August 19, 2025 • 36 mins
# 218 - Elijah: The Prophet of Fire - In this episode of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein, Before Mount Carmel and the fire from heaven, Elijah first learned faith in the silence—fed by ravens, sustained by a widow, and shaped beside a drying brook. In this episode, step into the wilderness with the prophet and discover how God provides when everything else runs dry.
Episode 218 of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein is inspired by the Book of Joshua.
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For more information about Yael Eckstein and IFCJ visit https://www.ifcj.org/
Today's opening prayer is inspired by Psalm 91:2, I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
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Show Notes:
(00:55) Intro with Yael Eckstein
(02:00) Elijah: The Prophet of Fire
(29:35) Reflection with Yael Eckstein
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Previously on the Chosen People. With the death of rio Boam,
the house of David was diminished. Meanwhile, in the Northern Kingdom,
the house of Jeroboam was doomed. And though the fathers
had gone astray from the Lord, it was their sons
who would drive their kingdoms to ruin. For Omri was
(00:23):
not just a soldier. He was a builder, a strategist,
a king who would leave a lasting mark. It would
be in his son Ahab, a name that would become legend,
a name that would become a curse. For it was
said of him he did more evil in the eyes
(00:44):
of the Lord than any who came before him.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
He and his queen.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Jezebel would shape the world to their liking.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
The drought it didn't scare him. It pointed him to
the truth. Shelloh, my friends, from here in the holy
land of Israel, i'm l extein with the International Fellowship
of Christians and Jews, and welcome to the Chosen People.
When a prophet disappears into the wilderness, what happens next?
In One King's Chapter seventeen, Elijah speaks a word that
(01:21):
splits the sky and then vanishes. No spotlight, no applause,
only a command from God and a long road into obscurity.
Where does faith go when the fire hasn't fallen yet?
Where does obedience lead when the trail ends in thirst?
Today we find Elijah before Mount Carmel, before the crowds
(01:45):
of people, before the miracle everyone remembers. Today, Elijah is
a man shaped by birds, by famine, by a widow
who's run out of options. Today is where his story begins.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
The throne room of Samaria reeked of indulgence, roasted meat
dripping fat onto polished stone, the too sweet stench of
overripe fruit left half eaten on golden trays, the scent
of a kingdom that had long since stopped fearing Yahweh.
(02:22):
The air was warm, humid, with breath and laughter, and
the lazy murmur of priests who knew their prayers were
more performance than devotion. Ahab, king of Israel, lounged at
the center of it all, sprawled in his throne like
a man who had never known hunger, whose hands had
(02:43):
never known the weight of real labour, whose problems had
always been someone else's to solve. He smirked at the
latest toaster, bal his fingers tapping absently against his goblet.
Then the doors slammed open with a crack. A priest's
voice wavered mid incantation, a musician's liar string snapped, goblets
(03:09):
rattled against platters. For a single, stretched moment, the court
was frozen in tableaux, wine, spilling, hands hesitating, heads turning,
And there in the doorway stood Elijah, the prophet of Fire.
His words had already burned their way through the land,
(03:32):
they said. When he spoke, men felt their ribs tighten,
like they breathed in smoke. When he prayed, the wind
changed now here. He was standing in the doorway like
something torn straight out of the wilderness. His cloak was
travel stained, his skin roughened by sun and wind. His
(03:54):
hands were empty. He carried no sword or scroll. He
didn't need such tools to command the room. He had
the voice the gods hesitated. No one wanted to be
the first to stop him. Elijah walked forward without hurry,
his eyes scanning the throne room like a man weighing
(04:16):
the worth of every soul in it. Ahab watched him approach,
one brow arching smirk deepening.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
Well, if it isn't the prophet of fire, tell me.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
Have you come to burn.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
Down my palace?
Speaker 6 (04:39):
Did you simply get lost on the way back to
whatever god forsaken cave you crawled out of.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
I've come with a message from God.
Speaker 7 (04:51):
In which God would that be? Elijah?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
There are many the God of Israel, the God whom
you do abandoned, the God your father's knew before you
sold their birthright for foreign dows low way.
Speaker 6 (05:11):
I'm not in the mood, Elijah. Scurry back to your
hovel in the woods.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Here the judgment of Yahweh, there will be no dew,
no rain, not even a whisper of moisture upon this
land until I say otherwise.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
The words hit like a hammer against stone. A hab
smirk twitched, the torches flickered somewhere in the back of
the room. A servant swallowed audibly. A priest of bow
shifted in his robes, hands tightening around his staff. Then
they have laughed.
Speaker 6 (05:49):
You say there will be no rain?
Speaker 5 (05:52):
You a wandering zeeb from the wilderness. Do you think
the heavens will obey you with rivers dry up because
you make threats? In you always name God? Do you
think I'm like my father?
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Do you think I'm some weakneed fool who.
Speaker 5 (06:12):
Trembles at the ramblings of a desert rat.
Speaker 6 (06:15):
Do you think I fear your God?
Speaker 4 (06:21):
You should? Should I?
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Elijah's eyes flicked, just for a moment, toward the hulking,
golden statue of Baal behind the throne, grotesque and unmoving.
Speaker 7 (06:36):
Aheb.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
You call the Lord my god, but you know very
well he is your god, to the god of your fathers,
the god you prayed to when you were a boy,
before your body grew fat and your mind grew polluted
with lies that reek like the dung of camels.
Speaker 8 (06:56):
Now look at you, to a god who cannot speak,
who cannot move, who cannot even keep his own priests
from bleeding all over his.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Altars, crying out for a voice that never answers.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
One of the Baal priests shifted uncomfortably. Elijah took a
slow step forward.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
What you will learn when the rivers crack into dust,
when your fields shrivel and die, when the sky above
you is as unyielding as iron, you will know that
it is not bail who commands the rain.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Elijah let the words settle. He wanted King Ahab to
feel the weight of them wrap around his throat like
the first signs of thirst. And then, slowly, deliberately, Elijah's
mouth curled into something resembling a smirk.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Perhaps you should ask your queen, But the.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Reaction was instant. Ahab's amusement vanished. The room was suddenly
too still, too tense. Every breath held a baal. Priest
shifted his grip on his staff, knuckles paling. The torches
flickered lower, as though even the flames knew better than
to burn too loudly when she was mentioned. Queen Jezebel
(08:24):
was not presents, but her presence permeated every room. Everyone
knew her power, how it coiled around Ahab's decisions like
a serpent. Her whispers carried more weight than the voices
of a hundred advisers careful profits.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Why if rig you'll hear enough?
