“Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.”-1 Kings 17:3-4
The Christian life is a life of spiritual warfare. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Our warfare is a spiritual battle on a physical plain with eternal consequences. While the battle rages, and the tribulation mounts it is important for the Christian to heed the instruction to hide thyself. Hide thyself, and let God feed thee; not the pastor, the preacher, or your spouse. Not the television, internet, hobby or vacation. Hide thyself and let God encourage, strengthen, instruct, and nourish you.
Elijah the prophet was a man of prayer, and a man of God. The prophet of prophets, he fought many battles against the armies of the enemy. Here we find him just after leaving the wicked king Ahab and telling him that there would be no rain according to my word. To a ruler, this would be devastating news. Without rain, crops cannot grow, and the country cannot sustain. Much like the Coronavirus has virtually shut down our country, so the lack of rain would shut down the nation of Israel. It is one thing to say there would be no rain, another to say it and there is no rain, but he said there would be no rain but according to my word; and there was no rain. Which implies that according to his word which was the word of the Lord, he commanded the rain. Effectively, this put a giant target on the back of Elijah. So, God took him to the brook of Cherith and told him to hide thyself and the ravens would feed him. There he stayed, strengthened by the Lord before he would send him to the widow women, and then ultimately to battle with the prophets of Baal and Ahab once more. However, the commandment was first “hide thyself.” We must preach the Word of the Lord, and it will put a target on our backs. However, when the armies of the enemies come to buffet us our strength for warfare does not come through the might of man, or the cunning of man. The world equates movement with ability, and motion with accomplishment. The sanctified Christian (is there any other kind?) must learn this is not so. We must embrace being hidden, separated, and alone with God if we are to stand any chance against the enemy. Like Elijah, we must find a quiet place, separated from distraction and disturbance to be nourished of God. There are a great many teachings in the church on movement. Promoting programs, plans, performance, and passion. You have youth group, small group, study group, fellowship group, ladies’ group, men’s group, Sunday school, Sunday morning service, Sunday evening service, Wednesday night service, and much more. Then on top of that we pile on soccer games, dance lessons, video games, mission trips, work, schoolwork, yard work, housework, and who knows what else. With all this movement and motion, surely, we must be accomplishing something, right? Hide thyself. To quote John Church, “we are all running like our eggs are on fire and we haven’t time to get alone with God.” We haven’t time to sit alone with God and read his Word. Be nourished by it, shaped by it, and encouraged by it. We haven’t time to deepen our prayer life, pour out our hearts to Him and wait for a Word from God. That divine unction that will carry us through and to what is needful to perform his will. God says to us: “hide thyself, and I will feed thee.” One of the most difficult things to do is to hide yourself and trust in Christ alone for your nourishment and direction. Not your spouse, preacher, friends, entertainment, or anything that is worldly; just you and God, alone. That is when you find out where you get your strength.
Elijah won a mighty victory on mount Carmel when he bested the hundreds of prophets of Baal and proved that God was the one true God. However, God didn’t prepare him for that battle during the battle, but before the battle. By the brook of Cherith, while he was hidden away. If no other reason than this, let us never neglect the blessedness and importance of being hidden.
