalem which was believed to be the house of God. Naturally, Jewish historians of the time sought the reason for which God conducted such harsh acts. Then they found the answer : ¡ÈBecause their ancestors had behaved against God¡Çs will.¡É Those historians wrote records on that basing point. As a result, they emphasized sinful conducts which had been committed by their kings and people. And prophets must play the role of prosecutor throughout the history. The accusation was always that Jewish kings and people rejected God¡Çs words given through ancient prophets. Therefore the both books were written on severe accusing tone.

Among those kings, Ahab, the 7th king of Israel, was considered to be the worst. ; - More than any king before him, Ahab son of Omri did many things the Lord said were wrong…. He married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal, the king of Sidon. Then Ahab began to serve Baal and worship him. He built a temple in Samaria for worshiping Baal and put an altar there for Baal. Ahab also made an idol for worshiping Asherah. He did more things to make the Lord, the God of Israel, angry than all the other kings before him.(1 Kings 16:30-33)

And Elijah was raised as the accuser of Ahab. Today, we will focus on what happened between Ahab and Elijah and reflect on feeding acts of God. Elijah came on the scene in 1 Kings 17. He was a man of Gilead, a mountainous region east of the Jordan River. He came to Samaria, the capital of the North kingdom, to tell Ahab God¡Çs words. God had wrath against sinful acts of Ahab. ; - Now Elijah the Tishbite *2 was a prophet from the settlers in Gilead. “I serve the Lord, the God of Israel,” Elijah said to Ahab. “As surely as the Lord lives, no rain or dew will fall during the next few years unless I command it.¡É(1 Kings 17:1)

The punishment of God was drought. Palestine is very dry land and if rain doesn¡Çt fall enough during autumn and winter, the inhabitants couldn¡Çt cultivate crops the next year. And, in the case, famine dominated there in ancient times. Therefore it was the question of life and death for inhabitants to know who would promise rainfalls. Majority of the peoples in Canaan, or the region of the North Kingdom, worshiped Baal. Baal was considered to be a deity of agricultural fertility. They believed that Baal ruled the Sun and rains. Though Israelites were originally nomad, they began to cultivate fields after casting Canaanites away. Then, they also commenced to worship the regional idol Baal and neglected the Lord, Yahweh.

Thus the main theme of the Old Testament is the conflict against idolatry symbolized by that Baal. Idolatry is the worship of images which seem to accord material favors. For example, people worshiped those who pretended to give enough rainfalls or to promise protections against enemies. In short, humans seek always deities who promise secular benefits. In contrast, Yahweh, the Lord, strictly requires humans the observance of the contract and righteousness of conducts. So much so, Israelites were attracted by Baal who seemed gentle and sweet with them. Prophets accused repeatedly their idolatry, but in vain. Because idolatry represents humans embedded desires. And human desires are mostly selfish. Selfishness pushes humans to exploit the weak. Thus their conducts become more and more sinful and social unfairness emerges. Especially in Elijah¡Çs time, sinful behaviors due to idolatry dominated the society. Faithful priests were killed and alters of God were destructed and those of Baal replaced them all over the country. The top of the movement were Ahab and his wife Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal, the king of Sidon. They got married for political reasons and she was a zealous worshipper of Baal. Therefore Elijah was raised by God as the prophet to give them warnings. He transmitted accusing words of God but the king rejected them and hated Elijah instead. The prophecy of Elijah threatened strongly the rulers. As a result, he was chased by the authority. However, God was willing to protect him. ; - Then the Lord spoke his word to Elijah:"Leave this place and go east and hide near Kerith Ravine east of the Jordan River. (1 Kings 17:2-3)

1 Kings tells us that Elijah was fed by ravens there. ; - The birds(ravens) brought Elijah bread and meat every morning and evening, and he drank water from the stream.(1 Kings 17:6)

Though it is rather difficult for modern humans to admit that birds fed a man. Some scholars interpret the fact this way: ¡ÈRavens¡É in original hebrew ¡Èהָעֹרְבִים¡É can be also read ¡ÈArabs¡É and it might be Arabs (monads of the region) who fed Elijah.

Anyway, the drought became more severe and Elijah must change hiding place. Because the stream from which he had drunk dried. Then he received the following directions of God.

*1 the books of the Kings were said to be originally compiled by a single redactor, the Deuteronomist.
Deuteronomist http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuteronomist

*2 Tishbite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tishbite

2. A widow took care of Elijah
God¡Çs next to Elijah directions were these . ; - Then the Lord spoke his word to Elijah,9 “Go to Zarephath in Sidon and live there. I have commanded a widow there to take care of you.¡É(1 Kings 17:8-9)

Sidon was a Phoenician city and the native place of the queen Jezebel. It was also the center of Baal-worship. In other words, God sent Elijah into the midpoint of enemies. The book continues the story. ; - So Elijah went to Zarephath. When he reached the town gate, he saw a widow gathering wood for a fire. Elijah asked her, ¡ÈWould you bring me a little water in a cup so I may have a drink?¡É As she was going to get his water, Elijah said, ¡ÈPlease bring me a piece of bread, too.¡É The woman answered, ¡ÈAs surely as the Lord your God lives, I have no bread. I have only a handful of flour in a jar and only a little olive oil in a jug. I came here to gather some wood so I could go home and cook our last meal. My son and I will eat it and then die from hunger.¡É(1 Kings 17:10-12)

