Ancient stories: Jehovah Jireh

Knock knock!

I have a story to tell. It is a letter written from an observer who saw something that caught his attention.

In the northern kingdom of Israel around the 9th century BCE lived a King called Achab. He lived in Samaria, the royal capital established by Omri his father.

Of all gods, there was the only true God. It was Him who had brought this people thus far. They were the Israelites who He had always carried in His arms.

Appointed to lead these people was Achab. He was another king whose heart was turned away from the only true God. As a leader, his stand and belief undoubtedly influenced his own people, for they too had turned away from the only true God whose name is YHWH.

These people had provoked YHWH on several occasions, and at different times His mercy did prevail.

Achab reigned as a king for twenty-two years, and in his time, he did more evil in the eyes of YHWH than any of the kings before him. In several ways, he despised YHWH and aroused His anger even by worshipping other gods.

Imagine helping someone over and over again, times without numbers, and consistently that person keeps denying your existence or even acting as if you never existed. In many ways these people failed to acknowledge YHWH

Achab and his people who he ruled over had turned away from YHWH unto a pagan god called Baal. Baal was thought to be the sky god, the god of the weather.

Now, will Baal perform and live up to it’s expectation?

YHWH always had a way of communicating with His people and passing His message across. This time around, it was through a Tishbite from Tishbe somewhere in Gilead. His name was Elijah.

He was a prophet who represented God in his time. In the expression of YHWH’s anger, it happened that there was neither dew nor rain for years. Should Baal not be able to reverse this and cause a change? Where was he at this time? Did he not have control over the weather anymore?

Later on Baal and his worsippers will surely be put to utter shame. In fact, Baal and they that worshipped him were put to shame.

Here is my amazement even as I observed all these from afar.

YHWH wasn’t just the Lord, He stood still as Jireh.
In as much as everyone else did suffer the drought spoken of by Elijah, YHWH took care of His own. In the midst of it all, He commanded Elijah to a place where He would drink of the brooks of the water. Not only that, He also sent Ravens to bring to Elijah bread and meat. Like how on earth can you explain that? He ate this meal in the morning and evening as well.

Now, while all of those did happen, here was what shocked me the most. It was the transition to another expression of His provision. The brook had dried and Elijah needed to still survive. YHWH told Elijah to change location from Cherith where the brook was to go to a differnt place called Zarephath. It was at this place YHWH would show again that He was Jireh.

YHWH had told Elijah how that He had commanded a widow there to provide for him. Come on! Are you whining me YHWH?
Widows were known for their poverty in the ancient world. It is now a widow he was told to meet.

Okay, Elijah went and found this person who YHWH had commanded to provide for him. Since YHWH had said it, then it should be so. With confidence, Elijah asked her for water in a cup for him to drink.

The said woman who God had commanded to provide for Elijah said to Him:

Wait, was this not the person YHWH said He commanded to provide food for Elijah. She obviously wasn’t lieing or pretending. That was her last meal she had. The hope was not even there anymore. The next after her meal was death, not just for her but her son too.

Certainly YHWH cannot lie, and He has said ” I have commanded a widow there”.

The person who He had commanded was someone who was planning to eat her last meal and then die. Was God joking?

Elijah must have been moved, yet he insisted about a morsel of bread in her hand.

You would say, where was his emotions. You just heard her tell you all of those and yet you still are asking. To Elijah, that was true, nevertheless it was from the mouth of a man. What he heard was from God whose report He believed.

At both ends faith was needed. The eternal God who spoke, and with no point of reverence everything came to obey His voice, had spoken.

And Elijah said to her:

Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.

1 Kings 17:13-14 NIV

Hey! You need not to told again all that happened after this woman was moved by faith as she acted on the spoken word of God. She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.

God will perform, and He will provide. Hold on to His word and move by faith. If He said it He will perform!