Senior Class Notes – August 8, 2021 – Toonigh Baptist Church

Summer 2021 Unit 2 Session 3 – Serve Through Prayer – 1 Kings 17:17-24, PSG p. 118 – 127

August 8, 2021 – Please read “Remember”, PSG p. 128-131.

The Point: Serve those around you through consistent prayer.

Inspirational verses: “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour” (1 Tim. 2:1-3). “As for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you” (1 Sam. 12:23).

1 Kings 17:17 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 sore, that there was no breath left in him. The widow faced further testing when her only son became ill. It is not specifically stated that he died, but verses 20-21 obviously support that conclusion (KJBC). Some Bible critics say the boy was only unconscious, not dead, and that his restoration was therefore not a miracle. However, verses 18, 20, 22-23 make it clear that he had actually died (NIVBKC). The death of the son is a double blow to this widow. Not only does she suffer as any mother who loses a child, but she also suffers as one who has lost her only hope for the future. The expectation was that her son would grow and provide for her in her old age. Now that expectation is shattered (KJVCRSB). Tragedy comes into the lives of the faithful, just as it does to the ungodly. But for obedient believers, God takes everything – even heart-breaking situations – and uses them for His glory. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) (CFSLPB).

1 Kings 17:18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? She wondered if her son’s death was the result of her own sin, and Elijah had been sent to bring her punishment. People in ancient times commonly viewed sickness as God’s punishment for sin (John 9:1-2). Yet Elijah had already spared her son from death once by miraculously extending their food resources. The more pertinent question would have been: Why did God bring my son through the last crisis only to let him die of another? (PSG p. 121). She indirectly blames Elijah and more directly blames herself and her unnamed sin. Whatever her sin is, the guilty memory of it is always close to her (KJVCRSB). The woman had a guilty conscience and immediately concluded that God was punishing her for her sin by killing her son. This is a common reaction among many people who do not know God’s ways well when personal tragedy enters their lives (cf. John 9:2-3). What sin she was referring to is not stated (NIVBKC). Perhaps she knew of Elijah’s intercession against Israel, and, being conscious of her formal worshipping of Baal the god of the Sidonians, she apprehends he had made intercession against her (CWB). She was haunted by the superstition that the presence of a man of God in her house had drawn God’s attention to her sin that in the past had gone unnoticed. Now she was receiving retribution for her sins in the death of her son (KJBC). As an inhabitant of Phoenician Zarephath, this woman thinks about God the way that Phoenicians did. Gods could become angry over small slights and strike severely. (Remember the alter to the unknown God?). As a prophet, Elijah lives in the aura of the divine, and therefore those around him are more subject to divine scrutiny. The woman fears that although her connections to the prophet have thus far brought benefits, she is now experiencing the downside (NIVCBSB). The widow concluded that Elijah’s presence in her house had called God’s attention to her sin, and that the death of her son was a divine punishment for this sin. Although her sense of guilt seems to have been influenced by pagan ideas, both she and Elijah are confronted with the question: Why did the God who promised life bring death instead? (NIV). In the ancient Near East, suffering was often mistakenly considered to be solely the result of sin “Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.” (Job 4:7-8); “And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” (John 9:2-3) (KJSB).

1 Kings 17:19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. The loft, Hebrew aliyah, an upper room or shelter on the roof, was reached from outside the house. Such accommodations often served as guest chambers (2 Kings 4:10-11) (KJSB). At stake for Elijah is his credibility as a reliable prophet (cf. vv. 20, 24) (NIVZSB). The boy was small enough to be carried in his mother’s arms. Many homes in Palestine at that time had guest rooms built on their roofs. It was in one such upper room that Elijah was staying (NIVBKC).

1 Kings 17:20 And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? Elijah prays with great heart and intimacy with God. He brings the seemingly unexplainable and irredeemable situation to God in prayer. Since he knows God led him to this widow, Elijah asks Him to remedy the situation (KJVCRSB). Elijah’s first prayer simply expressed his compassion for the woman who, in addition to the trials of the famine, now also had to bear this tragedy. Implicit in the prayer was the desire that God relieve her of this added burden (NIVBKC).