Her answer tells that she was suffering from famine due to the drought. But Elijah was sure of God¡Çs protection. ; - ¡ÈDon¡Çt worry,¡É Elijah said to her. ¡ÈGo home and cook your food as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread from the flour you have, and bring it to me. Then cook something for yourself and your son. The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ¡ÆThat jar of flour will never be empty, and the jug will always have oil in it, until the day the Lord sends rain to the land.¡Ç¡É(1 Kings 17:13-14)

Indeed, there rested only a handful of flour in a jar and only a little olive oil in a jug. Nonetheless the widow followed the instructions of Elijah. Then a miracle realized. ; - And the woman and her son and Elijah had enough food every day.16 The jar of flour and the jug of oil were never empty, just as the Lord, through Elijah, had promised.(1 Kings 17:15-16)

The drought reportedly continued 3 years so Elijah was fed by the widow for more than 2 years. The story might an interpretation of legends which had certain real basis. Or a real miracle might happen. Some says that the widow had a hidden stock of foods The following verses are suggesting that she was rather a wealthy person because houses with the upstairs were of the rich in that era.(see 1 Kings 17:19) In addition to that, she said, ¡ÈDid you come here to remind me of my sin and to kill my son?¡É The words imply that she committed a dishonest conduct. So the explanation above can be possible. In any case, what materially happened has little importance. The point of the record is Elijah¡Çs faith in God who that always fed and takes care of him.

3. God feeds us
Now we face a question : ¡ÈWhy did God choose ravens and a widow to feed Elijah?¡É Ravens were very disliked birds in the Old Testament. Widows were mostly poor persons in the Jewish society of the time. I think that God chose them intentionally to establish the status of Elijah, an authentic prophet. Prophets must not be mere messengers of God. They must live God¡Çs words literally. For example, the expression ¡ÈAs surely as the Lord lives¡É (see 1Kings 17:1) represents the solid faith based on personal experiences alone. To be an authentic prophet, Elijah must have experiences of being fed by totally inappropriate existences, birds and a widow. God¡Çs choice goes always beyond human intelligence and imagination. Elijah needed to recognize tangibly that his life could be possible only by depending on God¡Çs power.

Personally I think that we can be fed by birds or a widow, in symbolic meanings. I might say that I experienced it. When I resigned the previous job to study theology, my son was in the third-year at a university and my daughter was a high-schooler. Since my retirement, we lived by spending life savings of family. Naturally, we were anxious about the future. I wondered sometimes whether I could keep paying tuitions and fees of my children. And even more, I was not sure of providing them with daily needs. Fortunately, I could finished successfully study courses. But, though I gat the present post in this church, the congregation was too small at that time to pay me enough wage to live correctly. I believed that God would feed us but I couldn¡Çt get rid of financial worries completely. I shared the feeling of the Jewish people who were asking, ¡ÈCan God prepare food in the desert? Can he give us bread also?¡É (see Psalm 78:17-20)

11 years passed since then. And, as I look back those years, I recognize that God was always feeding us. The salary of pastor was increased and I found a second job in the university of theology, which gives me complementary income. Present situations have been unpredictable. I physically lived by trusting in the words, ¡ÈThe lord is alive.¡É And such an experience must change a person¡Çs entity. Our congregation is now carrying out a construction project of a new church building. Dismantling work of the present one and site surveying begin in 1 month. We raised 80% of the budget but the rest of sum is not yet guaranteed. Still we trust in God who should provide us with what we need for its realization. And if we can¡Çt arrive to raise total sum in time, simply we are willing to cut a part of the plan.

Today¡Çs invocation verses are Deuteronomy 8:4-5 for . ; - During these forty years, your clothes did not wear out, and your feet did not swell. Know in your heart that the Lord your God corrects you as a parent corrects a child.
The verses were given by God through Moses to the people who had wandered for 40 years in the desert. They were then about to enter into the destined land. There verses above mean that God always took care of them in responding to their complaints about shortage of water, read and meat.

God feeds humans, even through ravens or a poor widow. It seems that God gave us today intentionally1 Kings 17 as the lecturing portion. Faith is the act of trusting in God totally. Jesus said, ; - ¡ÈDon¡Çt worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ The people who don’t know God keep trying to get these things, and your Father in heaven knows you need them.¡É (Matthew 6:31-32 )

Our new church building must be achieved in this September and we will make the final payment to the construction workers. During the time, when we worry about raising money, we must listen to this verse. ; - So don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own.(Matthew 6:34 )

For coming 9 months, let¡Çs keep having confidence in God by praying together. Because Isaiah said, ; - Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.( Isaiah 55:9)

The power of the Lord is much stronger than we imagine. We will keep in our mind the encouraging words, ¡ÈThe Lord is alive¡É and give thanks to God.