Sovereign Over Death

"Then he cried out to the Lord and said, ‘Oh Lord my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?" (1 Kings 17:20)

Many today would not pray as Elijah did. We are not accustomed to coming to God with such strong words. Is it right to say to God "you also brought tragedy?" or "you killed her son?" Are these words irreverent? Is Elijah blaming God for something He didn’t do?

Today we might be prone to say "yes." We would say death or disease, not God, claimed the son. We may assign the death to Satan in an attempt to say God had nothing to do with it. We might blame the death on an accident for which God had no desire to happen. From our perspective these things might seem correct but do they offer long term comfort?

To give these things too much credence is to ultimately claim that in some way God lost sovereign control. If God loses His power, we have no hope. Elijah knew this. He knew that God was greater. He understood that God was the primary authority over all things and that all the players and events were secondary causes in His hands. He knew that to have a God without control was not to have a God at all.

That is why he attributed the death of the widow’s son to the Lord. God brought tragedy. God "caused her son to die." (NIV). Therefore God could also raise him. Elijah prayed this way because he knew God, not because he was irreverent.

Our view of the sovereignty of God is small. One day we will all have to come to grips with the truth that God is the ultimate giver of life or death. His will is the primary consideration. All the players and events are secondary. Disease, death and Satan are all subject to God. He is never caught by surprise. Death does not slip through His fingers. He doesn’t just allow it; there is a way beyond our comprehension in which He actually ordains it.

Elijah knew that the "Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up." (1 Samuel 2:6). This is why he could entrust himself to the Lord and call upon him for a resurrection. He understood that the God who numbers the very hairs of our heads (Matthew 10.30) also numbers our days. He who counts our days can take life or give it again. God heard the voice of Elijah and the son was raised.

　

Is God Punishing Me?

"So she said to Elijah, "What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?" (1 Kings 17:18).

The widow’s son became so seriously sick that "there was no breath in him." This ancient statement referred to the fact that he was truly dead. God had breathed into Adam’s "nostrils the breath of life" (Genesis 2:7) and this son has lost his breath. It was beyond hope. He had died.

Under severe grief, the widow lashes out at Elijah with another Hebrew expression "what have I to do with you?" This phrase was used by Elisha repudiating the ungodly King Ahab (2 Kings 3:13), David distancing himself from the sons of Zeruiah (2 Samuel 16:10), and the demons rejecting the appearance of Jesus (Mark 5:7). The widow is turning herself against Elijah an is fiercely withdrawing from him.

She refers harshly to her sin coming to remembrance and accuses him even of killing her son due to her sin. Her response is not too far removed from the cry of most humans during great grief. Guilt can be very real to someone bereaved. Even the most godly can believe that God is punishing them. The character Job said of God "You write bitter things against me and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth." (Job 13:26).

Does God use death to punish people? We know that all death is ultimately due to sin (Romans 5:12) but in the midst of that curse on humankind is God singling out people who have sinned greater than others? Does He maliciously take family members or incur sickness on people because of personal sin?

Jesus’ disciples, reflecting the beliefs of their time, certainly thought so. Seeing a man who was born blind they asked Him "’Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus’ answer dispelled that notion "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him." Jesus then healed him (John 9:1ff.)

We will see in the verses that follow that the Lord had a similar purpose for the Phoenician family. He had no vindictiveness in His plans for them at all. He would restore the son to life through the prophet Elijah and continue His supernatural provision for their food.

Is there anyone who has lost health or a loved one? Are any asking the question "is God punishing me?" It may simply be that God is revealing his works through you with a greater plan than you ever dreamed. He is that kind of God.