Jehovah is Faithful to His Word

Today, Pastor Nam Tuck preached from 1 Kings 17:7-24.

1. We may meet with times when God's Word seems to fail
The sudden death of the widow's only son was a shock to both Elijah and the widow. It wasn't a shock just because the death was so sudden, but because God had promised to keep the widow and her son (meaning to preserve theirs lives) through the drought. Why then did the son die before the drought was over? Is God not one whom we can trust? Does God not keep His promises?
Oftentimes, in our daily lives, we meet trials and afflictions that we can't understand. For example, we may be doing well at our workplace, working very hard and diligently and suddenly you are retrenched. There are many times when God gives and then He takes away what He gives. Though we may wonder why such things happen, we must always remember that God's Word never fails! So...

2. Let us hold fast to His Word
The widow initially blamed Elijah and God for her son's death (v18a) and then thought that perhaps her son died because God was punishing her for her sins (v18b). Do bad things happen to us as a punishment from God for our sins? NO! God has already sent His Son to take the punishment for us, thus, all these trials and afflictions are to help sanctify us, not punish us.
Elijah's bewilderment drove him to seek God's Word (v20). He was appealing to God, not rebuking God, for he knew that the Word of God must be true. Elijah prayed for the resurrection of the widow's son (even though in those days, resurrection was unheard of). Remember the story of Abraham sacrificing his only son Issac? He had waited so long till God gave him a son. God promised that through this son Issac, Abraham will have many many descendants. But yet, God asked Abraham to sacrifice Issac. Like Elijah, Abraham believed that God will keep His promises and thus, was prepared to sacrifice his son (Heb 11:9).

3. God's Word will never fail
The widow's son was brought back to life (v22-23). Elijah told the widow, "See, thy son liveth" (v23). He wasn't trying to state the obvious, rather, he was trying to show the widow that God will remain faithful to His promises. And indeed the widow confessed that God indeed is faithful to His Word and that His Word is the truth (V24). What a confession from the mouth of a heather woman!
Thus, we can lean on God's Word during our times of trouble! As Job said, "though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him".