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Ahab stood, His voice cracked through the silence like a whip.
The goblets on the table clattered as his sudden movement
sent a tremor through the stone beneath them. Everyone flinched.
Speaker 5 (09:04):
I should have had you executed for speaking against my queen.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
You cannot kill what yaweh think?
Speaker 7 (09:13):
We'll see about that.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
The words rang hollow, the rage was real, but something
else had settled over the room, now, something older, something
heavier than Ahab's anger. Elijah had spoken, and the words
were no longer his. Without another word, the prophet turned
on his heel and walked away. He left the palace behind,
(09:41):
left the torches and the murmurs, and the barely contained
fury of a king whose power was already slipping through
his fingers. Left the last echoes of laughter still hanging
in the air, now tainted with something colder. And as
the door slammed shut behind him, the silence in Ahab's
(10:03):
court deepened, and the king's rage began to boil into malice.
The moment the words left his mouth, the minute the
last syllable of his prophecy burned through the air of
Ahab's court like a dying ember. Elijah heard Yahue's voice.
(10:26):
Not thunder, not wind, not the crack of fire, just
one word.
Speaker 9 (10:32):
Run.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
It hid like a hammer in his chest, urgent, undeniable.
He didn't think, he didn't question. He ran through the
palace gates before the weight of his words had fully
landed through the market streets, past the smell of spice
and livestock and human sweat, past merchants, barking prices, and
(10:55):
children darting between carts. He ran until the shouts of
guards faded behind him, and Samaria's walls were a distant
stain on the horizon. The wilderness swallowed him whole. His
feet tore over dry ground, his breath turned ragged, the
heat clawed at his skin. He ran until his legs burned,
(11:17):
until his vision blurred, until the adrenaline drained from his
blood and left only the hollow ache of a man
who had just declared war on an entire kingdom. He
had expected fire, thunder, the heavens shaking. Instead, he had
received one command and the sound of his own heartbeat
(11:38):
pounding in his ears. By the time he reached the
waddy Kerith, his limbs were useless things, barely able to
drag him to the brook. He collapsed by the water's edge,
plunged his face into the stream, and drank deep. The
cold hid his tongue like mercy. He drank until his
(11:59):
stomach crackumped, then rolled onto his back, gasping, staring up
at the sky that was still for now blue. The
wind whispered through the reeds, the water murmured over smooth stone.
But Jahweh was silent.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Well, here I am.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
The wind shifted her pressure, not weight, but presence settled
over him, familiar and vast, her voice deep enough to
make his ribs tremble, hummed through the marrow of his bones.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Here you are, Lord, This is the great mission.
Speaker 9 (12:43):
This is the work of a prophet.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
I declared judgment over a king, and now I'm leaving
like an exile.
Speaker 7 (12:50):
Her declared judgment. You did round, you did obeaed you have.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Elijah sat up, brushing dirt from his cloak, frowning toward
the sky.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
And what now do I stay here? Whatever? For a
time until the brook is no more?
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Elijah tensed. The voice of Jahueh carried no urgency, no worry,
only the certainty of a truth that had already been
set into motion.
Speaker 10 (13:26):
Let the brook will bray. It is as you have said,
no rain, no do, and so no book there shall be.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Elijah exhaled, sharply, rubbing his hands over his face.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Wonderful you could have led me somewhere, be the well I.
Speaker 7 (13:49):
Lead where I lead, Elijah. Abraham knew this, Moses knew this.
You will learn faith. Trust.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
Elijah scoffed, but said nothing. Then came the sound a
sharp cowing. Elijah frowned, looking up ravens, three of them circling,
dipping lower. His stomach twisted, not with hunger, though he
felt it gnawing at his ribs, but with something colder.
(14:24):
He had a feeling about what was coming next, and
he didn't like it. The birds flapped down onto the
rocks near him, their claws clutching scraps of meat, torn
and red crusts of bread half mangled by their beaks.
They dropped the food unceremoniously, then hopped back, clicking their beaks,
(14:45):
watching him like a jury waiting for a verdict. Elijah stared,
you're got to beginning me eat.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
The ravens, so they are. You send manna to our
father's bread from heaven and to me, unclean scavengers.
Speaker 9 (15:07):
This is a great provision.
Speaker 7 (15:09):
Does it not? Feel your stomach the same?
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Elijah dragged a hand down his face, muttering under his breath.
The ravens cowed louder, hopping closer, impatient, his gut clenched. Ravens, unclean,
vile creatures feeding on carrion, feasting on the dead, and
now feeding him. He pressed his lips together, then sighed
(15:37):
through his nose.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Well, if this is my fate.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
He picked up a piece of bread, brushed off the dirt,
and took a bite. Elijah silently noticed it somehow tasted
much better than it looked. The ravens flapped their wings,
seeming satisfied. The Lord said nothing, but Elia I just
swore he was watching. Days passed. Elijah drank from the brook,
(16:08):
ate what the ravens brought, and let his body recover
from the journey. He still spoke, though his words were
now for God alone. At first it was bitter, muttered
complaints in the dark, then slow acceptance. By the fourth
day he had stopped doubting the birds. By the seventh,
(16:30):
he expected them. He did not ask where the food
came from, if it was stolen from the table of
the wicked, or plucked from the hands of a dying beast.
Speaker 7 (16:40):
It came.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
That was enough. But then one morning the brook was different.
He crouched beside it, cup the water in his hands,
drank and frowned. It tasted the same, but the sound
had changed. He listened. The rush of water over stone
was less, just barely, but enough. Elijah stilled. The next
(17:07):
day the brook had decreased more. The reeds that had
once swayed in the current now leaned dry against the bank.
