THE MINISTER AS REPRESENTATIVE OF GOD.
[p. 114] THE MINISTER AS REPRESENTATIVE OF GOD.
JT This last verse shows the end that should be reached, viz. that the minister is known to be a man of God. It is an important thing that we represent God in our service, as it says “the word of Jehovah in thy mouth is truth”. Not simply ‘the truth’ but “truth”. That is the end to be reached. Another thing to be noted is that the minister of the truth has the gospel and the assembly in mind, and particularly as to the assembly he will have to do with houses in his ministry, and with families in houses. The service requires that he is to be identified with a house in so far as it may be needed in view of exigencies that arise in households, so that he is not merely a visitor, but identified with a house and all that enters into it from God. And another point, of course, is the word of God — that is, the idea of prophecy which God has brought into particular prominence in recent times amongst His people, and how the prophet or the minister is to be in accord with his ministry in every way and accepting the word of God. Hence we have extraordinary circumstances in Elijah’s history, such as we get earlier here in the portion of the chapter which we did not read, how he was fed by ravens and the brook carried water to him, and then how he was to be changed into circumstances in which not ravens but a widow is commanded to maintain him, showing how God moves in dignity with His servants and would have them to be in dignity in obeying Him and proving what He can be if we obey and are subject to whatever circumstances may arise in the service. The fact that it is said that Elijah was a man of like passions to ourselves makes these remarks very applicable to such a meeting. We are all, in a certain [p. 115] sense, servants, but some of us are particularly so, and in different countries, including this one, God has raised up many who are able to serve His people. The servants of God become examples to us and hence He calls in Elijah, a man of like passions to ourselves, who prayed and brought about great effects in the ministry through prayer. One of the most important things in the ministry is prayer. I thought I would mention these things so that the brethren might know what is in mind and each join in. I think the Lord is showing that the young are to be particularly in mind in our meetings — the very youngest, that is those able to take things in, and this section of the chapter shows how a young boy really is brought in and viewed as composing the house with his mother. She is the mistress and the only other person is the boy. Elijah is there too, and he has to join in with the house and live on what they lived on for a whole year. So it is all very practical.
FB You spoke of a change of circumstances. Would the drying up of the brook be the end of one circumstance and the asking for a little water the beginning of a new circumstance?
JT Quite so. The water that came from the brook was directed from God, no one carried it, it came down by gravity. That is one of the things God uses in His house, for the universe is God’s. We see that the ravens carried the bread and flesh but the brook carried the water to him. The second verse says “The word of Jehovah” which is the prime thought running through. “And the word of Jehovah came to him saying, get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself [p. 116] by the torrent Cherith, which is before the Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the torrent; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. And he went and did according to the word of Jehovah; he went and abode by the torrent Cherith, which is before the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the torrent”. So that the first paragraph deals with the servant under the command of the Lord, and the created things — God’s creation — feeding him and maintaining him. God says elsewhere (Psalm 50: 10) “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle upon a thousand hills”. He is not dependent upon anyone — I mean, people who are worldly; God is independent of man if needs be. He can get along without the worldly or ungodly man. At the same time He can provide for His servants, so that His servants are independent of such men.
RMcB It was a privileged household this.
JT We shall see that as we observe how God comes in. The widow is called the mistress of the house. It is a remarkable thing that she is so designated — God raising the whole position to a higher level.
PJ Would this be seen in Paul as being identified with the household of Lydia?
JT Well, there it was — “Come into my house and abide there”. This woman was not so free as that, but I think she would know a great deal more and would be freer after the year was out than when the prophet came to her — it was learning time. It is a learning time that we are in now.
SB Does this correspond in any way with 2 Corinthians 6: 17 - 18 in regard to obedience? — “Wherefore come out from the midst of them, and be separated, saith the Lord, and touch not what is unclean, and I will receive you; and I will be to you for a Father, and ye shall be to me for sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty”.
JT It does. “I will be to you for a Father, and ye shall be to me for sons and daughters ...”.
SB It might be possible as acting in obedience [p. 117] to that word that the brook may dry up, but then another way would open up.
JT If the brook dried up here it would be to bring out another thing. God was going to elevate His servant into the leading family. Especially in the New Testament Paul takes up the leading households.
He is the first to take up the households in that way.
MB Is God’s idea in this not to overwhelm the saints by certain things, but to prove what He can do in them?
