“Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.
Elijah has just told King Ahab that no dew or rain would fall except at his word. God's next word sends him east, out of sight, to hide by a brook — so why withdraw a servant the moment his public work is done?
A Life Directed by the Word
Every move Elijah makes starts with a word from God, and he obeys at once.
J. N. DarbyIt is said to him, "Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan." Then in verse 5 we read that he obeyed this command. We see then that Elijah had no power, but had faith in God and knew that all blessing is in obedience. From the moment the word came to him, he submitted to it. He went to the brook Cherith, where he learned to depend on God.
The same man who is told to hide here is later told to show himself. One writer sets the two commands side by side and draws out what makes obedience possible at all:
H. L. Rossier"Go, show yourself to Ahab" (v. 1). Previously it had been, "Hide yourself by the torrent Cherith." Elijah obeys without arguing. His obedience stems from implicit confidence in God, His authority, His power, and His goodness. Every disobedient act of a Christian demonstrates a lack of appreciation of what God is.
Hiding That Is Not Cowardice
Announcing a drought to a hostile king put Elijah in danger. But fear is not why he leaves.
William KellyThe word of Jehovah, then, tells him to flee. He had been bold in telling the king — the guilty king. But now his testimony had been given. The terrible calamity of years without dew or rain, felt above all in the east, was about to fall on the people. It would also be tied in some measure to the prophet, and not to God only. That would have at once exposed him to the anger of a wicked people and their king. So God tells His servant to flee and hide himself by the brook Cherith — not as a mere human resource, still less out of fear, but according to the word of Jehovah.
The Servant Put Out of Sight
Elijah finishes his mission and drops out of public view at once. One writer draws from this the true place of a servant.
The Christian's FriendAs soon as Elijah's work was, for the moment, done, God at once withdraws him from public notice... The servant has no importance in himself, nor must he have any in the eyes of others, except so far as he is the representative of his Master... Happy is the servant who understands his place in this way. He seeks nothing for himself. He tries at all times to hide himself behind the One who sends him, and he never courts notice or favour on his own account.
A Painful Place, a Blessed School
For a man of energy, being set aside is harder than being sent out.
H. L. RossierTo be set aside is a situation infinitely painful to the flesh, which is stripped of all that feeds it. But it is easy for faith, because faith finds its happiness in obedience. The great prophet must hide himself. This energetic man must fold his hands and wait alone for the Lord's time. The man who had the power to shut up the heavens must depend in a unique way upon the Creator... A painful situation for the flesh, we have said, but a blessed school for dependence!
Public Faith Rests on Private Faith
The brook and the birds were real provision, but they were never meant to become the object of Elijah's trust.
Hamilton SmithIs he to exercise faith in the living God before Israel? Then he must first learn to live by faith from day to day in secret before God. God provides the brook and the ravens to meet His servant's needs. But Elijah's confidence must be in the unseen and living God, not in the things he can see — not in brooks and ravens. "I have commanded," said the Lord, and faith rests in the word of the Lord.
What the Names Suggest
One writer finds meaning in the two names themselves.
Frederick W. GrantHe is told to turn eastward and hide himself by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan. You know what "Jordan" means — the great river that pictures death. And "Cherith" means "cutting off." The Lord brings him to that meaningful place. There He makes him drink from the brook, and the ravens feed him.
How God Directs Us Now
Elijah heard commands he could not misread. We should not expect the same, and one writer shows where God directs us now.
W. W. FeredayNone of us need expect God to speak to us in the same way as He spoke to Elijah. Words like "Hide yourself by the brook Cherith," "Go to Zarephath," and "Show yourself to Ahab" could not be misunderstood. God speaks to us now in the written Word... The Scriptures are so full and complete that there is something in them to suit every circumstance any believer may face at any time.
Summary
- Word first. Elijah moves only when God speaks, and he moves at once — all blessing lies in obedience.
- Word hides. The same voice that sent him to Ahab now takes him out of sight; the servant counts for nothing apart from the One who sends him.
- Word cuts off. Cherith means "cutting off," beside the river that pictures death — a place stripped of every natural support.
- Word feeds. Faith rests not on brook or ravens but on "I have commanded"; secret dependence is what makes public faith possible.
- Word sends again. The hiding was a school, not a shelf. The same word that trained Elijah now reaches us in Scripture, suited to every circumstance.