Because we live in a broken world, being obedient to God and living in His will doesn’t mean that bad things won’t happen. Even though she had used some of her last remaining ingredients to make bread for the prophet of God, a woman who God was providing for miraculously (as described in 1 Kings 17:8-16) later experienced a terrible tragedy.
Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”
1 Kings 17:17-18 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1ki.17.17-18.NIV
What was this woman’s “righteous” reaction when her son got sick and died? She blamed Elijah for this tragedy, as if her son’s death was punishment for something she had done. Looking ahead a couple of verses (see 1 Kings 17:20), Elijah’s response doesn’t seem entirely pious, either. In fact, commentator [Long, p.208] writes, “The child’s mother blames Elijah; Elijah blames [God].” There is some good news implied for us, though, when we do the same thing: God isn’t recorded here as heaping blame or punishment on either of them. So, if you are frustrated and want to tell God how you really feel, He can handle it.
Now, the woman may have had a sinful past, or she could have known how God cursed Israel with drought for their idolatry. However, I’m reminded of a question that Jesus’ disciples asked Him (as recorded in John 9), and his response.
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
John 9:1-3 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.9.1-3.NIV
Yes, God disciplines those whom He loves (see Proverbs 3:11-12, which is referenced in Hebrews 12:5-6; see also Revelation 3:19 and its context), but sometimes bad – really bad – things happen even to people whose sins have been forgiven. The “blame” for bad things that we experience isn’t always a clear assignment to a specific sin, a specific decision, or even a specific individual. Sometimes, living in a world corrupted by sin (and cursed because of it) means that even the “best” of us experience situations that we’d prefer to avoid.
With God, though, trials aren’t the end of the story. In general, for each trial, I believe that there is something else to be learned or gained in the trial, after the trial, or through the trial. Now, I realize that the rest of the story can be difficult for us to see while we’re in the middle of difficult times, but I think that this is what we need to seek out, especially in those situations: What does God want us to “look up” for, when everything around us is yelling for us to “look around” at the mess we’re in? Maybe that’s a question for you or me to talk over with God, today.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for May 4, 2025
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – 1 & 2 Kings, by Jesse C. Long, Jr. © 2002 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 