By the fifth day, the trickle of water had grown thin.
He tried rationing, drinking only when the sun reached its highest,
but the cracks in the riverbed deepened. The brook was dying,
(17:29):
and the Lord was silent. Elijah sat on the ground,
staring at the vanishing stream. His fingers dug absently into
the dirt.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
So this is the plan. I thought I was supposed
to be your prophet. I thought you sent me here
to provide. But I see now I'm just waiting to
watch the brook run dry? Aren't I make it last?
(18:01):
You could split a rock, make rivers flow in the desert.
You did it for Moses. I could, but you no.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Elijah exhaled slowly. What have you learned, Elijah? He was
quiet for a long time.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Then the brook isn't thisissles?
Speaker 1 (18:30):
You're the last of the water trickled over stone. Elijah
wiped the sweat from his brow and closed his eyes.
Speaker 7 (18:40):
Good rise, go to Zeabeth. There a widow awaits.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Elijah opened his eyes. The brook was dry, the sky empty,
but he was not afraid. Zaraphath was on its last breath.
The drought had sunk its claws into the land, and
it wasn't letting go. People shuffled through the streets with
(19:13):
hollow eyes, their ribs showing beneath worn tunics. The market
stores were mostly empty, just a few shriveled vegetables, some
desperate merchants haggling over things that would have been worthless
a year ago. Baal's priests stood on the street corners,
their voices hoarse from shouting prayers to a god that
(19:35):
wasn't answering. The smell of burnt sacrifices clung to the air.
Animals mostly for now, but Elijah had heard the whispers.
They were running out of livestock, and when that happened,
Baal would demand more. Elijah pulled his cloak tighter around
him and walked through the streets, keeping his head low.
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He shouldn't have been there. Zaraphath belonged to Jezebel.
Speaker 7 (20:03):
Her father had ruled.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
This place and her priests ran it. Now, if they
knew who he was, they'd drag him straight to her,
But the Lord had sent him here to find a widow.
Elijah searched for a long while. Then he found her
outside the city, crouched near a pile of brittle twigs,
her son at her side. The boy was small, maybe seven,
(20:29):
his face smudged with dust, his ribs showing beneath his tunic.
He clung to her sleeve, eyes darting between Elijah and
the road, like he was used to men showing up
and taking things. The woman was thin, her movements slow, careful,
like she was rationing her own strength. When she looked up,
(20:50):
there was no curiosity in her face, just exhaustion.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Oh there, my lady, would you were.
Speaker 9 (21:00):
A little water.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
She stiffened her fingers, tightening around the bundle of sticks,
but she stood without argument. Water was precious, but not impossible.
Her mother had always taught her to show hospitality to
the stranger. She turned toward the well and e piso bretto.
(21:24):
The widow stopped cold. The boy clung tighter to her,
his small hands gripping her robe. Slowly, she turned back,
and this time there was something sharp in her face,
something tired and angry.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Lessen, sir, I swear on the Lord your God. I
don't have any bread, just a handful of flour, a
little oil.
Speaker 9 (21:49):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
I was gathering these sticks to make one mass meal
for me and my boy before.
Speaker 9 (21:57):
Before sleep and don't wake up again.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Elijah's throat felt tight. He had seen hunger before, but this,
this was surrender.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Such a dire outlook. Don't be afraid, my child, Your
way sees your struggle.
Speaker 6 (22:19):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
The words came out softer than he expected.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Go ahead, make your meal, but first, eh, make me
a small love, then one for yourself and your son.
Because always says this. The flower will not run out,
the oil will not dry up, not until the rain comes.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
The woman stared at Elijah for a long moment, her
lips pressed together, her eyes flicking to her son, and.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Then she moved.
Speaker 7 (22:56):
Why.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
She wasn't quite sure herself. It's air was not because
she believed. Not yet after what she had seen, it
was too hard to believe in anything any more. Inside
the house, she scraped the last of the flower into
a bowl. She tipped the jug, watching the final drops
of oil slide out. Her hands moved quickly, practiced kneading
(23:20):
the dough with the same quiet precision of a woman
who had done this a thousand times before. She turned
to stoke the fire. Then she turned back and the
flower jar wasn't empty. Her breath hitched. The oil jug
was heavier. She grabbed it, shaking it lightly. Liquid sloshed
(23:41):
like golden honey. Her son tugged on her robe, peering
into the jar.
Speaker 9 (23:47):
Ma'am, there's all.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Her knees nearly gave out. Elijah, standing in the doorway, watched.
He smiled gently because he knew he had learned it
at the brook. Provision comes not all at once, but
as you need it. Weeks passed. The boy, once too
(24:14):
weak to play, was running again, his laughter echoing through
the small house. The widow smiled more, though sometimes Elijah
caught her checking the flower jar when she thought no
one was looking. Old habits he understood. But the oil
never failed, the flower never ran out. The three of
(24:36):
them settled into something strange, something Elijah hadn't known in
years family. It happened slowly. The widow stopped calling him
the prophet and just started calling him Elijah. He started
referring to her as sister, half jokingly at first, until
(24:57):
it wasn't a joke anymore. The boy, in the way
children know things before adults do, started calling him uncle Elijah,
and Elijah didn't correct him.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Then the fever came.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
It started small, just heat, just a little tiredness. Then
the boy stopped eating, stopped moving, his breathing grew shallow,
and then one morning he didn't wake up. The house
sat in hollow silence. Elijah sat by the fire, fingers
wrapped around a clay cup, staring into the embers.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Then he heard her cry.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
It was the sound of something breaking. The cup slipped
from his fingers, shattering on the floor. He turned and
she was standing in the doorway. The boy limp in
her arms. Her breath was ragged, her eyes red, her
whole body shaking. What have you done to MEA's stomach dropped.
Speaker 3 (26:02):
You came here, you.
Speaker 4 (26:03):
Brought your God with you.
