1 Kings 17: After a While the Brook Dried Up
chris priestley
"But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land." (1 Kings 17:7)
In the first part of Elijah's ministry, the Lord commanded ravens to bring him food and provided a brook to give him drink.
"But after a while the brook dried up."
It was time for the next part of Elijah's ministry. The Lord would continue to provide, but not there.
When the Israelites entered Canaan, the manna that fed them in the wilderness stopped falling. God did not stop providing, but his provision now would come from the land where he had called them.
They could have gone back to the wilderness. But they would not have found manna.
Elijah could have stayed. Demanding the same provision from the same brook the same way. But it would have made no difference. There would have been no water. No food. No provision remained there. It was time to move on.
If Elijah had stayed, the widow's son would not have been raised (v23). If Elijah had stayed, the showdown on Mount Carmel would have been forfeited (1 Kings 18). If Elijah had stayed, he would have perished from thirst and hunger.
When the brook dries up, the Lord's provision does not, but his provision awaits in the place he has called you to go.
"I have instructed a widow there to feed you." (v9)
When the streams of comfort that once sustained you all dry up, the Lord still has provision for you. But not where you had once found it.
It does no good to fear or rage or grieve the drying up of the brook. You must not return to the wilderness seeking manna. You must not go back to the brooks that have dried up and pitch your camp back there in defiance.
Get up and move on. Seek the Lord's provision of grace in the new place he has called you. His provision has not ceased, it is readily available to sustain you today, when you go on where he has called you, you will find it there, and nowhere else.
