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Elijah and the Drought · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: And it came to pass after a while that the
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  Speaker 1: brook dried up because there had been no rain in
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  Speaker 1: the land. 1 Kings 17.7 Dear God, when there is
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  Speaker 1: a drought in the world and recessions in our economy,
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  Speaker 1: I will look to you to provide for myself and
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  Speaker 1: those I love, like you did for the prophet Elijah
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  Speaker 1: by the brook. In the same miraculous manner, I thank
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  Speaker 1: you that, like the ravens you sustain, you will nourish
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  Speaker 1: me through miraculous connections and divine relationships. Place an internal
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  Speaker 1: clock within me to know when it's time to move
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  Speaker 1: on to the next season of my journey. As I
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  Speaker 1: move in obedience, give me the faith to move as
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  Speaker 1: the widow did, knowing that if God said it, He
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  Speaker 1: will be faithful to perform it. Even when my dreams
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  Speaker 1: seem like they're dying, I thank you that when I
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  Speaker 1: call upon your name, you will resurrect what seemed to
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  Speaker 1: be dead and breathe new life into the promises in
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  Speaker 1: my life. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for praying
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  Speaker 1: with us today. Continue your time with God by listening
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  Speaker 1: to today's Bible story, brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Elijah and the Drought In our last story, we were
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  Speaker 2: introduced to more kings of Judah. Abijah ruled with a
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  Speaker 2: brutal fist and sinful arrogance. His son, Atha, ruled with
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  Speaker 2: the fear of God and a righteous heart. Atha was
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  Speaker 2: able to topple idols in Judah and bring the people
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  Speaker 2: of God back to their first love. Israel, however, was
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  Speaker 2: still descending into the pit of idol worship and despair.
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  Speaker 2: Now we are introduced to a dominant force for the
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  Speaker 2: kingdom of God, Elijah. He showcases the beginning of a
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  Speaker 2: cosmic battle between the true God of heaven and earth
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  Speaker 2: and the false God, Baal. Elijah is able to witness
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  Speaker 2: the true control and discipline of the Lord as well
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  Speaker 2: as his provision over the faithful, inspired by the book
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  Speaker 2: of 1 Kings.
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  Speaker 3: I'm so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,
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  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would absolutely love
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  Speaker 3: to send you my daily devotional that will give you
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  Speaker 3: fresh encouragement every single morning and day. From the moment
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  Speaker 3: we wake up to the moment our head finally hits
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  Speaker 3: the pillow, there are thousands of things demanding our attention.
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  Speaker 3: But it's in the midst of all this crush and
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  Speaker 3: hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and
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  Speaker 3: truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help
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  Speaker 3: you spend time each day growing in God's life-giving, life-changing
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  Speaker 3: word by sending you my free daily email devotional, PowerPoint Today.
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  Speaker 3: So visit jackgram.org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
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  Speaker 3: That's jackgram.org, jackgram.org. In our last episode, we heard about
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  Speaker 3: King Asa, who unlike his father and grandfather, was was
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  Speaker 3: a man who sought God. He sought God's favor and
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  Speaker 3: acted faithfully towards the Lord. He removed idols and banished
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  Speaker 3: the cult worship of false gods from Judah. Asa was
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  Speaker 3: a good king, and through his leadership and legacy, the
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  Speaker 3: people's hearts turned back to the Lord. To the north
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  Speaker 3: of Judah, however, the people's hearts were still very far
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  Speaker 3: from God, And as we'll learn today, God was about
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  Speaker 3: to do great things through a man named Elijah, a
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  Speaker 3: prophet who would contend on God's behalf with the rampant
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  Speaker 3: worship of Baal in Israel. Elijah is a powerful prophet
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  Speaker 3: from God, and he will stand true in a faithless generation.
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  Speaker 3: How thankful we are for the story of Elijah. Let's
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  Speaker 3: begin listening now to God's Word.
