Get Up, Eat And Drink; For There Is Sound Of Abundance Of Rain
I Kings 18:41 – “And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.”
For three and a half years, there had been a famine in Samaria (another name for Israel). This famine, in the physical effects upon the nation, portrayed the spiritual condition of the nation.
A FAMINE IN THE LAND
Today there is a famine in the land and a famine in the church. It is a famine of the Word of God, a famine of the moving of the Holy Spirit, and a famine of the Message of the Cross. When the church forsakes the Cross, the only thing left is a false doctrine, and “another Jesus, another gospel, another spirit.”
When the church forsakes God’s way, which is the Cross, and depends on works and services that are nothing more than social gatherings, then no one is going to be transformed by the power of God.
As well, as the church goes so goes the nation. Our nation is in pitiful shape—where evil is called good, and good is called evil. We can’t just lay the blame on our political leaders; we must also lay the blame on preachers who no longer preach the gospel.
However, we are not to lose hope because the Lord has great plans for the future. He promised us in Acts 2:17-18: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And on My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy.”
This tells us that a move of God is coming, and I am telling you: “Get up, eat, drink, for there is a sound of abundance of rain” coming. Water is a type of the Holy Spirit and the rain is coming. However, before the rain can come, certain things must take place, and in 18th chapter of I Kings we are given God’s way for revival. So, let’s see what the church must do.
ELIJAH REPAIRED THE ALTAR OF THE LORD THAT WAS BROKEN DOWN
The altar was and is a type of the Cross—a type of our Lord’s death on Calvary’s Cross to atone for man’s sin. The church must “repair the altar of the Lord that has been broken down.”
Simply put, the church must come back to the Cross—a complete dependence and faith solely in what Christ did for us on the Cross.
12 STONES
Elijah took 12 stones to rebuild the altar. Twelve is God’s number for government and this tells us that the foundation of God’s government is the Cross and the Cross alone.
THE TRENCH
Elijah then dug a trench completely around the altar. The trench represented separation, so why did he do this? We are in this world, but we are not to be a part of the world; there must be separation. The Cross separates us from the world, the flesh, and the Devil.
WOOD
Then the Bible says that he “put the wood in order.” The wood typified the Cross. It’s amazing how many Christians think that when you say “the Cross” you are talking about a piece of wood. How ridiculous an assumption!
I guess the Apostle Paul was wrong when he wrote I Corinthians 1:17-18. There is no saving grace in the wood, but it is what happened on that wooden Cross—Jesus Christ atoning for the sin of man. The Holy Spirit, by instruction to Elijah as it regards putting the wood in order, was using that to point us to the future sacrifice of Christ. Also, by the use of the word order, He is telling us that God has a divine order to everything He does.
THE BULLOCK
Elijah then took a bullock and cut it into pieces and laid it on the wood. The bullock cut into pieces typified the sacrifice of Christ—His body broken for our sins.
FOUR BARRELS OF WATER
Then he told them to, “Fill four barrels of water and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and the wood.” The water represented the washing of the Word of God, with the number four representing all corners of the compass and what Jesus did for all people of all nations.
POUR THE WATER ON THE SACRIFICE
Regarding the water, the text said, “pour it on the burnt sacrifice and wood.” This tells us that the Word of God represented by the water covered everything Jesus would do in His earthly ministry. Every single thing that our Lord did was based on the Word of God, and everything we do must be based on the Word of God.
THREE TIMES
Elijah then told them to pour the water on the altar and the sacrifices not once, not twice, but three times. Why? Because the number three represents the Trinity—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
THE ALTAR WAS SATURATED
The text also says that the water filled the trench. For the trench to be filled, the altar had to be saturated by the water, once again telling us we must be saturated by the Word of God daily.
THE FIRE FELL
The text said: “Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.” In other words, the fire of the Lord consumed everything with nothing left.
The fire was a type of the judgment of God that would fall on Christ at Calvary, meaning that the work was accomplished, Satan was completely defeated, and all sin atoned for—past, present, and future.
THE RAIN CAME
Then Elijah would proclaim to Ahab, “Get thee up and drink: For there is a sound of abundance of rain.” The rain speaks of the Holy Spirit; it speaks of life. The famine was over, the ground was no longer parched, and crops could now grow.
The only hope for our nation and the church is for the rain to fall. However, the rain will not come until the “altar is repaired.” The church must come back to the Cross, and when the altar is repaired, the Lord will not just send us a trickle of rain, but an abundance of rain.
God has divinely raised up the SonLife Broadcasting Network to help “repair the altar of the Lord that was broken down.” With your help and prayers, we have been faithful, and, please hear me: a move of God is coming. So, “Get up, eat, and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain” that is coming to those who will believe.
The rain is coming, so get ready and receive
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