1 Kings 17:21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again. The full power of the thrice-holy God is invoked by Elijah on behalf of the dead lad (cf. Numbers 6:24-26; Isaiah 6:3). For other cases of a similar healing of a dead child, compare 2 Kings 4:34-35; Luke 7:11-16; and Acts 20:10 (KJSB). This verse and 2 kings 4:34-35 are among the most blatant examples of magical procedures used by Israel’s prophets. Incantation literature from Assyria indicates the belief that demons exercise power over an individual by touching part to part. It is an expression of possession. Here Elijah is imitating that procedure to reverse the effects of death as vitality and life force are transferred. Nonetheless, here, as the prayer indicates, the power of Yahweh is at work. In the ancient world, sharp lines were not drawn between magic and religion. Both are related to interacting with the world of the divine. Incantations in the ancient world also represented attempts to tap the power of deity through words of power, but in Israel, unlike her neighbors, God could not be bound or obligated by such words or by accompanying rituals. As is often seen to be the case throughout the Old Testament, Yahweh regularly uses ideas and practices that are familiar to the Israelites in their culture to accomplish his work (NIVCBSB). Carrying the boy to his room, Elijah stretched himself upon the child three times, evidently a symbolic action that his own health and vitality might be transferred to the boy as he prayed (KJBC). The apparent intent of this physical contact was to transfer the bodily warmth and stimulation of the prophet to the child. Elijah’s prayer, however, makes it clear that he expected the life of the child to return as an answer to prayer, not as a result of bodily contact. Moved by a faith like that of Abraham (Romans 4:17; Hebrews 11:19), Elijah prayed for the child’s return to life so that the veracity and trustworthiness of God’s word might be demonstrated (NIV). He is very particular in his prayer: I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again, which plainly supposes the existence of the soul in a state of separation from the body, and consequently its immortality (CWB). Three times, a number that commonly occurs in customary and ritual actions (18:34; 2 Kings 1:18; Exodus 23:14; Numbers 24:10; 1 Samuel 20:41) (NIVZSB). let this child’s soul come into him again. The prayer was answered, and the Lord restored the boy’s life (KJBC). The issue is whether Yahweh or Baal controls life and death. This incident forms part of the larger struggle between the two deities in first and second Kings, the struggle that drives the confrontation between Elijah and Baal’s clergy on Mount Carmel (18:19-40) (NIVZSB). Elijah took the widow’s son and prayed to God to bring him back, and the Lord answered Elijah’s prayer (KJVTSB). Elijah is an example of an effective pray-er. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias (Elijah) was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit” (James 5:16-17).

1 Kings 17:22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. The Canaanites believed that Baal had to submit periodically to the god of death, Mot. But here, deep in Baal country, Yahweh demonstrated not only His power to sustain life in a time of drought but also His power to overcome death. This is the first time in the Bible when a servant of God raises a dead person to life. But it will not be the last. Like Elijah, Jesus raised a widow’s son from death, demonstrating that God had come to help His people (Luke 7:11-17) (NIVJSB). This is the final illustration that the Lord is the only true God because it demonstrates that when faced with the “god of death,” the Lord, unlike Baal, does not need to submit to him. He can cross the border from Israel to Sidon to bring life out of death. The Lord cannot be barred even from a place such as the underworld (Psalms 139:7-12) (ESVSB). God also resurrected a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called (in Greek) Dorcas, when Peter prayed over her corpse (Acts 9:36-43). Let us not forget the greatest resurrection of all, the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:2-8; Mark 16:2-8; Luke 24:1-9; John 20:1-10).

1 Kings 17:23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. Resurrection from the dead was not a miracle ordinary people expected to see, even from a prophet of God. This widow, however, would have reason to hope for God’s help. She had opened her home to Elijah, and she had seen firsthand His power and the results of complete trust in Him. Yet it was not until she had seen the miracle of her son brought back to life that she expressed faith in God (KJVFSB). This non-Israelite widow was granted the supreme covenant blessing, the gift of life rescued from the power of death. This blessing came in the person of her son, the only hope for a widow in ancient society (NIV).

1 Kings 17:24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth. When she saw what the Lord had done, the widow proclaimed Elijah as a true servant of God. This is remarkable because she – a citizen low on the register of social esteem – recognized something the king of Israel did not! (KJVTSB). The son’s resurrection confirms for the widow that Elijah is an instrument of God’s power and, more important, that the prophet is a reliable spokesperson of God’s word. It is ironic that a Phoenician woman confesses that God speaks through Elijah, an acknowledgment that God’s own people refused to affirm (cf. 2 Kings 4:18-37) (NIVZSB). This second miracle increased the woman’s faith, and she was further convinced that Elijah was truly a man of God (KJBC). Now she was abundantly satisfied that he had both the power and goodness of a man of God. Thus the death of the child was for the glory of God and the honour of his prophet (CWB). The title man of God underscores the messenger’s relationship to God. Man of God is one of several terms used in the Old Testament for a prophet. It stresses the nature of his relationship to God: he is, above all, God’s man. Other terms for prophet are Seer, which stresses the reception of God’s message; Prophet, which emphasizes that the messenger is truly called of God to pronounce His word to the people. Other terms include “messenger of the Lord,” which reminds the prophet of his task of bearing God’s word and “servant of the Lord,” which underscores his task before God as called to serve (KJSB). This miracle (17:17-24) teaches three lessons: (KJV)