Speaker 9 (26:06):
You made me hope, You made me boy.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
No, no, my son, yustid, her hands clenched in the
boy's tunic, her fingers curling around the fabric, like she
could hold him here, like she could anchor him to
life if she just held tight enough. Elijah swallowed hard,
(26:32):
his hands curled into fists. This wasn't supposed to happen.
He took a step forward.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
Give him to me.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
She hesitated, her whole body tense, then slowly she let
him go. Elijah carried the boy upstairs, his heart pounding.
He laid him on the bed and shut the door.
The air felt heavy pressing down on him. He knelt
beside the bed, gripping the edge.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
Yo, what is this silence?
Speaker 9 (27:08):
She trusted you. I trusted you, and now her child?
Oh God, the boy, Please Lord, save the boy.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
No answer. Elijah exhaled sharply and leaned over the boy,
pressing his hands against the child's still chest.
Speaker 9 (27:30):
Yoey, my God, why have you done this. I know
you can change this. I've seen your power.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Let this boy leave nothing. His breath shook. He stretched
himself over the child, forehead to forehead, hands gripping the bed. Please,
still nothing. He pulled back, shaking. This couldn't be the end.
He wouldn't accept it. He pressed his hands against the
(28:01):
boy again, voice breaking your way.
Speaker 9 (28:05):
My God, you are the giver of life. Every every
tag is a gift giving by you. You you topple kings.
Speaker 11 (28:15):
You you provide for windows, You send birds to feed
old fools. Hi, I ask you to do what only
you have the power to do, prelife in this boy
as you once did for atom. I know you can
(28:37):
I beg you, in your mercy, please bring this child back.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
Suddenly the air shifted, the stillness cracked, and then the
boy gasped. Elijah jerked back, eyes wide, watching the color
rush back into the boy's cheeks, his chest rising, falling,
rising again.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
And then Uncle, Elijah, my boy.
Speaker 9 (29:05):
My boy, thank you, thank you, my boy, my boy.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Elijah let out of breath. Then he laughed. He scooped
the boy into his arms, laughing through the tears. Yahue
had not abandoned him, not at the brook, not here,
not ever.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
Here we find Elijah, the prophet of God who won't die,
out in the wilderness, with the ravens, unclean birds, outcasts
of the sky, carriers of death, and yet they bring
Elijah life. The Bible doesn't dress this up. The prophet
is fed by creatures that belong on the margins, The
(30:00):
wilderness shows its teeth, and God, well, he keeps providing,
because in our tradition, holiness is never confined to what's expected.
Noah's arc was sealed with pitch. The burning bush grew
out of common earth. The Angel of the Lord visited
Hagar before he ever even spoke to Sarah. This is
(30:21):
the rhythm God finds the overlooked and names them sacred.
Elijah didn't need banquet halls or grand temples. What he
needed was faith. And it's a lesson for us today,
isn't it. Provision may come through strange messengers, So don't
look away, don't dismiss what looks too small, too wild,
(30:43):
too filthy, because it's in this wild, mysterious way that
we often find God, just like Elijah. But why exactly
does Elijah, the great Biblical figure, find himself in the wilderness.
He began his career as a fire harry prophet, and
because King Ahab promoted idolatry in his kingdom, Elijah declared
(31:06):
that there would be a complete drought as long as
the idol worship went on, a very severe punishment from God.
But then God sent Elijah first to a cave and
then to the home of a poor widow with almost
no food or water because of the drought punishment. God
performed a miracle there, and the small amount of flour
(31:26):
and the oil miraculously replenished themselves for a whole year.
But then the widow's son fell ill and died, so
Elijah performed another miracle and brought this son back to life.
But I still ask why why was Elijah sent to
the widow's house in the first place. What does this
(31:49):
story have anything to do with Elijah's mission as a
prophet of God. Well, here's one idea idolatry. It's a
serious sin and is understandable why Elijah declared such a
strict punishment on the people.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
A complete drought.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
But God used this story to balance out Elijah's way
of thinking, because yes, the Israelites had to be punished,
but even with punishment must come compassion, and so God
had Elijah perform two miracles, the replenishing of the flower
and oil, which saved the lives of the poor widow
(32:28):
and her son, and then dramatically reviving the son from death.
Those are two acts of ultimate compassion. Maybe Elijah needed
to understand that as justified as divine punishment may be,
there must also be compassion. The Chosen People believe that Elijah,
(32:51):
who according to the Bible never died, will return to
announce the ultimate redemption of the world. And how will
this redemption, Well, there will be punishment for sin, but
in the end, it's God's compassion that will always overwhelm
his desire for punishment. That is the very definition of redemption.
Speaker 9 (33:13):
In this story, we.
Speaker 3 (33:15):
Find God teaching his prophet Elijah this most important lesson.
Elijah's journey is tangled. That's the best word that I
can find for it. Right now, he speaks truth. Then
he's gone into a place without maps, without applause, and
yet the whole time he's being sculpted. Jewish tradition teaches
(33:36):
us of Emuna in Hebrew that means the kind of
faith that keeps walking even when the signs fade. That's
real faith. And Elijah embodies that, and so does the widow.
She bakes bread on a stranger's word with nothing left
but dust and oil. You see, faith isn't the absence
(33:57):
of fear or doubt. It's the decision to keep going
even though we're afraid or have doubts, to kneel by
a shrinking brook and eat from a raven's beak, to
offer the last of your flower to a man who
said his God will provide. Maybe that's you today. Maybe
you feel like the widow wording scraps, bracing for the end,
(34:19):
or maybe you're Elijah staring at a dry stream. I'm
sure of what to do next. I want to tell
you something that I believe with all of my heart.
Speaker 9 (34:29):
And it's this.
Speaker 3 (34:31):
You are seen. God's eye is on you in the famine.
Speaker 4 (34:37):
His care does move through.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
Things that you'd never expect. And while we often pray
for fire, sometimes God sends feathers. So open your hands,
open your eyes, watch the sky, because God is here.