JT That is just it. And so it was here, He would prove what He could be to His servant and how He can turn from the mere creation to the household — a most important matter. The New Testament is full of references to households. If, for example, we look into the gospel of Matthew, we shall find the Lord serving in houses in view of the assembly.
GM What would the widow woman speak of today?
JT Divine provision for a servant. We have all got to learn to count on God in our service. We may be brought to straits but we have to count on God in our service.
SA Would Paul in Arabia go through this first experience that you mention?
JT Well somewhat. This experience was in the East. Speaking now geographically the first experience is in the East from Jerusalem and the second experience is in the West — Zidon.
JnoG Would you say the first section was Asia and the other Europe?
JT Yes, just so.
JM Do you think that the value of the believer’s household has been revived concurrently with the truth of the assembly?
JT I think that is right. And the collection for the saints too is arrived at in that connection, it all [p. 118] comes in in connection with Paul who was — under God — the greatest minister.
Rem There are a few remarkable verses in Psalm 68. It begins “Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered, and let them that hate him flee before him”. Then verses 4 - 6 “Sing unto God, sing forth his name; cast up a way for him that rideth in the deserts; his name is Jah; and rejoice before him. A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. God maketh the solitary into families; those that were bound he bringeth out into prosperity: but the rebellious dwell in a parched land”.
JT That is very suggestive of all this, although the widow was not the object in the chapter we have read. The prime object was the service of Elijah, but it shews how God can provide for widows — “A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows”.
GFG Is there a difference between “I have commanded a widow woman there to maintain thee”, and in Elisha’s case where the thing came spontaneously from the wealthy woman? Here the emphasis seems to be on “I have commanded ...”.
JT Just so. And of course we should make room for the increase of knowledge in the progress of God’s service that Elijah preceded Elisha. Elisha called Elijah his father and he poured water on the hands of Elijah. He was therefore like his child, at least his disciple, and would learn from him, and so you have several things in Elisha’s ministry that would seem to link on with what he would have known in Elijah’s ministry. It is important for young brothers coming into the meeting to observe what elder brethren have been accustomed to do and learn from them. We ought to have respect for the elder brethren and learn from them, and so what you say as to the “wealthy woman” as she is called — she is a continuation of the widow who had nothing in the house and she had [p. 119] to use the oil. That is a great matter for young brothers and young sisters to count on the Spirit to assist them in everything. Elisha told her what to do, although no doubt she learned from God directly. “He said, Go, borrow for thyself vessels abroad from all thy neighbours, empty vessels; let it not be few ...” 2 Kings 4: 3. Now we get the idea of vessels. It would look as if the woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets did not have vessels, whereas the widow woman in 1 Kings had vessels. If she had a handful of meal it was in a barrel, if she had oil it was in a cruse; it is the idea of having things where they should be. And so Elisha told the widow to pour out into all the vessels and it was only when they were all filled that the oil stayed, shewing that there is plenty of room and plenty of means from God for the ministry. All that is carried forward into the great woman, the wealthy woman, and she could provide a house for the prophet. She was marked by hospitality, that is, using your means for the servants of God. She took notice that he was a man of God and she suggested to her husband to build a room for him and provide a table and a bed, etc. She was a hospitable person. How important it is to be hospitable! We should use the houses we have to entertain the saints, particularly the servants.
WHT Do we see in the Acts, Philip the evangelist opening his house for Paul and his company, and the atmosphere that existed, being suggested in the four daughters who prophesied?
JT Quite so. That is another point to come up. Are the daughters able to prophesy? It is almost an unknown thing now to get sisters doing that. We should observe what is said in 1 Corinthians about a woman not speaking in the assembly, but these four daughters of Philip prophesied. It is not simply that they were prophetesses, but they [p. 120] prophesied.
TMcC What would the word of Jehovah be to us today?
JT We have it here tonight, I trust. All our meetings should have that character — all our ministry meetings and bible readings, in fact all our meetings. There should be something in each one of the character of the word of God, and of course that enriches us and makes us different from others. There are many other companies but the Spirit of God belongs to the assembly.
FB This wealthy woman says that she dwelt among her own people.
