(2) And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, (3) Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. (4) And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
It should seem that this hiding of the prophet, was not so much by way of security to his person, as it was that the Lord might accomplish his purpose concerning Israel. A time was determined of famine, by way of punishment. And Elijah shall not be at hand to make intercession, to reverse the sentence. Reader! think of thy privileges: Jesus ever liveth, ever loveth; is ever at hand to make intercession for poor sinners; and by him the distressed soul may have access at all times, by one Spirit, unto the Father. What deeper designs were in this event, or what it might be intended to prefigure, I do not venture to say. But it is worthy of remark, that when the church, which is represented in the book of Revelations under the similitude of the woman, is said to have been driven into the wilderness, a place is said to be prepared of God for her, where they should feed her a thousand two hundred and threescore days. And in the same chapter, it is said, that she should be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. Which, if explained according to the usual terms of prophecy, would correspond (in this latter part, at least), to the three years and half of Elijah's concealment. See Revelation 12:14; Revelation 12:14.