1 Kings 17:3-4 “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there."
This instruction of the Lord followed shortly after Elijah prophesied unto King Ahab that no rain nor dew would’ve come in the years to follow until he said so by the word of the Lord. But just as Elijah's ministry and calling got momentum, God took Elijah aside, and in it all, it pointed to every believer in Christ!
You see, God knows we tend to thrive on momentum yet forget that God knows the dangers that lie ahead and that He wants us to abide in Him. Him. Through these instructions, we get to see how Elijah lived by God's word, despite the momentum of his calling we tend to see and want to live from.
Elijah was instructed to hide by the brook called כְּרִית (Kerith), which means "to cut away or to be cut off." God hid Elijah there for some time so that he wasn’t going to be shaped by public opinions and impact or the dangers that tend to change our decisions.
Now here’s where we come in; see, Elijah drank from that very stream, that very brook where God told him to hide. But that’s not all, because that was also the exact same spot God commanded the ravens to bring Elijah bread and meat twice a day!
Not in the city, nor amongst people, nor a place of momentum or skill; others are right THERE by the place called CUT OFF, Kerith.
Now think of this: ravens were considered unclean animals, and they themselves loved bread and meat, yet God taught Elijah and us how His provision comes from the unknown, not the norm.
Can you see how this pointed to how we are to hide and live in Christ and why a life hidden in Christ is cut off from the norm of the world and makes little sense unless you walk by faith and not by sight?
Elijah's story in 1 Kings 17 should remind us of how God hides us in Christ, and right there, nowhere and in no one else, that’s where He protects and nourishes us.
If Elijah clung on to his momentum in his calling and ministry, or even the religious tradition of the day, and refused to hide, refused to eat the meat and bread touched by an unclean animal, he would've died.
God's plan for us is to hide in Christ, in no one or nowhere else; drink from Christ; feed on Christ; and grow in Christ as we abide in His word unto His glory!
Amen