J .T. Well, we are here tonight and some of us live a long way off, but as soon as we come here where the brethren are we feel we have got our own people and we want to be with them. Now it is remarkable, as we all know, that the Lord Jesus refers to this incident. The Lord Himself spoke of this incident of the widow of Sarepta and how Elijah was sent to her. We were already alluding to the fact that Elijah was the more prominent thought and yet the Lord speaks of it as though she were the more prominent. “There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elias.. and to none of them was Elias sent but to Sarepta of Sidonia to a woman that was a widow”. That is a touch that you might say is peculiar to Luke whose ministry is one of grace. Jehovah says to the prophet “I have commanded a widow woman there to maintain thee”, which is to be noted. It is a word that is dignified. She was not simply to allow him into her house, but to maintain him. Then it goes on to say “And he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the entrance of the city, behold, a widow woman was there gathering sticks”. She was the first one he met according to what we read. “And he called to her and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And she went to [p. 121] fetch it, and he called to her and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand. And she said, As Jehovah thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse; and behold I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die”. You might say that is characteristic of a widow such as she was, and the minister has to do with this — how to meet a person such as this who has nothing else in her mind but to gather a few sticks and to use the little she has and dress it for her and her son so that they may eat it and die. That brings in the question of life and how it comes about — I mean spiritual life. And that is what we should see as we proceed in the chapter. We heard last night about Eutychus in Troas, and there it is the same idea; indeed there are several instances of young people dying and how the situation is to be met. It is for the minister to know how to meet such a situation.
Ques Is the use of the word “commanded” significant? Does it imply that God knew her as a subject person?
JT Well, quite so. Insubjection is so prevalent, and this reminds us of the ground on which the gospel is and the ground on which service should be carried on by any of us. The gospel is “for obedience of faith among all the nations”, and I have no doubt that the idea of command is stressed in Elijah’s case to bring out this. What God can be to those who are subject! One of the greatest things in Christianity is to be subject.
RMcG She evidently had the water and proceeded to bring it, but this other request for a morsel of bread seems to be the difficulty.
JT Quite so. Yes, the first thing is he asked her to do something and she proceeds to do it. We are reminded of this principle in Matthew which agrees [p. 122] largely with the ministry of Elijah; in chapter 28 the angel directs the woman to go and tell the disciples to go to Galilee, but the Lord intercepts them. They were doing what they had been told to do. The Lord meets them, saying “Hail” and He sends them to His brethren. The word ‘disciples’ is used first then ‘my brethren’. The change is to bring out the dignity of the position. So the prophet here — 1 Kings 17: 10 — says to the widow, “Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink”; there is the idea of a vessel. It might be said, but how could she bring water if she didn’t put it in a vessel? but the Spirit of God is calling attention to the thought of a vessel. The point is to have things where they should be. The idea of a vessel ultimately develops into the person’s own body — like the woman of Samaria who left her waterpot and herself became a vessel.
JnoG Do you think, when it says here “Fetch me a little water” and “make me a little cake”, it means that the servant as moving into these circumstances takes full knowledge of what is there and does not put too much strain on the woman’s state?
JT Well, not too great a burden. He did not intend to, but it looked to her as if he were unreasonable and the natural mind would say he was unreasonable in asking a woman in these circumstances to bring him water in a vessel, that he might drink. And then as she went to fetch it he called to her and said “Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in they hand”. The natural mind would say it was unreasonable to make such a request from a woman like that. Elijah is representative of God. He was sent to her and she is challenged and tested by the ministry as to whether she can do what is required of her, although it may seem unreasonable. What seems to be unreasonable may make us murmur. That is the [p. 123] first thing in the book of Numbers — the Israelites began to murmur. It is a question of learning obedience. The Lord Jesus learned obedience from the things which He suffered.
RM At the outset you spoke of the discipline of the servant. Is the discipline for Elijah here, in having to be maintained by a widow in such dire circumstances, or is it something further than that?
JT Well, the boy died while the prophet was in the house. The point was that he should become identified with the persons he was serving, but as we were saying as to verse 11 “And she went to fetch it, and he called to her and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand. And she said, as Jehovah thy God liveth, I have not a cake”. The woman used the word ‘cake’ first and not the prophet. The making of the cake would involve skill. In the book of Numbers Jehovah had prescribed that the people should offer dough — not cakes but dough: but it requires skill to make a cake, and that enters into what we are saying. You may say that is a small thing to allude to, but I think all these small things ought to be noted, so that we are able to learn what a servant has to go through in his ministry. She said to him “As Jehovah thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruse; and behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die”. That in itself seems to be an incongruity. Why should eating be connected with death. It shews the state of mind she was in. “And Elijah said to her, Fear not”. When it is a question of spiritual things we should say “Fear not”.
