1

God protects us to the end

2

"Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan.
You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there."

"Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there.
I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food."

(1 Kings 17:3-4 / 17:9)

3

There was a prophet named Elijah in the land of Gilead in northern Israel.
Ahab was the king of Israel when Elijah was working as a prophet.
Ahab was a king who did many evil things in the sight of God.

4

King Ahab's wife Jezebel was a princess of Sidon who did not serve God.
Jezebel made King Ahab turn away from God and serve idols.
In all the land of Israel, temples were built to worship Baal.

5

Elijah could not stand still when he saw Israel turned into a nation that had abandoned God and worshiped idols. Elijah went to King Ahab and proclaimed the punishment for idolatrous Israel.
"I serve the God of Israel. As the LORD lives, I swear, there will be no rain or dew for years to come, until I command again."

6

God knew that evil king Ahab would hate Elijah and put him in danger. In order to protect Elijah, God directly told Elijah where to escape.
“Leave here and hide in the Kerith Ravine, which is east of the Jordan, and drink from it.
I will send the ravens to bring you something to eat.”

7

Elijah, who was commanded by God, did not prepare the necessities of life, but hurriedly went to the Ravine of Kerith that God had commanded and hid.
There has been no rain or dew on the land of Israel since the day the prophet Elijah prophesied.

8

A wonderful miracle happened every day to Elijah, who was hiding by the Ravine of Kerith without preparing anything according to God's command.
Every morning crows flew away with bread and meat for Elijah. Elijah ate the bread and meat brought by her ravens and drank from the Kerith Ravine

9

In the evening, ravens again fly to Elijah with bread and meat and deliver it.
Every day Elijah lived a miraculous life, eating the bread and meat that God sent and drinking water from the Kerith Ravine

10

However, when there was no rain or dew for a long time, the water along the Grit brook dried up.
At that time, God appeared again and spoke to Elijah.
“Arise, go to Zarephath in the land of Sidon and live. I have commanded a widow there to take care of you.” God has commanded you to go to Zarephath in the land of Sidon this time.

11

The land of Sidon Zarephath is the land ruled by Jezebel's father, who plunged Israel into idolatry. Elijah went to Zarephath in the land of Sidon according to God's command.
When Elijah entered the gates of Zarephath, a woman was picking up wood for firewood.

12

Elijah asked the woman for water and something to eat.
The woman told Elijah that she had her own circumstances.

“We don't have bread in our house,” she said. There is only a little flour left in the jar, and a little oil in the oil bottle. I was about to pick up this firewood and take it home to prepare the last meal for me and my son before we die.
“She was a widow with her son, without a husband.

13

Elijah knew that the woman was the widow God had spoken to him.
“Don’t worry, go home and prepare the food. But first make a little bread for me and bring it to me. Then prepare something for you and your son to eat.”

14

Next, Elijah delivered the word of God. “The flour in the jar will never run out and the oil in the jar will never run out until God sends rain on the land.”
The woman believed what Elijah had said.

15

When she went home, she first made a small loaf of bread for Elijah and served it to him.
She and she used all her flour and oil that remained, and she made bread for herself and her son to eat.
Now there was no more flour or oil to make bread.

16

God refilled the empty jars and oil jars with flour.
As Elijah said, a miracle occurred that the house did not run out of flour and oil.
They were able to make and eat enough food every day to live.
As promised to Elijah, God took care of Elijah through the widow of Zarephath.

17

We believe in Jesus and become children of God who can call God our Father.
When we act in obedience to God's word, God protects us just as He protects Elijah.
God is stronger and more powerful than anyone in this world. If God makes up his mind to watch over us, then no powerful man in the world can touch a single hair on our head.

Children of God are most secure when they live in obedience to the Word of God.
God protects us to the end.
I hope that all people who do not lose this faith and live obediently to God's word will become.

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)