Elijah, having prophesied against Ahab, is sent to Cherith where the ravens feed him, 1-7. He is sent to the widow of Zarephath, 8-16. He raises the widow's son, 17-23. The woman believes him, 24.
1 And Elijah the Tishbite who was of the inhabitants of Gilead said to Ahab, "As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word." 2 And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 3 "Depart from here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is before the Jordan. 4 And it shall be, that you shall drink of the brook. And I have commanded the ravens to feed you there." 5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD. For he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, which is before the Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
8 And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9 "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Zidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain you." 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Bring me, I pray you, a little water in a vessel that I may drink." 11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, "Bring me, I pray you, a morsel of bread in your hand." 12 And she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I do not have a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruse. And behold, I am gathering two sticks so that I may go in and dress it for me and my son and that we may eat it and die." 13 And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear. Go and do as you have said. But make me a little cake of it first and bring it to me, and afterward make some for yourself and for your son. 14 For thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'" 15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah. And she and he, and her house, ate many days. 16 And the barrel of meal did not waste, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD which he spoke by Elijah.
17 And it came to pass after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick. And his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said to Elijah, "What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to call my sin to remembrance and to slay my son?" 19 And he said to her, "Give me your son." And he took him out of her bosom, carried him up into a loft where he stayed, and laid him upon his own bed. 20 And he cried to the LORD and said, "O LORD my God, have you also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn by slaying her son?" 21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the LORD, and said, "O LORD my God, I pray you, let this child's soul come into him again." 22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah. And the soul of the child came into him again and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child, brought him down from the chamber into the house, and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, "See, your son lives." 24 And the woman said to Elijah, "Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth."
Matthew Henry Commentary - 1st Kings, Chapter 17[➚]
[v.1] - Reference, Luke 4:25.
[v.9] - Reference, Luke 4:26.