SG Are you suggesting that the incoming of a servant into a locality makes a demand on the brethren which at first they think they are unable to [p. 124] meet; but as faced in obedience, we discover that God has made provision to meet all.
JT Yes, this is a crucial time for the widow, and the crucial time for Elijah will come when death takes place.
TMcC Was it to bring out what was there that Elijah spoke thus to her?
JT Well, no doubt God had that in mind but we cannot say that Elijah knew all. He had to learn himself. God is over all and a servant has to understand that God is operating all the time — He is never idle.
Ques Do you see it in Peter and Cornelius’s household? God was operating with Peter in one place and with Cornelius in another place at the same time.
JT Quite so. He began with Cornelius because of his piety too. He had a memorial in heaven before Peter had to do with him. It shews what God could do, even without Peter.
SB The prophet here seems to take account of her skill for he said “Go, do as thou hast said” — not as I have said.
JT Quite so.
JFC This woman was apparently listening to the word of Elijah, at a time when Israel was not listening at all, and at a time when God was not helping Israel at all. Would that be indicative of faith?
JT Just so. Evidently she had faith because God took her into His service just as He takes the ravens and the brook into His service, but she is on a higher plane.
JFC She said “As Jehovah thy God liveth”, showing that God had evidently been working with her.
JT Quite so. She is ready to say that all [p. 125] the way through but does not recognise the prophet until she goes through the severe discipline of the death of her son. She finally says “Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of Jehovah in thy mouth is truth”. She learned that at the end.
CWE Is it suggestive that the name of this place, Zarephath, means a crucible — a vessel in which metal is refined.
JT Very good. You mean that both Elijah and the woman have been refined.
RMcG You spoke of being together for a whole year in the house. I was thinking that they would all learn during that period.
JT Then as to the refining process, it says “He” (the Lord) “shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver”, Malachi 3: 3. He is looking at us all the time and that makes it very serious as to what we may say.
SG So that in all these testing circumstances which the Lord allows His people to go through, the servant is learning also, as he goes through these circumstances with the saints.
JT You may be sure of that. We see that as we proceed in the chapter. The prophet had to cry to Jehovah. He is in straits himself. All this is most instructive. Elijah had said to her “Fear not” in these circumstances. We have to fear certain things but we should go forward in intelligence and in faith. The word “Make me thereof a little cake first” would suggest what brings God in, and it seems to be unreasonable, but God is testing us by it. Then it says “And afterwards make for thee and for thy son”. You will notice that the prophet assumes that she has enough to do both. Now light is coming in on the position, and we may expect that light will come in. It says “Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: The meal in the barrel shall not waste, neither shall the oil in the cruse fail, until the day that Jehovah sendeth [p. 126] rain upon the face of the earth!” Now as far as the facts go the only other one in the house is the boy who died. We may only have a few in the house, but it is a house and God regards it in that light, and here the woman is called the mistress of the house. The passage says “The meal in the barrel did not waste, neither did the oil in the cruse fail, according to the word of Jehovah which he had spoken through Elijah”. Now all this was said before the breath left the boy, but until he was made alive the woman did not come to it that the prophet was a man of God and that the word of Jehovah in his mouth was truth.
Ques Was this word about the barrel of meal and the cruse of oil a fresh word for Elijah himself?
JT Well, it may have been. I think he would learn by it, perhaps, that the widow had it in her mind that these things should be in vessels; that is, the meal should be in a barrel and the oil should be in a cruse. It doesn’t say the water was in a vessel because the water was more in abundance — the water had come to Elijah, as it were, by gravity, but still he used the word ‘vessel’ — “Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel”.
HB Does she take up the thought in that way, by bringing in the vessels?
JT Well, possibly. Although it was the prophet who used the word ‘vessel’ first. We are now coming into the presence of God in the thing. The light of God is coming in — the abundance there is, for there is a whole year’s food supply for those three persons.
JnoG Would you say a word as to what may be demanded of us that would appear to be unreasonable, so that we may understand the point you have in mind?
JT Well, one could say a lot on that point. Suppose a servant comes to your locality unexpectedly and you have not anything in the house and someone [p. 127] asks could you take this brother in; that would be testing to many a housewife — she may not know that the servant has arrived and yet he is in the locality and needs a bed and food.
JnoG Do you mean material things or spiritual?
JT Material things — that is where the test comes.
