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17. Elijah Fed by Ravens

Elijah Predicts a Drought

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Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”²The word of the Lord came to him, saying,³“Go from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.⁴You shall drink from the wadi, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”⁵So he went and did according to the word of the Lord; he went and lived by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.⁶The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the wadi.⁷But after a while the wadi dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

The Widow of Zarephath

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying,⁹“Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.”¹⁰So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.”¹¹As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”¹²But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”¹³Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son.¹⁴For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.”¹⁵She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days.¹⁶The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

Elijah Revives the Widow’s Son

¹⁷ After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.¹⁸She then said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!”¹⁹But he said to her, “Give me your son.” He took him from her bosom, carried him up into the upper chamber where he was lodging, and laid him on his own bed.²⁰He cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?”²¹Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.”²²The Lord listened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the child came into him again, and he revived.²³Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and gave him to his mother; then Elijah said, “See, your son is alive.”²⁴So 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.”

3. Timothy's Encouraging Report

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Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we decided to be left alone in Athens;²and we sent Timothy, our brother and co-worker for God in proclaiming the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you for the sake of your faith,³so that no one would be shaken by these persecutions. Indeed, you yourselves know that this is what we are destined for.⁴In fact, when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we were to suffer persecution; so it turned out, as you know.⁵For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith; I was afraid that somehow the tempter had tempted you and that our labor had been in vain.

119. Psalm 119

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Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes,

and I will observe it to the end.

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Give me understanding, that I may keep your law

and observe it with my whole heart.

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Lead me in the path of your commandments,

for I delight in it.

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Turn my heart to your decrees,

and not to selfish gain.

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Turn my eyes from looking at vanities;

give me life in your ways.

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Confirm to your servant your promise,

which is for those who fear you.

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Turn away the disgrace that I dread,

for your ordinances are good.

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See, I have longed for your precepts;

in your righteousness give me life.

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Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord,

your salvation according to your promise.

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Then I shall have an answer for those who taunt me,

for I trust in your word.

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Do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,

for my hope is in your ordinances.

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I will keep your law continually,

forever and ever.

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I shall walk at liberty,

for I have sought your precepts.

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I will also speak of your decrees before kings,

and shall not be put to shame;

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I find my delight in your commandments,

because I love them.

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I revere your commandments, which I love,

and I will meditate on your statutes.