1 Kings 17.19
“And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed.”
Similar to the widow, Elijah was distraught about the death of her son. Elijah had great compassion for the woman and her family, and he deeply appreciated all she had done for him. Undoubtedly, during the time he lived with them, Elijah had gotten to know the family and had grown to love them.
It appears that he also thought that God killed the son.
Elijah responded by doing what he was trained to do. He prayed a big and bold prayer — and he prayed tenaciously — for God to take big and bold action in response to this dire situation.
“And he cried to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?’ Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.’ And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived.” (1 Kings 17.20-22)
Do you see what is happening? Elijah is being trained, prepared, and developed. His trust in God is being trained. His motives are being trained. His mental toughness is being trained. His prayer life is being trained. His R Factor is being trained. He is being trained how to respond to enormously challenging situations with complete faith in God’s presence, promises, and power.
“And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” And 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.” (1 Kings 17.23-24)
This is how Elijah learned to become a true man of God. This is how he went from being “Elijah the Tishbite” who was simply a spokesman, to being a powerful “man of God.”
He will need every bit of the training, because soon the Lord will send Elijah back to Israel to end the drought and engage in direct battle with Ahab, Jezebel, and the priests of Baal. Not skirmishes, but full on battle. It will be dramatic.
Coram Deo