SB Perhaps the test for us is that we may think it essential to go beyond what is necessary in that regard. In the case of the wealthy woman in 2 Kings it was merely “a bed, and a table, and a seat, and a lampstand”.
JT That is so in Elisha’s case. But here the bed was upstairs in the loft. The Authorised Version puts it that way. It seems as if it was in another part of the house — in a loft. The loft would be inferior to the house generally.
PJ Is God free to provide as a result of obedience? The widow could easily have said, I have only enough for me and my son.
JT What has been said by way of illustration ought, I think, to appeal to all the sisters here and the brothers have to fall in with it. We ought to join in with our wives in these cases and sacrifice with them. If a brother comes suddenly without a sister’s knowledge and she is asked to provide a bed and food, well, we all have to sacrifice, otherwise one might become like the Israelites and be marked by a spirit of complaint. The children of Israel grumbled and complained, and in Acts it is recorded that certain complained because their widows were overlooked in the daily ministration.
FB Do you think that our pride would hinder us from asking a brother because it might let us down?
JT We ought to be on our guard against that side — not to allow our spirits to be chafed and damaged by our [p. 128] circumstances.
FB Well, sometimes as it has been suggested here, there is not much in the house, but the brother is not looking for that.
JT Well indeed. It is a question of obedience, that is, if I can accept the circumstances cheerfully. It may be very trying for me to maintain a right spirit.
Ques Does Abraham rise to the occasion in Genesis 18?
JT Of course he was a rich man; we have to bear that in mind too. He had plenty of means and plenty of servants, which of course we don’t always find, but anyway he was ready to do the right thing.
WG Do you think that Matthew 10 might help us on this line — “The workman is worthy of his nourishment?”
JT Just so. But perhaps if a sister is asked she may say ‘Well, some other sister will have to do it — she has more than I have’. That is where our spirits get chafed and we may chafe our husbands too. That is what Christianity implies; this chapter is really to bring out all these things in the service.
Ques Do these testing circumstances show us how great God’s provision is?
JT How God can come in. And He comes in in a miracle if necessary, as it was here. And it is all to bring out that He was with His servant — He was a real prophet. The woman had learned that and she would never forget it, I am sure.
GHP In regard to what is in our house, would the word in 2 Corinthians 8 apply — “For if the readiness be there, a man is accepted according to what he may have, not according to what he has not”?
JT Yes, quite so.
CWE “God loveth a cheerful giver”.
JT He does indeed.
GFG Had you in mind that when the woman [p. 129] is referred to as the mistress of the house it is a very dignified name for her? Does it suggest that she is really with the Lord in relation to it?
JT I would think so, and God would dignify her. Our wives may be made drudges and that should not be. It never dignifies anyone to be made slavish in her work. I believe all the brethren should be dignified in what they are doing. It is that which governs you that makes the thing dignified. It is love that does that.
GeoM In a household such as this a son of peace would be there, as in the gospel. The disciples were told “And if a son of peace be there your peace shall rest upon it” and they were to abide in that same house.
JT Just so. That is another lesson to learn in these cases. We are to inquire if a son of peace be there.
SG Would you say that servants coming along may be a great test in regard to the way they move about — they can be very unreasonable in their attitude and requests.
JT Well they may be very unreasonable sometimes, and a servant is to be on his guard not to be unreasonable.
Rem In Luke 10, the scripture referred to, the word to the servant is “And in the same house abide, eating and drinking such things as they have”.
JT Quite so — “such things as they have”.
JW If one who comes along seems to be unreasonable, might it not be to intensify the truth of what God can do. In these circumstances in 1 Kings 17 which seem only to provide for two persons, the addition of a third was testing.
