By Charles R. Swindoll
You may be a capable woman, whether homemaker or career woman. Then, suddenly, you are snatched from your world of endless activity and effective involvement. God says, in no uncertain terms, "Hide yourself. Get alone. Get out of the limelight. Get away from all those things that satisfy your human pride and ego and go live by the brook."
Sometimes sickness forces such a change. Sometimes we reach the peak of our energy output and begin to burn out, or we are about to do so. Sometimes God simply removes us from one place and reshapes us for another.
God had two reasons for commanding Elijah to hide himself. First, He wanted to protect Elijah from Ahab; and second, He wanted to train him to become a man of God. When God says to us, almost out of the blue, "Hide yourself," He usually has both purposes in mind: protection and training.
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God's Provisions
The first thing God does after He sends Elijah to Camp Cherith is tell him how he's going to survive. This is going to be a tough and lonely experience, a survivalist adventure; therefore, God gives Elijah this remarkable promise: "And it shall be that you shall drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there" (
1 Kings 17:4).
The ravens will be God's catering service, bringing provisions to His prophet. "The ravens will bring in your food, Elijah." Isn't that incredible?
Imagine what a conversation with Elijah might have been like at that point. As he leaves Ahab's palace and heads down the street, knapsack slung over his back, someone calls out, "Where are you going Elijah?"
"I'm outta here ... on my way to the hills."
"Where are you gonna stay?"
"Some place called Cherith. There's a small brook running through it."
"Cherith? Where's that?"
"I'm not really sure. God's gonna show me. I thinks it's over there, east of the Jordan somewhere."
"What are you gonna do there?"
"Well, for one thing, I'm gonna drink from the brook."
"The brook! What will you have to eat?"
"Actually, God told me the birds are going to bring my food."
God makes provision for Elijah's physical welfare during this time of seclusion. But He also provides for his spiritual welfare. God knew what Elijah needed; therefore, the silence and solitude were to be essential parts of his boot camp experience.
A. W. Pink, writing on Elijah, says this: "The prophet needed further training in secret if he was to be personally fitted to speak again for God in public ... The man whom the Lord uses has to be kept low: sever discipline has to be experienced by him .... Three more years must be spent by the prophet in seclusion. How humbling! Alas, how little is man to be trusted: how little is he able to bear being put into the place of honor! How quickly self rises to the surface, and the instrument is ready to believe he is something more than an instrument. How sadly easy it is to make of the very service God entrusts us with a pedestal on which to display ourselves."2