He is always here.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
You can listen to the Chosen People with Yle Eckstein
ad free by downloading and subscribing to the prey dot
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(35:20):
The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, Edited by Alberto Avila,
narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton,
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(35:41):
opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music by Andrew
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Previously on the Chosen People. With the death of rio Boam,
the house of David was diminished. Meanwhile, in the Northern Kingdom,
the house of Jeroboam was doomed. And though the fathers
had gone astray from the Lord, it was their sons
who would drive their kingdoms to ruin. For Omri was
(00:23):
not just a soldier. He was a builder, a strategist,
a king who would leave a lasting mark. It would
be in his son Ahab, a name that would become legend,
a name that would become a curse. For it was
said of him he did more evil in the eyes
(00:44):
of the Lord than any who came before him.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
He and his queen.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Jezebel would shape the world to their liking.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
The drought it didn't scare him. It pointed him to
the truth. Shelloh, my friends, from here in the holy
land of Israel, i'm l extein with the International Fellowship
of Christians and Jews, and welcome to the Chosen People.
When a prophet disappears into the wilderness, what happens next?
In One King's Chapter seventeen, Elijah speaks a word that
(01:21):
splits the sky and then vanishes. No spotlight, no applause,
only a command from God and a long road into obscurity.
Where does faith go when the fire hasn't fallen yet?
Where does obedience lead when the trail ends in thirst?
Today we find Elijah before Mount Carmel, before the crowds
(01:45):
of people, before the miracle everyone remembers. Today, Elijah is
a man shaped by birds, by famine, by a widow
who's run out of options. Today is where his story begins.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
The throne room of Samaria reeked of indulgence, roasted meat
dripping fat onto polished stone, the too sweet stench of
overripe fruit left half eaten on golden trays, the scent
of a kingdom that had long since stopped fearing Yahweh.
(02:22):
The air was warm, humid, with breath and laughter, and
the lazy murmur of priests who knew their prayers were
more performance than devotion. Ahab, king of Israel, lounged at
the center of it all, sprawled in his throne like
a man who had never known hunger, whose hands had
(02:43):
never known the weight of real labour, whose problems had
always been someone else's to solve. He smirked at the
latest toaster, bal his fingers tapping absently against his goblet.
Then the doors slammed open with a crack. A priest's
voice wavered mid incantation, a musician's liar string snapped, goblets
(03:09):
rattled against platters. For a single, stretched moment, the court
was frozen in tableaux, wine, spilling, hands hesitating, heads turning,
And there in the doorway stood Elijah, the prophet of Fire.
His words had already burned their way through the land,
(03:32):
they said. When he spoke, men felt their ribs tighten,
like they breathed in smoke. When he prayed, the wind
changed now here. He was standing in the doorway like
something torn straight out of the wilderness. His cloak was
travel stained, his skin roughened by sun and wind. His
(03:54):
hands were empty. He carried no sword or scroll. He
didn't need such tools to command the room. He had
the voice the gods hesitated. No one wanted to be
the first to stop him. Elijah walked forward without hurry,
his eyes scanning the throne room like a man weighing
(04:16):
the worth of every soul in it. Ahab watched him approach,
one brow arching smirk deepening.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
Well, if it isn't the prophet of fire, tell me.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
Have you come to burn.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
Down my palace?
Speaker 6 (04:39):
Did you simply get lost on the way back to
whatever god forsaken cave you crawled out of.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
I've come with a message from God.
Speaker 7 (04:51):
In which God would that be? Elijah?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
There are many the God of Israel, the God whom
you do abandoned, the God your father's knew before you
sold their birthright for foreign dows low way.
Speaker 6 (05:11):
I'm not in the mood, Elijah. Scurry back to your
hovel in the woods.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Here the judgment of Yahweh, there will be no dew,
no rain, not even a whisper of moisture upon this
land until I say otherwise.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
The words hit like a hammer against stone. A hab
smirk twitched, the torches flickered somewhere in the back of
the room. A servant swallowed audibly. A priest of bow
shifted in his robes, hands tightening around his staff. Then
they have laughed.
Speaker 6 (05:49):
You say there will be no rain?
Speaker 5 (05:52):
You a wandering zeeb from the wilderness. Do you think
the heavens will obey you with rivers dry up because
you make threats? In you always name God? Do you
think I'm like my father?
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Do you think I'm some weakneed fool who.
Speaker 5 (06:12):
Trembles at the ramblings of a desert rat.
Speaker 6 (06:15):
Do you think I fear your God?
Speaker 4 (06:21):
You should? Should I?
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Elijah's eyes flicked, just for a moment, toward the hulking,
golden statue of Baal behind the throne, grotesque and unmoving.
Speaker 7 (06:36):
Aheb.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
You call the Lord my god, but you know very
well he is your god, to the god of your fathers,
the god you prayed to when you were a boy,
before your body grew fat and your mind grew polluted
with lies that reek like the dung of camels.
Speaker 8 (06:56):
Now look at you, to a god who cannot speak,
who cannot move, who cannot even keep his own priests
from bleeding all over his.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Altars, crying out for a voice that never answers.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
One of the Baal priests shifted uncomfortably. Elijah took a
slow step forward.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
What you will learn when the rivers crack into dust,
when your fields shrivel and die, when the sky above
you is as unyielding as iron, you will know that
it is not bail who commands the rain.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Elijah let the words settle. He wanted King Ahab to
feel the weight of them wrap around his throat like
the first signs of thirst. And then, slowly, deliberately, Elijah's
mouth curled into something resembling a smirk.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Perhaps you should ask your queen, But the.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Reaction was instant. Ahab's amusement vanished. The room was suddenly
too still, too tense. Every breath held a baal. Priest
shifted his grip on his staff, knuckles paling. The torches
flickered lower, as though even the flames knew better than
to burn too loudly when she was mentioned. Queen Jezebel
(08:24):
was not presents, but her presence permeated every room. Everyone
knew her power, how it coiled around Ahab's decisions like
a serpent. Her whispers carried more weight than the voices
of a hundred advisers careful profits.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Why if rig you'll hear enough?
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Ahab stood, His voice cracked through the silence like a whip.
The goblets on the table clattered as his sudden movement
sent a tremor through the stone beneath them. Everyone flinched.