Not all illness is the direct result of sin.
God has power over sickness and death.
The purpose of the signs was to produce faith in the word of the LORD.

Elijah carried the lad downstairs (the boy was apparently weak) and presented him to his mother. This miracle proved to the woman that Elijah was indeed a man of God and that the word of the Lord that Elijah claimed to speak was indeed the truth. This incident showed the widow and others that the power of the Lord as the true God contrasted greatly with the impotency of Baal (NIVBKC).

References: Summer 2021

(CWB) – Commentary on the Whole Bible by Matthew Henry – Marshall, Morgan & Scott, Ltd. Copyright © 1960. Copyright 1961 by Zondervan Publishing House – Grand Rapids, Michigan.
(ESVSB) – The English Standard Version Study Bible, Personal size. Copyright © 2008 by Crossway. Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway.
(ETB) – Explore The Book by J Sidlow Baxter. Copyright © 1960 by J. Sidlow Baxter. Published 1960 by Zondervan Publishing House – Grand Rapids, Michigan.
(IMO) – On occasion, with the prayerful guidance of the Holy Spirit, I will make comments of my own, based on my understanding of the events. I will indicate such times with – In My O
(KJSB #2) – The King James Study Bible, (previously published as The Liberty Annotated Study Bible and as The Annotated Study Bible, King James Version) © 1988 by Liberty University.
(NIDNTT) – The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology Copyright © 1967, 1969, 1971 by Theologisher Verlag Rolf Brockhaus, Wuppertal. English Language edition Volume 1 Copyright © 1975, 1986, The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.A. and The Paternoster Press, Ltd. Exeter, Devon, U.K.
(NIVBTSB) – The New International Version Biblical Theology Study Bible Copyright © 2018 by The Zondervan Corporation. Text from the Holy Bible, New International Version Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. previously published as The New International Version Zondervan Study Bible.
(NIVCBSB) – The New International Version Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible Copyright © 2016 by The Zondervan Corporation text from the Holy Bible, New International Version Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. published by the Zondervan Corporation.
(NIVJSB) – The New International Version Jeremiah Study Bible, Copyright © 2016 by David Jeremiah, Inc. Using the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan.
– The New International Version Ministry Essentials Bible, Copyright © 2014 by Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, LLC. Based on The Holy Bible, New International Version NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.
(NIVSB) – The New International Version Study Bible Copyright © 1985 by the Zondervan Corporation text from the Holy Bible, New International Version Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by the New York International Bible Society.
(NIVZSB) – The New International Version Zondervan Study Bible Copyright © 2015 by the Zondervan Corporation. Text from The Holy Bible, New International Version Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.
(NCBD) – The Nelson’s Compact Bible Dictionary Copyright © 2004 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. with Scripture Quotations from the New King James Version of the Bible Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, 1990 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
(NKJVSB) – Holman Study Bible, New King James Version Edition Copyright © 2013 by Holman Bible Publishers Nashville, Tn. Text from the New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
(PSG) – Bible Studies For life – King James Version Adults Personal Study Guide Spring 2021 Vol. 1, No. 1
(QNBD) – Quick Notes Bible Dictionary based on text from the King James Version of the Bible and cross referenced with the NIV and NRSV Bibles. Copyright © 1998 by George W. Knight and Rayburn W. Ray.
(SEC) – Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with Dictionaries of the Hebrew Bible and the Greek Testament words. Copyright © 1890 by James Strong. Based on the King James Version of the Bible.
(TDNT) – Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
(THBC) – Today’s Handbook of Bible Characters Copyright © 1979 by E.M. Blaiklock, published by Bethany House Publishers.
(TZPEB) – The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, copyright © 1975, 1976 by the Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan
(WSJ) – William Samuel J This is stating that I found the information on the internet. It is not my opinion and not quoted from the Bible or any Bible commentary.