The Beginning:
Elijah the Tishbite appears before King Ahab and announces that there will be no rain or dew except by the word of the LORD. With drought beginning, the LORD directs Elijah to leave and hide by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan. There Elijah is told to drink from the brook.
The Middle:
God provides food for Elijah in an unexpected way: ravens bring him bread and meat morning and evening. Elijah remains by the brook as commanded, sustained by what God supplies. As time passes and the drought continues across the land, the brook gradually dries up because there is no rain.
The End:
When the brook finally dries, Elijah can no longer remain there. The episode closes with Elijah still under God’s direction, prepared for the next stage of his ministry during the famine.
This account emphasizes God’s sovereignty over creation and history: the drought comes according to the LORD’s word, and provision comes according to the LORD’s command. Elijah’s survival in isolation shows that God preserves his prophetic witness even when royal power and national conditions turn hostile. The story also presents God as able to sustain life through ordinary means (water from a brook) and extraordinary means (food delivered by ravens), underscoring faithful provision in a time of covenant crisis.
In the ancient Near East, drought threatened not only agriculture but also political stability, since kings were expected to secure the land’s well-being. By portraying Elijah sustained outside the royal economy and far from Israel’s centers, the narrative highlights a prophetic challenge to Ahab’s rule and to any reliance on state power or fertility religion as the ultimate source of life.
“And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening.” — 1 Kings 17:6
Answer the questions below. When you choose an option, you will see the result and an explanation.
1. Where did the LORD direct Elijah to hide during the drought?
2. What did the ravens bring Elijah, and when did they bring it?