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  Speaker 2: A dry wind was scratching across the ground of Israel.
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  Speaker 2: Plants became blighted and began to wither under the heat. Elijah,
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  Speaker 2: a chosen man of God, looked upon the destitute land
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  Speaker 2: with sorrow. He saw the flowers beginning to curl up
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  Speaker 2: and pass into the ground. He witnessed the livestock lose
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  Speaker 2: their luster and slow down into a pause. The Lord
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  Speaker 2: spoke closely into his ear. There will be no rain
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  Speaker 2: until I give the word, God whispered. Elijah turned away
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  Speaker 2: from the fields and walked towards the palace gates. He
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  Speaker 2: needed to relay the message to Ahab, king over Israel.
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  Speaker 2: Elijah opened the doors into Ahab's halls. The blighted wind
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  Speaker 2: blew violently as he opened the doors. Sand made its
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  Speaker 2: way inside. Ahab sat among some of his counselors. He
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  Speaker 2: looked up at Elijah and listened to the word of God.
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  Speaker 2: Once Elijah was finished, he left silently and awaited a
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  Speaker 2: word from the Lord. Venture forth towards the east, God
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  Speaker 2: told him. Hide underneath the tree covering beside the brook
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  Speaker 2: of Kareth. Drink from the brook and eat the food
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  Speaker 2: I bring you. I will send ravens to give you food.
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  Speaker 2: So Elijah camped beside the brook for a long while.
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  Speaker 2: He sat beside the waters. The shade of the trees
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  Speaker 2: and coolness of the water protected him from the hot
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  Speaker 2: winds coursing through Israel. The Lord provided for him. Ravens
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  Speaker 2: brought him food daily, and Elijah sat in the presence
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  Speaker 2: of God, soaking in his goodness. The two were close,
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  Speaker 2: as David once was with God in the wilderness. Elijah
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  Speaker 2: watched the brook as the weeks passed. Since there was
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  Speaker 2: no dew or rainfall, the river began to dry up.
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  Speaker 2: There was no more protection for him. God came to
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  Speaker 2: Elijah again. He spoke clearly and tenderly, saying, Go to
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  Speaker 2: the village of Zarephath. I have spoken to a widow
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  Speaker 2: who lives there. She will provide for you. So Elijah
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  Speaker 2: went and arrived at the gates. Just as God had said,
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  Speaker 2: a widow was in the front gathering sticks for her fire.
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  Speaker 2: Elijah smiled and said, Would you be able to spare
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  Speaker 2: a little water? The widow grinned and agreed. She gathered
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  Speaker 2: some water. Would you be able to spare some food
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  Speaker 2: as well? Elijah asked. The widow's grin turned upside down.
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  Speaker 2: Her shoulders slumped and her lips were parsed together. I
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  Speaker 2: swear by the Lord, I have not one crumb of
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  Speaker 2: bread to give you. Her lips began to quiver, and
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  Speaker 2: she put her hands over her face. Elijah watched as
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  Speaker 2: the widow began to cry. I have a handful of
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  Speaker 2: flour and a little cooking oil at the bottom of
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  Speaker 2: my jug. The sticks I was gathering was to make
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  Speaker 2: a fire. The woman raised her eyes to Elijah and said,
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  Speaker 2: This is going to be my son's last meal before
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  Speaker 2: he dies. Elijah placed his hands on her shoulders. He
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  Speaker 2: looked her in the eyes and smiled, saying, Fear not.
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  Speaker 2: Go and prepare your bread. Make some bread for all
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  Speaker 2: three of us, and we will witness the faithfulness of God.