Speaker 5 (09:04):
I should have had you executed for speaking against my queen.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
You cannot kill what yaweh think?
Speaker 7 (09:13):
We'll see about that.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
The words rang hollow, the rage was real, but something
else had settled over the room, now, something older, something
heavier than Ahab's anger. Elijah had spoken, and the words
were no longer his. Without another word, the prophet turned
on his heel and walked away. He left the palace behind,
(09:41):
left the torches and the murmurs, and the barely contained
fury of a king whose power was already slipping through
his fingers. Left the last echoes of laughter still hanging
in the air, now tainted with something colder. And as
the door slammed shut behind him, the silence in Ahab's
(10:03):
court deepened, and the king's rage began to boil into malice.
The moment the words left his mouth, the minute the
last syllable of his prophecy burned through the air of
Ahab's court like a dying ember. Elijah heard Yahue's voice.
(10:26):
Not thunder, not wind, not the crack of fire, just
one word.
Speaker 9 (10:32):
Run.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
It hid like a hammer in his chest, urgent, undeniable.
He didn't think, he didn't question. He ran through the
palace gates before the weight of his words had fully
landed through the market streets, past the smell of spice
and livestock and human sweat, past merchants, barking prices, and
(10:55):
children darting between carts. He ran until the shouts of
guards faded behind him, and Samaria's walls were a distant
stain on the horizon. The wilderness swallowed him whole. His
feet tore over dry ground, his breath turned ragged, the
heat clawed at his skin. He ran until his legs burned,
(11:17):
until his vision blurred, until the adrenaline drained from his
blood and left only the hollow ache of a man
who had just declared war on an entire kingdom. He
had expected fire, thunder, the heavens shaking. Instead, he had
received one command and the sound of his own heartbeat
(11:38):
pounding in his ears. By the time he reached the
waddy Kerith, his limbs were useless things, barely able to
drag him to the brook. He collapsed by the water's edge,
plunged his face into the stream, and drank deep. The
cold hid his tongue like mercy. He drank until his
(11:59):
stomach crackumped, then rolled onto his back, gasping, staring up
at the sky that was still for now blue. The
wind whispered through the reeds, the water murmured over smooth stone.
But Jahweh was silent.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Well, here I am.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
The wind shifted her pressure, not weight, but presence settled
over him, familiar and vast, her voice deep enough to
make his ribs tremble, hummed through the marrow of his bones.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Here you are, Lord, This is the great mission.
Speaker 9 (12:43):
This is the work of a prophet.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
I declared judgment over a king, and now I'm leaving
like an exile.
Speaker 7 (12:50):
Her declared judgment. You did round, you did obeaed you have.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Elijah sat up, brushing dirt from his cloak, frowning toward
the sky.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
And what now do I stay here? Whatever? For a
time until the brook is no more?
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Elijah tensed. The voice of Jahueh carried no urgency, no worry,
only the certainty of a truth that had already been
set into motion.
Speaker 10 (13:26):
Let the brook will bray. It is as you have said,
no rain, no do, and so no book there shall be.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Elijah exhaled, sharply, rubbing his hands over his face.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Wonderful you could have led me somewhere, be the well I.
Speaker 7 (13:49):
Lead where I lead, Elijah. Abraham knew this, Moses knew this.
You will learn faith. Trust.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
Elijah scoffed, but said nothing. Then came the sound a
sharp cowing. Elijah frowned, looking up ravens, three of them circling,
dipping lower. His stomach twisted, not with hunger, though he
felt it gnawing at his ribs, but with something colder.
(14:24):
He had a feeling about what was coming next, and
he didn't like it. The birds flapped down onto the
rocks near him, their claws clutching scraps of meat, torn
and red crusts of bread half mangled by their beaks.
They dropped the food unceremoniously, then hopped back, clicking their beaks,
(14:45):
watching him like a jury waiting for a verdict. Elijah stared,
you're got to beginning me eat.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
The ravens, so they are. You send manna to our
father's bread from heaven and to me, unclean scavengers.
Speaker 9 (15:07):
This is a great provision.
Speaker 7 (15:09):
Does it not? Feel your stomach the same?
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Elijah dragged a hand down his face, muttering under his breath.
The ravens cowed louder, hopping closer, impatient, his gut clenched. Ravens, unclean,
vile creatures feeding on carrion, feasting on the dead, and
now feeding him. He pressed his lips together, then sighed
(15:37):
through his nose.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Well, if this is my fate.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
He picked up a piece of bread, brushed off the dirt,
and took a bite. Elijah silently noticed it somehow tasted
much better than it looked. The ravens flapped their wings,
seeming satisfied. The Lord said nothing, but Elia I just
swore he was watching. Days passed. Elijah drank from the brook,
(16:08):
ate what the ravens brought, and let his body recover
from the journey. He still spoke, though his words were
now for God alone. At first it was bitter, muttered
complaints in the dark, then slow acceptance. By the fourth
day he had stopped doubting the birds. By the seventh,
(16:30):
he expected them. He did not ask where the food
came from, if it was stolen from the table of
the wicked, or plucked from the hands of a dying beast.
Speaker 7 (16:40):
It came.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
That was enough. But then one morning the brook was different.
He crouched beside it, cup the water in his hands,
drank and frowned. It tasted the same, but the sound
had changed. He listened. The rush of water over stone
was less, just barely, but enough. Elijah stilled. The next
(17:07):
day the brook had decreased more. The reeds that had
once swayed in the current now leaned dry against the bank.
By the fifth day, the trickle of water had grown thin.
He tried rationing, drinking only when the sun reached its highest,
but the cracks in the riverbed deepened. The brook was dying,
(17:29):
and the Lord was silent. Elijah sat on the ground,
staring at the vanishing stream. His fingers dug absently into
the dirt.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
So this is the plan. I thought I was supposed
to be your prophet. I thought you sent me here
to provide. But I see now I'm just waiting to
watch the brook run dry? Aren't I make it last?
(18:01):
You could split a rock, make rivers flow in the desert.
