It was Summer time in the Southern kingdom. The crows were crowing and the ravens were raving and everything seemed as it always had been. Some reports of a mad prophet's prophesy circulated even among the birds. The king and his court were pompous about their opulence; they thought they'd tide over the prophesied drought without much difficulty. The birds had their fill from the palace trash and they never complained. However, all was not well within the Raven kingdom.
Some ravens were getting together for a meeting, later that day.
Sabel, the senior raven was lost in thought as she took a trot to the branch on which her nest was. All the ancient stories told of ravens as the ones helping the bad ones, creating omens and destroying hope as such. She couldn't remember one good ending to any of the Raven history. She was content with not being part of anything dark and had carefully warned her little ones to stay out of trouble. She flew in search of food that day bearing in mind all that she had been told. Was it the wind? or was it a real voice that sounded almost human? In either case the fact that she understood what was said puzzled her greatly.
She remembered the fear she had felt. A fear that worked against her will and kept her in the spot. But the craziest sensation of all was how the fear turned to warmth and almost a satisfaction- if you could call it that. She heard the instructions clearly. She were to gather a few others and collect meat and bread from a specified location and drop it at the top of the big rock by the Kerith river until the river ran dry.
Her thought train came to a screeching halt with the awful shrill call from Charlotte, her crazy best friend. "Cut it out Charlie, I am no intruder" Sabel said with a grating croak. "Well you wouldn't hear me when I did call you. What's up BFF? you look worried." Charlotte's concern encouraged Sabel. After all, who would believe her raving mad story if not crazy Charlie and she had to get it out of her system. So, Sabel began: "You know Charlie, there's been this news about a prophet's warning that there won't be any rain for one time now?"
"Yes. And we as ravens ought to know that prophecies, oracles and all these things have some truth in them. Are you worried about living through it all? Is it going to be the apocalypse?" Charlie would have gone on. But Sabel stopped her. And tried to keep it crisp. " What would you say if I told you that I have been instructed that we are to pick up some food and go drop it on a big rock and do it for a few days may be months?"
"Sounds like you had an oracle. Did you?" Charlie's eyes went big as she waited for her friend's acknowledgement. Sabel wasn't quite sure what it was. She was always skeptical of those terms... "I don't know Charlie. But if I don't do it, I know I won't be at peace."
"I am crazy Charlie. I will do it with you" , was Charlotte's quick reply.
Sabel told Charlie that they would probably need two other ravens or four more for the mission at hand. Charlie agreed and then they went to the nests of Alchemy and Brazen, Sodak and Feather. It surprised Sabel that all of them would agree, without any questions. For the first time, Sabel felt grateful for the raven intuition.
The meeting happened at around two in the afternoon. It was decided that Sabel would lead them to the designated spot for the pick up. They had to move quickly as they should get to Kerith before sunset and be back in time to their nests.
Sabel let out a whisper of a prayer before she flapped her wings to take flight.
Upward she soared and turned wherever she felt she must and then swooped down gracefully at the meal laid out. It all seemed like a dream to the rest of them. But they knew what they must do. So, without questions or second thoughts, they followed their leader and did as they were told.
For Sabel it was a different battle everyday. Yes, she got the co-operation of the rest of them, but within her, she had to fight the questions. "I told my kids not to do anything shady. How sure am I that this doesn't involve magic?" She asked herself. " "Am I being controlled or even worse manipulated? " But every time she had these questions, she couldn't dwell in there for long. Her mind would gently transport her to the time she heard those instructions. It came with a promise. "Do this and you all those with you will never go hungry till the day it rains again." That took away her cares. She could soar again.
So, no matter what, the ravens flew to Kerith in the morning and in the evening. Their obedience kept the prophet alive for a long time. Whether they knew about it or not we will never know. But one thing is for sure. God never kept His prophet hungry. He surely did not keep His ravens hungry either, even through the drought.
For in His unfailing, inerrant word, He includes them:
Psalms 147:9 NKJV
[9] He gives to the beast its food, And to the young ravens that cry.
https://bible.com/bible/114/psa.147.9.NKJV
It seems the king of the land went searching for grass for his horse, but God had His own provided for as always. If you read about it in 1Kings 17, it included a widow and her son in a remote corner of the earth, who also were given a promise very similar to that which was made to the ravens.
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