We begin a new series on "Elijah and Elisha: Fire and Mercy." These important Old Testament figures we sometimes consider obscure, but they were definitive pieces used to prepare God's people for the coming of Christ. Throughout their ministry, we see paradoxical themes that ultimately only find their resolution in Jesus. This week is no exception. God sends Elijah to a destitute Gentile widow who is literally down to her last meal. He provides miraculously for them, but then her young son gets sick and dies. Why would God provide so wondrously only to let tragedy befall them? That's a question I've often heard as a pastor. Why do something so good only to follow it with devastation? Is God just capricious and unreliable? Let's talk about "The God Who Covers" (1 Kings 17:8-24).