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  Speaker 2: So the widow prepared the bread. She added water to
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  Speaker 2: the flour and began to bake the mix. To her surprise,
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  Speaker 2: the dough expanded far beyond her expectation. The widow watched
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  Speaker 2: as she had enough bread to feed all three of
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  Speaker 2: them for weeks. The three of them ate and rejoiced
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  Speaker 2: in the provision of God. Weeks had passed. Elijah, the widow,
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  Speaker 2: and her son had feasted in the glory of God. However,
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  Speaker 2: the woman's son became very sick. His fever became unmanageable,
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  Speaker 2: and his body began to fade. Finally, with great struggle,
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  Speaker 2: the boy passed. Elijah was broken, and the widow was unconsolable.
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  Speaker 2: The woman cried out to Elijah, saying, Elijah said nothing
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  Speaker 2: as the woman wailed before him. She beat her fists
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  Speaker 2: on his chest and fell to her knees. Elijah looked
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  Speaker 2: to the boy's body and walked towards it. He picked
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  Speaker 2: him up and carried him upstairs into the upper room
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  Speaker 2: of the house. He laid the child down. Tears dripped
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  Speaker 2: down his face and landed beside the boy's lifeless body.
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  Speaker 2: Elijah sobbed and laid over him. Muffled prayers could be
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  Speaker 2: heard from Elijah. My God, why have you brought tragedy
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  Speaker 2: to this woman? She has shown me kindness. Elijah stretched
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  Speaker 2: his body over the child, crying out to the Lord. Please,
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  Speaker 2: Elijah whispered, let him live. And as Elijah was speaking,
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  Speaker 2: he felt the boy's arm twitch. Elijah leaped up to
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  Speaker 2: his feet as he watched the boy's chest begin to
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  Speaker 2: rise and fall. God had breathed life into him. The
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  Speaker 2: widow was still on the floor downstairs. She heard screaming
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  Speaker 2: from the upper room as Elijah yelled. Elijah rushed down
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  Speaker 2: the stairs, holding the child, yelling, He lives! He lives!
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  Speaker 2: The three of them rejoiced. Elijah was able to witness
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  Speaker 2: the power and provision of God in the midst of
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  Speaker 2: a famine. It would be these events that strengthened his
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  Speaker 2: resolve to follow God. Elijah would not bend in his
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  Speaker 2: faithfulness to him. Many battles awaited Elijah, and God would
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  Speaker 2: require him to stand firm.
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  Speaker 3: As we begin the scripture today, we're introduced to a
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  Speaker 3: name that is going to be a well-known great name
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  Speaker 3: in the Word of God. A man who walked with
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  Speaker 3: the Lord, a powerful prophet, Elijah, received a message from
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  Speaker 3: the Lord that he delivered to Israel's King Ahab. The
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  Speaker 3: land was about to be plunged into devastating drought. The
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  Speaker 3: rains would cease and the clouds would not release their
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  Speaker 3: nourishing waters until God gave word for the rain to return.
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  Speaker 3: And with that, Elijah departed, led by God to the
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  Speaker 3: east where he was hidden by the brook Kareth. As
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  Speaker 3: David had written in his most famous psalm, Elijah experienced
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  Speaker 3: the hand of God leading him beside still waters, providing
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  Speaker 3: for his physical needs as he drank from the brook
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  Speaker 3: and ate food brought by ravens God had sent him,
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  Speaker 3: but also providing for his spiritual needs and preparing him
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  Speaker 3: for big spiritual battles. We must never forget that God
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  Speaker 3: will always provide for our needs in every circumstances, that
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  Speaker 3: he makes provision for us, and that he provides for
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  Speaker 3: what we need just as he did Elijah when we
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  Speaker 3: obey him. After some time, the brook Kareth dried up
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  Speaker 3: because the drought was intense. So God sent Elijah to
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  Speaker 3: the town of Zarephath, telling him there was a widow
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  Speaker 3: there whom God had told to feed the prophets. Just
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  Speaker 3: as God had said, there was indeed a widow there
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  Speaker 3: that lived with her son. Elijah asked her for water,
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  Speaker 3: and she gladly brought him the water. But when Elijah
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  Speaker 3: asked for a morsel of bread, the woman became very sad.
