I Kings 17:17-24

Have you considered the signs God has given in His Word to teach us that His Word is true?

Some will read the Bible and hear the gospel* but not believe it because they have not seen its great truth testified with miracles before their own eyes. The rich man of “The Rich Man and Lazarus” fame (Luke 16:19-31) acknowledged as much when he died in unbelief and asked Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to warn his brothers of the error of their ways. Abraham explained to the rich man that there was no point to sending Lazarus back from the dead because if the brothers did not believe Moses and the prophets they would not believe if someone came back from the dead. How could that statement be true?

I Kings 17 is the first account in Scripture of someone dying and rising again but it’s not the only instance of this in Scripture or even in the Old Testament.** In Christ’s parable, Abraham told the rich man that if his brothers would not believe the power of God from the Scripture of the Old Testament, they would not believe the power of God to save sinners if someone came back from the dead.

Until now, we have spent little time on the widow’s final words in I Kings 24, but her words to Elijah are the conclusion of this passage and the primary lesson for us. The widow’s response teaches us that because God does great works, therefore we must believe His great Word. The psalmist says in Psalm 77, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God is holy. What god is great like our God?”

The gods of this world make many claims through their adherents, but they have never testified to their claims like the living and true God. The Lord God testifies to the truth of His Word by overpowering and defeating death itself! God testifies to His Word with power.

The widow of Zarephath saw her son who had died was raised to life again, and she believed God’s Word. You and I have seen this same miracle. Will we believe the Word of God is true or will we, like the rich man, look for another authority that would exceed that of the Word?

It is unlikely that the widow of Zarephath owned even one page of Scripture in her lifetime, and yet she believed the Word of the Lord and is in Heaven today because Jesus saved her. You and I have the complete Word of God in multiple copies. At no time in history has there ever been easier or broader access to the Word of God than today. Will the widow who never even read the New Testament be in glory and someone reading this account today, be left out of Heaven because he, refused to believe the Word of God? This account should provoke us to faith.

From beginning to end and especially in these passages from Kings, the reader of the Bible is inundated with the miraculous power of God, even to raise the dead. This same God, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, has power to forgive sins. He has forgiven all those who repent and believe in Him. If you believe the Word of the Lord today, give thanks to God that He has made Himself known to you like He made himself known to the widow of Zarephath.

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*The term “gospel” is used quite a lot today but may require definition. The gospel can properly be described in to parts: 1) The gospel message, simplified as:“Jesus saves” (John 1:29); and 2) The gospel call: Repent of your sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved (Mark 1:15). This summary raises many questions, most notably, Who is Jesus Christ? What did He do? What does He save from? What is repentance? What is faith? The Bible teaches us these things as it explains to us what we are to believe about God and what duty God requires of man. The Spirit of God convinces us that all we read in the Word of God is the infallible truth.

**The Lord raises the Shunamite’s son from the dead in II Kings 4:18-37. Later in II Kings 13, a man is buried on top of Elisha’s grave and he comes back to life. The Lord promises eternal life throughout the Scripture signifying the truth of the resurrection and the Word of God.

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