JT Yes indeed. Then in verse 17 it says “And it came to pass after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his [p. 130] sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him”. She is called the mistress of the house, which is complimentary. It is a remarkable thing that it should be put that way. “And she said to Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come to me to call mine iniquity to remembrance, and to slay my son?” Now she is not right; she did well up to this point, although she may perhaps have been marked a little by lack of faith at the beginning, but generally she did well up to this, living the whole year, as you might say, miraculously, but she is not up to this matter. She is tested by the sickness of her son. The family is touched — the son is touched. And she says “O thou man of God, art thou come to me to call mine iniquity to remembrance and to slay my son?” Circumstances such as these may bring out some hidden thing that needs to be exposed. She assumes that the prophet is seeking to do this on her, but he does not mean to do that at all, at least there is no evidence of it. And so he said to her “Give me thy son”. What is he going to do now? He has done well so far, but what can he do now? Here is a boy who has died and he was the only son of his mother. “And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the upper chamber where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried to Jehovah and said, Jehovah, my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?” Now you see he is missing the point and this is really a solemn matter. He is saying “Jehovah, my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?” That is, he thought as she did, and what he thought was not right. Then it says that he stretched himself on the child three times, meaning that the servant identifies himself fully with what is in the house. “And cried to Jehovah and said, Jehovah, my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again! And Jehovah heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child came into him again, and he lived”. The word “soul” here is to be noted. It is an inward thing, a thing involving deep feelings — soul feelings. And it is most important that the minister should learn to feel with things in the household, whatever they be, and join in with the household and help in it in every way, making the matter his own because he is a minister.
JFC Is that one reason why a servant should not go from house to house?
JT Well that is one of the reasons, because God is going to bring out what is in this house and shew if a son of peace be there. But this matter of stretching himself, of identification, should be noted. The servant has to learn to identify himself with such a position. The Lord Jesus entered into all this fully at Gethsemane and on the cross, so that we come to the real matter of Christianity and what service means in it.
WHT Evidently there were not right conditions in the house of Dorcas. Peter had to put them all out. He could not identify himself with certain things there.
JT Quite so. And the house of Jairus too. The houses are not always right, but it was not so here. It was as much a test for Elijah as it was for the woman. He is seriously concerned that this thing should have happened while he was in the house, as if it came on him — as if God was disciplining him while he was engaged in His service in this house. So the question comes, What is to be done? Then it goes on to say, “And Elijah took the child, and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house” — that is what I was remarking earlier, that he was in some upper loft — not just exactly the house; but he [p. 132] was content to be there, and he takes the child up there. “And brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and delivered him to his mother; and Elijah said, See, thy son lives”. That was a triumph, and that is what the Lord is ready to vouchsafe to any servant. “And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of Jehovah in thy mouth is truth”.
TMcC What are we to learn from what you have been referring to; Elijah taking him up to his own chamber and laying him on his own bed?
JT Well, I think it is all to bring out that nature is in the way in these cases. One often feels there is too much of what is natural in families, too much family feeling and provision for that, too exclusive an attitude in family matters. I believe that is what is meant. The child is taken out of her bosom — that is nature — and is taken up by the prophet where there is nothing that would make much of what is natural. The prophet’s chamber was a place where there was not much furniture — a loft as it says in the Authorised version. It is separated from the house. He is not in the guest room, and he is just a prophet with them.
RMcH She seems to have everything here — even the upper chamber for the prophet, the man of God — an elevated spot.
JT Yes, but it is not in the house. I think there is something in that to notice. It is not just the best or most desirable part of the dwelling which is often assigned to servants, but if they are wise they accept it. But here it is the position the child is brought into — as if God would be in that as distinct from the widow’s bosom.
SB Good circumstances in relation to a house may appeal to nature.
JT Well, it does very much, and often hinders [p. 133] the work of God. One often feels too much nature, too much of what is natural in our circumstances, making too much of our children and the like, and perhaps not enough of the children of God. The children of God must have the greater place. John brings that in in his gospel. The Lord has given us the right to take the place of children of God.
TMcC It seems to be that it took this incident with the widow to confirm her that this was a man of God.
JT Quite so. She did not know that at first. The 16th verse says “according to the word of Jehovah which he had spoken through Elijah”, but now in verse 24 we have Elijah’s mouth mentioned, which is a word we may look for. We have Peter’s mouth referred to, also the Lord’s mouth. “My mouth” Peter says. Now the woman speaks of Elijah’s mouth, “that the word of Jehovah in thy mouth is truth”. He had not such a place in her mind before, and of course it is God’s mind to give His servants a greater place with those they serve, because the more love there is the better place they have.
HMH Would the word in the 113th Psalm come in — “He maketh the barren woman to keep house, as a joyful mother of sons?”
JT It would indeed, and we have already alluded to the widow in the 68th Psalm — a well-known psalm.
Rem Would Lydia’s attitude be the proper one now for those who have received the light of the present position? She says “If ye have judged me to be faithful, ..” We do well to keep that in our minds.
JT Quite so. I think she is one of the outstanding sisters of scripture. She and Phoebe, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, Deborah and a number of others — we do well to keep such sisters in our minds because they adorn the doctrine.