While God has fulfilled Eliyahu’s decree of drought, God’s choice of words to Eliyahu, the name of the location to which he is sent, and the fact that he is feeds him through ravens - a symbol of cruelty - imply a hidden message. The year-long stay at Nahal Kerit conceals a rebuke aimed at the prophet: Eliyahu’s decision to withhold rain brings suffering upon his people, and he fails to sense their distress. The Divine command therefore forces him to leave them, and live in seclusion, an expression of his lack of involvement in their fate. 

Courtesy of the Virtual Beit Midrash, Yeshivat Har Etzion