Then the word of the Lord came to him, "Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan." (1 Kings 17:2-3)
With God’s command obeyed and Ahab’s court confronted, there came another order. This one was to go into hiding east of the Jordan at a brook named Cherith. We do not know precisely where he hid but the name "Cherith" gives us a clue. The word means "to cut." This would be very descriptive of the landscape around the Northeast side of the Jordan River.
These ravines are called "wadis" and they are deep gorges where the water cuts through the land and leaves a large gorge higher than a man’s head. Sometimes the wadis are 12—40 ft. high and about 6-10 ft wide. Parts of the wadis are like Canadian Mountain streams where water can flow through places that may only be a foot across. The wadi is at the bottom of a hill that is so steep sand or other debris can slide down into it. Some wadis only fill once a year in flood season. If one is trapped in these a wall of water 10 ft. high might wash them away. Inside these wadis are many caves.
If Ahab sought for Elijah here, he wouldn’t have looked long. One can’t take a horse or a pack animal such as a camel into a wadi. Trying to ride around the sides or even to walk along them while looking down is fruitless. The searcher’s feet would soon slide out from under him and he’d be in the bottom.
One can imagine a military commander saying, "forget it, men, nobody can live here."
Yet Elijah is living there, almost impossible to find.
God may want us to speak to a king, or he may have us hide. In whatever direction he leads, He instructs us to trust in Him.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding: In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6).
The God of Elijah is also our God. He will lead. We must trust.