You did it for Moses. I could, but you no.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Elijah exhaled slowly. What have you learned, Elijah? He was
quiet for a long time.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Then the brook isn't thisissles?
Speaker 1 (18:30):
You're the last of the water trickled over stone. Elijah
wiped the sweat from his brow and closed his eyes.
Speaker 7 (18:40):
Good rise, go to Zeabeth. There a widow awaits.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Elijah opened his eyes. The brook was dry, the sky empty,
but he was not afraid. Zaraphath was on its last breath.
The drought had sunk its claws into the land, and
it wasn't letting go. People shuffled through the streets with
(19:13):
hollow eyes, their ribs showing beneath worn tunics. The market
stores were mostly empty, just a few shriveled vegetables, some
desperate merchants haggling over things that would have been worthless
a year ago. Baal's priests stood on the street corners,
their voices hoarse from shouting prayers to a god that
(19:35):
wasn't answering. The smell of burnt sacrifices clung to the air.
Animals mostly for now, but Elijah had heard the whispers.
They were running out of livestock, and when that happened,
Baal would demand more. Elijah pulled his cloak tighter around
him and walked through the streets, keeping his head low.
(19:59):
He shouldn't have been there. Zaraphath belonged to Jezebel.
Speaker 7 (20:03):
Her father had ruled.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
This place and her priests ran it. Now, if they
knew who he was, they'd drag him straight to her,
But the Lord had sent him here to find a widow.
Elijah searched for a long while. Then he found her
outside the city, crouched near a pile of brittle twigs,
her son at her side. The boy was small, maybe seven,
(20:29):
his face smudged with dust, his ribs showing beneath his tunic.
He clung to her sleeve, eyes darting between Elijah and
the road, like he was used to men showing up
and taking things. The woman was thin, her movements slow, careful,
like she was rationing her own strength. When she looked up,
(20:50):
there was no curiosity in her face, just exhaustion.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Oh there, my lady, would you were.
Speaker 9 (21:00):
A little water.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
She stiffened her fingers, tightening around the bundle of sticks,
but she stood without argument. Water was precious, but not impossible.
Her mother had always taught her to show hospitality to
the stranger. She turned toward the well and e piso bretto.
(21:24):
The widow stopped cold. The boy clung tighter to her,
his small hands gripping her robe. Slowly, she turned back,
and this time there was something sharp in her face,
something tired and angry.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Lessen, sir, I swear on the Lord your God. I
don't have any bread, just a handful of flour, a
little oil.
Speaker 9 (21:49):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
I was gathering these sticks to make one mass meal
for me and my boy before.
Speaker 9 (21:57):
Before sleep and don't wake up again.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Elijah's throat felt tight. He had seen hunger before, but this,
this was surrender.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Such a dire outlook. Don't be afraid, my child, Your
way sees your struggle.
Speaker 6 (22:19):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
The words came out softer than he expected.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Go ahead, make your meal, but first, eh, make me
a small love, then one for yourself and your son.
Because always says this. The flower will not run out,
the oil will not dry up, not until the rain comes.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
The woman stared at Elijah for a long moment, her
lips pressed together, her eyes flicking to her son, and.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Then she moved.
Speaker 7 (22:56):
Why.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
She wasn't quite sure herself. It's air was not because
she believed. Not yet after what she had seen, it
was too hard to believe in anything any more. Inside
the house, she scraped the last of the flower into
a bowl. She tipped the jug, watching the final drops
of oil slide out. Her hands moved quickly, practiced kneading
(23:20):
the dough with the same quiet precision of a woman
who had done this a thousand times before. She turned
to stoke the fire. Then she turned back and the
flower jar wasn't empty. Her breath hitched. The oil jug
was heavier. She grabbed it, shaking it lightly. Liquid sloshed
(23:41):
like golden honey. Her son tugged on her robe, peering
into the jar.
Speaker 9 (23:47):
Ma'am, there's all.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Her knees nearly gave out. Elijah, standing in the doorway, watched.
He smiled gently because he knew he had learned it
at the brook. Provision comes not all at once, but
as you need it. Weeks passed. The boy, once too
(24:14):
weak to play, was running again, his laughter echoing through
the small house. The widow smiled more, though sometimes Elijah
caught her checking the flower jar when she thought no
one was looking. Old habits he understood. But the oil
never failed, the flower never ran out. The three of
(24:36):
them settled into something strange, something Elijah hadn't known in
years family. It happened slowly. The widow stopped calling him
the prophet and just started calling him Elijah. He started
referring to her as sister, half jokingly at first, until
(24:57):
it wasn't a joke anymore. The boy, in the way
children know things before adults do, started calling him uncle Elijah,
and Elijah didn't correct him.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Then the fever came.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
It started small, just heat, just a little tiredness. Then
the boy stopped eating, stopped moving, his breathing grew shallow,
and then one morning he didn't wake up. The house
sat in hollow silence. Elijah sat by the fire, fingers
wrapped around a clay cup, staring into the embers.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Then he heard her cry.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
It was the sound of something breaking. The cup slipped
from his fingers, shattering on the floor. He turned and
she was standing in the doorway. The boy limp in
her arms. Her breath was ragged, her eyes red, her
whole body shaking. What have you done to MEA's stomach dropped.
Speaker 3 (26:02):
You came here, you.
Speaker 4 (26:03):
Brought your God with you.
Speaker 9 (26:06):
You made me hope, You made me boy.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
No, no, my son, yustid, her hands clenched in the
boy's tunic, her fingers curling around the fabric, like she
could hold him here, like she could anchor him to
life if she just held tight enough. Elijah swallowed hard,
(26:32):
his hands curled into fists. This wasn't supposed to happen.
He took a step forward.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
Give him to me.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
She hesitated, her whole body tense, then slowly she let
him go. Elijah carried the boy upstairs, his heart pounding.
He laid him on the bed and shut the door.
The air felt heavy pressing down on him. He knelt
beside the bed, gripping the edge.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
Yo, what is this silence?
Speaker 9 (27:08):
She trusted you. I trusted you, and now her child?