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  Speaker 3: For you see, the famine and drought had devastated the land,
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  Speaker 3: and this woman had no food to give, no food
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  Speaker 3: to spare. She told Elijah that the little bit of
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  Speaker 3: flour and oil that she had was only enough for
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  Speaker 3: her and her son to eat a final meal before
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  Speaker 3: they died. But Elijah would not be deterred, because God
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  Speaker 3: had provided for him at the brook. He trusted God
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  Speaker 3: to provide for him now as well. He told the
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  Speaker 3: woman not to fear or to be sad, but to
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  Speaker 3: go and do as she had planned, to make a fire.
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  Speaker 3: But Elijah said she was to make a small cake
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  Speaker 3: of flour and oil for him, then make some for
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  Speaker 3: herself and her son. Then he said to her what
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  Speaker 3: we read in 1 Kings 17, verse 14. For thus
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  Speaker 3: says the Lord, the God of Israel, the jar of
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  Speaker 3: flour shall not be spent and the jug of oil
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  Speaker 3: shall not be empty until the day that the Lord
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  Speaker 3: sends rains upon the earth. Elijah was inviting this woman
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  Speaker 3: to join him in trusting God for a miracle. The
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  Speaker 3: small amount of flour and oil was just that, pitifully small,
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  Speaker 3: not enough for even one person, let alone three. But
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  Speaker 3: God always richly supplies everything to us, especially those of
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  Speaker 3: us who are in Christ Jesus. And God was promising
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  Speaker 3: to provide that from a small amount there is an
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  Speaker 3: inexhaustible supply until rain would return to Israel. And God
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  Speaker 3: will supply all of your needs according to His riches
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  Speaker 3: and glory in Jesus Christ. We're told that in the
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  Speaker 3: New Testament. So a great miracle took place. And for weeks,
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  Speaker 3: the widow and the son and Elijah ate the food
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  Speaker 3: and it never ran out. God, as always, kept his promise.
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  Speaker 3: Then one day, the widow's son fell sick and died.
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  Speaker 3: The widow, of course, was distraught, despairing, wondering why such
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  Speaker 3: tragedy had come upon her. So Elijah... always trusting in God,
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  Speaker 3: always believing in God, trusting God for another miracle, took
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  Speaker 3: the boy to an upper room where he was staying
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  Speaker 3: and cried out to God, laying his body over the
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  Speaker 3: boy's body and asking God to bring life back into
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  Speaker 3: this child. God heard Elijah's prayer, and the boy was
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  Speaker 3: filled with life again. This was a resurrection. This is,
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  Speaker 3: of course, an amazing, powerful miracle. God showed Elijah what
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  Speaker 3: we can know with confidence, that not even death, because
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  Speaker 3: of what Jesus Christ has done for us, will keep
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  Speaker 3: us in the grave, that there is life and life
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  Speaker 3: beyond and abundant life today for those who follow Christ himself.
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  Speaker 3: And so Elijah's faith was strong, and he knew that
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  Speaker 3: God would always provide for him and would never leave him.
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  Speaker 3: Elijah's faith would be tested in the years that would follow.
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  Speaker 3: But God had big plans for Elijah that we're going
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  Speaker 3: to see in our next passage. Dear God, thank you
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  Speaker 3: for the reminder today that you are a God of
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  Speaker 3: might and miracles, that you are the God of life.
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  Speaker 3: And we pray that each one of us would trust
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  Speaker 3: you for our daily provision and that we would live
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  Speaker 3: in the promise of eternal life through Jesus our Lord. Amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. And before we go,
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  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would love to
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  Speaker 3: send you my daily devotional to give you fresh encouragement
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  Speaker 3: every single day. So visit jackgraham.org to sign up for
• 15:13
  Speaker 3: your PowerPoint Today devotional. That's jackgraham.org.