Elijah and the womans dead son

These verses have been in my mind for some time.
1 KINGS 17:17-24 NKJ
17 Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him.
18 So she said to Elijah, "What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?"
19 And he said to her, "Give me your son." So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.
20 Then he cried out to the Lord and said, "O Lord my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?"
21 And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the Lord and said, "O Lord my God, I pray, let this child's soul come back to him."
22 Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.
23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, "See, your son lives!"
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth."

Can I ask if there is a significance that Elijah had to stretch himself out over the body three times?
Also i noticed he was maybe a bit angry with God when he said

Then he cried out to the Lord and said, "O Lord my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?"
some thoughts would be good, thank you.

Also I found this strange when a man whom i new was asked why this persons close young relative had died and her referred her to these verses, why would he do this?

The secular explanation is that he did mouth to mouth respiration.

Might be right but it was God not first aid that restored the lad.

WoW never thought of that John

This widow was not part of Israel and would have been subject to a different belief system. In that system (Mesopotamian) there was the belief that you needed to touch different parts of the body to set them free from evil. This woman would also have known that prophets (from different religious systems) can sometimes be oppressive and cause all manner of problem for people. How was she to really know Elijah was any different? If her son was left dead it would look as if Elijah and his God was no different from any other - that they were just like all pagan Gods. In lying across the child Elijah was simply working in a way that she would understand (touching body, as others would do ) and being able to see that Yahweh - the God of Israel - is the One true God who can bring life. From this we see that it is a 'one-off' - it was something that woudl be understood at the time - and is not done so that we should all copy it.

Elijah is not angry with God, but is aware of how it is going to look if the boy stays dead...therefore he reasons aloud with God. God does not mind us doing this since life is about a relationship with Him. Note that God Himself said to Israel (Isaiah 1:18) "Come now let us reason together." We do not have a push-button belief system full of blind rituals along the lines of, "If I do this then God must do this." God, in great compassion and mercy was reaching out through Elijah in a way that a lonely widow would understand and find great hope and help in the raising of her son from the dead. That's amazing!

The man who referred someone to these verses is just being clumsy and not really thinking about what the scriptures are really about.

Hope this is of help to you.

Thanks Angel for your answer and for taking the time to explain

Anne wrote:

Thanks Angel for your answer and for taking the time to explain

Lol Annie, i didnt write it! i aint that clever........ hahahaha.
My pastor did.

Nice one Trasie

Well blimey, I couldn't have put it better myself [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

No, really, I couldn't [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Elaine wrote:

Well blimey, I couldn't have put it better myself [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

No, really, I couldn't [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

*snort*........... Me either.