Oh God, the boy, Please Lord, save the boy.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
No answer. Elijah exhaled sharply and leaned over the boy,
pressing his hands against the child's still chest.
Speaker 9 (27:30):
Yoey, my God, why have you done this. I know
you can change this. I've seen your power.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Let this boy leave nothing. His breath shook. He stretched
himself over the child, forehead to forehead, hands gripping the bed. Please,
still nothing. He pulled back, shaking. This couldn't be the end.
He wouldn't accept it. He pressed his hands against the
(28:01):
boy again, voice breaking your way.
Speaker 9 (28:05):
My God, you are the giver of life. Every every
tag is a gift giving by you. You you topple kings.
Speaker 11 (28:15):
You you provide for windows, You send birds to feed
old fools. Hi, I ask you to do what only
you have the power to do, prelife in this boy
as you once did for atom. I know you can
(28:37):
I beg you, in your mercy, please bring this child back.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
Suddenly the air shifted, the stillness cracked, and then the
boy gasped. Elijah jerked back, eyes wide, watching the color
rush back into the boy's cheeks, his chest rising, falling,
rising again.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
And then Uncle, Elijah, my boy.
Speaker 9 (29:05):
My boy, thank you, thank you, my boy, my boy.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Elijah let out of breath. Then he laughed. He scooped
the boy into his arms, laughing through the tears. Yahue
had not abandoned him, not at the brook, not here,
not ever.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
Here we find Elijah, the prophet of God who won't die,
out in the wilderness, with the ravens, unclean birds, outcasts
of the sky, carriers of death, and yet they bring
Elijah life. The Bible doesn't dress this up. The prophet
is fed by creatures that belong on the margins, The
(30:00):
wilderness shows its teeth, and God, well, he keeps providing,
because in our tradition, holiness is never confined to what's expected.
Noah's arc was sealed with pitch. The burning bush grew
out of common earth. The Angel of the Lord visited
Hagar before he ever even spoke to Sarah. This is
(30:21):
the rhythm God finds the overlooked and names them sacred.
Elijah didn't need banquet halls or grand temples. What he
needed was faith. And it's a lesson for us today,
isn't it. Provision may come through strange messengers, So don't
look away, don't dismiss what looks too small, too wild,
(30:43):
too filthy, because it's in this wild, mysterious way that
we often find God, just like Elijah. But why exactly
does Elijah, the great Biblical figure, find himself in the wilderness.
He began his career as a fire harry prophet, and
because King Ahab promoted idolatry in his kingdom, Elijah declared
(31:06):
that there would be a complete drought as long as
the idol worship went on, a very severe punishment from God.
But then God sent Elijah first to a cave and
then to the home of a poor widow with almost
no food or water because of the drought punishment. God
performed a miracle there, and the small amount of flour
(31:26):
and the oil miraculously replenished themselves for a whole year.
But then the widow's son fell ill and died, so
Elijah performed another miracle and brought this son back to life.
But I still ask why why was Elijah sent to
the widow's house in the first place. What does this
(31:49):
story have anything to do with Elijah's mission as a
prophet of God. Well, here's one idea idolatry. It's a
serious sin and is understandable why Elijah declared such a
strict punishment on the people.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
A complete drought.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
But God used this story to balance out Elijah's way
of thinking, because yes, the Israelites had to be punished,
but even with punishment must come compassion, and so God
had Elijah perform two miracles, the replenishing of the flower
and oil, which saved the lives of the poor widow
(32:28):
and her son, and then dramatically reviving the son from death.
Those are two acts of ultimate compassion. Maybe Elijah needed
to understand that as justified as divine punishment may be,
there must also be compassion. The Chosen People believe that Elijah,
(32:51):
who according to the Bible never died, will return to
announce the ultimate redemption of the world. And how will
this redemption, Well, there will be punishment for sin, but
in the end, it's God's compassion that will always overwhelm
his desire for punishment. That is the very definition of redemption.
Speaker 9 (33:13):
In this story, we.
Speaker 3 (33:15):
Find God teaching his prophet Elijah this most important lesson.
Elijah's journey is tangled. That's the best word that I
can find for it. Right now, he speaks truth. Then
he's gone into a place without maps, without applause, and
yet the whole time he's being sculpted. Jewish tradition teaches
(33:36):
us of Emuna in Hebrew that means the kind of
faith that keeps walking even when the signs fade. That's
real faith. And Elijah embodies that, and so does the widow.
She bakes bread on a stranger's word with nothing left
but dust and oil. You see, faith isn't the absence
(33:57):
of fear or doubt. It's the decision to keep going
even though we're afraid or have doubts, to kneel by
a shrinking brook and eat from a raven's beak, to
offer the last of your flower to a man who
said his God will provide. Maybe that's you today. Maybe
you feel like the widow wording scraps, bracing for the end,
(34:19):
or maybe you're Elijah staring at a dry stream. I'm
sure of what to do next. I want to tell
you something that I believe with all of my heart.
Speaker 9 (34:29):
And it's this.
Speaker 3 (34:31):
You are seen. God's eye is on you in the famine.
Speaker 4 (34:37):
His care does move through.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
Things that you'd never expect. And while we often pray
for fire, sometimes God sends feathers. So open your hands,
open your eyes, watch the sky, because God is here.
He is always here.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
You can listen to the Chosen People with Yle Eckstein
ad free by downloading and subscribing to the prey dot
com app today. This preydog comproduction is only made possible
by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina, Max Bard,
Zach Schllabager and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of
(35:20):
The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, Edited by Alberto Avila,
narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton,
Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc,
Thomas Copeland Junior, Rosanna Pilcher, and Mitch Leshinsky, and the
(35:41):
opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music by Andrew
Morgan Smith, written by Aaron Salvato bre Rosalie and Chris Baig.
Special thanks to Bishop Paulinier, Robin van Ettin, Kayleb Burrows,
Jocelyn Fuller, Rabbi Edward Abramson, and the team at International
Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey
(36:02):
dot com productions on the Prey dot com app, available
on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If
you enjoyed The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, please rate
and leave a review.
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